250

250
  Chapter 250
  Riley Burke  
  ~•~
  What was I thinking about lying to Amanda? 
  Of course, my mother would call her to tell her about what was happening. I didn’t think anything through, I just did the first thing that came to my mind. 
  I felt bad as I saw her disappointed look. 
  I shouldn’t have lied to her. 
  I didn’t even want to watch the movie anymore. I couldn’t look her in the face. I just wanted to sleep until the next day. 
  Everyone thought I was missing but my father didn’t even bother calling me. I felt so terrible. Didn’t he love me anymore? 
  I just wanted to cry myself to sleep. 
  When I was done bathing, I dried my body with a clean towel and changed into the nightwear that Amanda had handed over to me earlier. 
  I decided to sit for a while before heading to the living room. My mind raced with different thoughts as I sat down on the bed. 
  Was there any possibility that my father would have an open mind about Mason? Was our argument ever going to end? Was Mason even worth all the stress I was going through? 
  I could only hope that I was making the right decision. 
  The sound of my buzzing phone interrupted me from my thoughts. I turned on my phone because I was expecting a call from my mother. 
  But when I picked it up and glanced at the screen. It wasn’t my mother who was calling me. It was Harper calling. 
  “Hey.” My voice was barely audible as I spoke. 
  “Are you good?” Harper’s concerned voice echoed through the other end of the line. “Where are you? Your mother called to ask if you were at the dormitory.” 
  Letting out a wistful sigh, I responded. “I’m good Harper. I’m at my Auntie’s.” I lay down on the bed, rubbing my eyes with my left hand. 
  “Okay.” Harper’s voice sounded so relieved. “Have you talked to your mother? She sounded really worried.” She added. 
  I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “Kind of. We haven’t actually talked but she knows where I am.” I replied, my voice faint. 
  I wouldn’t lie, I was lowkey scared of talking to my mother. I made her panic for nothing and it wasn’t fair. 
  “Okay, the uniformed men aren’t in front of the dorm room anymore. You can come back if you want.” Harper mentioned and I couldn’t help but let out a scoff. 
  So my father finally asked them to leave. Or were they still planning on resuming their duty the next day? 
  “I’m exhausted, I’ll just come back tomorrow,” I replied, running my hands through my hair. At least I knew I wasn’t going back home, I would be better off in my dorm room. 
  “Alright, I’m glad you’re safe,” Harper replied, her voice soft. “Amelia and Brittany say hello.” She added and I smiled. 
  I was grateful for my roommates and couldn’t wait to see them. 
  After the call ended, I stood up from the bed and made my way to the living room. Amanda was waiting for me. When I got there, I was happy that she wasn’t mad at me anymore. 
  She even handed me a pack of popcorn as I settled down beside her. 
  “Have you talked to your mother?” She paused and looked at me as she was about to start the movie. 
  I shook my head. “No. She hasn’t called me yet.” 
  Amanda sighed heavily and picked up her phone from the center table. She called my mother’s phone and handed her phone to me. 
  “Hey, Mama,” I whispered as she answered the call. 
  “Oh my goodness, Riley!” My mother exclaimed as she heard my voice. “Please don’t try this thing again. You made everyone scared.” She yelled, but I could tell that it was from a place of love.
  I let out a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Mama. It won’t happen again.”
  “Turn on your location right away!” She instructed and I nodded. “And you should come back home tomorrow morning. I don’t care if you have classes, cancel them.” 
  My mother sounded so serious and I couldn’t even bring myself to protest against her decision. I didn’t plan on going back home but it seemed like I didn’t have a choice anymore. 
  “Okay, Mama.” 
  I wasn’t in the mood to talk. I just talked to her because Amanda asked me to do so. 
  “I’ll call you in the morning, have a good night’s rest.” 
  With that, she hung up the call. 
  “That wasn’t hard, was it?” Amanda chuckled as I returned her phone to her. 
  ‘It was.” I whispered to myself but responded with an awkward smile to her. 
  The movie started and I couldn’t even concentrate. My mind kept wandering back to Mason. It dawned on me that I hadn’t spoken to him after he walked me to my car. 
  He didn’t even call me to see if I was safe. 
  I didn’t even get a text. 
  I felt hurt. 
  I was in all this mess because of him and he didn’t even care. Maybe I was just in my feelings and overthinking about everything. 
  I decided to suppress those thoughts and focus on enjoying the movie. About two hours later, we were done with the movie and I was back in the guest room. 
  As I lay on the bed, I checked my phone to see if I had gotten a text from Mason, but I still hadn’t gotten anything. I just dropped my phone and let out a frustrated sigh. 
  Then I turned off the lights and closed my eyes. 
  I tried my best to drift off to sleep but I couldn’t. 
  I kept thinking about everything that was going on in my life. I started reminiscing about my past and I missed when things were easier. 
  I missed when I didn’t have any boy problems. I missed when my father and I barely had any arguments. I missed my Daddy and I wanted things to get back to normal.