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Radio Silence

Part 10: No Good is Going to Come Out of This

Alex smiled as he took the keys out of the ignition and stepped out of his car. The weather might have been slowly changing with the winter months coming up, but the sun was still shining brightly against the clear blue sky. It perfectly described Alex’s mood. He didn’t know exactly what it was that made him feel so elated and care-free, he just simply did. Maybe it was the fact that he felt like he and Riley were doing great. Casper gave them his blessing and Riley was free to go on as many dates with Alex and stay over as many times as she wanted. Things had been progressing nicely.

But it wasn’t a good thing to be happy about. You see, Alex still hadn’t met Riley’s parents. He had tried to bring the subject up multiple times since it was pretty important to him. But, somehow, Riley never got his hints. He was seriously starting to think that she was trying to avoid it all. And as we all know, that was exactly what was happening. Alex just didn’t want to admit that that was most likely what was going on. He was too stuck in being in this perfect relationship that finally became stable.

How wrong he was. Oh, poor Alex. The brother might have switched sides, no longer hating on him every single moment he got and actually letting the pair do what they wanted. But Casper wasn’t the worst. You see, Riley would always go against her brother’s ideas if they seemed wrong to her, but her parents were a slightly different story. Yes, she stood up for herself, but if her parents weren’t ok with something, it wasn’t going to happen. Of course they weren’t abusive in any way, they just wanted what was best for their children. They just didn’t understand that said children also had to make decisions for themselves.

Little did Alex know how it was all going to be known to him that specific day. Boy, was it going to hit him. Nobody could have expected it.

But back to the scene that’s supposed to fool you that everything’s going to be all good and happy--wait… you’re complaining that I already told you that he was going to be in some deep shit? What did you expect? Does it seem like I’d give you the pleasure of having a sudden plot twist that is way too obvious? No way. If it’s going to be obvious, let me tell you about it before it even comes up! That way you’ll have a good reason to hate me instead of hating me for making this story too cliché.

Anywho, as I was saying. Back to the happy scene.

Alex had just gotten out of his car, I vaguely described the weather to fit his mood, blah blah blah. Oh, right, yes. He was at the grocery store. Yes, that’s right. The grocery store. Exciting, right? That’s what I thought.

He was walking through the busy parking lot toward the sliding doors that would let him into the great amazing palace that sold everything from food to toilet paper to dish soap. But that wasn’t why he was going. He had already done his groceries a day before. There just didn’t happen to be a nice good florist somewhere nearby. There used to be one, but it moved away, so Alex was stuck buying flowers at the grocery store. Of course, they weren’t as romantic or special, but Riley still loved every small thing Alex did for her, and he loved doing them.

Of course, it wasn’t going to be that simple, though. If only it were… Well, it doesn’t really contribute anything to the whole bad thing except for adding some great dramatic irony, which is always nice.

Once almost at the doors, he heard a loud crashing sound coming from a car a couple of parking spots away from him. He immediately looked at where it came from and saw a woman cursing, surrounded by groceries on the ground and holding two now empty plastic bags that were ripped at the bottom in her hands. Since he was in such a good mood, Alex didn’t hesitate to stop and turn around to help out. He didn’t want to see somebody’s day ruined like this even if it meant a little more work on his part.

“Hey, let me help you out with that.” Alex jogged up towards the older woman and reached down to grab a can of sliced pineapples. He placed it in the back of the car and next picked up a box of tissues.

“Oh, thank you so much!” The woman sighed out in relief and shot Alex a big smile, no longer exasperated by her groceries strewn across the floor.

Together the pair picked up all the articles, putting them in the trunk of the car. It wasn’t all too much work, which made sure that Alex didn’t regret offering to help. He was having such a good day, it would have sucked for it to turn bad just because some lady whose day he tried to brighten was mean to him. It was terrible having somebody try to bring you down, even worse to have somebody do it while you were just trying to be nice.

The stranger breathed out loudly after the job was done and closed the trunk before turning to look at Alex, only being able to take in his appearance then. “Thanks again.”

“Really, it’s no problem.” Alex smiled in return and brought his hands up to his hair to fix it back into place.

The woman’s eyes lingered on his left hand where his rose tattoo was permanently inked. Although her original genuine smile disappeared a little, she tried to keep it up and act like the image didn’t affect her at all. Alex had been friendly to her, there was no reason to suddenly turn cold because of some ink. It wasn’t like they were going to see each other ever again.

Yet she still asked. “Is there any way I can repay you?”

“No, I’m just helping out a fellow human being.” Alex shook his head before an idea popped into his head. “Wait… actually… there is something…”

The one thing going through the woman’s mind was ‘of course’. Of course a guy like him wasn’t going to do good things for no reason other than doing it for others; of course a guy like him expected something back; of course he was going to come up with some request that included money. It was a mistake asking him in the first place. She should have just taken the favor he did for her and let it be at that.

“I’m going to see my girlfriend and I don’t know which flowers to get her,” Alex introduced what he was getting to, assuming that most women knew something about flowers. “Maybe you can help me choose something?”

“Oh…” The older lady was quite taken aback by this innocent request, not having gotten this vibe from him at all. “Of course. But don’t blame me if I choose the wrong ones.”

They both went into the supermarket and went straight to the flower section. Sure, the flowers didn’t have an as great quality as flowers bought at a florist, but as said before Alex hadn’t found a new florist and it was the thought that counted. Also, there wasn’t a very big selection, but that only helped him. It meant having to choose between five options instead of over fifty.

“So, do you know what she likes?” The woman, whose name Alex did not know, and was probably never going to know asked before they started looking at what was available.

Alex shook his head as his eyes flickers between all the flowers and joked, “I might have a rose on my hand, but I don’t know anything about flowers.”

At first, this was about the set the lady off again. He shouldn’t have brought attention to his tattoo, but he didn’t know that. It wasn’t that it was ugly or anything, she just didn’t understand why somebody like him would want something so big on display. To her, it had to mean there was a way darker side to him.

But then Alex continued with a vague explanation of what he wanted. “I do want to make sure they are very visual and a good scent always helps as well. It’s what most people want, obviously, but it’s very important. My girlfriend’s deaf, so I want her to experience her other senses as extensively as possible.”

“That’s very kind of you.” Once again the woman changed her opinion slightly. “My daughter’s deaf, so I know what it’s like. It’s so great to see you care so much for her despite it being quite difficult.”

“I’m also trying to learn sign language for her to make things easier,” Alex added, amazed that he happened to get help from the perfect person. “I’m still kind of rocky, but it’s already going way better than in the beginning.”

“I also had to learn it at an older age. It’s always so much easier if you start from a very young age, hence why my son and daughter used to be way better at it than my husband and me.” She moved forward and started looking at the selection provided by the store.

“As long as I get the main gist of it and make communicating a bit easier for us, then I’m all for it. Otherwise, I would have never started it. I got on it as soon as we started dating.”

“Well, we should get you the perfect flowers then.” The woman walked up to a specific bucket with light pink flowers and smiled. “These flowers are my daughter’s favorite. Carnations. They’re beautiful, she was always mesmerized by them. Unfortunately, they don’t have a strong smell like they used to, but a hint is still there. Luckily, she’s had to opportunity to smell the good ones before, so even the small hint of a smell makes her happy.”

“Do you think I should get these?” Alex wondered out loud, now extra determined to get the right flowers after hearing the story. But then again, this was her daughter they were talking about, not Riley. Maybe these weren’t the flowers for her. “I want to get the right ones. I don’t know what her favorite flower is and I’ve never really seen any at her house… But I’ll feel bad if I take the safe option and get something simple like roses.”

“It’s not always a safe option. My daughter happens to dislike them the most. She doesn’t hate them, but they’re very close to the bottom of the list.”

“Well, now I'm doubting all my choices,” Alex groaned, his eyes now scanning over all the other colorful flowers.

“In the end, it’s your choice.” The woman with brown hair that was starting to slowly turn gray told him.

"I’m just going to buy those carnations and pray my girlfriend has a similar reaction. Otherwise I’ll keep trying every week until I find the perfect ones. I can also just ask her, but I’d like to see if I can figure it out first just from the way she acts when she gets them. I know she’ll like them if she smiles and shyly pushes her hair out of her face and she’ll dislike them if she puts on a smile and thanks me a bit weirdly.”

“I hope my daughter will find somebody like you someday. Right now, she’s dating a guy who has trouble written all over him.”

----

You probably already guessed it. Riley loved the flowers, giving Alex the exact reaction the woman had described. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the flowers, she brought them to her nose and took a deep breath to smell them, and then she hugged Alex tightly kissing his lips deeply yet quickly. She asked him how he knew these were her favorite flowers, to which Alex replied that it was a lucky guess.

Ok, you know what? I’m done with trying to fill the time. I know for a fact you already know what’s going to happen, so why not get to it straight away? I’m done being this narrator that sets the scene to keep you intrigued. I know for a fact most people will skip that all and go straight to the action, so what’s the point? Let’s just get to it straight away. Alright? Alright. Good.

The doorbell rang and Iggy immediately started barking loudly, jumping around at Riley’s feet as she and Alex were sat on the couch in her brother’s living room. Riley got up, not really knowing who would need to be here at this time other than her brother, but he had a key. Maybe he had forgotten it and couldn’t get in. She always locked the door since she couldn’t hear if an intruder entered.

Alex stayed seated and paused the movie they were watching, the subtitles for Riley freezing along with the image. He also didn’t know who was on the other side of the door, but didn’t just want to go check it out since it wasn’t his house; he knew better than that. But time slowly kept ticking by, checking his watch every once in awhile. It never took much longer to answer the door than a couple of seconds to a minute, right? But Riley had already been there for five minutes. He didn’t want to risk her being in trouble.

He was about to call out her name to ask if she was ok, realizing his mistake before a peep left his mouth. So, instead, up he got, his shoeless feet quietly patting on the wooden floor. There wasn’t any sound coming from the hallway, making Alex wonder if Riley was actually still there. Maybe she had gone to the bathroom, scaring him for no reason. But, no. When he walked into the hallway, she was still standing at the open front door, preventing him from seeing anything outside.

He didn’t know if it was acceptable to just go up and interrupt, but his curiosity got the best of him, especially when he heard a female and male voice speaking to each other. Even if he didn’t want to, his feet started taking him to the front door. And then he saw.

Right there was the woman from the store. Who would have guessed? I definitely wouldn’t have…

Alex smiled, quite surprised to see the face again. “Oh, hi--”

“You!” The woman seethed, her eyes squinting in malice. She was not happy, not happy at all.

“Small world, right?” He awkwardly chuckled, hoping he misread her expression and that it wasn’t actually going to be bad at all. But Riley’s frightened face when she saw him standing there was enough to tell him.

“You’re going to get out of this house right now and never come back,” Riley’s mother instructed, glaring at Alex, now having a complete reason to hate him. She instantly regretted everything she had done for him this morning and calling him a good guy. If she had known he was in a band, she would never even have accepted his help.

“Wait, what?” Alex frowned, looking down at his socks as if it were to say he couldn’t leave right away because his shoes were still inside. Oh, and he wasn’t planning on leaving for other reasons, of course.

“Oh, you heard her,” Riley’s dad joined in, staring down Alex as well. “You’re going to stay away from our daughter. You aren’t right for her. So, you better get going. Or am I going to have to remove you myself?”

Alex looked at Riley and started wondering. Was this why she never wanted him to meet her parents? Was this why she always acted like she didn’t understand the hint? She was just protecting their relationship, and he only thought it was because she wasn’t ready to take that step.

“Did I do something wrong this morning?" he questioned, wanting to know why he was getting so much hate from people that didn’t even know him. He was used to there always being people on the internet having something to say, but this was way different. Not only was the face to face, but it could harm his relationship.

“The only thing you’re doing wrong right now is that you’re in my daughter’s presence. As soon as you leave and never come back, everything will be ok again.” Riley’s mother started up again, way more vocal about her displease than her husband.

Before Alex could come up with a reply, Riley started closing the front door on her parents, using her whole body weight against it. But it was no use. Her dad could easily keep it pushed open. This time, Iggy also came back into action, barking loudly at the people she now considered intruders. She didn’t go as far as to attack them, though. Slowly but surely she was getting that under control.

“Look, I just don’t understand why everybody in this family hates me for no reason,” Alex said sternly, standing his ground. He had managed to win Casper’s heart over, but that had taken way too long as well.

“We know your type,” Riley’s mother spat at him, not giving any further explanation.

“My type?”

“You know exactly what we’re talking about!”

“I actually don’t?” He shook his head, knowing he probably wasn’t helping his case. But something told him being nice wasn’t going to do any good either. He had already done that, and it was completely dismissed.

Riley’s mother rolled her eyes. “You’re just proving my point, here.”

“I’m happy I’m able to help you out.”

“Ok, you have five seconds to leave,” Riley’s dad growled and Alex finally understood where Casper had gotten his intimidation skills. There was no coincidence that they could both cause goosebumps to rise on Alex’s skin just because of their tone of voice.

A car door closed nearby and Casper came running toward the commotion. “Woah, woah. What’s going on here?”

“What you would have done if you were home!” His mother screeched back, pointing at Alex accusingly.

“Ok, no. Don’t throw Alex out, he’s a good guy.” Casper tried to defend him, not having expected to be met with any of this after a busy day at work.

“Oh my god, did he get you as well--”

“How about we go out for a little while, huh? Calm down a little?”

“Not while he’s here with Riley, are you insane?!” The eldest male looked at his son as if he had two heads. “He’s going to have to disappear first.”

Casper gave Alex a look that told him it was best to just leave. Alex really didn’t want to, but he trusted Casper now. If Casper wouldn’t have done anything, Alex would have definitely defended himself. But it really did seem like walking away was the right thing to do now. So, he quickly rushed inside to grab his shoes and left without putting them on.

Riley was left as the only one inside the house, confused and angered about what happened. She hadn’t been able to follow the conversation at all, but she knew it was no good and that her parents had been insulting Alex.

Just as I’ve been saying, no good is going to come out of this.


Notes


Has it really been three weeks? Woah. Anyway, here you guys go. I finally did a thing. Don't expect the next chapter to come quickly. Also, if there are any weird typos, I'm sorry. I was more focused on the lyrics of the music I was listening to than the editing.

Comments

It's definitely an idea if she continues to pursue her search. :)

@aweirdkindofyellow

Nanook Nanook
3/31/19

@Nanook
That's actually quite interesting, I keep seeing more and more of those stories popping up. We'll have to see how she finds her sister

<3

Nanook Nanook
3/30/19

@Nanook
Glad to know you're still here even after how long it took me to update

Daydreamers Daydreamers
3/29/19

I am still here and reading! I was surprised to see a notification for this, haha, but happy to see that it's possibly being picked back up again.
Hmm... maybe Riley can do one of those DNA tests where you find out your ancestry, origins, etc., and find her sister that way? Fun fact, my cousin did one of those and found a long lost half sister him and his parents didn't even know about. Apparently they do like a database on people who do them and idk, you're able to find other current living relatives, even long lost siblings. XD
Great job with the update, though. Not much happened, so not much to report on, but it was sweet how Alex was there for her. :)
Interested in seeing more. <3

Nanook Nanook
3/23/19