Off Limits

Chapter 20: Two Years

Two years.

That was what they had promised each other at the airport.

Two years would pass quickly.

At least, that was what everyone had believed.

For Riley, the first year had crawled before it learned how to run.

The second disappeared.

Now she was standing in front of her dorm room mirror, staring at a suitcase lying open on her bed.

She folded the last sweater and placed it inside.

Then she looked around.

The little room that had once felt unfamiliar had somehow become hers.

There were photographs taped above her desk.

Notes from classmates.

A mug she’d bought during her first semester.

Her books stacked everywhere despite her best attempts to keep them organized.

She smiled.

“I really did it.”

Two years ago, she’d arrived with two suitcases, a scholarship letter and enough nervousness to fill the entire airport.

Now she was leaving with more luggage, more confidence and a completely different understanding of herself.

Her phone rang.

“Mum.”

Riley answered immediately.

“Hi, Mum.”

“Are you packed?”

“Yes.”

“Everything?”

“Yes.”

“Passport?”

“Yes.”

“Documents?”

“Yes.”

“Phone charger?”

Riley laughed.

“Yes, Mum.”

There was a pause.

“Don’t laugh at me.”

“I’m not.”

“You always forget something.”

“I’ve learned.”

Her mother’s voice softened.

“Are you excited?”

Riley looked around the room again.

“Yeah.”

“And nervous?”

“A little.”

“That’s normal.”

Riley smiled.

“I miss home.”

“I know.”

“I miss you.”

“I miss you too.”

Then Mrs. Parker said the words Riley had been waiting to hear.

“Your brothers are already planning what they’re going to do when you arrive.”

Riley groaned.

“Oh no.”

Her mother laughed.

“Ethan wants to take you somewhere.”

“Where?”

“He wouldn’t tell me.”

“And Owen?”

“He hasn’t said much.”

Riley smiled without realizing it.

“That sounds like Owen.”

There was another pause.

“Come home safely, baby.”

Riley swallowed.

“I will.”

The call ended.

She sat on the edge of her bed.

For a moment, she simply breathed.

She had spent two years learning how to live without them.

Now she was going back to them.

But she couldn’t shake the feeling that going home wouldn’t mean going backward.

She had changed.

She knew that.

Her family had changed too.

Ethan was building his career.

Owen had become serious about boxing.

Her parents were getting older.

And Riley?

She wasn’t the eighteen-year-old girl who had needed permission to take a huge step into the unknown.

She was twenty now.

She knew what she wanted.

At least, she thought she did.

She closed her suitcase.

Tomorrow, she was going home.

Back at the Parker house, Ethan stood in the kitchen staring at his phone.

“She lands tomorrow.”

Owen looked up from his coffee.

“I know.”

“You don’t sound excited.”

“I am.”

“You’re terrible at showing it.”

Owen gave him a look.

“You’re worse.”

Ethan laughed.

Their mother walked in carrying groceries.

“Have you two decided who is picking Riley up?”

“I am,” Ethan said immediately.

Owen looked at him.

“You’re working tomorrow.”

“I’ll take the afternoon off.”

Mrs. Parker smiled.

“You both can go.”

Ethan looked at Owen.

“Obviously.”

Owen nodded.

“Obviously.”

Their mother shook her head.

“You’d think she’s been gone ten years.”

Ethan smiled.

“Two years is long enough.”

Owen didn’t answer.

He knew exactly how long two years was.

Long enough to miss someone.

Long enough to change.

Long enough for memories to become slightly different from reality.

That night, Owen went upstairs.

He opened his wardrobe and stared at his clothes longer than necessary.

He finally picked a black shirt.

Then changed his mind.

He chose a grey one.

Then stared at himself in the mirror.

“What am I doing?”

He laughed quietly.

It wasn’t as though Riley was a stranger.

She was Riley.

His family.

His sister.

His childhood best friend.

The girl who had once stolen his biscuits and blamed Ethan.

The girl who had cried because Ethan broke her favorite toy.

The girl who had left two years ago.

He grabbed his phone.

A message appeared.

Riley:

Tomorrow.

Owen smiled.

Owen:

Tomorrow.

Riley:

Don’t be late.

Owen:

I won’t.

Riley:

And don’t let Ethan embarrass me.

Owen:

No promises.

She sent a laughing emoji.

Owen placed the phone down.

Tomorrow.

After two years, the Parker house would have three children again.

At least, that’s what he thought.

He had no idea that the moment Riley stepped back into their lives, none of them would fit into their old places quite the same way.

Owen tried sleeping.

He really did.

He turned onto his back.

Then onto his side.

Then back again.

He checked the time.

12:17 a.m.

He closed his eyes.

Opened them.

12:24.

“This is ridiculous.”

He threw the blanket aside and sat up.

Tomorrow was just an airport pickup.

That was all.

He’d picked Riley up from places before. School. Friends’ houses. Parties.

So why was this different?

Because she had been gone for two years.

He got out of bed and walked over to his wardrobe.

He opened it.

Stared.

Closed it.

Opened it again.

“What am I looking for?”

He pulled out a shirt.

No.

Another.

Definitely no.

He tossed both onto the bed.

Then he laughed under his breath.

“This is an airport.”

He wasn’t attending a wedding.

He wasn’t meeting some important politician.

He was going to pick up Riley.

His Riley.

The same Riley who used to walk around the house wearing mismatched socks.

The same girl who once put toothpaste on Ethan’s pillow because he’d annoyed her.

The same person who could finish his food and still claim she wasn’t hungry.

“What am I doing, seriously?”

He laughed out loud.

“This is Riley we’re talking about. Not some goddess or something.”

He immediately stopped.

Why had he said that?

Owen rubbed his face.

“Get yourself together.”

He went back to the drawer and searched through his clothes again.

After battling with himself for several minutes, he finally settled on a grey shirt.

Plain.

Simple.

Nothing dramatic.

He paired it with black pants and sneakers.

He looked at the outfit on the bed.

“Good enough.”

But apparently, good enough wasn’t enough.

He put the clothes on.

Then stood in front of the mirror.

He turned slightly to the side.

Looked at himself.

Turned back.

His beard.

Did it need trimming?

He leaned closer to the mirror.

“Maybe.”

He picked up the trimmer.

Stopped.

“No.”

He looked again.

“Actually…”

He trimmed it.

Then stared at himself.

“Too much?”

He ran his fingers over his jaw.

“Whatever.”

He stepped away from the mirror.

For the last time, he checked his appearance.

Grey shirt.

Black pants.

Sneakers.

Neatly trimmed beard.

Nothing special.

Exactly what he’d wanted.

Plain.

Simple.

Normal.

He grabbed his phone and checked the time.

1:03 a.m.

He sighed.

“I’m definitely not sleeping.”

Across the hallway, Ethan was handling his own version of preparation.

Unlike Owen, he hadn’t spent twenty minutes arguing with himself over a shirt.

He had already cleared his entire schedule.

Every meeting.

Every appointment.

Every unnecessary obligation.

Tomorrow belonged to Riley.

He had said it earlier that evening and meant every word.

“Tomorrow is for Riley. Nobody else matters.”

He opened his wardrobe and pulled out a clean outfit.

He placed everything neatly on the chair.

Then he went into the bathroom and shaved.

He studied his reflection afterward.

Satisfied, he nodded.

“Perfect.”

He wasn’t going to let anything ruin Riley’s first day home.

Not work.

Not some emergency meeting.

Not even their father’s business.

Nothing.

His baby sister was coming home.

Two years.

Two birthdays.

Two Christmases.

Two years of video calls and messages.

Two years of hearing about her life through a phone screen.

Tomorrow, he would finally see her standing in front of him again.

Ethan smiled.

He remembered the airport two years earlier.

Riley had been trying so hard not to cry.

She’d hugged him tightly and promised she would be fine.

He had told her to call whenever she needed anything.

She had rolled her eyes and called him dramatic.

He smiled at the memory.

She was still his little sister.

Twenty or not.

That part wasn’t changing.

He placed his phone beside the clothes and checked the alarm.

6:00 a.m.

He needed to sleep.

Unlike Owen, he actually intended to.

But before turning off the light, he looked at the photograph sitting on his bedside table.

The three of them.

Much younger.

Much smaller.

Riley between him and Owen, smiling like the world belonged to them.

Ethan touched the edge of the frame.

“Tomorrow, Ri.”

He switched off the light.

⸻

Owen was still awake.

He stood by his bedroom window, looking out into the dark backyard.

The house was quiet.

Everyone was asleep.

Or supposed to be.

He glanced at his phone.

A message from Riley.

Riley:

I think I’m finally ready.

Owen smiled.

Owen:

We’re ready too.

She replied almost immediately.

Riley:

Don’t let Ethan cry.

Owen laughed.

Owen:

I’ll try.

Riley:

And don’t let Mum squeeze me to death.

Owen:

No promises there either.

A few seconds passed.

Then another message appeared.

Riley:

Goodnight, Owen.

He stared at her name.

Then typed:

Owen:

Goodnight, Riley. See you tomorrow.

He placed the phone down.

Tomorrow.

He had spent two years imagining it.

Yet now that it was finally here, he wasn’t sure he was prepared for it.

Neither was Ethan.

Neither was Riley.

And none of them understood yet that the hardest part of two years apart wasn’t the waiting.

It was meeting again and discovering how much everyone had changed.