Whitefish River And as the sky's falling down,

Riley admired many things about Orlaith. He'd never tell her that, of course, but the fact remained. He liked her confidence. He liked the way she was unsinkable, unassailable, strong.

It was a sharp contrast from Esme, who was, to Riley, an indefatiguable source of vexation and self-doubt and/or loathing. She was the yawning black hole, ruining and unraveling everything that came into her path, including herself.

He shook the thought of Esme from his mind, feeling a guilty pang. "I have no reason to smile." Riley countered, feeling it best to save such visible shows of emotion for when they were genuine.