A/N: So here is a new one. It is completely different from my first one. None of the same characters. So that means it's open season on Reid. Not quite sure where I'm going with this yet, so the main character could end up paired with anybody. Just have go with the flow on it. :) Anyway, read it over and let me know if you like it or not. Hopefully it won't be as long as the last one. Oh almost forgot, pics are up of Riley, Trevor, and Madison.
Disclaimer: Don't own The Covenant.
She sat the box next to the kitchen table. Plopping down onto the couch with a sigh, she looked around the room. A 42" flat screen sat on top of sleek black shelving unit. She was sitting on a plush black leather couch. A glass dining room table sat in the small dining area behind her. Even in the kitchen all the appliances were black. The look was very plain. She let her head flop back against the couch. There was a major lack of décor around the place. The only thing that really stood out was the simple black picture frame that sat on the table next to her. Reaching out she grabbed it and stared at the teenage boy with mop of brown hair and blue eyes. His arms firmly wrapped around a young blonde with similar blue eyes. They were both covered in dirt and had matching baseball caps on that said Broncos.
She remembered when it was taken. He had stepped into coach her team when their coach had gotten sick. The assistant coach didn't really know what he was doing. He was just a dad volunteering. So her brother stepped in for the next couple of games. Most of the girls on the team swooned at him. She guessed it wasn't entirely their fault. They were only thirteen after all and when Trevor Galloway showed up at the games all the girls and even some women stopped to stare. She didn't get it, but that was because he was her brother. He had inherited their father's good looks and he was not oblivious to it. He was definitely the talk of the town and county for that matter.
Their mother had passed away when she was five. When that happened their father threw himself into his work, more or less abandoning them at their grandpa's small ranch in southern Oklahoma. It was the two of them against the world. She grew up around boys and men. The only woman was Miss Clara who had taken on cooking duties. She had worked on the ranch since her early twenties. She had helped Grandma with the cooking while her husband helped Grandpa around the ranch. When Grandma had passed away Miss Clara had taken on full cooking responsibilities and when they moved to the ranch she taught her all she knew. She also didn't hesitate to smack Trevor upside the head with her wooden spoon when he did something stupid.
The sound of a key and the turning of the lock snapped her out of her daydream. The door opened to reveal the same head of brown hair that she had been staring at, the only difference was that it was cut shorter. "Honey I'm home!!" He smiled at her as she rolled her eyes. "What?" He sat his briefcase down next to the door and started to loosen his tie. She pursed her lips together trying to hold back her laughter, but when he looked her way she couldn't hold it in anymore.
"And just what the hell is so funny?"
"What…do you think?," she said as she continued to laugh. He just stared at her, his lips set in a thin line. "Oh come on. You in a business suit carrying a briefcase. I never thought I'd see the day."
"Very funny Riles."
"I think it is," she said as her laughter died down, but her smirk stayed firmly on her face.
"Well then you're going to get a kick out of tonight." A smirk made its way to his face as her smile disappeared.
"And why is that?" She did not like the mischievous glint in his eye.
"We have to go to the house tonight for dinner." She scoffed.
"That place is not a house. It's a monstrosity." She crossed her arms across her chest and pouted. She had hoped that she would have more time before being thrown to the wolves, but apparently their dad had other ideas. She groaned and closed her eyes. He smiled. He was a typical big brother. He loved to torment his little sister, but even he had to agree that he didn't want to go. He hadn't even told her the worst of it.
"So that's the good news."
"Do I even want to know the bad news?" She opened an eye and looked at him.
"Probably not." She quirked an eyebrow at him. His hand went up to rub the back of his neck. "It's semi-formal."
"Which means what exactly?" He quickly glanced around, making sure there were no objects she could hurl at him. Of course their dad would wait to tell him about this little dinner just as he was leaving the office and leave him to deal with Riley.
"It…uh…" He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "It means you have to wear a skirt." He winced and hunched down, prepared for anything. After a few minutes when nothing flew at him he looked up to see her staring at him with wide eyes.
"Please tell me you're kidding?"
"I wish I was Riles."
"I'm guessing this isn't a simple 'family' dinner," she said making air quotes when she said the word family. As far as she was concerned, the only family she had was Trevor and everybody back at the ranch.
"No. Apparently since Aubrey is now seventeen she is supposed to be auctioned off to the highest bidder." Oh great a marriage market.
"I bet Tanya is just chomping at the bits to land a prize steer for her heifer." Trevor busted out laughing. Neither of them really cared for their step-mother and her demon spawn. She never really showed any care for them. The one time Riley came to visit her dad after he had married Tanya turned into a disaster. Aubrey caused all sorts of trouble and blamed it all on Riley. Tanya complained to her dad and as a result Riley was punished. She ended up cutting the trip short and never came back. It hurt her that her father was so quick to take the side of some little brat then his own daughter. He did try to convince her to come and visit a few times after that, but she could tell he was only doing it because he felt obligated as her father. He could really careless if she came to visit or not. He wouldn't even be around. Stuck at the office or traveling. After a while they only talked on the phone for a few minutes during Christmas and on her birthday.
Trevor didn't have it much better. The only reason their dad showed true interest in him was because he was his only son and was to take over the family business. Their dad had made a name for himself working as an accountant at a major company. She could never remember the name of the place and she really didn't care. Soon he stepped out on his own and now he was handling the accounts for a lot of major businesses. Their dad had tried to send Trevor to boarding school saying it would help him get into Harvard, their dad's alma mater, but Trevor refused. He wasn't going to leave her on her own. She needed him and the truth was he needed her as well. She kept him grounded and called him on his bullshit.
"Trev, I don't think I even have a skirt. The last time I wore one was in eighth grade for that stupid dance Mia dragged me to."
"Yeah, kind of figured that and so did Tanya. She went out and got you something. Dad says you can change at the house." This was just great. Her first night here and she already had to put on an act.
"How many people are going to be at this shindig?"
"Not a clue, but it's supposed to be some of the big family's around Ipswich." She sighed.
"How much time do I have before the torture begins?" He glanced down at his watch.
"It takes about an hour to get there and the dinner starts at seven sharp. We have enough time for each of us to get a shower and get dressed. I'm sure Tanya won't care too much what you look like as long as you do something with your hair and put on a little makeup."
"Of course she won't care. The only reason she would is if I outshined her precious jewel," she said sarcastically. Not much chance of that happening. Riley was a Plain Jane. She preferred jeans and t-shirts to dresses and jewelry. That was probably due to the fact that most of her life was spent around men and working on the ranch. You couldn't really have a fear of getting dirty.
He patted her knee and got up. "You should probably hop in first. I know how long it takes you to do your makeup." She wished he was joking but he wasn't. It really did seem to take her forever. The most she ever wore was powder. That was quick, but when it came to anything else that was where the problems arose. She could count the number of times she tried to poke her eye out as she tried to apply mascara. She quickly decided that it wasn't worth the trouble and went basic, much to her best friend Mia's dismay.
It was two hours and a lot of frustration later that they found themselves in the elevator heading out to Trevor's car. It stopped on the fifth floor and a beautiful brunette stepped on. She smiled widely at Trevor. Riley shifted her eyes between the two of them. "Hi, Trevor."
"Hi Madison," he said with a big goofy grin on his face. Oh Riley knew what that meant. She had her brother hook, line, and sinker. She turned her attention to Riley.
"Hi I'm Madison Parker." She stuck her hand out.
"Riley Galloway," she said shaking her hand.
"Oh yeah. Trevor hasn't stopped talking about you. He was very excited for you to move here."
"Yeah well, somebody has to keep him in line. Besides he can't cook at all." She patted his stomach. "Obviously been living off take out." He smacked her hand out of the way, glaring at her.
"I have not. I can cook." He turned back to Madison. "Really I can."
"I'm sure," she said with a small smirk on her face. She obviously liked the sibling banter and Riley decided she would have to take some more opportunities to embarrass her brother in front of Madison. The bell dinged and the doors opened to the lobby. "Well it's nice to meet you Riley. I'm sure I'll see you around. Bye Trevor."
"Bye," he said softly a smile playing on his face. As soon as she was out the door Riley turned to her brother.
"Oh Madison, I love you." She then proceeded to making kissing noises. Trevor shoved her out the door.
"Knock it off Riles," he scowled.
"Trevor and Madison sitting in a tree…," she started to sing as they got into the car.
"Real mature. How old are you again?" She stuck her tongue out at him and he shook his head smiling.
This was ridiculous. She looked at herself in the mirror. Tanya had at least picked out dress that fell just past her knees. It was a deep blue that had a square neckline with decent straps. She was really glad it wasn't a strapless. She stared across the room to the bed that her other instrument of torture sat on. A pair of black open-toe heels glared at her evenly. She could see the heel and knew she would break her neck by the end of the night. It wasn't like she really needed the heels. She was almost 5' 8". If she had to guess she'd say the heels were about four inches. She sighed and marched over. Taking a seat on the bed she slipped them on. She'd just have to make sure to stay close to Trevor. He would at least keep her from making a fool of herself.
When they had arrived at the house they were greeted by Tanya, a sneering Aubrey, and apparently a couple of Aubrey's little sidekicks. Tanya's blonde hair cascaded down her back in waves. She gave Riley the once over and stuck her nose up. She told them their father was in the office and ordered Trevor to show Riley to the room next to his. They had apparently been given their own rooms should they ever stay at the mansion. Trevor quickly took her up and abandoned her. He went next door to change.
She never really did feel comfortable in this place. It was so cold and sterile. There was nothing that made it feel welcoming. She looked at her watch and saw that it was almost six-thirty. She had heard the doorbell a couple of times and knew everyone was starting to show up. She really didn't like this. Why couldn't she just stay back at the apartment and unpack? She was at least grateful that she was not on display. There was a knock on the door.
"Come in." Trevor stepped in.
"You ready Riles?"
"How is it guys get off easy?," she asked motioning to his outfit. He wore a black suit jacket, black slacks, and light blue button up shirt. He shrugged his shoulders.
"We're not as vain." She scoffed.
"Yeah right." He smirked and checked out her attire.
"You look beautiful." She rolled her eyes.
"Stuff it."
"No, I'm serious. I think I might have to scare some of those boys down there if they look like they're getting any ideas." Then he looked at her feet. "Are you going to be able to walk in those?" He smirked at her.
"Probably not, that's why you get to be my crutch."
"Oh joy." She smiled as he rolled his eyes. "Come on we better get down there before Tanya goes crazy."
"I'm sure she wouldn't miss us."
"Well considering everybody knows that you're supposed to be here tonight, I'm sure she will."
"Why are they expecting me?"
"I have been talking about you and dad mentioned to some of his clients that you were moving here for school."
"Is he still upset that I decided to go to Boston University instead of Harvard?"
"He wasn't mad Riles." She gave him a look. "Okay so he was a little upset, but he'll get over it. I mean it's your life. Besides you got a scholarship there. He doesn't have to pay for anything."
"Like he cares about that." Trevor sighed. It really should've made their dad happy that Riley had gotten a full scholarship to Boston University, but the fact that it wasn't Harvard was all that mattered to him.
"Come on Riles. Time to face the firing squad." He extended his arm out and she linked hers through it. He held her up as she stumbled. "You know you much more graceful in cleats."
"Tell me about it." She let out a huff and pushed her hair back. She had let it down instead of throwing it up in its normal ponytail.
"You going to try out for the team?," he asked as they began to descend the stairs.
"Maybe. Have to start training again and see if the knee can handle it." In the middle of her junior year, Riley had gotten into a car accident. She was driving back from Mia's when a drunk driver hit her. She had been in the hospital for two weeks and in and out for the next couple of months for knee surgery and physical therapy. It had blown her chances at a softball scholarship. She was devastated, but luckily she had kept up with her grades and was in the top ten of her class. She had applied to Boston University to be closer to her brother once again. That and her grandpa thought it would be good for her to get out and see other places, as well as mend things with her dad. That of course was easier said than done. Trevor stopped, keeping them hidden on the stairs by the last bit of the wall.
"You ready?" He looked at her for confirmation. He knew that she was being thrown in with the sharks and it really was the last thing he wanted for his baby sister. She shouldn't have to deal with this world. She was too innocent. Too good. Too pure. They would smell the blood and eat her alive. He had to protect her from it as best he could. She nodded her head and they came around the corner. Everyone was in the lounge, but a few people near the door saw them on the stairs and sent curious glances at them while continuing to whisper amongst themselves.
"Here we go," he said as they walked into the room. Many people shot a glance their way, but didn't do much else. He leaned in close and whispered to her. "See, it's not so bad."
"Easy for you to say," she whispered back. They plastered smiles on their faces as they made their way through the crowd. Many of the men were greeting Trevor and started talking business, which left Riley standing there looking around nervously. There was no way she was leaving his side. Finally they made it over to their dad.
"Ah here they are. Gentlemen you know my son Trevor." Trevor said hello and shook their hands. "And this is my lovely daughter Riley. Sweetheart, this is Mr. Garwin and Mr. Simms, two of our biggest clients."
"It's a pleasure to meet you gentlemen," she said and shook their hand.
"The pleasure is all ours. We were beginning to think you were a figment of Trevor's imagination," Mr. Garwin said. Mr. Simms nodded.
"Yes he hasn't stopped talking about you moving here. So how do you like Massachusetts?"
"Well I've only been here a day so I'll have to give you my assessment next time." They laughed.
"Ah Galloway, she is a charmer. I hear you are attending college."
"Yes sir."
"Our sons are going into their freshman year at Harvard. Are you going to your old man's alma mater?"
"No sir. I received a full academic scholarship to Boston University." She could see her dad's disdain from the corner of her eye and her face dropped. Mr. Simms seemed to be very observant.
"That is a very good school as well. I'm sure we'll see great things from you." She gave him a weak smile.
"Thank you sir." At that moment a glass was tapped silencing everyone. Riley turned her attention to see Tanya standing at the entryway. Aubrey stood next to her. She was the spitting image of her mother and Riley wondered who would actually want to clone Tanya.
"I would like to thank all of you for coming. If you would please make your way to the dining room, we will begin dinner." The crowd began to slowly make its way towards the dining room. Just like everything else in the place it was cold and showed no personality whatsoever. Trevor pulled out her chair for her and than took his seat next to her. Across from them sat a brunette that had to be about forty, but had a lot of plastic surgery in an attempt to look like she was in her mid-thirties. A couple of Trevor's colleagues sat around them as well. She spent most of the time talking to Trevor and fielding a few questions that came from the others in their vicinity. She turned her attention to the woman on her left when she saw him staring at her.
His blonde hair had that rolled out of bed disheveled look and his blue eyes were piercing. He smirked at her then turned his attention back to the woman in front of him. She cleared her throat and answered the question she had been asked. For the rest of the dinner she forced herself not to look at him again. Dinner ended and everyone moved back to the lounge once more. Trevor helped her up and began to lead her in that direction.
"Actually Trev, I think I'm going to step outside for a moment and get some air." He looked at her closely and nodded his head. He knew she was probably being overwhelmed by the fake smiles and forced conversation.
"Okay, take your time. I'll keep dad busy."
"Thanks." He kissed her forehead and walked out. She slowly made her way over to the doors that led out to a large patio. She leaned against the railing and sighed, looking up at the star filled sky.
"First rodeo?" She jumped at the sound of the voice and quickly turned around. That was a mistake as she lost her footing in her heels and pitched forward. Just as she was preparing to eat the cement, two strong arms wrapped around her stopping her from going any further. "You know most women let me say a bit more before they fall at my feet." He hauled he up and she slowly turned around, coming face to face with the blonde from dinner.
"Garwin," he said as he took her hand in his, lifting it up. "Reid Garwin." His lips gently brushed over her knuckles. He smirked a little as she felt her face heat up. Oh this was not good.
