Chapter Eleven: Dealing
I don't own any of The Covenant characters, but I promise Reid will be in the next chapter.
Annie needed a few moments of peace and quiet before she headed to the chaos that awaited her at her parent's house. She parked her car quickly outside of her apartment building and dragged herself up the stairs to her apartment only to find Sarah and Kate waiting outside her door with bags in their hands.
Annie sighed, "Let me guess you talked to Reid?"
Sarah smiled sheepishly at the girl in front of her, "Well, I talked to Reid. Kate yelled."
Kate gave Sarah a look before turning to speak to Annie, "Look, Annie, get your ass in your apartment. We've brought refreshments and you need somebody to talk to."
"Says who?" Annie asked.
"Says me." Kate replied holding up a six pack of Annie's favorite beer.
"Okay, one beer." Annie stated holding up one finger in the two girl's direction.
The girls followed Annie into her apartment and placed the random bags on her counter.
Annie turned and gestured to the bags on the counter, "What's all this?"
"The break up survival kit: Chinese food, beer, magazines, Double Stuff Oreos for you, and ice cream for us normal two people." Kate began unpacking the bags and arranging them on Annie's counter.
"Hey, what's wrong with Oreos?"
"Nothing, if you're six." She replied smiling in Annie's direction.
"Whatever, did you bring me General Tao chicken?" Annie asked reaching for a box of food.
"Yeah, of course" Sarah replied grabbing a pile of plates from the cupboards.
Annie sat down at the counter with Kate on one side and Sarah on the other. She began to eat in silence, and tried to ignore Sarah and Kate's periodic glances in her direction.
Finally, getting fed up with the looks of sympathy in her direction. "Okay, you want to talk let's talk." Annie knew she was coming across as short tempered, but she hadn't heard from Kate or Sarah since she yelled at them after the bridesmaid trip.
"Annie, we wanted to start by saying how sorry we were that we couldn't tell you the truth." Sarah stated.
"We thought Reid should be the one to tell you, we didn't think it was our place." Kate said turning to Annie.
"Yeah, well Reid told me and after he went and hooked up with his secretary." Annie paused and took a sip of beer. "So, that didn't work out so well."
"Reid's an idiot." Kate replied unscrewing the cap of her beer
"You should have seen Kate," Sarah replied. "She went up one side of him and down the other when he came to tell us all what happened."
Annie smiled behind her beer thinking of Kate screaming at Reid. "What'd he say?"
"He doesn't remember sleeping with her, he loves you, he's worried that Chase is going to hurt you and now he can't protect you." Kate rattled off nonchalantly.
"We're worried about Chase hurting you too by the way." Sarah replied.
"Guys, I can take care of myself." Annie stated placing the beer back on the counter.
"Not with Chase you can't," Kate said. "Annie, he's a freaking warlock."
"Okay, then so what do you suppose I do?" Annie paused. "Let Reid protect me?"
"If that's what it takes!" Sarah replied.
"No way in hell is she going to let Reid protect her after she just caught him with his pants down." Kate stated. "Just come to the brownstone and stay with Sarah and Caleb for the time being. At least until the guys can figure this out."
"I can't do that; Reid and I aren't even together anymore. That would be unfair asking the guys to protect me."
"Well, you're are friend too!" Sarah replied. "Besides what Kate and I say goes!"
"Damn straight." Kate said with a mouthful of Lo Mein.
Annie giggled at her friends, "I can't come stay with you right now, my boss wants me to go stay with some family for the weekend."
"Okay, well after you get back on Monday."
Annie sighed, "I'll think about it."
"Don't think about it just do it."
"Also, don't worry about Reid. I'll schiv him if he comes near you, if you want I mean."
Annie turned to Kate with a bewildered expression on her face.
"What?" Kate asked.
Annie laughed and gestured to the Oreos. "How'd you guys know those were my go to sad food?"
Sarah and Kate glanced at each other, cleared their throats, but neither spoke.
"Oh my god, Reid told you didn't he?"
"Well, Sarah was freaking out about wanting to come talk to you and he mentioned that you would most likely want some of them."
"So, Reid didn't put you up to this? You guys came over here on your own?"
"What? Of course we came over here on our own, Annie." Sarah replied.
"Although, that doesn't mean that Reid won't grill us when we get home." Kate added.
"Why would he do that?"
"He knew we were coming over here, he misses you, he's completely heartbroken, and Kate may have told him that she was going to call Aaron Abbott to come take you out."
"What?" Annie jerked in Kate's direction.
"What? The fact that he got mad about that card is stupid. I told him so, too." Kate shrugged her shoulder.
"He told you about that?"
"Well, he told the guys about it, Kate and I just overheard, then when he mentioned the whole secretary thing Kate jumped in and basically torn him a new one." Sarah pursed her lips, "Pogue had to hold her back, and it was kind of awesome." Sarah smiled at this point.
Annie just stared at her two friends wordlessly, she knew that they had become good friends over the past few years, but she never thought that they would pick her side in a million years.
"What? You didn't think we'd stick up for you?" Kate asked.
"I guess I thought that you would just kind of toss me into the pile with all of Reid's former girlfriends."
"Annie, you were Reid's only girlfriend. I mean sure he's had plenty of girls before, I mean a lot of girls…."
"Sarah-" Kate cut her off seeing Annie's face.
"Oh, right. Well, you were the first girl that Reid was willing to actually commit to." Sarah reach to place a comforting hand on Annie's shoulder.
"Yeah, well look how well that turned out for me." Annie grimaced
"If it makes you feel any better, Reid looks much worse than you." Kate stated gesturing to Annie's hand.
"Reid never looks bad." Annie replied reaching for another beer.
"Do you guys think you'll get back together anytime soon?"
"Who says that we're getting back together?"
"No one." Sarah replied quickly. "Just if and when he decides to show his face again, maybe you could listen to him."
"He'll have to have something to say first." Annie replied.
