Finding Acceptance
Disclaimer: I do not own "The Covenant" or any of its characters; I only own Peyton, Allie, Alison, Ashley, and Amanda. Don't sue!
The Simms and Parry's surprised their children with a house for a graduation present, and Tyler told Peyton that he was going to be there for her. What'll happen now?
Chapter 12
*~Allie's POV~*
The following weeks were kind of boring; Peyton and Tyler were boxing up their clothes and personal items so they could move into their house, Caleb and Sarah left with Pogue and Kate to go to the Bahamas, while Reid and I passed the time by going to Nicky's in the evenings. Peyton had a doctor's appointment a couple days after she and Tyler got their stuff moved out, and came to visit us afterwards.
The front door opened and slammed shut, making me stick my head out of the doorway of the kitchen to see my twin hurrying into dad's den. "Something's up." I said, returning to the island in the middle of the room where Reid was playing 'war' with Alis and Ash. "Pey just rushed into the den."
"Go see what's up." Alis ordered, not taking her eyes away from the card game going on. I turned around and walked out, going to my father's den; he was inside with mom and Peyton.
I shut the door behind me, "What's going on?" they turned to look at me. "I saw Pey rush in here, so what's going on? And if you tell me that it has nothing to do with me, I'm going to start trashing the room." Mom's eyes widened and dad looked at me with a raised brow while Peyton began laughing.
"We're discussing my latest ultrasound." My twin admitted. I let out a surprised squeak and then turned around, leaving the room. I went back to the kitchen, where it was just Reid against Alis. I told them what Peyton had told me as I watched their game. They nodded their heads and kept playing against one another.
Amanda came walking into the kitchen, going to refrigerator and taking out a cup of popcorn chicken that she'd bought in town the previous night. She threw it into the microwave and punched some numbers and start. As her food was heating up, she leaned against the counter; we hadn't seen much of her since graduation and we all accounted it due to her father's death. Being polite, I walked over to her and stood next to her as I grabbed a soda out of the fridge.
"Hey there." She looked at to me and did a small wave in greeting. "Reid and us are probably going to hit Nicky's tonight... we'd like it if you came with us!" she mumbled something that sounded like a rejection. "You can say no all you want, but you will be leaving this house with us tonight." The microwave went off and she hastily grabbed her food and exited the room.
I turned to see my friends and boyfriend looking at me with wide eyes. "What?" I asked. "We're going to include her in stuff now!"
"Why?" Reid questioned, going back to the card game that had been momentarily forgotten. "If she doesn't wanna go, why bother?"
The soda can made a 'clink' sound on the counter as I set it down and whirled around to glare at my boyfriend; Ash gave me a warning look, but I ignored her. Alis glanced and upon seeing me, set her hand of cards down and pulling Ash out of the room. One thing about my friends knew about me was when someone said something rude, I let them know it. Reid's head followed their retreating forms and then he turned to look at me.
His eyes widened as I stood there with my hands on my hips; how dare he! "You have no respect for a grieving person do you?" I didn't even wait for his response as he opened his mouth. "Just because she's turning down our offers, doesn't mean we should stop! I've been in her position before, Reid! You aren't exactly all warm and fuzzy when someone dies!"
"I know that, but—"
"NO!" I yelled, letting my anger lash out. "YOU ARE AN INCONSIDERATE ASSHOLE, REID JOSEPH GARWIN!" grabbing my soda that was behind me, I stormed from the kitchen and upstairs to my bedroom. I slammed the door behind me, set my drink on the desk, and threw myself across the bed.
A knock sounded on the door as I was screaming into a pillow. I looked up and saw my twin coming into the room; her stomach was way protruding which was odd since it was only my nephew. "You okay?" she asked me in a tired voice.
"Reid has no idea what it feels like to lose someone!" I seethed. Alis and Ash entered behind her, and Alis shut the door behind her. Peyton sat on an empty space of my bed, and I got a close view of her way too big stomach. "I mean, he's being so inconsiderate where Amanda is concerned! She lost her dad, the guy who was her everything, and all Reid can say is 'don't bother'! What the hell kind of attitude is that!?"
Ash snorted, "I'll give you points that Reid doesn't know what it's like… but you didn't have to explode on him like that, Al." I glared at her; I thought he deserved every ounce of anger I was feeling at this moment. "Instead of firing a meteor at him, you should have explained what it's like to him." Alis nodded her head and I lowered my head.
Damn, Ash, and her psychologist thinking! Damn it all to hell and back! I looked at them, "how can I explain what it feels like? I mean, me and Peyton may have gone through the same thing… but… it would just make me think about all the times in the past and I'd get upset all over again."
"That's all you need to tell him." Alis spoke from her spot on top of the desk. "Just tell him that it's painful; tell him how you felt when you guys lost your aunt and uncle."
Peyton put one of her arms over my shoulder and held out a photo to me. "Maybe this picture will help brighten up your mood." Taking it from her, I looked at the tiny black and white photo.
My eyes almost bugged out of my head as I looked at my sister. Turning to look at her, I caught her laughing along with Alis and Ash. "Are you serious!?" I asked ecstatically, and she nodded her head.
"Dr. Salvez only had a hunch, but she confirmed it when I went to my appointment today. And from the ultrasound, you can see that it's true."
I let out a happy squeal as I threw both of my arms around my twin. "This calls for a celebration! Nicky's!" Peyton laughed but it sounded forced. I took a good look at her and saw the dark circles underneath her eyes. "Peyton, have you been getting any sleep!?" She looked a little taken aback by my question, but I looked at her with a serious expression on my face.
"A little." She answered. I shot her a concerned look and she kept explaining. "I keep having these awful nightmares about Chase."
My jaw set firmly. "He won't lay a finger on you or those babies!" I growled through clenched teeth. My twin let out a genuine giggle and let out a big yawn. "Why don't you go lay down in your old room? I can call Ty and let him know that you're here." Peyton got to her feet and shook her head.
"No. Tyler's expecting me home. I told him I'd come straight home from the doctor's, but I wanted to stop and show mom and dad the results." She spoke.
I smiled and laughed. "What did mom think?" She let out another giggle.
"Her eyes just about bugged out of her head. Said that she needed to call and have another crib sent over to the house." All four of us laughed. There was a knock on the door and Reid poked his head inside. "Well, I gotta get going. I'll see you guys later!"
Alis looked at my sister and jumped off of the desk. "I'll drive you home. I can call over here and Allie can poof over and get me." Nodding my head, I watched Alis stick her hand out to my twin and demand the car keys. Peyton grudgingly turned over the keys and both girls left the room. Ash got to her feet and excused herself, while Reid stood by the door.
I looked at my bed cover and played with the area of it in front of me. "I'm sorry." Reid spoke, making me look up at him. "I was being inconsiderate, and I'm sorry." I got up and went over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"No, I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. And I'm sorry." I apologized. "It's just… it's hard when someone you love dies; especially someone who took care of you by themselves and were your everything. It hurts for a while…"
Reid placed a kiss on my forehead as he hugged me to him. "I guess we haven't been the best friends to her, either..." I looked up at him. "Why don't you go get her in a little bit and we'll all go to Nicky's?" I nodded my head as I smiled up at him. He lowered his face to mine and we shared a short but sweet kiss.
At eight o'clock I made my way to the room Amanda was occupying and knocked on the door. She opened the door and looked at me with raised eyebrows. "Here to get your for Nicky's." her eyebrows furrowed.
"I thought I made it adamant that I didn't want to do…"
I smirked at her in a challenging way. "I didn't bring my girls to back me up, but I can get them up here in a flash." I spoke. "And then all hell will break loose as we hog tie you and drag you downstairs, into the car, and to Nicky's with us." She let out a sharp breath as she laughed.
"You don't take no for an answer, do you?" she questioned as she pushed a piece of her dark hair behind her ear.
I snorted. "Not likely to ever happen."
"I'm not dressed for something like that." She insisted. I pushed my way into the room and over to the closet; I grabbed a purple plaid corset top, a pair of dark blue denim capris, and a pair of purple flip flops. Turning to her bed, I threw the clothes down and looked at her. Amanda turned, shutting the door and looked at the clothes I set out.
"Get dressed; quick!" I told her. Her eyes widened in surprise as I stood there. "What's wrong? Get dressed!"
She looked at me incredulously. "With you in here?"
"We're both girls, Amanda! Just hurry up." I turned around and faced the other wall. "There! Now get dressed!" I insisted. I heard a zipper draw down and kept looking at the wall. A couple minutes later she told me I could look, and I turned to see her in the clothes I'd picked out. "Good… now let's boogie!"
She grabbed a jacket out of the closet and I grabbed her hand, dragging her out of the room and downstairs. We went downstairs and found the others waiting for us.
"About time." Reid commented and I shot him a warning look. He smirked but otherwise kept quiet. Alis, Ash, and himself got up from the couch and armchair and we all began leaving.
As we approached the door, the parents stopped us from the den. "Where are all of you going?" Reid looked at his father who was standing in the doorway with the other two dads.
"Nicky's, like usual." He responded. Mr. Simms looked Amanda's outfit before turning to look at my dad and Mr. Garwin. "We'll be home by one thirty. No worries." Reid opened the door and walked out with Alis and Ash following him. I laughed at my boyfriend, wishing the dads a good night and pulled Amanda out with me. We all climbed into Reid's hummer and left for Nicky's.
*~Amanda's POV~*
Allie and the others pulled me out to a bar called Nicky's. When we first pulled up and I saw the rugged exterior, I had refused to set one foot into such a disgusting looking establishment. The people who hung out here were probably miscreants and caused all sorts of trouble. But once they'd gotten inside, I'd fallen in love with it! It reminded me of the place I'd gone to hang out with my friends back in New York.
I know it seems like all of New York is polished and great, but there were some slummy areas that had ruggish-looking bars and such; the place me and my friends had always inhabited had been called 'After Dark'. Reid led us over to a table and the girls took the seats like they owned them.
Reid caught the way I looked at them taking their seats. "This table is for VIPs only." He laughed. I shot him a weird look. "No, really… everyone knows that me, the guys, and the girls take this table, and since you're going to be going us… we're gonna have to add another table to this one." Allie gestured for me to take a seat, so I did. Reid asked about drinks and I watched as they all gave him their orders, until he looked at me.
"Reid, I can go get my drink later." I tried to refuse his offer.
He cocked an eyebrow at me. "Amanda, what do you want to drink?"
"Reid!" he wouldn't take no for an answer, either. "Fine! Dr. Pepper, please." Nodding his head, he walked over to the bar area. I looked at the other girls, "Is he always this stubborn?" all three of them laughed and nodded their heads. Reid returned minutes later with a waitress following behind him with a tray that held our drinks. She disbursed our drinks and then walked away, leaving us alone.
We sat at the table, just engaged in polite conversation until Reid suggested playing a game of pool. We all got up and walked to an empty table, grabbing sticks while Allie racked up the balls. Allie and Reid were playing against Alis, Ash, and I until a dark, curly haired boy came up to the table.
"Well, well, well, Garwin… getting your ass kicked by chicks?" we all turned to look at the newcomer.
Reid shot him a glare. "You wish, Abbot." the boy scoffed and shrugged his shoulders.
"What? Your boyfriend didn't come tonight?" Allie reeled her hand back and slapped Abbot across the face.
She glared at him, "you better watch what the hell you say in front of me!" I knew immediately that he wasn't liked by Reid and the others at the table. I handed my stick to Alis, excusing myself to go get a refill of my now empty drink. I made my way to the bar and a tall, dark haired guy with a goatee came up to the counter.
"What can I get ya?" he asked in a friendly tone.
I smiled at him, "Dr. Pepper and an order of fries, please." He told me it'd be ready in a couple minutes and I stood there waiting. Hearing a greeting from beside me, I turned to see the Abbot guy standing next to me.
"Sorry about that show at the pool table; Aaron Abbot." He held his hand out to me in a friendly gesture. I shot him a bright smile and shook hands with him.
"Amanda Matthews." I introduced myself. The man behind the counter came up and set my drink and food in front of me. I glanced over at the man, setting a five dollar bill on the counter. He took it from me, "Keep the change. Can I also get some ketchup?" he nodded his head and handed me a bottle from underneath the bar. I squirted a bit into the basket, turning my attention back to Aaron when he asked me a question. "Sorry, I didn't hear you."
He chuckled and flashed me a smile. "It's cool. I asked how you got stuck with Garwin and the chicks."
"Oh." I giggled. "I'm the newest addition to Ipswich, I guess. I moved here to live with my mom and stepdad."
His eyebrows rose, "Where'd you move from?"
"New York." I answered. "I lived there with my real dad. He died the day before Spenser's graduation. So now I'm going to be living with my mom, stepdad, and half brother."
He called out an order to the man I'd gotten my drink and food from. "Any chance I might know the other half of your family?" I looked at him and nodded my head, chewing on a piece of French fry. "Oh, yeah? I do?" again, I nodded my head in affirmation. "So who are they?"
As soon as the food was down my throat, I replied, "The Simms'." His gaze snapped to me immediately.
"You're shitting me!" he stated. I shook my head at him and he cursed under his breath. "You're Tyler Simms' little sister?" I nodded my head and he shook his head.
Is this guy judging me? Just because Tyler and his friends might have a rep here, doesn't mean that I'm part of it! I shot him a glare, "I'm his half sister! And whatever you're trying to associate me with, you can just forget it!" I grabbed my basket of fries and my drink and went back to our table in a rage. As I sat down I turned my attention back to the rest of my party, watching them continue to play their game of pool.
A couple minutes later, I heard a chair off to my side scrape against the floor and turned my head to the right; Aaron was pulling a chair up next to me. "That was inconsiderate of me; I'm sorry." He apologized to me. "I didn't know Simms had a sister."
"Yeah, well… I was kept a secret." I answered, grabbing a fry and biting it in half.
He looked at me curiously. "Why?"
"Personal matters that aren't mine to discuss." I replied curtly. He nodded his head and we sat at the table for a good while. I found that we had a lot in common; he seemed to like the same music, books, and movies that I did. After a while, Allie glanced over at us and her eyes made contact with mine. Her eyes widened as she saw who was sitting next to me, but I glared at her silently willing her to keep her mouth shut. Her attention was pulled back to the game and I silently thanked God and hoped that Reid didn't notice.
Aaron snapped me back to reality as I sat there day dreaming and I apologized, making him chuckle. 'Sexy, Naughty, Bitchy' by Tata Young began blaring through the speakers and I let out a happy squeal. I looked to Aaron with a smile on my face, "wanna dance?" he accepted and we got up, making our way to the dance floor.
I
pick all my skirts to be a little too sexy
Just like all of my
thoughts they always get a bit naughty
When I'm out with my girls
I always play a bit bitchy
Can't change the way I am sexy naughty
bitchy me
My hips began swaying with the fast paced music.
I'm
the kind of girl that girls don't like People think it's
intimidating when a girl is cool with her sexuality
I'm the kind that boys
fantasize
I'm the kind that your momma and your daddy were afraid
you'd turn out to be like
I may seem unapproachable but that's
only to the boys who don't have the
Right a approach or ride that
makes a girl like me wanna hop in and roll
I'm
a 180 to the stereotype girls like staying home and being innocent I
pick all my skirts to be a little too sexy
Just like all of my
thoughts they always get a bit naughty
When I'm out with my girls
I always play a bit bitchy
Can't change the way I am sexy naughty
bitchy me
I twirled around and was vaguely aware of Aaron pressing closer to me, but ignored it. We both swayed to the music and its beat together.
My
mouth never takes a holiday People think it's intimidating when a girl is cool
with her sexuality
I always shock with the things I say
I
was always the kid in school who turned up to each class 'bout an
hour late and when it came to the guys I'd lay, I'd always pick the
ones who won't figure out that I was clearly rebel to the idea of
monogamy
I'm a 180 to the stereotype girls like staying home and being innocent
I
pick all my skirts to be a little too sexy
Just like all of my
thoughts they always get a bit naughty
When I'm out with my girls
I always play a bit bitchy
Can't change the way I am sexy naughty
bitchy me
I turned around, facing Aaron, and moved closer to him. I saw the perspiration forming at the top of his forehead, and I was pretty sure I looked like I was sweating just as bad. I looked around the dance floor and noticed that there were more couples dancing as well. Sparing a glance over to the pool tables, I saw that Allie and the others had stopped playing their game; instead, choosing to watch me on the dance floor with my new companion. Reid had an unhappy frown on his face was trying to glare daggers at poor Aaron.
I decided to let my inhibitions go, but reminded myself
of what my barriers were. Deciding that I didn't care if they got
pissed at me, I began grinding with Aaron for the rest of the
song. Sexy... naughty...
bitchy...me People think it's intimidating when a girl is cool
with her sexuality
I'm
a 180 to the stereotype girls like staying home and being innocent I
like all of my shorts to be a little too shortly I pick my skirts to be sexy
Unlike all of my
guys I like them tall with money
I love all of my nights to end a
little bit nasty
Can't change the way I am sexy naughty bitchy
me
Just like my thoughts a bit
naughty
When I'm out with my girls ...bitchy
Can't change I
am
Sexy naughty bitchy me
When the song was over, we made our way back to the table, laughing. I was having a really fun time with him and he definitely knew how to have fun. But I knew that I would be answering a ton of questions when the night was over. As we got to the table, Reid and the girls met us there.
"That was fun!" I stated happily, taking a big gulp of my drink. Aaron sounded his approval as Reid glared at him.
Aaron looked over and noticed the look on Reid's face. "Got a problem, Garwin?"
"Yeah, I do, Abbot. You're messing with my best friend's little sister." He growled. I looked over at Reid as I set my glass down.
I shot Aaron an apologetic smile, and looked back to Reid. "Have some manners!" he looked at me like I'd sprouted a second head. "Why can't you act like a civilized person?"
"He treats girls like dirt!" Reid stated exasperatedly.
Aaron got my attention as he got to his feet, grabbing his jacket from the back of the chair he'd been occupying. "Well, I have to get going. Thanks for a great time tonight, Amanda." I got to my feet much to Reid's displeasure.
"I'll walk outside with you." I offered. He shot me a charming smile and nodded his head, holding his arm out for me. I took it, giggling, and we exited the bar. We walked to his car and he opened the driver side door. "Thanks for keeping my company tonight. I had a lot of fun!" I saw three sets of headlights pull into the parking lot, but dismissed them; I only had eyes for the boy in front of me.
His dark eyes twinkled. "It was no problem. I had a good time, too! Hey, do you have a cell?" I nodded my head eagerly, and felt like I was acting desperate. "Oh, cool! You wanna exchange numbers?"
"Sure." I smiled brightly as I grabbed my blackberry out of my front pocket and opened a new contact window. Aaron pulled a Motorola Razr out of his jacket pocket and brought up a new contact window, too and then handed it to me. I handed him my phone and he punched his info in as I did the same on his cell. When we were done, we gave the respected cell phone back.
Aaron stuffed his phone into his jacket pocket and looked at me. "Got anything to do tomorrow?" I shook my head and he smiled, laughing. "Cool, I'll give ya a call."
"Definitely." I spoke. "I'll be waiting." He leaned down and pressed kiss to my cheek and I smiled. Muttering a goodbye, he got in the car and I stepped back so he could shut the door. He did so and started the car, making me move back to avoid getting hit, and waved to me as he pulled off.
I turned around and began walking toward the entrance of the bar. Reid and the girls were exiting when I joined them. "We leaving?" Allie nodded at me and I turned to follow them to the car. As we approached Reid's hummer, I saw that there were three new cars sitting next to it that hadn't been there when we parked. As we got closer to the massive sized vehicle, I saw that there were six people standing near it.
Once we were at the hummer, six pairs of eyes turned to look at all of us. "Hey, guys! Thought we'd find you here!" Pogue greeted.
"What are you guys doing here?" Allie asked.
Caleb smiled at us, "our flight got in about an hour and a half ago. We decided to come here since you weren't at the Parry's."
Kate, Sarah, and Peyton greeted all of us while the boys talked amongst themselves for a few minutes. I wasn't paying attention so I didn't hear Reid tell them what had transpired inside a couple minutes ago. My half brother's yell of surprise brought me back to reality; I turned to look at them all and saw the matching looks of disbelievement.
"You hung out with… Aaron Abbot?" Tyler choked out. My eyes snapped over to Reid and I glared at him, while he just smirked at me cockily. So much for a happy ending to a good night! Reid, you jerk!
Hope you enjoyed more cuteness! How are the others going to react with Amanda hanging out with Aaron? Find out in the next chapter! Reviews are welcome, as always!
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