Hope stormed away, furious. God, she hated that man!
Several hours later, without even realizing where she was going, she found herself in front of the convenience store she'd met Ryan in. What if he wasn't working today? On the off chance that luck was with her, she walked towards the building.
When she entered the store, she found Ryan alone, cleaning out the soda fountain.
"Hope!" Ryan grinned when he saw her.
"You said you'd be an alibi if I needed one. Mind keeping me from needing one?"
"Coworker driving you nuts?" He dunked the cloth into the cleaning solution and wrung it out before he started scrubbing at a stubborn spot.
"You have no idea."
"Where were you guys at before you left him?"
"Uh, I have no idea." Hope snorted. "I just started walking and then I found myself here. But, if he wants to find me, he knows how to reach me."
"Looks like this bonding trip is going just swimmingly."
"'Swimmingly?'" She giggled.
"I found that word in a book I was reading the other day and thought it was funny. Looks like I'm not the only one." He flicked a little of the cleaning water at her.
"You did not just-" Hope gasped in mock outrage. "Oh, you are so dead!"
Leaping at him, she punched him lightly, well, lightly for her.
"Ow!" Ryan cried out and grabbed his arm.
"Oh, my god! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you that hard!" Hope grabbed his sleeve and tugged it up, terrified as to what she would find.
His face split into a wide grin and he started laughing when she found nothing except pale skin that didn't even show traces of red.
"You ass. You weren't even hurt." Hope shoved him.
"Well, I could have been. You pack quite a punch for someone so small."
"Small?" Hope raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, small. You're at least a foot shorter than I am. Kinda hard to tell with those boots on though. But you're definitely tiny."
"How dare you insult my choice in footwear?" Hope kicked at him, though she was careful not to actually hit him. Combat boots were perfectly respectable footwear when one was going up against someone like the Hollow.
"Have you ever actually gone hunting?" He looked her up and down, brow raised.
"I dress how I like and I'll have you know that I'm very successful whenever I go out. I just don't feel like going out with my coworker right now because he's an ass and makes too much noise." Hope punched at him again.
"Violent little thing, aren't you?" Ryan caught both her hands in his and tugged her against his chest.
She hadn't couldn't believe she hadn't noticed his hands before until now, but with them wrapped around hers, she found herself entranced by them. Long fingered and elegant, they were the hands of a musician, not of a gas station clerk.
"I um. I swear I don't normally act like this." Hope flattened her palm against his chest. Pressed up against him like this, she became acutely aware of just how tall he was. With his slim build it was easy to think he was smaller than he actually was.
"So, what makes me special?" he murmured.
"I don't know." Hope looked up, meeting his gaze. "Maybe because there's something about you that makes me feel like you might understand, at least a little and so I don't feel like I have to be someone I'm not."
"Who do you pretend to be?" Ryan pressed, his dark eyes searching her face.
"A badass bitch who doesn't give a damn about anyone or anything, even though I wish-" she cut herself off, unable to believe she was opening up like this. A few kind smiles and positive attention were definitely her kryptonite and she needed to be careful.
The door bell jingled and Ryan dropped her hands while Hope stepped back as a taller woman with sharp features walked in.
"Mom." He greeted her with an apologetic grin.
"I've been called out of town this weekend and I know Landon is going to want to throw a party that he thinks I know nothing about. So if you could keep them from causing too much damage and make sure the cops don't get called?"
"I'll talk to Wes about switching shifts with me."
"Are you sure he'll do it?"
"Weekends are his favorite times to work."
"But that means possibly putting up with Chris."
"I think I can manage to keep from shoving his face into the deep fryer for a few hours."
"Ryan," Seylah chastised lightly.
"I'll be fine, Mom. Don't worry. Your job is more important than mine."
"Thank you." The woman raised an eyebrow at Hope.
"Mom, this is Hope. Hope, this is Seylah Clarke."
"Hope Marshall. It's nice to meet you." Hope glanced at Seylah's left hand and saw no wedding ring, so she left off 'Mrs. Clarke' on the off-chance Seylah was divorced.
"It's a pleasure."
Seylah looked her over carefully, those keen eyes making Hope think this woman was more than met the eye. With a final glance at the pair, she left the store.
"She's not exactly a people person," Ryan said by way of explanation.
"Is she a combat vet?" Hope found herself asking, then slapped her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry. That was none of my business."
"She is, in more ways than one and that's all I'm going to say about that." Ryan pulled out his phone and sent a quick text.
"Of course. I shouldn't have asked anyway."
"So, if you don't like hunting with your coworker and you keep putting off actually going out there with him, does that mean you get to stay in the area longer?" Ryan caught his lower lip between his teeth and grinned.
"Maybe."
"So keep putting it off." He was smiling now.
"I can't do it indefinitely, you know."
"Long enough that you might find that you should have a job where you don't have to work with clowns like that guy and you deserve to be around people who see you and want to get to know you for you."
"Like you?" Hope raised an eyebrow.
"Maybe." Something in his expression shifted and he looked away.
"Looks like I'm not the only one caught in a situation I don't want to be in."
"Yeah."
"So, I'll trade my story for yours. I'll even go first." Hope pulled herself onto the counter next to where he was working.
"Alright, Hope, what is your story?"
"I was taken from my family when I was seven and I haven't seen them in over a decade. I was raised by the people I now work for, have worked there for long enough that I feel trapped where I am and today's the first time I've ever thought that maybe there's actually a chance for someone like me to have more out of life than that."
"Why were you taken?"
"My dad got locked up after getting railroaded at his trial and things just went sideways from there."
"You've never tried going back, find out if they got things straightened out? They are your family."
"It's complicated. Maybe one day though, I'll find my way back to them when the time is right." When she found the spell that could return their memories of her, then she'd go back. "Your turn."
Ryan sighed and chewed on his cheek, silent for a long moment before he finally replied, "Bio dad is an evil dick who takes sadistic pleasure in hurting everyone around him, especially me. He finally pushed things too far when he raped Mom and then she found out what he was doing to me, so we ran. By the time we got away from him enough where we could breathe, she found out she was pregnant. We've managed to stay off his radar for years now and we're trying to keep off of it."
"I guess going to the cops isn't an option."
"Not since he's got a small army at his beck and call."
"Wow. Damn. And here I was feeling sorry for myself." Hope jumped off the counter and wrapped her arms around Ryan's waist.
As he returned the gesture, Hope realized that this was the first real hug she'd experienced since before she was thrown into the pit. All the longing for affection she'd felt in the intervening years poured out of her and she rubbed her cheek against his chest. Ryan ran his hand down her spine as he exhaled a shuddering sigh. Tears stung her eyes as her loneliness and desperation for touch threatened to overwhelm her, but she blinked them back.
This wasn't about her. This was about a man who'd endured a hell far worse than hers who needed to know it was okay to not be strong all the time. She had magic and once she found the spell she needed, she could fix things and go back home, but Ryan didn't have that option.
Taking a deep breath, she whispered a protection spell, allowing her power to flow through her.
Two birds one stone. She could protect Ryan from his father and draw out the Hollow when she sensed the familial magic in the area.
"You're the first person I ever told anything about it," Ryan confessed against her hair. "Most people just look at me and assume I'm just lazy and I'm purposely wasting my life. They don't realize I'm trying to stay in a position to keep my brother from going through what I did."
"You're being a good brother, and a good son," Hope assured him in what she hoped was an encouraging voice, though her throat was thick with her own pain.
The son who'd suffered the most, and was willing to suffer even more to protect his sibling, he reminded her of her dad. He'd endured five years of hell to make sure that his life force continued to feed his siblings to keep them from succumbing to the bite that should have killed them.
"I try." He pulled back and his lips pulled up just a little. "Heavy talk for having just met, huh."
"Blame me. I started it."
"You're easy to talk to, Hope. Dangerously so."
"I can keep a secret. I won't tell anyone or use what you've told me against you, I swear," Hope assured him.
"Thank you." He gave her a shaky smile. "And I promise you the same. I won't tell anyone and won't use what I know about you against you."
Ryan picked up the bucket of sanitizer water and carried it away to dump it.
Hope's phone buzzed, but she ignored it. She really didn't want the moment ruined by having to deal with Burr.
"So," Ryan returned to the main part of the store drying his hands on a paper towel. "Any chance of persuading you to come to the party this weekend?"
"What day?"
"Uh, it all depends on when my brother thinks he can get away with it, but most likely Friday night."
"Got a pen and paper?" Hope asked, looking around.
"Just a sec." He walked behind the counter and then laid the requested items on the counter.
Hope wrote down a series of numbers and slid it into the pocket on the front of his shirt. "Text me."
"Does it have to be just about the party?" He grinned.
"You have permission to text me about anything. But if you give my number out, I will hunt you down and beat you up for real." She poked him in the chest and he smiled widely.
"Don't tempt me, if it lets me see you again."
"Ass."
Hope's phone buzzed again and she finally pulled it out of her pocket, half afraid of what she'd find.
Another body. Same marks.
GET YOUR ASS HERE!
Hope sighed as she typed On my way.
"The dumbass?" Ryan guessed.
"Yeah. He's pissy because I'm wasting time instead of doing what I'm supposed to be doing."
"See you soon, Hope Marshall. And please be there. Dealing with high school students all alone is not something I'm keen on doing if I've got options."
"I'll be there. Promise." Lifting two fingers to her temple, she saluted and left the store.
