Hi again! Thank you (as always) for the kind words left on my last chapter, it somehow kept me going and here we are with another chapter. I truly appreciate any and all attention on this story as I'm really enjoying writing it so it's a genuine pleasure to know that a handful of people are enjoying reading it. Hopefully this chapter is okay, please enjoy!
Brief apology: my grammar and spelling and whatnot are taking a bit of a plunge right now thanks to my medical stuff (which is mostly why it's taking me so long to post chapters) so please hang in there with me. I'm editing as much as I can right now as I'm preparing to post, so hopefully it's enough.
"Fucking vultures." Greyson growled, locking the screen of his cell before tossing it angrily onto the couch. It bounced heavily beside Teddy, landing on the floor.
"Hey!" The eldest of the Grey brothers barked, having almost been hit by the projectile. "Look, the press fucking sucks, but watch it!"
Sighing, their mother shook her head lightly. "Language." She warned her two sons, though it did little good.
Phoebe and Jen arrived barely a second later, letting themselves in as opposed to knocking.
Immediately, Phoebe pulled her younger brother into a hug. She greeted everyone else with cautious smiles over his shoulder. "How is she?" She asked carefully, clearly asking about River.
Releasing her with a sigh, Greyson threw his hands into the air and continued pacing. "Who the fuck knows." He grumbled. Their mother didn't say anything this time, instead settling for laying a loving hand on Grey's arm, letting him silently know that she was there. "Do they not want you there?" He then asked, looking directly at Jen. It had been a little sharp, a little pointed, but they all seemed fine to give him a pass in the moment. After all, she worked in law. That was why she'd been there to advise on the whole photo scandal.
Naturally, this was a million fucking times worse.
Jen shook her head, smiling sadly at her younger brother-in-law. "We just spoke to your dad on the cell. He's got your grandad there." She told him. "Carrick's in the room with her now. You know he won't let her stay there long."
At that, Greyson should have felt relaxed. His grandad wouldn't have come out of retirement for just anyone. Carrick Grey had been a force to be reckoned with in the courtroom, so he truly should have relaxed, but this was River, dammit. He couldn't relax, not until he knew more.
"Did he tell you anything?" He asked, asking everyone in the room really.
With a hand still on her brother, Phoebe shook her head. "All we know is that Grandpa said she did the right thing. She wouldn't say a word without a lawyer there, used her call to get a hold of Dad's receptionist, Phia. She's got Dad and Grandpa there." She shrugged lightly. "She's smart, Greyson."
He felt like a moron. His family, amazing people that they were, were having to comfort him through this whole thing.
As his cell pinged, he raced over to it. Everyone scurried out of his way, but the screen only made him angrier.
Fuming at the sight before him, he launched the offending item directly through the double doors of the living room. It smashed loudly against the hall wall. "Hey!" Teddy barked loudly, standing, but their mother settled him with little more than a look.
Carefully, she grabbed her youngest boy's arm and pulled him into her. In her maternal embrace, he shed a tear angrily. "They walked her out in handcuffs with a bloody nose." He growled into her hair, letting himself wrap his arms around his mother. She nodded, letting him talk, reaching around to rub his back. "Those stupid fucking cops stopped and let them take pictures."
"We'll deal with those idiots." Teddy assured his brother firmly from his place on the couch. Then, on his own cell, he saw what had made his brother so angry, reading aloud. "Financially strapped friend of Greyson Grey, adopted son of Christian and Anastsia Grey, steals secure files from local gym, totalling tens of thousands of dollars taken from her own customers. This comes as a shock to no one at all, least of all when the rap sheet of Helena Nivalis is-"
"Enough." Greyson snapped, pulling from his mother's grasp. "Hot Bullshit Magazine doesn't know a fucking thing. River's not a fucking thief just because of her mom."
A brief silence took them, one in which everyone nodded their agreement. None of them had any concerns about River being any kind of thief. In all honesty, she'd had a million times to steal from any of them.
That was what it came down to, right? After all, she had always paid Greyson his dollar back for vending machine snacks, she kicked up a fuss about them paying for dinners when they were teens, she even packed her own fucking snacks to babysit Amelia. Stealing encrypted data from her workplace would have been insane when she could have quite literally asked any of the Greys for thousands of bucks and had it within a few hours.
River was no thief. They all knew it.
"There's..." Amelia started through silent tears, trailing off as Greyson looked at her. It killed him to see her looking so afraid around him, so he did his best to appear calm. For Amelia. "There's a video." She said, barely audible. In the otherwise silent room though, they all heard her.
Teddy was quick to take her cell from her, getting no protests. He linked it quickly to the huge TV, giving them all a good look.
The video, as it started, was loud.
River was there immediately, red in the face, sweaty, grinning as she lead a class. The video seemed to be coming from a cell phone if the orientation and quality was anything to go by.
Entirely unaware of any issues, River was calling out to her pupils, encouraging them gleefully. They all did jumping jacks with her, counting loudly to ten before stopping. As they all heaved their breaths, River was still jumping around at the front. She jogged up to some of her students, getting high fives, giving claps on the back and words of encouragement.
She looked so fucking happy right up until the doors to her right burst open. A few people screamed and yelped, jumping aside as a team of five cops muscled their way in.
River, panting on the screen, was looking at them curiously. "Everyone just stay nice and calm. Is everything okay, officers?" She asked them, holding out a single hand in the direction of her class. Even as she was so unsure, she was trying to calm them. The energy from the cops was clear, someone was potentially going to get hurt and River was putting herself between them and the others.
Most of them were adults, but Greyson noticed how she immediately moved to shield some of the younger ones and kids with her own body.
One of the cops, a smug looking bastard, had a hand on his belt. Greyson couldn't tell if it was on his gun or his cuffs but both seemed like a horrible fucking scenario.
"Miss River Anne Nivalis?" The smug bastard asked loudly, stepping closer toward her.
It was clear on her face when it dawned on her. They were there for her, not any of her students. She crossed her arms over her chest, still breathing heavily, and squared her shoulders off toward the officer. "Yes, sir." Her voice was firm as she answered.
Watching, Grey heard the uncertain fear. He couldn't look away.
The cop advanced quickly. "Get down on the ground, now. Hands behind your head."
"Excuse me?" River chuckled, though there was no humor in her voice. Uncertainty was gasping her. She took a step backward, seeming fearful for a second.
"Get on the floor, now!" One of the other cops barked harshly, shocking River visibly. "Now!" He snapped again when she, confused and clearly afraid, didn't move.
River looked around, even looking directly into the camera for a second. It didn't sink in though. After all, people filmed her classes all the time, this hadn't seemed any different. She didn't know that the video had only started as the blue lights had aproached.
Swallowing, she uncrossed her arms. The cops advanced, yelling once more. "What am I being charged with?" She demanded, voice finally shaking.
As she asked, she sank to her knees. They didn't answer right away, instead storming over the final fwe feet.
Just as she was putting her hands to the ground, ready to lower herself, one of the cops grabbed her and slammed her down hard. The air audibly left her chest, knocked out by the force. In the same second, an audible crunching sound as River's face smacked the vinyl wood floor of the studio.
"Hey!" One of her students cried out, though he was quickly silenced by the other cops. Or, at the very least, quieted. "What the hell are you charging her with?" He demanded, but it was quiet.
The Grey family watched, horrified, as the main cop read River her rights. He announced that he was arresting her for stealing company property, something that brought forth gasps and whispers among the crowd that was gathering. Everyone was coming to watch their favorite employee being thrown to the ground and handcuffed tightly as she desperately coughed for air.
What was worse though? When they stood her up on legs that clearly were shaking with shock.
"She's fucking bleeding!" The same man from earlier cried out, stepping onto the screen. He held his cell out in front of him, recording, zooming on on the officer's faces and badges, then on River and the blood that was pouring from her nose.
Greyson recognised him qucikly as Mattie Thorne, a sweet kid that they'd gone to school with. He and River had dated for a while, but Grey hadn't known they worked together. That didn't matter though, not when he could see the blood that had long since seeped into River's mouth as she continued to cough, coating her teeth.
Quickly, panicked, one of the cops stepped forward and harshly wiped River's face with her discarded towel that was meant for sweat. Having already been used, it was damp. It simply smeared the blood over her cheek. "Don't fucking touch me." She growled, finally finding her feet.
Content that she could walk, the cops moved.
The five of them marched her out of the gym, followed by the camera recording it all and a host of gym-goers. Some people whispered that they couldn't believe what she'd done, but most were already on her side. They yelled at the cops and called them pigs, told them to let her go, to leave her alone. Mattie was the closest through it all, really getting up in their faces, even getting a firm shove from one of them, but he didn't stop.
As he watched, Greyson was immediately glad for Mattie Thorn. Silently, he was even more glad again when an athletic blonde attached herself to him, seemingly equally concerned for River. What a moron he considered himself in that second, shame sinking its hooked claws into him as he realised why seeing that blonde had mattered to him. Knowing that River and Mattie weren't still in some kind of thing together really wasn't the issue at hand in that moment.
The video carried on as River was marched outside before the flashing of cameras and the yelling of a thousand questions. The cops did indeed stop and allow the scene to be captured before they threw a silent River into the back of their car. The video cut out there.
Silence surrounded them once more. It was a careful, deafening silence that threatened to swallow them whole.
Just as quickly as it had consumed them, it was broken by Amelia's crying.
A tear shot down Greyson's cheek. All of this had happened moments before Mason had come and spoken to his dad. River had been suffering this entire time as he'd been wallowing in his feelings.
"We've got that main one on assault, right?" Pheobe asked, speaking clearly to her fiancée.
Beside her, Jen looked unsure. "She didn't fight back. That's a good thing." She offered weakly. They all knew what that meant. The cops could spin it somehow and say that they felt threatened, they felt that River wasn't going to comply, maybe they thought she was going to run based on that single step back. They would use bullshit to hurt her even further.
"Mason!" Grey called, shocking the others visibly. Mason appeared immediately, ready to help. "I need a number for this man. Mattie Th- Matt Thorne. Matthias, maybe? We went to school with him and he works with River. I need to speak to him and figure this out." He tapped the screen harshly where a sliver of Mattie's face was still barely visible as he and the blonde had all but chased the cops out to the car.
Mason, however, looked uncertainly toward Greyson's mother. "Actually, sir," He started, looking back. "I'm lead to believe that he was arrested, too. He, uh, threw a weight at the cop car. He's still at the precinct."
Fuck.
"Badass." Teddy muttered, impressed, but received a look from their mother. "What? That's awesome as hell." He then grumbled, sitting beside Amelia and sinking backward into the couch.
Greyson was about to speak, to snap at Teddy that things were serious, but then Mason got a look in his eyes. It was the same distant, slightly glazed over look that each of the security team got when someone was speaking in the earbuds in their ears. "What? What is it?" Grey asked immediately.
Clearing his throat, Mason answered him quickly. "That was Taylor. The three of them are coming out with River now."
With Mason as their only point of contact as no one else answered their cells, the wait for information was agonizing. Taylor's wife, Gale, was there, busily rushing around them all. She made a point of making drinks for them all, trying to get them to drink something, offering them snacks and other such comforts. She was as worried for River as the rest of them, but she was so clearly in need of some kind of task to keep her busy, anything to keep her mind from worrying. She had, after all, be there practically raising River and Greyson along with the other Grey kids. She and Taylor may have officially retired, but they were family.
Brief updates were given along the way, but they were of little comfort when there was no way for them to respond. Mason had been asked by Taylor to keep their line clear as other units of their vast security reported of various things from elsewhere.
Apparently River had begged to go home, but a call ahead to a car already outside her place confirmed that her building was surrounded well and truly, it would have been absolute carnage that she certainly didn't need that day. So, she was still with Greyson's dad and grandad, being driven back there by Taylor.
He couldn't believe that all of this had happened during the few hours that he'd been without her. It had barely been six hours as he checked his watch that he'd been kissing her, lips wet from having been between her thighs. In that time, she'd been publically arrested and humiliated, not to mention having had her nose busted by a cop.
His grandma, Grace, arrived before long, having been brought by Kate. Apparently Elliot was being driven to the gym by Mia and was going to collect River's bike so that she didn't have to go back for it.
For a moment, it felt insane. So many people had paused their lives for River, but as Greyson thought about it, any of them would have done the same for him. River was family, well and truly.
As the family slowly but surely turned up, they waited together. Greyson knew he was being terribly unapproachable, but he needed to see River. He needed to see that she was okay, to see her nose and to look into her eyes. He needed to be able to hold her tight and to tell her that everything was okay. He didn't give a single damn who saw. His family could think whatever the fuck they wanted, he didn't care.
Elliot and Mia arrived at the same time, both coming straight in and hugging everyone. Getting her bike had been a bust according to Elliot, they'd need to get a truck out for it, something that Mason set in motion quickly. Apparently someone had, in so little time, slashed both of her tires and pushed the poor old thing over. Grey could barely imagine how much that would hurt River.
The air was dank and heavy, mostly because of Greyson. He'd given up on trying to keep it together for Amelia. She had people fussing around her, assuring her that everything was going to be okay.
"They're here." Mason finally said after what felt like a lifetime.
Greyson went to immediately leave, to meet the car as they parked up, but his mother's hand on his chest stopped him. "Your father's just texted me, sweetheart." She told him sadly. "She doesn't want to see anyone, not right away. Why don't we just head into the living room, hm? We'll let her head up to your old room and have a shower."
His mother's words broke his heart. She didn't want to see anyone... at all? "She won't mind just me, Mom." He told her surely, but his voice faltered as he looked into his mother's eyes. "She said specifically me, didn't she?" He then asked, seeing the confirmation.
Fuck.
It hurt like hell, marching himself back into the living room with the rest of the family, but he did it. He did it for her. Anything for her.
As the doors shut behind him, leaving him standing with his family, they all heard the front door swing open. They'd been waiting for just a second, it seemed.
"Are you sure you're okay to head up?" His father's voice asked.
Greyson didn't care that his entire family was there and half watching him. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that she was there, just the other side of the fucking door.
There was a light sniffle followed by a quick hiss of pain. "Shit." River cussed through soft tears. He wanted to go out to her, to swing the doors open and to just hold her. He didn't though. He couldn't. Not when she'd demanded that he didn't. "I'm okay. Thank you... for everything. I just... I think I just need to lay down. Fuck, I need to wash my face. Shit, I didn't mean to cuss, I'm sorry-"
Her voice stopped, muffled, as feet got closer to her. His father was allowed to hug her.
His family listened sadly as the sound of her cried grew a little louder, still muffled by what must have been his father's shirt. "Oh god, I got blood on you." The genuine sorrow in her voice was heartbreaking. "I'm so sorry."
"River." His father's voice, as it always was with his kids, was kind and gentle. "Don't worry about any of this. We're here and we're going to take care of everything, okay? Go on, head up and do whatever you have to do. Stay up there for as long as you need."
There was a moment before she agreed, then a moment after where Grey expected to hear her feet going up the stairs. Only, for just a moment, her feet seemed to get closer to the doors.
Unashamed, he stepped closer on the other side, standing close enough that he could have just yanked the door open and seen her.
"Hey, Grey?" She called out softly. His heart jumped. "Don't say anything... please. Just..." She stopped for a second, her broken cries shaking her for a moment.
On the other side of the door, Greyson stood and let tears fall down his cheeks. He stayed silent though, as she'd asked of him.
"I'm so fucking sorry." She finally said.
He wanted to tell her not to be stupid, that she had nothing to be sorry for, but her footsteps were receding before he could so much as wrap his head around what she'd said.
Finally, emotions bubbling in him, he yanked the door open to go after her. Only, on the other side, his father was quick to stop him, simply shaking his head to his son as he physically blocked the path. No. "Let her be alone, son."
"Dad-"
"She's been embarrassed, hurt and walked out of her place of work like a criminal. If she says that she doesn't want to see anyone, you have to respect that. Leave her to breathe, son."
It was agony. Doing as his dad said, taking a step back, it hurt his freaking heart. Still, he knew his dad was right, so he nodded. "Yeah, okay." He muttered, trying not to picture River sitting upstairs, alone and in pain.
Behind his father with a pained look on his face, Carrick cleared his throat. "There's work that we can be doing down here." He assured his grandson quickly. "Jennifer, dear, I don't suppose you could accompany an old man to the home office, could you? I fear that my eyes aren't what they once were, but we've got files to pour over."
As soon as he was done speaking, with a kiss on Phoebe's cheek and a pat on Greyson's shoulder, Jen was gone. She and Carrick disappeared together with a cardboard box of whatever the hell they'd already managed to pull together.
"Who was the person recording?" Teddy asked near immediately, shocking them all. "What? We've gotta piece everything together, right? The way I see it, Nivalis is one of us and we look out for our own. Whoever was recording this whole thing was looking at the doors before you could even tell there were cops."
"They knew?" Elliot mused, arms crossed over his chest as he thought.
In the middle of the room, Grey's mother nodded. "The press was outside, just waiting. They'd been given a time and a place." While piecing everything together wasn't going to be any kind of easy feat, the Greys were quickly on it. "Honey, didn't you take her to work this morning? How many were already there?"
All eyes were on Greyson. They all knew now that she'd spent the night. That didn't matter at all, but he was glad to not get any kinds of looks from his siblings or other family members. "Just that one same guy who's always there." He said firmly as he thought back. River had jogged inside but that one guy had definitely been the only one there.
During it all, Grace took Amelia out of the room while the adults among them all took to solving this mystery. One thing that stuck Grey as specifically odd was this idea that River, as a thief, had stolen tens of thousands of dollars worth of information, yet could barely afford to pay her rent. Seriously, that logic didn't stick.
He voiced his thoughts, though no one really had any answers as to what the cops thought she'd done with such a sum.
"River showed them her finances on her cell." Christian supplied. "There were no transactions into her account that she couldn't explain. Nothing huge or suspicious, just pay from work, a couple of small deposits from some things she'd sold. Again, nothing more than a hundred dollars apiece."
Wait. Greyson's brain stopped for a second. River had been selling things? Fuck, he seriously hoped that wasn't down to needing the money as she'd lost hours at work.
As they all talked, eventually spreading out in the kitchen with drinks, courtesy of Gale, and some light snacks that only Elliot and Teddy seemed to have the appetite for, Christian pulled Greyson aside.
"Hey, Dad." Grey was quick to hug his father, holding him close and inhaling deeply, taking comfort in his father's paternal love as it radiated off of him. "You guys don't have an old cell I could use, do you? I know it was stupid to trash mine, I just... I couldn't think straight."
Smiling as they headed toward the office, his dad nodded. "Absolutely, I've got a couple of new ones in my office. Come on." As he spoke, Grey realised that they must have been heading to the office for whatever they needed to talk about anyway, so they went together in relative silence.
Inside, Jen and Carrick were working furiously. They both offered stiff, tight-lipped smiles when the father and son entered, but immediately got back to it.
Christian dug around in a drawer for a second, pulling out a sealed new cell, handing it to his son as though it was nothing.
Greyson felt bad, like he was getting paid for doing stupid shit just like Boof, but he pushed that aside. He thanked his dad as he unwrapped the cell, turning it on and quickly picking up his old one to retrieve the chip.
Once it was all on and working, his dad shut the door behind him.
"Son," He started, hand outstretched to one of the seats in the office. Both Carrick and Jen stilled, watching silently. "Please. Sit."
Immediately, Grey did as he was asked. "Dad?" He prompted, curious.
His father smiled softly, but there was something sad back there in his eyes. "You need to understand... there are certain things that River had to talk about with the cops. Things that, now, myself, Jen and your grandpa are going to be aware of, okay?"
What could she have possibly needed to talk about that would effect him? Sure, he could think of the obvious thing being that they were sleeping together, but he couldn't see how that fit into anything.
"Okay." He said simply, wanting to know more.
With a nod, his dad continued. "More files were taken last night by someone wearing River's biking gear. That along with her staff login was apparently enough for the cops-"
"Wait, River didn't-"
"Son." His dad quieted him patiently. "You are River's alibi for last night. We know this, okay? I just need for you to be aware of what this means for you and for the family."
Dumbly, he nodded. What else was their to do? "Okay."
Another nod from his father. He could feel his grandfather's and Jen's eyes on him and immediately he understood. River had obviously had to say what they were doing last night, but why hadn't the cops called him?
"I was able to access your home security footage once River told your grandfather that the two of you had been together last night. You were both seen very clearly going in together and coming out together at the same times, neither one of you left in the night. They had to let her go, yes, but they're still actively looking at her for all other instances of theft. Somewhat ironically, they're probably going to suggest that Mattie Thorne was her accomplice, so I've dealt with getting him a good enough lawyer-"
"But you said it yourself, right? They can't get her for last night." Greyson tried so hard to keep the blush off his cheeks. He told his dad that they'd watched movies all night, but he knew now. He knew now if he'd seen the footage of them as he'd pinned River against his front door.
Maybe he could say it was a one time thing? He'd do whatever River asked. Jen knowing, though? He had no doubt that his sister would know before the end of the day.
Clearing her throat, Jen was the next to speak. She spoke so very softly and lovingly. She was looking out for him. "They can't pin last night on River, no." She confirmed easily. "There were a number of other instances of theft though and all of them were done via River's login. It's not even remotely concrete, it's a four digit pin, so it's not proof, but they're wanting her for it. If they can use this Matthias Thorne as a fill-in for last night, they can keep on saying that it's River and that she just had help."
"Two financially struggling young people, friends who've known one another for, what, going on almost two decades?" Carrick spoke annoyedly, clearly not liking the words out of his own mouth.
Christian, naturally, nodded. "Taylor's information says they've known one another since they were five. Mothers in the same rehab on and off." He drew in a deep breath before offering his son a smile. "We're going to figure this out, son. I just... the likelihood here is that River's going to lose her job, as is Matt if he's unlucky. Sure, there will be potential for suing down the road when we've got the guy, but before then is going to be emotionally tough for her. I want you to be ready for her to push you away."
"Push me away?" He repeated dumbly. "If she's losing her job, she can't afford her place, Dad. Elliot said someone trashed her bike? She won't push me away-"
"River hates handouts. Anything you offer her is going to hurt." Jen spoke softly again, sad as she did.
"Your mother and I will talk and find a role for her but you know she'll fight us on it."
That was the truth. She even fought them on how much they paid her for babysitting Amelia, saying they gave her far too much for hanging with such a cool kid or some other nonsense.
The conversation carried on in much of the same fashion. Slowly but surely, Greyson found himself feeling less awkward about it. Three people in the world, aside from him and River, knew now that they'd at least made out outside his apartment. That number, he was sure, would soon double as they each told their significant others, but he could handle that.
Eventually, with his newly replaced cell all set up and working, it offending item buzzed in his hand where he'd been absently holding onto it.
Hopeful, he knew, but he'd been telling himself that he'd need to be aware in case River messaged him.
He didn't know how long they'd been at it all in the office before his cell buzzed, but it certainly wouldn't have shocked him if it had been hours. Even once his dad said that he could go, he stayed in hopes that he could offer some kind of help. He hoped beyond all hope that he of all people had some kind of magical insight. Alas, he didn't.
Quickly, at the sound he flipped the phone in his hand, looking at the screen.
Finally.
River. 17:02:
"Hey. Where are you?"
Huh?
"Everything okay, son?" His father asked from over his own father's shoulder, standing behind the older man at the desk.
Not fully answering, Greyson stood from the seat he'd been placed in, placing the photocopied files down from his lap to the floor. "Is River downstairs?" He asked simply, earning an uncertain look from his dad.
Fuck, he she really come down and she'd missed it? Not waiting for any kind of answer, he swung the door of the office open and stormed out, cell in hand, looking for anyone at all to ask.
As soon as he stepped into the kitchen, he saw her.
Her hair was in a damp braid over his shoulder as she was clad in a pair of his old grey joggers and a graphic tee of his. She was only wearing a pair of ankle socks on her feet, but those looked like his too.
She was tightly hugging Amelia as the younger girl cried, quietly speaking assurances into the young girl's hair. "I'm okay, Meals. You really think I couldn't have taken that cop, huh? I just didn't want to embarrass him in front of his buddies." With each word out of River's mouth as her back remained turned against him, his heart broke a little. She sounded so fucking tired as she tried to give comfort to someone else.
A few eyes met him as he stepped into the room, silent smiles being thrown his way.
Naturally, River turned with his sister in her arms.
Her face softened when she saw him. Her beautiful face, already bruised, one of her eyes practically swollen shut. "Hey, Grey." Her voice, in spite of everything, was almost teasing somehow as she called out to him.
She released Amelia with a gentle, playful ruffle of the girl's hair. Amelia was quick to stick herself now to her mother's side, clearly still needing some kind of comfort.
"Jesus Christ." He couldn't help how his own voice sounded. He couldn't put on the same kind of face as she could. He wasn't as strong as she was.
With a light roll of her eyes that she pretended didn't hurt, River scoffed lightly. "Come on, asshole." She opened her arms just as he saw the look in her one fully open eye. She needed a hug from him. "Everyone else has already had their hug. Meals was on number three."
"I had two." Teddy piped up needlessly, getting a smack on the back of the head from Elliot. "Ow! Dude, what? I did. I got two hugs."
"Shut up." Their uncle groaned lightly, playful, as Greyson started to move.
Even with all the eyes in the world on them, he threw his arms around River with no second thoughts. Her went around his neck and shoulders as she laid the better side of her face gingerly on his shoulder, letting her breathe softly against his throat and chest. In turn, he found himself with his face buried in her hair, breathing her in.
"Are you okay?" He asked quietly. Idiot.
She nodded. "No." She said almost silently, countering her nod.
No one else had heard. All they'd seen was a nod. So, when they pulled away far too quickly, River with a bullshit smile, no one said a thing. She clapped him on the shoulder fondly, stepping out of his grasp.
River was, for lack of a better term, treated like some kind of god for the rest of the day. The richest people that she'd ever met found themselves trying so very hard to dote over her like they were her personal staff. Greyson stayed as close as she'd allow through it all.
Christian, Carrick and Jen all emerged in time. It was agreed in spite of River's protests about payment that the two most privy to the law among them would take on her case. They told her in no uncertain terms that they weren't going to see her suffer for any of this and that they would be seeking a hefty payment for the troubles that she had already faced.
Later on in the evening, once everyone but Christian and Ana's own children, including Jen, had gone, the family of now eight including River sat on the same couches as ever. They watched the very same shit old movies that Greyson had told his father that he and River would have been watching the night before, clearly in some effort to made River feel at home.
For the first time in front of them all, she sat beside Greyson on the couch and let herself sink into his side. With an arm over her, he refused to make any kind of eye contact with anyone. They shared the couch with Amelia and Teddy that night, neither of whom said a thing.
As Greyson sat on one end of the couch, River curled carefully into him, Teddy was sprawled out at the other end, leaving Amelia to lounge between her brother and her babysitter, her head laying on River's lap as her feet lay in Teddy's.
It was an oddly perfect position for Greyson and River, he figured, though to circumstances were anything but.
Hours later, long after Amelia had been tucked in by River in spite of the young girl's assurances that she was old enough to not need tucking in, no one said a word as River and Greyson went into the same bedroom.
"Top and tail with me?" River had asked, though no one would have said a word even if she'd simply kissed him right there in front of the family.
They didn't speculate on what any of it meant, though Greyson figured Jen would be telling his sister any second now about what she knew.
Still, that night, he got one of the best sleeps of his life. Curled around River, sleeping in his childhood room, he slept soundly through the night as he swore to himself that he would stop at nothing to protect River from this damn nightmare. More than that, he would find whoever was responsible and wring their fucking neck for what they were putting her through.
The only thing left to shock him? River's words to him as they'd curled up together on his old twin bed.
"You know I love you, right, Grey?" She asked, turned to look at him through the better of her eyes.
In the moment, he'd felt it again. That same warm, tentative yet slightly overwhelming heat that he'd felt the night before during their more tender encounter was there. It was a ball in his gut, swelling a pulsing, battling against any of the anxiety or worry, beating away the pains and doubts.
Holy shit, was that... love?
"You do?" He asked dumbly.
He hadn't ever felt this with Heather, not for a moment, so it was no wonder he didn't recognized it.
Was he, Greyson Grey, falling in l-
River snorted lightly, nudging him. "You're my best friend in the world, of course I love you."
Oh fuck. Friend? Best friend? Talk about a shot to the fucking heart.
Now hey, he wasn't that guy, he knew that being River's friend was a fucking privilege, but in that moment? Well, in that moment, as he was realising some things that probably should have come to him a while lot sooner, the title of best friend sure felt like a kick to the nuts.
Still, he smiled into her hair. These feelings would go away, he was sure of it. Plus, he wasn't exactly certain that he was feeling the L word yet, so there was no need for any kind of concern, right?
"I love you, too, River." He told her honestly. He just needed to figure out how exactly he freaking meant it.
Hi again! I know this wasn't a super long or specifically happy chapter, but things need to happen other than them just hopping in and out of bed 24/7... right? Well, either way, I'm glad to be a little more in the swing of things. Just to say though, I don't have the best grasp of the law and whatnot so anything that's coming out of me right now is based purely on TV shows and/or me hoping that no one's going to pick my work to shreds. So, you know... please be nice? Or don't, it's up to you, but I'd love to know how you're feeling about this chapter!
Huge thank you for reading, it means the world to me and I'll hopefully have you with me for next chapter, too! Have a great day!