Fighting for Her

Riley was exhausted. The shower was a success and she managed to avoid Valerie the majority of the day, but mostly, she was just glad that Anna had a great time.

The bill was paid, guests were gone and all of the gifts were stuffed into Anna's SUV. Now all that was left was to wait for valet to return with her truck.

She fiddled with the gold bangles that Anna had leant her. If there was one thing the woman knew, it was fashion.

If only she could paint...

Riley laughed to herself, thinking of the absurd piece of furniture that brought Anna and Henry together. She pulled her cream colored coat closer together as she felt a rush of cold February air.

"Riley?" Her thoughts were interrupted by an all too familiar voice. She turned to see Ryan standing behind her, hands in his pockets, smiling casually.

She groaned and turned away.

This can't be happening right now...

A sense of frustration came over her. All she wanted was to go home, or better yet, go and see Tommy.

"I was just here for a meeting with a client." He stood next to her now, taking in her sweet smell of lavender.

"I didn't ask." She stared forward, wondering what the hell was taking the valet so damn long.

"You look beautiful, Riley." He didn't take his eyes off of her.

"Stop." She tensed. She had half a mind to start yelling obscenities at him but she was in public and was frankly too tired. Finally, after what seemed like a million years, the valet pulled up with her pick-up.

"Thank you." She smiled politely at the young valet attendant and reached in her clutch for tip money, her nerves making her fumble a bit.

"Here, allow me." Ryan pulled out a five dollar bill and passed it to the valet.

"On no! No! Give me that." Without hesitation, Riley grabbed the money out of the valets hand and gave him a five from her clutch.

The young man looked slightly confused but shrugged and walked back into the hotel lobby.

Riley glared at Ryan. "You don't get to do that anymore." She crumpled up the money and threw it back at him. Storming off, she heard him call after her.

"Wait, please!"

She shook her head and rounded the front of her truck. He caught up with her and put his hand on the door handle.

"Can I at least open the door for you?" The wind blew his scent of expensive French cologne her way, flooding her senses. The smell churned her stomach.

"I'd rather you jump in front of a train." She smacked his arm away and hopped into her truck. He caught the door before she could close it.

"Please give Tommy my regards." His voice was slick and made her blood curl. He slammed the door shut and gave her a wicked smile before leaving.

"Ugh!" She gripped the steering wheel and lowered her head. When was this going to end, she thought. She grabbed her phone out of her clutch and it rang at her touch, startling her. It was the shop.

"Riley, sorry to bother you but Mrs. Farris is here for her custom piece and she isn't too happy." Stephen sounded exasperated.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she told Stephen that she was on her way.

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Tommy leaned against the doorway, watching Riley as she painted. She sat on the ground, crisscrossed in her blue dress, painting filigrees on the bottom dresser drawer. Her headphones were in her ears and she hummed along to the music.

"...I try to run but I don't wanna ever leave, til the walls are going up in smoke with all our memories..."

With one final swirl she was done. Riley leaned back on her palms, staring at her work. With a loud sigh, she laid down and closed her eyes. She had been painting for hours and was exhausted.

When she opened her eyes she saw Tommy's blue eyes staring back at her.

The lyrics flooding her ears were now perfect.

You hold me without touch, you keep me without chains... I never wanted anything so much than to drown in your love...

She pulled his face to hers and they kissed upside down. She pulled the headphones out of her ears and smiled.

"What are you doing here? I got so sidetracked that I forgot to call you." She frowned at the thought of Ryan.

Tommy helped her to her feet. "I was running by and saw your truck so Stephen let me in."

He watched as she washed her brushes off. "How was the shower?"

She really didn't want to tell him. "It was good." She looked down.

Riley didn't know if it was because she was so tired, or if it was because her nerves had gone through the ringer today but whatever it was, it was starting to make her cry.

"Whoah, hey. What's wrong?" He turned the water off and grabbed her hands.

She rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes. "Can we go?"

Her crying subsided as he held her tighter. "Yeah, come on." He brushed the tears away from her face.

Holding her hand, he walked towards the front door. The store was dark and empty, Stephen must have left just a few minutes ago. Riley smiled to herself as she felt him draw circles on the inside of her palm. She stopped walking and tugged on Tommy's hand.

Her turned to face her with a puzzled look. "Everything okay?"

She smiled wide and stepped forward so she could see him in the darkness of the store.

"Yes." She kissed him sweetly. "I love you."

Her voice was confident and she felt an instant relief after saying it. But as he stood there in silence, staring at her, she couldn't help but feel a pang of panic.

No one had ever said that to him before other than his mother. Tommy was in shock. As Riley's smile faded, he realized that he had just been standing there like an idiot.

He pulled both of her arms toward him and held her in a tight embrace. Kissing the top of her head, he said what he had always felt, ever since he first saw her.

"I love you too, Ri."

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Riley was freezing. With her coat pulled together she walked through the blizzard, head down, unable to see through the white haze. She heard a faint voice call out to her. It was getting closer and closer. She strained her head up to see who it was that was calling out to her.

A tall, slim figure stood before her, reaching out with long arms. The arms growing longer and longer. The figure's arms finally reached her, grabbing her by the throat. Unable to scream, Riley began kicking recklessly and grabbing at the long arms. Her throat was dry and constricted, tears stinging her eyes.

She was gasping for air, the cold air sharp against her lungs.

Everything around her started to shake. She was dizzy now, the hands gripping tighter and tighter...

"Riley!" Tommy shook her by the shoulder, trying to wake her up. She had been shivering in her sleep, her arms and legs twitching.

Finally, she woke with a startling cry. Tommy reached over and brought her into his arms.

"It's okay. It was just a nightmare. You're okay." He shook his head, wishing she wouldn't get these nightmares so often.

Riley whimpered in his arms, "I'm sorry. I should have told you."

Confused, Tommy waited patiently for her to go on.

"Ryan was at the hotel today. I saw him when I was leaving." She spoke quietly, her voice shaking a bit. "I just feel so... so angry when I think about everything he did."

"Riley, you don't ever need to be sorry. Did anything happen when you saw him today?"

He felt her shake her head no. He was starting to realize why she was getting these nightmares.

"Ri, just forget about him. It's just you and me now, okay? Just you and me."