251Beep! Beep! Beep! The alarm woke seventeen-year old Riley Moore up with a start. Even though she had lived with her Aunt Lydia for almost a year, the alarm still scared the heck out of her. She sighed and burrowed her head under the pillows, dreading the thought of getting up. Duke, her blue healer, jumped onto her stomach and started to lick her face, extracting an "Eew! Gross!" from Riley.
Sticking one foot out of the covers, she wiggled it around. Then, piece by piece, she finally crawled out of the toasty bed and into the shower. As she massaged the shampoo into her wet hair she thought about her parents.
Her mom and dad had both been rangers on Lake Michigan before a boat accident had taken both of their lives, leaving Riley floating in the stormy waters after having been tossed off the boat in time to save her life. I didn't get to say goodbye... She thought sadly as she rinsed the soap from her body and dried off. After straightening her hair and applying her makeup, she quickly ate breakfast before jogging out the door to catch a bus to dance class.
Riley groaned and smacked her face when she realized that she had left her dance bag at home. Not wanting to wear blue jean shorts lest there be more than one kind of split going on during warmups, she turned around and ran back into the house.
Duke was waiting patiently in front of the door. It never ceases to creep me out that he knows exactly when I'll be home. After Riley had grabbed what she needed she ran back out to the bus stop just in time to catch the large blue vehicle before it pulled away.
After she had lost her parents and moved to New Mexico with her aunt, she had continued to remain depressed, and dance was a way for her to release some of the pent up emotions that still warred within her. She used to be a junior lifeguard and would have normally spent her stress energy swimming, but she had developed a fear of the water after the accident.
Her ballet instructor helped her tweak her pirouettes until they were perfect before moving on to bar work. The stretches sent burning pain through her muscles, but she didn't care as she then pushed herself to the limit. When her muscles were finally starting to give out, dance class was dismissed. Riley gathered her belongings and set out for home.
Riley opened the door with her key and started to walk upstairs to change when her aunt's voice called her to the kitchen. "How was your day, Sunbeam?" She asked as she set the table. "Make any friends?" Her niece quickly shook her head and went to her room without touching her supper.
Lydia sighed. They had moved here to get away from the memories, but she knew Riley still had trouble dealing with the loss of her parents. Let her heal in her own time... She'll make it. She didn't let the storm drag her down that night, and she won't let it now. She'll make it...
Except for the occasional mood swing of Riley's, the next few weeks went smoothly until her aunt's boyfriend T.J moved in to live with them. Riley didn't trust him ever since she had come home from school one night to find him drunk. She was glad her aunt was happy, but she honestly thought that letting the guy live with them was a major mistake.
Her aunt was sick with the flu on the night he came tromping through the kitchen with a bottle of beer. He was drunk— as usual. As he came towards her, Duke stepped in-between them and growled, showing his teeth to T.J, who only kicked him roughly so that he thudded into the wall.
Riley stared at him with disgust for a moment before trying to run to her pet. She didn't get far before he grabbed her and shook her so hard her teeth chattered. "Stop it, T.J! You're hurting me!" She cried out, while he only continued to shake her. She did the first thing that came to her mind to protect herself. Pulling back her fist, she packed a punch hard enough to sober him.
He held his bleeding nose with both hands while she ran to Duke. When she gently touched his side, he gave a sad whimper and rested his head in her lap while she let a few tears run in rivets down her face. As she slowly rose she heard the sickening sound of leather whistling through denim belt loops. Riley didn't even have to turn around to know what was happening.
"I'll teach you..." T.J slurred as the blows started to rain down. Riley held her hands above her head in an attempt to ward off the blows, but the stinging continued until darkness crept through the corners of her vision. Giving one last cry of pain, she fainted, only to awaken a few moments later to find out he's lying on the floor in a liquor induced slumber.
Duke slowly came over to her with his tail tucked in-between his legs, and tried to support her as she crawled up the stairs and into her room. Reaching up to make sure her door was locked, Riley slumped to the floor as she held onto Duke and wept into his warm coat.
After a few minutes of crying, her back started to stiffen and sent spasms of pain through her body as she slowly stood and began to pack a bag. Riley knew she had to leave before Lydia's boyfriend came to look for her again. Packing everything she could think of before going to her jewelry box, she decided to grab the necklace that had been a birthday present from her parents.
She smiled at the memory. They had taken her to the world premiere of Lord of the Rings for her birthday, and after seeing how enthused she was, bought her the necklace as a souvenir. It was almost like Arwen's but the design was different and the chain was shorter. Slipping it over her head, Riley went to the door and began to turn the knob when she heard approaching footprints.
Immediately panicking, she grabbed Duke by the collar and tugged him into the closet, wincing as the movement reopened the scabs that had begun to form from her beating. Shutting the door, Riley leaned against the back of the closet only to find that it wasn't there. As her hands moved around trying to find the wall she suddenly fell. There was nothing to grasp onto, and she felt herself go down, down, down, until she could no longer remember what had happened.