River's Promise

“What does he tease you about?” Riley ask curiously.

“Everything,” Loreen replied vaguely.

Riley looks at her and Alex misunderstanding the situation. They spent a lot of time together and from what he had seen with couples in the Underground they often teased each other as a form of flirting. Then there was the way Loreen almost always focused on Alex when he entered the room. “That's why she hasn't returned my feeling. They probably kept it hidden to spare me but as long on they're both happy i can be happy for them as well.” He thought to himself.

Loreen stared at Riley, recognizing that expression. “We are NOT like that.” She seethed.

Riley looked back “I wouldn't be upset if you were” he mumbled “I just want you to be happy…i know you still blame yourself for what happen to me but i never blame or hated you.”

“I’m not interested in that pain in the ass.” Loreen growled, eye twitching.

“Hey, guys, Evie’s calmed down enough to talk.” River said, poking her head into the room.

Riley nodded “we'll be right there” he replied giving Loreen a quick hug once River was gone before heading to talk to Evie.

Evie was still nibbling on a cracker, only on her second one at this point. She had let Riven get a little closer, but when she saw Riley, her eyes narrowed.

Riley raised his uninjured arm and took a seat further away to give her space.

“So, from what I’ve gathered, Thrane made her believe you’re her…tormentor…” Riven explained, looking at Riley. It would explain why she was giving him such a warning look.

“That's why he was smirking” Riley sighed before lifting his shirt showing the scars from Thrane and Coral. “I can assure you i hate the man for what he did to me and I would never hurt you.”

“Who is Thrane?” Evie asked.

“She thinks Thrane was you, man…” Riven sighed and pushed his hair back. “He must have done something to…pretend he was you or…I dunno. Is he a fucking shapeshifter? Did he make her hallucinate?”

“ Honestly, at this point I wouldn't be surprised Riven” Riley sighed before grabbing a pen and paper before sketching Thrane from memory. “This is Thrane he controls MegaCorp as was responsible for all the suffering I've had in this life. About a month ago me, Loreen and others finally escaped him.”

Evie stared at the paper and shook her head. “That’s not…who?” She looked confused, perplexed by such a notion. “It makes no sense…he took care of me. He helped me.”

“Brainwashing…” Loreen said as she walked into the room.

“Trust me that man has no caring bone in his body” Riley mumbled.

“She thinks otherwise, though.” Loreen said with a sigh. “He probably made her see your face when he hurt her…”

Riley nodded feeling upset with Thrane using his face.

“We should have expected him to do something like this.” Loreen sighed heavily and punched the bridge of her nose. “He knows that you are one of the strongest metas to exist, so he's trying to use another hard hitter to deal with you. That bastard…”

“We'll figure this out.” Riven replied. “At least Evie doesn't seem to have any trackers on or in her, which is good for us. I don't know if we can let her stay in the Underground, though.”

“I'm right here.” Evie whispered, disliking how they talked about her as if she weren't even here.

“Sorry,” Riven whispered back to her, ears falling back as he watched her. It was obvious he was enthralled with her already.

Riley walked outside to get some air, his fists Clenching.

Worried, River followed him. “Riley…?”

“I'm sorry i just” he sighed standing on the patio. “Thrane’s already took so much of my life and now he's using my face to torture others.”

“Does it really shock you?” River asked. “Klaire told me a lot about him, about the experiments he did on her and James before they escaped…” She shook her head and frowned. “Papa always said he was scared of what Thrane would do to me if he ever…so we found Delilah and she's done so much for so many. I'm sure she can help Evie.” Walking up from behind, she wrapped her arms around Riley in a hug. “I'll help too.”

Riley tensed at her touch before slowly relaxing.“I hate it so much. Ever since I was born I never had any freedom. I couldn't choose anything for myself. It was either stolen by Thrane or Coral.”

“They can't do anything to you anymore, Riley.” River said in a whisper as she tightened her hug. “I'll protect you and help you until you're strong enough to beat them. Even then, I'll be by your side…”

Riley blushed in the darkness, his heart pounding that he thought River could probably hear it. “Thank you…” he whispered

All River did was nod against his back before letting go of him. “I'll be inside if you need anything. I need to check on some of Evie’s burns if she'll let me. We also need to try getting her to eat more. Loreen says she's very malnourished.”

Riley nodded “I'm just going to stay out here for a bit longer.”

“Don’t you dare leave,” River warned. “I’ll stop you.” She pointed to the trees all around and back at him in a silly manner before heading inside.

Riley smiled before looking up at the night sky, the events of the last couple of days playing in his mind.