The Big Sequel; Chapter 2
Chapter 1
http://community.livejournal.com/lure_atwt/1622604.html
Chapter Two
Stalking is a terribly ugly word. Emmanuel didn’t think in those terms. He liked to consider himself Reid’s personal assistant. Not like that jittery ball of nerves Reid had hired five years ago. Emmanuel knew what Reid needed, anticipated his desires. Reid needed him.
He walked the mutt he had picked up from the pound through the park. Some beagle mix with stubby legs and the constant need to piss on everything. Emmanuel’s eyes widened beneath his dark sunglasses as he heard them approach.
“I do believe I asked you to run with me, not slow me down.”
“Run, then. I can keep up.” Luke gave Reid a gentle push in the back. “I like the view from back here better, anyway.”
Emmanuel cringed at the sound of Luke’s laugh. It wasn’t Luke so much that he didn’t like. It was what he had done to Reid.
Reid Oliver used to be driven, dedicated, regimented. Now, he worked when he felt like it, cut his hair whenever the mood would strike him. He was so completely different that Emmanuel had pictures of him on more than one occasion shoveling horse shit.
One new promising development was the lack of muskrat growing on Reid’s beautiful face. He didn’t know why Reid had shaved. He didn’t like that at all, but there had to be a reason. And he would find it.
+++++
“For the last time, Faith,” Luke rubbed his throbbing temple. Faith had a whine that bored to the center of his brain. “you will not be joining us in L.A.”
“But, Luke.” His name dragged on until she ran out of breath. “I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll clean, cook. I can take care of Brutus. You can’t leave him all by himself with the hours you’ll be working.”
Reid butted in, saving Luke the trouble of being the bad guy. “You know what I want? For you to keep your ass in school. We have a delightful staff of women who keep the house clean. We’ll be eating on the set and Brutus is coming with us every day. Unless you have some unnamed talent we couldn’t possibly live without,” Reid looked at her with his eyebrows comical raised, waiting for the answer. “that’s what I thought. No Cali vacation for you.”
“You suck, Oliver.”
“I think that’s been established.”
Luke giggled as Faith opened and closed her mouth, hoping a retort would just come flying out. “Mom and Dad need you here to help with the kids.”
“Only because you’ve spoiled them.” Faith flopped back on the couch cushions and folded her thin arms over her padded chest. “I don’t think they’ve kept Ethan and Natalie at the same time for the last eighteen months.”
As if on cue, Natalie flung open the front door, threw her backpack on the floor and headed to the kitchen. “Hey, Luke. Faith.” She rolled her eyes at her older sister. Then, Natalie caught sight of her favorite person. “Hi, Reid!” Her brother had all the luck.
“Hey, squirt.” Reid tossed her one of her favorite juice boxes that they kept there for when she stopped by. “You taking Brutus for his walk?”
“Yeah, but I’m gonna walk him into town.”
Luke looked up from wrestling Faith’s phone from her hands. “No go, kiddo. Mom would kill me. There are no sidewalks and too much traffic. If you want, I can drive you into town when you get back.” Luke scanned through Faith’s contacts. “Who is ‘HotAss’?”
Faith blushed and tried again to pry her phone from Luke’s grasp. “It’s nobody!”
Reid’s hip vibrated. Luke cackled when Reid showed him the name on his screen. “So, which is it, Faith? Am I nobody or am I ‘HotAss’?”
“I’d say you’re just a plain old ass at the moment.” Faith snatched her phone back from Luke. Twisting the strap on her purse, she stomped to the door. “I don’t have to take this abuse. I’m going home.”
“Geez.” Luke hefted himself off the couch. “She’s touchy today.”
Natalie crushed the box in her hand as she sucked out the last of the juice. “Parker broke up with her again. That’s why she wants to get out of town. Even if she never leaves your house, she’s hoping she can trick him into thinking she met some hunky surfer dude that can’t keep his hands off her.”
“She told you all this?” Reid asked her, disbelievingly.
“Didn’t have to. Her password on her computer is Mrs. Parker Snyder and she e-mails everything to her friend, Sarah. Want to know what they did after they left prom early?”
Luke held up his hands in surrender. “Dear God, no.”
Natalie shrugged. “You’re loss. Faith has a real talent for smut.”
Luke brushed against Reid as he leaned on the kitchen counter. He lowered his voice so his sister wouldn‘t hear. “Text Faith and tell her to change her password.”
“Not until I get a look at this smut.”
Luke simply shook his head. “What do you need to go into town for, Nat?”
“I don’t. Are these from Grandma?” Her small hand fished around in the jar until she found the largest remaining chocolate chip cookie. “Some guy walks his dog at the same time. He’s always staring. It gives me the creeps.”
Reid exchanged a worried glance with Luke. “Has he ever tried to talk to you?”
Crumbs littered the counter as she spoke with her mouth full. “No. When I catch him watching me, he looks away. If I look back, he’s gone.”
“It’s a nice day out.” Luke wore a reassuring smile so as not to alarm his sister. If only it had the same affect on the him. “Why don’t I go with you?”
“Luke.” Natalie tilted her head. Her expression let him know she was onto him.
Reid picked up Brutus’ leash. “We’ll all go. Don’t worry. You’ll still get your five dollars.”
Natalie leaned back and her feet plodded behind the charging bulldog. He sniffed every tree, rock and road sign. As they made the left turn that led to her mother’s house, Brutus jerked free from her grasp and took off into a patch of bushes. “Brutus!”
“Hold up, Nat.” Luke jogged past her. “I’ll get him.”
Calling his name and making those kissy noises that Reid couldn’t stand, Luke searched for his dog. “There you are. What did you find, boy?”
Luke found the end of the leash and tugged. Brutus refused to move. His head was buried in what looked like an animal carcass. “Reid! Come get your dog. He’s rolling around in something…” God, what was that? “dead.”
“Chief Swinging Balls!” The dog looked up at the sound of Reid’s voice. Luke was pretty sure the dumb animal thought that was really his name. “Come, boy.”
The ground crunched below the dog’s paws. The brush rustled as Brutus plodded out of the thicket. He flopped down at Reid’s feet. When he turned his sad, droopy eyes up to them, Natalie burst out laughing.
“Gross, Brutus.” He yelped as she yanked the sticky patch of hair from his snout.
“What is that?” Luke knelt down next to Natalie. “It looks like a fake beard.”
“There’s a wig over there, too.” Reid noted.
Natalie scrunched her nose. “How weird is that?” She tossed the beard to the ground and brushed off her hands.
“None of us is on parole. Let’s call it a day on the roadside clean up and go get some…” Reid trailed off. His head swiveled around and he held up a finger, signaling for quiet. They all heard the choked cry this time. “Stay here.”
Reid took off down a slope before Luke had a chance to stop him. Natalie chewed on her nails, as uneasy as her little mind could ever remember being. Luke took her hand. “It’s fine, Natalie. I’m sure it’s…..Oh my god! Faith!”
http://community.livejournal.com/lure_atwt/1622604.html
Chapter Two
Stalking is a terribly ugly word. Emmanuel didn’t think in those terms. He liked to consider himself Reid’s personal assistant. Not like that jittery ball of nerves Reid had hired five years ago. Emmanuel knew what Reid needed, anticipated his desires. Reid needed him.
He walked the mutt he had picked up from the pound through the park. Some beagle mix with stubby legs and the constant need to piss on everything. Emmanuel’s eyes widened beneath his dark sunglasses as he heard them approach.
“I do believe I asked you to run with me, not slow me down.”
“Run, then. I can keep up.” Luke gave Reid a gentle push in the back. “I like the view from back here better, anyway.”
Emmanuel cringed at the sound of Luke’s laugh. It wasn’t Luke so much that he didn’t like. It was what he had done to Reid.
Reid Oliver used to be driven, dedicated, regimented. Now, he worked when he felt like it, cut his hair whenever the mood would strike him. He was so completely different that Emmanuel had pictures of him on more than one occasion shoveling horse shit.
One new promising development was the lack of muskrat growing on Reid’s beautiful face. He didn’t know why Reid had shaved. He didn’t like that at all, but there had to be a reason. And he would find it.
+++++
“For the last time, Faith,” Luke rubbed his throbbing temple. Faith had a whine that bored to the center of his brain. “you will not be joining us in L.A.”
“But, Luke.” His name dragged on until she ran out of breath. “I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll clean, cook. I can take care of Brutus. You can’t leave him all by himself with the hours you’ll be working.”
Reid butted in, saving Luke the trouble of being the bad guy. “You know what I want? For you to keep your ass in school. We have a delightful staff of women who keep the house clean. We’ll be eating on the set and Brutus is coming with us every day. Unless you have some unnamed talent we couldn’t possibly live without,” Reid looked at her with his eyebrows comical raised, waiting for the answer. “that’s what I thought. No Cali vacation for you.”
“You suck, Oliver.”
“I think that’s been established.”
Luke giggled as Faith opened and closed her mouth, hoping a retort would just come flying out. “Mom and Dad need you here to help with the kids.”
“Only because you’ve spoiled them.” Faith flopped back on the couch cushions and folded her thin arms over her padded chest. “I don’t think they’ve kept Ethan and Natalie at the same time for the last eighteen months.”
As if on cue, Natalie flung open the front door, threw her backpack on the floor and headed to the kitchen. “Hey, Luke. Faith.” She rolled her eyes at her older sister. Then, Natalie caught sight of her favorite person. “Hi, Reid!” Her brother had all the luck.
“Hey, squirt.” Reid tossed her one of her favorite juice boxes that they kept there for when she stopped by. “You taking Brutus for his walk?”
“Yeah, but I’m gonna walk him into town.”
Luke looked up from wrestling Faith’s phone from her hands. “No go, kiddo. Mom would kill me. There are no sidewalks and too much traffic. If you want, I can drive you into town when you get back.” Luke scanned through Faith’s contacts. “Who is ‘HotAss’?”
Faith blushed and tried again to pry her phone from Luke’s grasp. “It’s nobody!”
Reid’s hip vibrated. Luke cackled when Reid showed him the name on his screen. “So, which is it, Faith? Am I nobody or am I ‘HotAss’?”
“I’d say you’re just a plain old ass at the moment.” Faith snatched her phone back from Luke. Twisting the strap on her purse, she stomped to the door. “I don’t have to take this abuse. I’m going home.”
“Geez.” Luke hefted himself off the couch. “She’s touchy today.”
Natalie crushed the box in her hand as she sucked out the last of the juice. “Parker broke up with her again. That’s why she wants to get out of town. Even if she never leaves your house, she’s hoping she can trick him into thinking she met some hunky surfer dude that can’t keep his hands off her.”
“She told you all this?” Reid asked her, disbelievingly.
“Didn’t have to. Her password on her computer is Mrs. Parker Snyder and she e-mails everything to her friend, Sarah. Want to know what they did after they left prom early?”
Luke held up his hands in surrender. “Dear God, no.”
Natalie shrugged. “You’re loss. Faith has a real talent for smut.”
Luke brushed against Reid as he leaned on the kitchen counter. He lowered his voice so his sister wouldn‘t hear. “Text Faith and tell her to change her password.”
“Not until I get a look at this smut.”
Luke simply shook his head. “What do you need to go into town for, Nat?”
“I don’t. Are these from Grandma?” Her small hand fished around in the jar until she found the largest remaining chocolate chip cookie. “Some guy walks his dog at the same time. He’s always staring. It gives me the creeps.”
Reid exchanged a worried glance with Luke. “Has he ever tried to talk to you?”
Crumbs littered the counter as she spoke with her mouth full. “No. When I catch him watching me, he looks away. If I look back, he’s gone.”
“It’s a nice day out.” Luke wore a reassuring smile so as not to alarm his sister. If only it had the same affect on the him. “Why don’t I go with you?”
“Luke.” Natalie tilted her head. Her expression let him know she was onto him.
Reid picked up Brutus’ leash. “We’ll all go. Don’t worry. You’ll still get your five dollars.”
Natalie leaned back and her feet plodded behind the charging bulldog. He sniffed every tree, rock and road sign. As they made the left turn that led to her mother’s house, Brutus jerked free from her grasp and took off into a patch of bushes. “Brutus!”
“Hold up, Nat.” Luke jogged past her. “I’ll get him.”
Calling his name and making those kissy noises that Reid couldn’t stand, Luke searched for his dog. “There you are. What did you find, boy?”
Luke found the end of the leash and tugged. Brutus refused to move. His head was buried in what looked like an animal carcass. “Reid! Come get your dog. He’s rolling around in something…” God, what was that? “dead.”
“Chief Swinging Balls!” The dog looked up at the sound of Reid’s voice. Luke was pretty sure the dumb animal thought that was really his name. “Come, boy.”
The ground crunched below the dog’s paws. The brush rustled as Brutus plodded out of the thicket. He flopped down at Reid’s feet. When he turned his sad, droopy eyes up to them, Natalie burst out laughing.
“Gross, Brutus.” He yelped as she yanked the sticky patch of hair from his snout.
“What is that?” Luke knelt down next to Natalie. “It looks like a fake beard.”
“There’s a wig over there, too.” Reid noted.
Natalie scrunched her nose. “How weird is that?” She tossed the beard to the ground and brushed off her hands.
“None of us is on parole. Let’s call it a day on the roadside clean up and go get some…” Reid trailed off. His head swiveled around and he held up a finger, signaling for quiet. They all heard the choked cry this time. “Stay here.”
Reid took off down a slope before Luke had a chance to stop him. Natalie chewed on her nails, as uneasy as her little mind could ever remember being. Luke took her hand. “It’s fine, Natalie. I’m sure it’s…..Oh my god! Faith!”