Black Roses Red (Hallelujah #7)
Sep. 1st, 2008 10:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missmara13Title: Black Roses Red
Author: Mara
Fandoms: The OC/OTH
Rating: R
Warnings: Mentions of violence and abuse.
Summary: So let in the morning light and let the darkness fade away... Can you turn my black roses red?
Notes: Another in the Hallelujah series. Named after the song 'Black Roses Red' by Alana Grace. The stories are listed in the order they were posted, but they jump around in time (like #5 actually takes place before any of the others) to slowly reveal the story.
Posting Order: No Happy Ending, Breathe No More, All These Lives, Behind Blue Eyes, Never Coming Home, and California
Black Roses Red
Brooke woke slowly to light streaming through the floor to ceiling windows that ran along one side of the room Ryan had led she and Jamie to the night before. Slowly getting up, Brooke walked over to the windows and stepped out the french doors onto a wide balcony, taking in the yard that seemed to stretch straight to the water, tall concrete walls in the distance on either side making the beach that stretched out beneath the house private. She inhaled sharply, then turned as she heard Jamie move and call for her.
"Hey, baby," Brooke said, going over to sit beside him. "Sleep well?"
"Where are we?" Jamie asked, rubbing his eyes sleepily.
"At my friend Ryan's house in California," Brooke replied. "Come on, Ryan said he'd make us breakfast, and I think I can smell them from here," she said, scooping her son up and padding barefoot out of the room and down the hall towards the smell of blueberries and pancake batter.
~~~
If someone had told Ryan, when he was 15, that he'd own one of the biggest mansions in southern California, with a private beach and a professional kitchen, he would have stared at them like they were crazy then burst out laughing. But here he was, 13 years later, with exactly that and the money to have two identical houses elsewhere if he wanted. Not counting the second house he had in Italy. Or the vacation cabin he'd bought for Sandy and Kirsten in Colorado. Or the condo in the numbered streets that he'd convinced The Nana to accept when New York had just become too cold in the winter for her bones to handle and she'd decided she wanted to be closer to her family. That was what he most liked about the money, being able to do things like that for his family and feel like he was repaying them for all they'd done for him, even though he'd finally moved past thinking he needed to repay them.
He heard soft footfalls behind him and smiled as he shifted pancakes onto a plate. "Just in time," he said, turning and smiling at Brooke and Jamie. "Breakfast is served."
"Thanks," Brooke said.
"We can eat at the bar, in the dining room, or in the living room," Ryan said. "Your choice."
"Bar will be easier to clean up, and since Jamie is still half asleep, there will be a mess."
"Hey, as long as no one tries to stick one to the ceiling, there's no worries about a mess," Ryan teased.
"Why would someone do that?" Jamie asked.
"I still don't know why my brother and sister did it," Ryan said, shrugging. "Sophie Rose and Jake are very odd children."
"But you love them anyway, don't you?" Brooke asked.
"More than anything," Ryan admitted, shrugging. "They're lunatics, but they're my lunatics," he added.
Jamie giggled. "You're funny," he said.
"You know, very few people would believe that," Ryan said, shrugging.
"I wonder why," Brooke said. "I seem to remember you used to spend a lot of time brooding."
"Not when you were around," Ryan replied.
Brooke looked away, her hand sliding through Jamie's hair as he eyed the stack of pancakes Ryan brought over.
"Let's start with two, okay?" Ryan said, putting them on a plate in front of the little boy. "If you're still hungry after that, there's plenty more, okay?"
"Okay," Jamie said, licking his lips and digging in.
Ryan put four pancakes on a plate for Brooke, and another four on one for himself. "After breakfast, I'll give you guys a tour," Ryan said.
"That sounds good, because I think we could get lost without one."
"The tour includes maps," Malcolm said from the doorway as he came in. "The info you wanted, boss," he said as he handed Ryan a folder.
"Thanks, I appreciate it."
"Cam and Josh will be around later today if you need them, I'm gonna keep on the project."
"Sounds good," Ryan agreed, nodding.
"Ma'am, sir," Malcolm said to Brooke and Jamie before leaving again.
"Are we interrupting something import..." Brooke began
"Nothing's more important to me right now," Ryan said gently, offering a smile. "Work will survive without me."
"Then what's in the folder?" Brooke asked. Ryan silently opened it and held it out so she could see a copy of several articles on Lucas, as well as a computer disc labelled 'dirt'. "Ryan?"
"I protect people I care about, and that's you and Jamie," Ryan replied, closing the folder and setting it aside. "I had Mal do a little digging for me."
"Ry..."
"You trust me?"
"We wouldn't be here if I didn't."
"Then trust me on this, Brooke," Ryan said. "If he doesn't do anything, neither will I. But if he tries anything, I will take him down and destroy his career and reputation. It's the main upside of this money, I can protect the people I love."
Brooke met his eyes and licked her lips, nodding. "I know," she whispered, moving one hand to squeeze his.
"Eat up, you'll need your strength to survive the tour," Ryan teased Jamie, who giggled again as he finished his first two pancakes and Ryan gave him two more.
The End
Author: Mara
Fandoms: The OC/OTH
Rating: R
Warnings: Mentions of violence and abuse.
Summary: So let in the morning light and let the darkness fade away... Can you turn my black roses red?
Notes: Another in the Hallelujah series. Named after the song 'Black Roses Red' by Alana Grace. The stories are listed in the order they were posted, but they jump around in time (like #5 actually takes place before any of the others) to slowly reveal the story.
Posting Order: No Happy Ending, Breathe No More, All These Lives, Behind Blue Eyes, Never Coming Home, and California
Black Roses Red
Brooke woke slowly to light streaming through the floor to ceiling windows that ran along one side of the room Ryan had led she and Jamie to the night before. Slowly getting up, Brooke walked over to the windows and stepped out the french doors onto a wide balcony, taking in the yard that seemed to stretch straight to the water, tall concrete walls in the distance on either side making the beach that stretched out beneath the house private. She inhaled sharply, then turned as she heard Jamie move and call for her.
"Hey, baby," Brooke said, going over to sit beside him. "Sleep well?"
"Where are we?" Jamie asked, rubbing his eyes sleepily.
"At my friend Ryan's house in California," Brooke replied. "Come on, Ryan said he'd make us breakfast, and I think I can smell them from here," she said, scooping her son up and padding barefoot out of the room and down the hall towards the smell of blueberries and pancake batter.
~~~
If someone had told Ryan, when he was 15, that he'd own one of the biggest mansions in southern California, with a private beach and a professional kitchen, he would have stared at them like they were crazy then burst out laughing. But here he was, 13 years later, with exactly that and the money to have two identical houses elsewhere if he wanted. Not counting the second house he had in Italy. Or the vacation cabin he'd bought for Sandy and Kirsten in Colorado. Or the condo in the numbered streets that he'd convinced The Nana to accept when New York had just become too cold in the winter for her bones to handle and she'd decided she wanted to be closer to her family. That was what he most liked about the money, being able to do things like that for his family and feel like he was repaying them for all they'd done for him, even though he'd finally moved past thinking he needed to repay them.
He heard soft footfalls behind him and smiled as he shifted pancakes onto a plate. "Just in time," he said, turning and smiling at Brooke and Jamie. "Breakfast is served."
"Thanks," Brooke said.
"We can eat at the bar, in the dining room, or in the living room," Ryan said. "Your choice."
"Bar will be easier to clean up, and since Jamie is still half asleep, there will be a mess."
"Hey, as long as no one tries to stick one to the ceiling, there's no worries about a mess," Ryan teased.
"Why would someone do that?" Jamie asked.
"I still don't know why my brother and sister did it," Ryan said, shrugging. "Sophie Rose and Jake are very odd children."
"But you love them anyway, don't you?" Brooke asked.
"More than anything," Ryan admitted, shrugging. "They're lunatics, but they're my lunatics," he added.
Jamie giggled. "You're funny," he said.
"You know, very few people would believe that," Ryan said, shrugging.
"I wonder why," Brooke said. "I seem to remember you used to spend a lot of time brooding."
"Not when you were around," Ryan replied.
Brooke looked away, her hand sliding through Jamie's hair as he eyed the stack of pancakes Ryan brought over.
"Let's start with two, okay?" Ryan said, putting them on a plate in front of the little boy. "If you're still hungry after that, there's plenty more, okay?"
"Okay," Jamie said, licking his lips and digging in.
Ryan put four pancakes on a plate for Brooke, and another four on one for himself. "After breakfast, I'll give you guys a tour," Ryan said.
"That sounds good, because I think we could get lost without one."
"The tour includes maps," Malcolm said from the doorway as he came in. "The info you wanted, boss," he said as he handed Ryan a folder.
"Thanks, I appreciate it."
"Cam and Josh will be around later today if you need them, I'm gonna keep on the project."
"Sounds good," Ryan agreed, nodding.
"Ma'am, sir," Malcolm said to Brooke and Jamie before leaving again.
"Are we interrupting something import..." Brooke began
"Nothing's more important to me right now," Ryan said gently, offering a smile. "Work will survive without me."
"Then what's in the folder?" Brooke asked. Ryan silently opened it and held it out so she could see a copy of several articles on Lucas, as well as a computer disc labelled 'dirt'. "Ryan?"
"I protect people I care about, and that's you and Jamie," Ryan replied, closing the folder and setting it aside. "I had Mal do a little digging for me."
"Ry..."
"You trust me?"
"We wouldn't be here if I didn't."
"Then trust me on this, Brooke," Ryan said. "If he doesn't do anything, neither will I. But if he tries anything, I will take him down and destroy his career and reputation. It's the main upside of this money, I can protect the people I love."
Brooke met his eyes and licked her lips, nodding. "I know," she whispered, moving one hand to squeeze his.
"Eat up, you'll need your strength to survive the tour," Ryan teased Jamie, who giggled again as he finished his first two pancakes and Ryan gave him two more.
The End
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Date: 2008-09-02 06:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-02 03:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-02 11:46 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2008-09-03 10:28 pm (UTC)I'll probably make some art for this little series relatively soon, then include it in a 'master post' for this universe, along with both order lists.