Before The Angels Fell

Rileys POV

"Are you excited?" Andy asked as we made our way to the gate.
"Umm, yeah. It would be great to meet your parents" I said a little unsurely.
Andy just smiled back as he lugged his backpack over his shoulder.
I still wasn't sure that going to Ohio was a great idea. Meeting Andy's parents seemed way too forward of me, but apparently they wanted to.
As we neared the gate I gazed out the large windows to showcase LAX's grand runways.
The sky was cloudy and murky. Snow was never something that happened in LA often, but in Ohio it was certain. I had never seen snow before. Las Vegas never really got it either. But as Christmas neared the spirits of people lifted even though the weather was horrible. It was only a few days before Christmas and Andy was so excited to see his family. This was my first Christmas with out my family... Even though Christmas with my dad was him getting drunk on a bottle of whiskey and vodka. As for myself, I took the evening shift and stripped for all the lonely guys that didn't have a family.
"You okay? You seem distracted" Andy commented.
"Just nerves, that's all" I lied. All I could think of was what Ashley said about Scout. The dreaded ex-girlfriend that the family loved. I'll always be compared to her. Would I even compare? Or even come close...
We waited silently until it was time to board and endured the 5 hour flight.
Andy popped in his headphones and ignored the world and me.
Sometimes I felt like me and Andy didn't fit. I sometimes did wonder if I was meant for Ashley cause we were alike on so many levels.
As I mindlessly scrolled through my own iPod, I felt Andy's hand intertwine with mine. I looked over at him and he was smiling.
"It's gonna be okay. Stop stressing" he said then lent over to kiss me.
"What if your parents don't like me?"
I saw Andy's face twitch slightly.
"They will" he reassured me.
I just smiled back in hope that it didn't show that I was still worried.

Andys POV

I already knew how my parents felt about Riley, but I didn't care. They had to like her.
The taxi pulled up to my old house and so many memories flooded back. Good and bad.
"Ready?"
"Nope... But yeah" she said nervously.
"They'll love you" I said and kissed her forehead.
I took her hand and lead her to the front door. I knocked lightly and waited for the footsteps of my mother to lightly sweep down the hall.
The door unlatched and I was home.
"Andy!" She said warmly and threw her arms around me.
"Mom! God, I've missed you so much! Mom, this is Riley" I said letting go of her and grabbing Riley forward.
"Hi Mrs Biersack, so nice to meet you. Andy has told me so many great things" she said nervously.
"Same here. Come inside" she said, gesturing us to come in.
I took off my coat and handed it to her and Riley tried to do the same, but my mother shunned her.
"Here, I'll take it" I said grabbing it from her stretched arm. "Come on, come meet my dad" I said as I lead her to the living room.
"Sure..."
My dad sat on the couch watching the Bengals game. He looked up as I walked in.
"Andy! Ohh, so good to see you" he said getting up from his chair.
"You too! Hey, I want you to meet my girlfriend Riley."
"Riley, such a pleasure."
"You too. Andy never stops talking about you."
My dad just chuckled. "Well dinner should be ready soon. Andy why don't you watch the game with me. Let the women get acquainted."
"Uhh, sure... Riley, she's just in the kitchen."
"Sure" she smiled and walked through.
I sat on the couch near my dad and I smiled over to him. "She's beautiful isn't she?" I pressed.
"She's okay. Andy, why are you wasting your time with these floozies."
"Riley isn't a floozy dad!" I tried to not say loudly.
"Andy, when are you going to realise you need someone who is going in the same direction as you. She has no direction. She's what? A bartender?"
"Dad, come on. She's 21! And for that fact, she owns that bar. It is highly successful and she has many bands that play there. The type of place that would have given my band a shot."
"We'll see Andy" he said in his final say tone.

Rileys POV

"So Riley, tell us about your bar Andy has told us so much about" Amy said, almost sarcastically.
"Umm, sure. Umm, when I first moved to LA I needed a job to try and support myself... The Roof was just the first place a walked into and the guy there seemed nice enough. He helped me out for a few days" I tried to say normally as possible, but they still exchanges a look.
"From there, a tragedy happened and they left it to me" I finished.
"Oh, so they just handed it you?" Amy commented.
"Yeah... I didn't expect it really. I didn't know what to think. I just took it and dealt with whatever came my way" I said softly.
I couldn't brake through to them. Establishing a bond seemed to be the hardest thing. It was like they weren't even reaching out to me.
"Hey, uhh, Riley grew up in Las Vegas and she was to business college" Andy chimed in.
"Ohh, you studied the same courses Ashley studied? How interesting" Amy said.
"Well, I wouldn't say the same. Ashley studied in San Francisco and in LA. I did all my studying in Nevada."
"What about your parents? What do they do? Are they still in Nevada?" Chris asked.
"Umm, my mom passed away when I was 12... And my dad passed away almost a year ago..."
Both of their faces dropped, as well as their cutlery. They weren't expecting that to come out.
"Is that why you moved away?" Amy asked.
"Partly. There were other reasons. My dad was the last thing holding me back."
"What were the other reasons?"
I took a gulp of my wine and prepared to lie.

Notes

The holidays are always joyous,,, but not in this case.
comments guys.
-Tina xx