Checking the site had become an after dinner ritual, and Rey was beginning to think she would be better off giving up that line of thought. The only hits she ever got was from men who appeared not unlike her foster father, and just the mere thought of it sent shudders down her spine. It would hardly be worth the change from her usual clients.
Sipping at the cheap wine she’d brought home for this specific ritual, she tried doing something different; going through the profiles of the men offering their money in exchange for ‘company’, Rey tilted her head at the sight of one who stood out nearly as much as her profile did. Young, handsome in an unconventional way... apparently loaded. Undoubtedly he’d been snapped up already, but there was no shame in trying. That mantra had gotten her this far. Clicking on the link to message him, she licked her lips as she tried to cobble together something; she was always so bad at this part.
[sent]: hey handsome, still looking for someone to take care of you?
God, it was so bad, and she wrinkled her nose as she reread it. Taking another fortifying gulp of her drink, she hit enter. The worst that could happen was he rejected her and she added another day to searching for her future benefactor.
Days were hard to count when trapped in a metal ship in space. No sun to follow and limited space, especially while being held captive. He made sure not to leave her alone this time, not after last time. She embarrassed him and escaped. No, this time there was no stormtrooper keeping an eye on her, no chair to keep her strapped to. This was his room.
Possibly even worse than the room from before. The only interaction she had was with Kylo Ren and he hardly ever showed. When he did it was brief; asking her if she was enjoying her stay was his favorite. Rey only shot daggers at him with her stare. But she watched. She watched his every move, hoping to learn enough from him. Hoping for a weakness. She had not learned much, but she picked up mannerisms. The way he always took large steps, covering wide gaps in short amount of time. He talked to himself, mumbled more like but he only did it when he forgot she was there and quickly stopped when noticing her staring.
He did not sleep there (thank the maker), but he went about his daily human-like routine. One assuming morning, he stalked around the flat. mumbling to himself, angry with something. Rey had only just stirred awake, cracking one eye open waiting for the scene to come into focus. There he was, skulking back and forth, looking almost human. His arms raised up resting on top of his head causing the dark undershirt he wore to ride up. Her eye focused on the scarred, toned, skin. Rey caught her breath, carefully rolling away from the view, cheeks burning. He should invest in longer shirts.
Four Boxes. Everything she deemed important and worth taking was tucked safely away in four boxes. Five including all of her of her school supplies. It was surreal, the idea of moving from the only home she'd known. Surreal that she'd never hear her mothers methodical laughter early on a sunday morning, or her fathers truck parked in front of their quaint house. How surreal it was that everything she'd come to know in her life had been taken from her in the instant of a night.
The process had been quick, her Fathers sister wasn't interested in taking in a child who was nearly an adult in midst of starting her own family, and to be honest, the last thing Rey wanted to do was to leave what few close friends she had behind to attend a school that wasn't anywhere near the caliber of the one she currently attended.
She'd been pulled from her own thoughts, her foot nearly catching on the step she was attempting to climb, her one arm flying out to brace herself.
"Watch yourself kid? Do you need help with that one?"
Rey turned, her eyes catching the curious ones of Han Solo, the man whose home she'd come to live in. Him and his wife Senator Organa had been on the list of people looking to foster an older child for years, and just four weeks ago Rey fit the bill. They'd been nothing but nice, and doting, making sure to make Rey feel as comfortable as possible in the few times they'd met prior to Rey's official moving.
" No, this is my last one." She tried to offer a watery smile, not daring to allow her emotions to show in front of this man.
With a simple nod of his head, he let her be, something she'd forever be thankful for, releasing a breath she didn't know she'd been holding she ascended the stairs and back to the room that had been dubbed her own.
Packing, and the general chaos that came with moving, should have been a welcome distraction from the tangled mess that was her life. Rey blamed it on the fact that she simply didn’t have that much to pack, and of course Poe and Finn had helped with the things they all shared. Which, unsurprisingly, was a good chunk of their boxes. Even with their attempts at humoring her, her roommates, her best friends, weren’t much help. Rey had told as much as necessary, but kept the more difficult details to herself. Poe was the more neutral of the two, perhaps sensing that Rey hadn’t told them everything, but Finn was everything Rey thought she needed, doing his best to encourage her to move on.
Unfortunately when it came down to it, it didn’t matter. As much as Rey told herself it was better if she moved on, she knew she couldn’t. Not as often as she continued to think about him and miss him, not when Ben was still one of the very few people she trusted without a second thought.
That the realization that she wouldn’t ever let him go hit her with startling clarity late at night didn’t phase her. When else would she have such a revelation: ever since that first night he’d invited her into his apartment, her nights had become his. Desperate to see him, to ask him if he even still wanted her or if she’d made him wait too long (and she didn’t allow herself to think of how she’d made someone else wait) Rey decided to simply go to him. It was late, yes, but she’d been kept up longer just waiting for him to get home from work. It was more likely that he’d just left work or just gotten home than that he was asleep.
Finally on his floor of the new complex, Rey was hesitant to knock, wondering if she shouldn’t simply wait in the hallway. For all she knew he was still out, or would turn her away. Sure, he’d said to take all the time she needed, but what if she’d taken too long? If she hadn’t waited until she was in front of Ben’s door to start talking herself out of it, if she hadn’t already shot him a quick text on her way over, she might have been successful. Instead she steeled herself and knocked on his door.
As a child, Rey knew so little about what her family did for a living, where her father went for long periods of time, and why he came back with strange bruises and cuts. To be naive and ignorant to the business her family was sucked into..
She now envied that part of her life.
Now at seventeen, she very well knew the legend the Kanobi name had in the dark alleyways of the city, in the back ends of clubs, in the dank factories of the underground businesses. Her father wanted to shield her from it, but now there was nothing to block her from the trouble she was into.
In the short of it, her family was dead.
With no known Uncles or Aunts, when her mother and father both were killed-- the police report said ‘suicide’, but Rey knew better --She was utterly orphaned. And it wrecked her. She was silent through deciding things about their funeral. She was silent during the burial. She only let her shed tears in the emptiness of her home. She was an empty shell as she mourned.
Now, her dead look earned her sympathetic glances and words from her Protection Councilor, who was driving her to the large home of the Solos. A name she knew for killing her parents. Old family friends turned into enemies, it made her sick to know that they were still the first option to send her to.
Her eyes were dark, from the lack of sleep and the massive amount of tears shed in the last few short days. Now her things were packed and the car had stopped, she was left to be taken care of by the ones who put the target on her back.
She predicted she wouldn’t last the week.
Han and Leia Solo. Their son, only seen on their paperwork, was no where to be seen. Maybe hidden behind the fake smiles that the both wore as they waited to welcome her inside. She might have stepped out of the car but let the henchman like man take her two simple luggage bags from the trunk and lead her inside. Her feet felt slow moving, like she was walking her last few steps to death row.
The smiles and condolences only lasted till her Councilor drove off a half hour later. She had been situated in a small room, on the second of three floors, tucked away in the corner below the staircase to the third floor. To the untrained eye her room didn’t exist. Therefore, she didn't either.
Crude words at her back, giving her rules to follow if she expected to live in their home. No speaking, she had down. She was still mourning, she wasn't mentally ready to fight back, good thing for them. Rey had already planted that target on her back and expected it to be fulfilled, and had accepted it. But when Han remarked that the CPS services had her protected till they knew it was a suitable home, it gave her a shred of hope that she could make this one year out alive.
She hid in her bedroom under the stairs till the late hours in the night. Then, hoping that anyone important would be long asleep, she let herself explore. hood over her head, arms wrapped tightly around her, she walked the quiet halls of the Solo residence. Sleep was a dangerous option that she decided it wasn’t wort even a try, she expected that most of her nights would be spent wondering and exploring the oddly large home.
What she didn't expect was to be wandering down in one of the ground floor rooms, only to then spy the dark front door rattle and open, as if someone was sneaking in.
It had been so many years since the betrayal of Lord Vader had cost the Emperor the Galactic Empire he had foraged through so many years of political manipulation. From Supreme Chancellor of the Republic he had foraged the Galactic Empire, something that will forever be remembered... and something of his creation. Palpatine should have suspected that Darth Vader’s betrayal could have been a possibility even with how long the previous ‘Anakin Skywalker’ had proven such dedication and loyalty prior. It was a mistake the Emperor would most likely never make again.
Now Palpatine found himself among the Remnants of his shattered Empire, renamed the First Order. These Remnants were commanded by one dubbed ‘Supreme Leader Snoke’, though the previous Empire thought that the First Order would immediately pledge their undying allegiance to him if they learned that the legendary sith lore was in fact alive and breathing. The hooded figure stepped out of the ship that had transported him, the scarred face of the previous Emperor and Supreme Chancellor mostly concealed with every step he took. Despite the age of the Emperor, the movements and combat experience he possessed were far beyond what most could expect from one of his age, even if he was a master of the dark side.
The day following her attempt at drowning out all thoughts of Ben was miserable, all headache and heartache and vows to never drink again. Poe had the grace to turn his back when she made one such declaration, chortling into his coffee mug. Going to work didn’t help at all, but Rey had never let herself skip before and she just because she’d miscalculated how well she could handle her alcohol.
By the second day she was feeling better, and the prospect of not having to go into her job was an added relief. That was until she’d brought in the mail and found a letter informing the three that their new apartment would be move-in ready within a couple of weeks -- around the same time that they’d been told they’d be evicted from their current apartment. It was fortunate that she was alone when she read it, because even without the letter stating how they’d managed to land an apartment they’d never heard of, Rey knew exactly who’d pulled the strings and she cursed Ben loud enough for it to carry through the apartment. They weren’t dating anymore, and even if they were he had no right to go behind her back and move her somewhere new. Especially when everyone else in their building would still be left out on the street.
Having had no luck running into Ben in their hallway since the break up, Rey decided to deal with that later. The complex the new apartment was in was nice, far too nice for the limited budget she shared with Finn and Poe. Whether Ben had something to do with the rent, well, that was just one more reason to be angry at him. Staring at the building, Rey almost missed the target of her anger headed in her direction. “Ben! What the fuck?”
@fcrgiveme "What did you do exactly?!" Jon tried to make his voice loud over all the noises as he held onto his brother, Ben, as they ran. Bounty Hunters, alot of them if Jon's hearing is right, and they don't seem happy. He could hear weapons charging. Next thing he knows, something sends them flying. Jon hits the ground hard, disoriented and separated from his brother. The hands he then feels grabbing him are unfamiliar and rough, hooking around his neck as he's held still. "I warned you Ben Solo, but like your old man, you just don't know when to listen do you?" Whoever holding Jon speaks.
