RHYS MCEVOY
Psychic
Posts: 45
Age:
22
Occupation:
Owner of Kitschy Kitschy Coo
Status:
Interested In
Partner:
Mandy Reid
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Oct 21, 2024 18:25:33 GMT
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Post by RHYS MCEVOY on Jul 31, 2023 16:12:50 GMT
Glancing out of the window at the front of the shop as he put on his jacket, Rhys made sure that Mandy wasn’t stuck outside the Grill waiting for him. There was still a good fifteen minutes before they’d arranged to meet, but he intended on being early – and avoiding her brothers. They’d had good reason to freak out on the day Mandy had been taken, he would’ve done if it had been his sister that had vanished, leaving nothing but blood and a mess behind, he just didn’t want to cross paths with them again, especially the older one.
His gaze ticked from the Grill to the Reids’ shop. For the months that Mandy had been gone it might as well have been a million miles away, surrounded by a minefield that would blow a leg off if he so much as tried to get close. The brothers hadn’t been there much, understandably, but it had remained open, almost as though a nightmare hadn’t unfolded there. When Mandy had come back, he’d seen her there and relief had almost dropped him to his knees. That flash of strawberry blonde hair in the sunlight disappearing through the door, like a flag waved to claim victory.
For weeks he’d waited to see if Mandy would reach out. There’d been nothing, maybe because her phone was gone, maybe because she was in some sort of hiding, who knew. Later he’d reached out by text, unsure if the first reply would be from one of her brothers, threatening to break his neck if he came near their little sister again, if he’d gotten a reply at all. It hadn’t been and slowly they’d talked more, inching back to where they’d been before the world had gone crazy.
”I shouldn’t be more than an hour,” he called back to Ethan. ”We’ll just be at the Grill, if you need anything.” If he needed anything, like a rescue from two angry and seriously scary brothers. Rhys puffed out a breath and slipped out of the shop. There were still parts of what had happened that day that haunted his dreams. He didn’t wake up imagining the phone call from the sheriff’s people he’d dreaded the entire time Mandy had been gone anymore, but he’d certainly dreamed of the other man, the one that Mandy had tried to set on fire – with her mind, just as he’d once managed.
Shaking his head, he jogged across the road towards the Grill. There was no denying that there was something wrong with him, but he continually tried to push it out of his mind. Too many strange things had happened in the last couple of years, evidence was piling up and creating a truth he wasn’t sure he’d ever want to see all of. It felt safer being in the dark about the whole thing, even if meant men like Mandy’s brothers scoffing at the idea of him not knowing what he was.
He stopped outside the Grill, darting nervous glances along the sidewalk for the next ten minutes before he saw Mandy walking towards him. There was more than a hint of relief in the smile he shot her way as she got close. ”Hey. I’m glad it’s you and not your brothers showing up. I half expected them to come storming after me.” A little awkwardly, he stepped in and offered a hug. ”I’m glad you’re back.” Glad she was safe from whoever it was that had taken her that day.
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MANDY REID
Witch
Posts: 46
Age:
Twenty One
Occupation:
College Student
Status:
Single
Partner:
Future: Rhys McEvoy
Played by:
Lissa
Last seen Nov 13, 2024 15:45:23 GMT
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Post by MANDY REID on Aug 8, 2023 18:07:22 GMT
❝ Somewhere Over The Rainbow...
Skies Are Blue❞
Well, that could have gone better… She thought to herself as she crossed the streets from her brother shop to the grill. Gazing back a few times just to see if she wasn’t being followed. She wouldn’t put it past him, but she needed to do this. She needed to get back to her life. A life where she wasn’t a prisoner by Klaus or by her brothers. Deep down she knew her brother’s behaviour was coming from a place of love. Which is why she tried not to flip out at them. She loved them for it, but also wanted to throttle them when they tried to keep her protected and sheltered.
Power walking across the street as she seen Rhys doing the same. As he came to a stop outside, looking in the direction of the shop, she waved at him as he smiled. Slowing her walk as she got closer before she came to a complete stop, accepting the hug when he offered it. Stepping back, she flicked her gaze behind her back toward the shop, ” Don’t speak too soon. Nicky is at the shop… and he isn’t exactly happy I’m here.” Mandy smiled. She was still half expecting him to stalk across the street and drag her back in where it was ‘safe’, ” Its ok. If he does, I’ll give him what for.” Mandy reassured him.
Peering around at her surroundings she adjusted the bag on her shoulder and then gestured to the doors, ” Lets go. I’m starving…” She told him as she headed to the doorway pushing open one of the double doors. Looking around her she couldn’t help but pause wondering who the hell in here were vampires. Maeve said the wretched dog had a brother… was he in here? Snap out of it… She thought. Not everyone was out to get her. No one would try anything in a busy bar in broad daylight… and if she felt scared Nicky was literally a phone call and about one hundred yards away. She would be fine.
Spotting a booth, making sure to check it was completely vacant before just sitting at it. Slipping in she grabbed a menu, ” Burger me…” She muttered to herself as she perused the various burgers on the menu, “What are you having?” She asked curiously.
Notes:  |
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RHYS MCEVOY
Psychic
Posts: 45
Age:
22
Occupation:
Owner of Kitschy Kitschy Coo
Status:
Interested In
Partner:
Mandy Reid
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Oct 21, 2024 18:25:33 GMT
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Post by RHYS MCEVOY on Aug 28, 2023 18:40:33 GMT
He'd almost resigned himself to Mandy showing up with her brothers in tow. If the shoe had been on the other foot and he’d had somebody he loved snatched from under his nose and held for months Rhys was sure he would’ve done the same. After it had become apparent what had happened to Mandy and he’d scrambled out of the store, tears scalding his face, bruises already burning their way into his hip, fear searing his brain, he’d tried to justify her brothers ‘behaviour, but it was hard to juxtapose normal fear and everything else. What he’d seen when he’d gripped the amulet on the floor, the conversation that had snapped back and forth between her brothers. The demands to know what he was.
The bruises were faded, the memories softening around the edges enough that he could almost convince himself that he’d imagined half of it. They’d been like that with him because he’d been the one there in the shop when they’d walked in to find the place all torn up. There’d been blood on the floor. He’d checked with Mandy whether she was okay when he’d been messaging with her, but now Rhys was checking her over as she drew out of the hug and looked back over her shoulder to where her brothers might’ve been waiting at the door of their store. He’d probably have felt the heat of their gaze from here if they were.
”Nicky’s the younger one, right? I’d take him being unhappy over your eldest brother.” He shifted his weight uneasily. Nicky hadn’t pulled his brother off, but it hadn’t been him trying to physically pry the answers he couldn’t give out of him either. ”I guess the important thing is that he did let you out without a chaperone.” That wasn’t going to stop him from turning up at some point though, with warnings and the order for Mandy to get herself home on his lips. ”You’re braver than I am,” Rhys admitted with a puff of breath. Maybe under better circumstances her brothers would’ve been semi-friendly, although he wouldn’t lay money on it. Mandy had been warning him about both of them and how overly protective they were practically from the moment he’d met her, after all.
Inside the Grill they’d be away from her brother’s prying eyes at least. Rhys followed Mandy into the restaurant, resisting the urge to glance over his shoulder one last time. ”That makes two of us,” he said honestly. ”We had an early delivery at the store this morning so it was breakfast on the go.” Which meant coffee and a granola bar snatched as he’d rushed out the door. His dad would take care of himself, breaking away from his work when the hunger struck enough for him to remember that it was marching towards lunch. When he’d got home later he’d cook dinner, making sure he got one good meal a day at the very least.
Rhys hesitated as Mandy did, his brows drawing together although he kept his mouth shut for now. How long were you meant to leave these things before you brought the nightmare up to try and get an explanation for what happened? In this case the answer was probably never. If he upset her then her brothers would come calling and maybe this time he wouldn’t be walking away from it. He slid into the booth opposite her, one corner of his mouth curling. ”I’d say I should be probably make a break with tradition, order something new to celebrate or something, but … can you ever go wrong with a milkshake?” As if he didn’t know the menu off by heart by now, he glanced down it. ”I’d probably say a burger too – with bacon and cheese and onion rings on the side. Could split some, get a basket of fries too?” He looked up at her, wondering if just babbling was the best thing. If Mandy wanted to talk away what happened, he’d listen for as long as she needed or wanted him to, but he’d left all of that down to her after he’d made the offer in their texts,. He was definitely following her lead here.
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MANDY REID
Witch
Posts: 46
Age:
Twenty One
Occupation:
College Student
Status:
Single
Partner:
Future: Rhys McEvoy
Played by:
Lissa
Last seen Nov 13, 2024 15:45:23 GMT
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Post by MANDY REID on Sept 2, 2023 13:34:52 GMT
❝ Somewhere Over The Rainbow...
Skies Are Blue❞
Mandy still flicked her eyes back toward the shop, hoping her brother wasn’t going to come after her. Trust was there… she hoped. He trusted her to call should the hybrid make an appearance. She had both her brothers on speed dial and knew how to run. He would of felt better if she had her magic, but he had Maeve had yet to figure out the orb which contained them. Until then she was happy being the normal girl she had been. Not the girl which set fires randomly.
She smiled at Rhys… how Nicky and Darcey thought he had anything to do with what happened was beyond her. She nodded at his question of Nicky being the younger of the two. She let out a short laugh at his words, ” Yeah Nicky out of the two does have a more level head.” She agreed. Though she could imagine her elder brothers rage… she couldn’t blame it either. What he had gone through… it also wasn’t her story to share, ” I can only say I’m sorry… I’m not defending him but. He has his reasons for being like that. Not that it excuses it, and I intend to clout him for it.” Mandy rambled a little regarding Darcey. He wouldn’t get an apology from the horses’ mouths so hers would have to do on their behalf.
Getting inside the grill determined to at least have her meal before her brother came bounding across the square to drag her back to the shop. Once inside it would be much harder to cause a scene. Looking around for a table and slipping into the last empty booth, making sure it was actually empty first, before sitting at it. Unless she was going to join a stranger for lunch…
Mandy smiled a bit sheepishly, while he was eating his breakfast on the go she had been curled up in bed. Had deliberately missed breakfast in favour of sleep, ” Sorry I was happily dreaming why you were running round eating your breakfast.” Mandy smiled a bit as she lifted the menu from the stand muttering about a burger as she lifted the menu, before turning the question of what he was having on him, ” Celebratory milkshakes it is...” Mandy confirmed. There was nothing wrong with a milkshake.
When he started to quote his order, she smiled and stopped herself from drooling, ” That sounds incredible. Lets do it! She agreed placing the menu back in the stand as the waitress came over to take their order. Both of them placing their order as they had just discussed and then they were alone. Awkward silence reigned more a moment before Mandy broke it, ” So… how have you been?” She asked him… she wasn’t going to be the one to bring up the elephant in the room.
Notes: |
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RHYS MCEVOY
Psychic
Posts: 45
Age:
22
Occupation:
Owner of Kitschy Kitschy Coo
Status:
Interested In
Partner:
Mandy Reid
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Oct 21, 2024 18:25:33 GMT
|
Post by RHYS MCEVOY on Oct 12, 2023 18:57:06 GMT
Some small details of what had happened at the shop the day she’d gone missing had ended up in the messages he’d sent Mandy after her brothers had found her and she’d contacted him again. How he’d brought lunch over that day, how he’d found the place all smashed up and blood on the floor, how her brothers had arrived to find him standing there in the middle of it. Maybe her brothers had told her more, but Rhys had realised he didn’t have the stomach to tell her how he’d seen a flash of that man taking her, or how her eldest brother – Darcey apparently (it wasn’t like they’d stopped to exchange names while his hip was being ground into the floor) – had tried to torture the answers they’d wanted out of him. Those were the moments that still crept back, leaving him sure he was gonna throw up at the memory of them. Not here, not now, not when they were about to eat.
Rhys drew in a breath slowly as Mandy agreed with his impression of her older brothers, letting it out even more slowly, as though it was going to blow those stray nightmarish memories away. Maybe under other circumstances they’d have been friendly at least – although, from what Mandy had said before, it was doubtful they’d take kindly to any guy sniffing around their sister. Unfortunately they’d met under the worst circumstances and now that connection was likely to remain stained by what had happened.
”You don’t have to apologise for them. It wasn’t your fault,” Rhys said instantly as she tried to apologise for the two of them. He touched her arm lightly in reassurance. His dark brows drew together, his lips curving faintly. ”He had his reasons that day too. They both did. I understand why they did what they did. I was there, you were gone and the place was a mess. In their shoes I would’ve thought the same thing.” Could he have tried to crush answers out of someone like they were a bug? Probably not, he’d never been the violent or angry sort. He’d have been desperate instead, panic probably leaving him as much a stuttering mess as he’d been that day.
Curling his fingers into his palm as they stepped into the Grill, Rhys remembered the way those images had shot through his mind as he’d picked up the pendant that had lain on the floor. It had left him reluctant to touch anything for days after, like that madness would hit him again. Eventually he’d found his way onto the internet, trying to research what he’d remembered of what Darcey had called him before he’d stopped himself. That was just going to give him a quick trip to a psychiatric ward.
Tucked away in a booth it was easier to block that sort of stuff out. This was just lunch, it didn’t have to be all about what Mandy had gone through – she was probably desperate to avoid reminders of it anyway. ”Lucky, lucky you,” Rhys crooned as she admitted she’d still been snoring when he’d been heading to the store. ”I’ve never been the night owl kind. Up early in the mornings, ready to get busy. In bed by ten.” Maybe without the shop he’d have been more like your typical college kid, sleeping late, rushing into classes at the last minute, spending his nights at parties, seeing how much alcohol he could get down his throat in just a couple of hours. Maybe alcohol would’ve been better to raise in a toast to Mandy’s return, but it looked like neither one of them wanted that.
He looked up from his menu, his smile brightening. ”Now, the question is what flavour…” he mused. His go to was something relatively boring like strawberry or chocolate. Put on the spot when the waitress had arrived, Rhys hesitated for a moment and then went with peanut butter and banana – just out of the ordinary enough. With the waitress heading back to the bar, a silence seemed to descend, one that had him a little twitchy before Mandy broke it – thank God. Of course, they were still skirting around the elephant in the room, the pointed questions not actually coming yet. ”Good…” Rhys started before he realised how much of a non-answer it was. He chuckled lightly before he forced himself to relax. ”Honestly, good. It was tough for a while, but …”{/b] It would’ve been a thousand times worse for her. ”I graduated. I guess that means we won’t be seeing each other around Whitmore as much.” Unfortunately. It meant that if they were gonna keep this sort of thing up they’d have to do it right under the noses of Mandy’s brothers.
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MANDY REID
Witch
Posts: 46
Age:
Twenty One
Occupation:
College Student
Status:
Single
Partner:
Future: Rhys McEvoy
Played by:
Lissa
Last seen Nov 13, 2024 15:45:23 GMT
|
Post by MANDY REID on Oct 20, 2023 17:56:58 GMT
❝ Somewhere Over The Rainbow...
Skies Are Blue❞
Mandy was quick to apologise for her brothers. Darcey too proud and would never give him an apology directly. Though the reasoning for it, it wasn’t her story to tell. She tried to explain that Darcey had his reasons. It didn’t excuse the behaviour at all… but she still understood and couldn’t judge him for it. When he said she didn’t have to apologise and then even went on to say that he understood. She was dumbstruck, ” You must be the most understanding guy in the world…” She admitted out loud the surprise on her face, ” I guess now I should be thanking you for not going to press charges for assault or something…” She smiled.
Once inside the restaurant, she quickly looked back toward her brother’s shop, she would be fine. Willing her brother to know that she would be fine and would be back in a few hours as she had promised. Following him inside she found them another booth, after making sure it was empty. Commenting that she had been happily dreaming. He explained that he was a morning person anyway, so it wasn’t that bad, ” I’m a happy medium. Mid-morning… crack of dawn you can forget it!” Mandy clarified. She wasn’t a partier she just liked her sleep, ” Nine AM is the perfect time…” She answered with a smile.
Discussing the menu between them and he mentioned about having burgers, sharing the fries and onion rings and Mandy was sold. Then he posed the question of what flavour, ” I think I might be boring and go for simple strawberry…” She mused thoughtfully as she browsed the list of flavours.
Eventually the waitress came by, and they placed their orders, and Mandy indeed went with the boring strawberry. Once they were once again on their own, she asked him how he had been. Her smile brightened a little when he mentioned that he had graduated, ” That’s brilliant. Congratulations!” Mandy smiled and then it fell a little when he said that he wouldn’t be seen around Whitmore as much, ” What am I going to do if I get lost without my trusty tour guide…” Mandy joked a little. In truth getting lost didn’t happen all that often anymore. If she was still getting lost then she truly lived up to her hair colour after having been there for better part of a year.
Notes: |
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RHYS MCEVOY
Psychic
Posts: 45
Age:
22
Occupation:
Owner of Kitschy Kitschy Coo
Status:
Interested In
Partner:
Mandy Reid
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Oct 21, 2024 18:25:33 GMT
|
Post by RHYS MCEVOY on Nov 21, 2023 20:58:41 GMT
”Compared to your brothers, I probably look like it,” Rhys said, flashing her a self-deprecating grin. Once the images of Mandy being taken had flashed into his brain he had understood what had them so rattled, but it hadn’t made the violence her eldest brother had tried to use on him to produce more answers any easier. Knowing why someone was hurting you didn’t lessen the pain. That was probably something Mandy would’ve understood, although he wasn’t about to bring that up either given what it seemed she’d gone through. There was a trace of laughter in the breath he puffed out. ”Under the circumstances that would’ve made me the bigger asshole in that room. I’m just lucky they realised that I wasn’t the reason you were gone.” His stomach pitched at that though. He hadn’t asked Mandy if her brothers had explained what he’d seen to her once they had her back.
Maybe with time the stories would expand – and maybe he’d have figured out what the hell these special powers of his were by then. For now he was caught at the point in his story arc where it was all tiny, terrifying revelations smothered in doubt and denial. In the comic books people always came around to it in the end, usually with some sort of mentor to help them out. Unfortunately, he didn’t have an Alfred. While Mandy’s brother looked the part, he wasn’t insane enough to go asking him.
Heading into the restaurant with Mandy, he pushed all of that away. This was just lunch, like they should’ve been having that day. Friends meeting up, getting away from their jobs for a while. Easy conversation over burgers and milkshakes – and, hey, look at them managing just that. Rhys sat, elbows propped on the edge of the table. His brows hitched, amusement pulling at his mouth again. ”We really need to swap places,” he joked. ”I’m surprised your brothers don’t have you up at 6 to open up the store.” He supposed he could’ve got one of his employees to handle opening up for him, but it had never felt right. There was a real satisfaction in throwing open the shutters and seeing his place bathed in early morning light. Of course, it was different in the middle of winter when he was rushing between the car and the store, freezing cold hands clutching at the keys.
Rhys glanced up from the menu as Mandy made her selection. ”It’s not boring,” he assured her. ”That’s usually my go to.” Going outside his comfort zone might come back to bite him on the ass, but sometimes you had to push through the doubts to get to somewhere good. Her brothers might have argued that too, wanting Mandy to stick to the known and safe. You couldn’t forever, but he imagined they’d try and keep things that way.
Propping his elbow back on the edge of the table, Rhys scratched at the back of his neck. He felt it heat at her congratulations, the colour probably rising in his face too. ”Thanks. I thought about sticking around another year, maybe going to grad school, but I wanna put some extra time in to the store.” And into figuring out what had been going on with him since before he’d even made it to Whitmore. ”You’ve got my number,” Rhys murmured, his grin holding strong. ”I can be there in less than an hour to save you from wandering around all afternoon. Are you back in classes already?” Asking whether her brothers had actually let her that far out of that sight might’ve been a better question. Surely being on campus on her own was a hundred times more dangerous than just crossing the square to get lunch in a public place.
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