Against All Odds

Noah led Riley down the hall of the second floor. They passed the landing and began to explore the other end of the massive hallway. It looked somewhat the same as the hall that lead to Noah's rooms though with more furnishings and decorations.

"My mother's rooms are down this way." Noah explained. "And also a few guest rooms." Noah pulled out his phone and began typing something. Riley heard the ding of a text and then Noah quickly slipped the phone back into his pocket. Riley wondered who Noah could have been texting but he didn't want to be rude so he didn't say anything, just continued to follow Noah down the hall.

"Each bedroom has an attached bath." Noah told Riley, speaking as though he were a tour guide explaining the ins and outs of the house with an uninterested tone. Riley figured that living there his whole life, Noah was probably so used to the house that it didn't seem so grand and amazing to him. To Riley though, it was like something out of a fairy tale. He couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like living in such a beautiful house, and one so large. He could explore the house for hours, every single day, for a year, and still not see all that it had to offer.

"There isn't much of interest on the second floor. Down stairs is the grand foyer. You would have passed through that when you entered. There's a formal room, which is like a large living room for entertaining guests. We have a small banquet hall that can also be used as a ball room I suppose. It's not really used for anything right now. Mother and I eat in the family dining room most nights. There's a breakfast nook off of the main kitchen and also a family room."

"Main kitchen?" Riley looked up, shocked. "You have more than one kitchen?"

"Yeah." Noah laughed. "The main kitchen is the only one really used anymore. It's where Baxter prepares all our meals. The other kitchen is larger and built for a much bigger staff. It would be used to prepare meals for special occasions and events that required a bit more than what the main kitchen could support. Like I said, we don't really use it anymore. We haven't had cause to in years."

"It's all so...overwhelming." Riley remarked. "How many bedrooms are there?"

"Well, there's the main suite that my mother uses. My rooms and there are twelve guest bedrooms. If you also count the servants rooms, there are twenty in total."

"Only six rooms for the servants? Your staff here must be massive, where do they all sleep?"

"Oh, well Thomas is actually the only one that lives on the grounds. He has his own apartments in the back of the house. Bax, Maggie, our head of housekeeping, and Boyd, my driver, all live in town. We currently only have one maid, Tina, and she lives with her mom, Maggie. Tina's young and doesn't really do that great of a job cleaning but Maggie is training her so I let it slide."

"You only have a staff of five?" Riley asked. "That doesn't seem like enough for this huge house."

"We only clean the rooms we use and since it's just myself and my mother extra staff isn't really needed. The unused areas of the house we keep closed off. There is a pool guy that comes by but we use a pool service for that so he's not really part of the staff."

"You have a pool?" Riley's eyes lit up at the mention of the pool, the staffing issue forgotten.

Noah chuckled. "Yes, we have a pool. There's also a billiards room, a home theater, and a gym complete with sauna. I can show you all that later."

Riley's jaw dropped. "This place really is like a hotel." He said, in awe. "I feel like Annie the first time she entered Daddy Warbuck's Mansion, like I should grab a mop and bucket."

Noah laughed warmly at that. "No, Riley. You're not one of my servants and no one in this house will treat you like one. That I can promise you. Now, come on, there's something I want to show you." He took Riley by the hand and carefully led him to the end of the hall where, to Riley's dismay, they encountered yet another stair case.

They really need to invest in some elevators. Riley thought as Noah led him up the steps. My short legs can't take the strain.

***

The stairs were so dimly lit that at first, Riley was worried he'd trip and fall in the dark. To his relief though, Noah flipped a switch on the wall and the sconces that lined the wall immediately came to life, casting a warm, electric glow that lit up the steps just enough for Riley to actually see where it was that he was stepping. As they ascended the stairs, Riley could see that the walls were adorned with more ancient tapestries and portraits. Unlike the paintings in the main foyer, these paintings were of people from different centuries. One in particular stood out to Riley and he stopped to have a better look.

It was the portrait of a stern-faced man with dark hair and a sullen expression. His clothes were dark, as were his brooding eyes. Riley guessed that the man was either extremely sad or extremely angry.

"That's Lord Callum Beaumont." Noah explained. "A very distant relative. My great-grandfather apparently found that painting, and many others, in an old crate that was sent here from England. Not much is known about the Beaumont's. Lady Adelia, his wife, died in child birth. She was only eighteen at the time. That's her there." Noah pointed to the portrait beside Lord Beaumont's painting.

The woman on the canvas looked forlorn and sickly but, underneath, Riley could still see the beauty that refused to fade though her spirit had darkened her lovely eyes. Riley couldn't help but stare into her eyes. They were captivating, almost hypnotic. It seemed as though she held a secret in those eyes that had survived, even centuries after her death.

"She looks so sad." Riley remarked of the woman in the painting. "Was it an unhappy marriage?"

Noah shrugged. "She was sixteen when they married. He was thirty-two. I don't imagine that she had much of a choice in the matter." Noah looked to Riley and Riley didn't miss the look of regret and empathy in Noah's eyes. "My understanding was that she was an omega, like you. In those days, omegas, as well as women in general, were treated as property and had very few if any rights."

"Not much has changed." Riley said, sighing in frustration. "At least not for omegas."

Noah took Riley's hand once more and smiled down at him. "In this house, an omega is equal to an alpha. At least as far as I'm concerned."

Riley blushed, giving Noah's hand a gentle squeeze. "Thank you for saying that." He whispered.

"There's no need to thank me, Riley. No one should be made to feel inferior, no matter who they are."

Riley nodded, fighting back the urge to say 'thank you' for a second time. It was something that was just in him to do. Always the obedient and submissive little omega, polite, and eager to please. He hated that he actually possessed those traits and did his best to suppress them. Every once in a while they would come creeping back to the surface especially in the presence of an alpha and it infuriated Riley. This time though, with Noah, Riley didn't much care. In fact, it gave him a bit of a thrill to please this alpha. Even in the smallest way. Just seeing the way that Noah smiled at him made Riley's skin break out in goosebumps.

The tour continued up the winding staircase, Noah and Riley stopping momentarily while Noah pointed out another painting or tapestry. Noah went into great detail, explaining the history of the mansion. Why it was built, who had all lived there over the years since it was built, and he also relayed a few tales of tragic events that had taken place in the mansion that he was aware of. In all the time he spoke he never mentioned his father though which led Riley to believe that it was still too painful for him to bring up.

Noah did tell of a young boy in the early 1900's who had been trampled by a horse and sadly lost his life. Another person, a maid, in the 1920's had taken her own life by jumping from one of the balconies. It was rumored that she had gotten pregnant and was too ashamed to tell anyone so instead chose death. The most distressing tale though was of the bride who passed away on her wedding night.

Noah told Riley that the girl was only twenty at the time and had married into the Reaney family. They held the wedding right there in the mansion. It was 1942, there was a huge celebration afterward, with hundreds of guests. Happy couples danced the night away and the wine and champagne was never ending. As the party wound down, the bride and groom said goodnight, thanked everyone for coming, and then left to retire for the night.

They were ready to spend the rest of their lives together, already planning their future but, as fate would have it, they did not get their happily ever after. Probably tipsy from too many spirits, the bride ascended the grand and spiraling staircase leading to the second floor. She stumbled, tripped on the hem of her long and luxurious gown, and lost her balance, falling all the way down to the last step. Her neck was broken in the fall and she had died instantly.

Her groom sunk into a deep depression afterward and locked himself away in his rooms. He refused food and drink, and within a year, he too had lost his life. Noah was unsure if the man had simply wasted away or had actually taken his own life but it was said that he'd died of a broken heart, unable to go on living without his true love.

"It's a romantic story." Riley said. "Tragic but still romantic. I just don't know if I believe that someone can actually die of a broken heart."

"I would." Noah said suddenly. "If I loved someone that much and they died, I don't think I could go on without them. I've lost so much already. My heart can't take anymore. I'm barely holding on as it is."

"I used to feel that way." Riley admitted. "But, there were so many people that expected me to just curl up in a corner and give up that I became determined to prove them wrong. I would survive, and show them all how strong I really was."

"I'm glad you decided to fight." Noah told him. "And I can already see how strong you are. I don't think other omegas in your situation would have made it as far as you have on your own."

"What?" Riley laughed bitterly. "Cleaning motel rooms for scraps? I don't think I've made it that far. I haven't made it anywhere."

Noah smirked. "Not true, you made it here."

***

They had finally reached the third floor. Noah stopped before a large set of double doors. The wood doors were massive, dark, and warped with age. The space beyond seemed to emanate a palpable sense of dread.

"We keep this part of the house closed off." Noah explained. "The staff refuse to even come near the third floor."

"Why is that?" Riley asked, his sense of curiosity growing.

"This is the part of the house where most of the activity is centered." Noah told him.

"Activity? Like paranormal activity?" Riley asked with a slight snicker, skeptical about the whole thing.

Noah nodded, giving Riley a playful wink. "I told you the house is haunted."

"Okay, so let's say I believe you, not that I one-hundred percent do, but if I did, what kinds of things have people witnessed?"

Noah thought for a moment, recalling what different staff have told him over the years. Thomas was never a big believer in ghosts but he did like to weave spooky tales of ghostly apparitions haunting the corridors of Reaney Hall though it was all in good fun. Those stories had intrigued Noah more than anything.

"Footsteps." He said, finally. "Hearing voices when there's no one there. A couple of people have felt cold spots and drafts when all the windows had been securely shut and locked. One maid even claimed that someone on the third floor pushed her though I'm fairly certain that she snuck up here to smoke weed and got paranoid after hearing all the ghost stories. Who knows for sure though."

"What about you?" Riley asked. "What kinds of things have you experienced?"

"Not much, other than the occasional creek or knock though there was this time when I was a kid..." Noah paused for a moment as he called up old memories that he'd nearly forgotten about. "I'm not even really sure what I saw, or if it was even real."

"What happened?" Riley watched Noah with a mix of curiosity and trepidation. Noah pushed the doors open and led Riley into the dark hall ahead. Riley's heart sped up. He didn't know why. It wasn't like he actually believed in ghosts or anything supernatural but, the excitement of being there, with Noah, in a part of the mansion that others dared not enter was too exhilarating to ignore. Noah stopped outside a room that Riley suspected had been closed off for years.

"This is it." Noah told him. "This is where I saw her."

"Her?" Riley questioned.

Noah slowly pushed the door open, pausing at the threshold. "This is the room where I had the most terrifying encounter of my life."

Riley stepped into the room, Noah walking in slowly behind him. The room appeared to be some sort of sitting room, maybe a small library or study. Riley wasn't too sure. The first thing he noticed though was that the room seemed frozen in time. Dust-covered furniture draped in ghostly sheets filled the space. The shelves along the walls were lined with ancient books and faded manuscripts. Cobwebs clung to the ceiling and in every corner. Dust from the old, hard wood floor, billowed into the air as Riley moved further into the room. The air around them was thick with an unsettling stillness.

It was obvious that no one had set foot in that room in years. Possibly not since the last time that Noah himself had been there. The books remained unread, the chairs unused. Everything inside the room had been left undisturbed for so long that the room looked more like what one would find in an abandoned house rather than the stately mansion that was Reaney Hall.

Scanning the room, Riley's eyes were immediately drawn to a baby grand piano sitting under a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. "It's beautiful." Riley said, almost in a whisper.

"It is." Noah agreed. "And terrifying."

Riley looked to Noah for clarification.

"I was ten." Noah began. "Charlie and I were playing hide-and-seek. I knew the third floor was off limits but I was curious and a little mischievous. Besides, it was the perfect place to hide. I crouched down behind that antique wardrobe there, across from the piano. I wasn't there more than a minute when I heard something. It was music. A soft, haunting, melody, like a lullaby. The music filled the room and stirred my curiosity. I couldn't understand why anyone would be in that room. Not even my mother would enter the third floor. I peeked out to see who was there and what I saw made my blood run cold."

Noah paused, his gaze fixed on the piano, lost in the memory of his youth. What he had seen that day now fresh in his mind and with it, the emotions he'd felt that day came flooding back. He'd forgotten what it had been like, how terrified he had been. Returning to the place where he'd first encountered the apparition though had brought all those long buried memories to the surface once more.

"There was a woman, her face obscured by shadows. She was sitting at the piano, dressed in a dull grey gown from the 19th century, maybe earlier. Her hair was jet black and wound into a bun on the back of her head. I remember seeing her fingers, so white they were nearly transparent. They moved gracefully along the keys as though she were playing yet the keys themselves never moved. The music and the woman making it, were like a memory, an echo from the past, come alive once more.

She was here but not, stuck somewhere between. I don't think she was even aware of me being in the room with her. She was to focused on her playing. Just seeing her there scared me so much that I ran from the room and never went back. Not until now. I've avoided this room ever since, scared of what I might find if I ever came back."

Riley didn't know what to think. He still didn't believe in ghosts but Noah seemed so sincere. It was obvious that he believed and it had frightened him terribly. "Have you ever told anyone else about what you saw? Besides me I mean."

"Not a soul." Noah told him. "I've never really had anyone that I could talk to about this kind of thing. Charlie was too young at the time, it would only have scared him. Mother would have reprimanded me for going to the third floor, and Thomas, well, he's a skeptic. He would have told me that the whole encounter had been in my head."

"So, your ghost hunting you pretty much just keep to yourself?"

"Pretty much." Noah shoved his hands into his pockets and shuffled his feet nervously. "I live a pretty lonely life. Aside from my business dealings which are almost always online, I don't really interact with that many people. I suppose that's why I joined the chat the day we met. It was completely by random. I'd had a pretty bad day. Had fought with my mother earlier and well, I just needed someone to talk to I suppose. I needed someplace where I was free to speak my mind, discuss my feelings and not have to worry about feeling judged or being constantly scrutinized."

"I totally understand what you mean." Riley admitted. "I feel like that a lot myself. The only real friend I've ever had left for college so I've pretty much been alone since then. Hell, there are times when I strike up conversations with random strangers just for some human interaction so, I do know where you're coming from."

"Is that why you joined the chat?" Noah asked him.

Riley's eyes darted away from Noah as Noah's question lingered in the air. He fidgeted nervously with the drawstring of his hoodie. He hesitated before answering, pursing his lips, then he let out an uneasy breath. The room around him seemed to close in as he grappled with the vulnerability of the truth. Avoiding eye contact, Riley's gaze fixed on a point just beyond Noah. His shoulders tensed with worry. The awkward silence stretched further as he wrestled with the words he needed to speak. A forced chuckled escaped him, a feeble attempt to mask his discomfort.

"Oh, well, to be perfectly honest, the survivors chat wasn't the first chat I'd joined." Riley rubbed at the back of his neck as he spoke. His eyes remained focused on the room, anywhere in the room but on the man standing before him. Riley had known that the subject would come up eventually. He just wasn't sure how to explain himself in a way that didn't make him sound like some gold-digging whore. Honestly, that wasn't his intention at all. He didn't care about Noah's money and he hadn't been looking for a rich meal ticket. Just a companion. Someone to help him, care for him, and maybe one day, love him.

In the end, he decided that just being honest would be the best approach. He had nothing to hide after all. His actions weren't criminal just slightly pathetic and desperate. "When I first joined the site, I had gone into a few singles and dating rooms. I know how that sounds but I was becoming desperate. I've tried so hard to make it on my own but it seemed like every door that I knocked on was slammed in my face. Since leaving foster care I've moved around from place to place. I've stayed in a homeless shelter, an omega boarding house, and even slept on park benches. Once I slept in a 24 hour laundry mat just to get out of the cold.

I was lucky to find a job cleaning rooms at the motel and they did let me stay there at half price but the pay is shit and well, I'm just sick of living that way. I've always told myself that I didn't need an alpha to take care of me but now, I'm not so sure. Our society makes it nearly impossible for an omega to make it on their own and live independently. At least while making an honest living and I refuse to turn to crime or prostitution. If I give myself over to an alpha it's going to be for the right reasons and on my terms. That's why I won't use a mating house. I want the choice of who I mate with, when, and why.