South Carolina was not Florida, not by a longshot.
Riley grew up on a farm out in South Carolina, it was a decent farm with decent farms and in a small town, there wasen't much to do in old butt-fuck Virginia. Her childhood was not typical for a child her age, she worked with her father, mother and two other brothers in farm chores and duties that were assigned to her. She ended up going to the 'big old citaay' for most of her life for school which was actually Rock Hill. Not the biggest but big enough for the Larouche's tastes.
She was a smart cookie for being a hick livin' it out in the SC but she did well in school, her future was bright and it would be when she went to college when the world be turned upside down for her. She ended up clicking with the one group of girls and guys, but most importantly the leader Taylor Juleson what a hottie. She was head over heels for him, so when she asked him her help her set up a few guys to get robbed she coulden't say no. Maybe it was his charm, or because he was so popular but one night after class she met up with two guys. Things got hands on, flirty and a little bit more when a group of people in masks came running out with guns and shook them down, Riley included. She was shocked, the adrenaline was a rush she met up with Taylor after and got her things back along with her cut. She was hooked.
Over the course of her college program (which was corporate communications, I know yawn) she worked with Taylor and the group to line their pockets and cause some mayhem. It didn't escalte further that petty robberys and pick pocketing until they graduated, while Riley struggled to find work she got heavily involved with Taylor who not only was her lover but was her best friend aswell. The two were peas in a pod, and carved their names under a big oak tree on their campus. The one with the big
bowie knife stuck in it above all the inscriptions of love.
It was that fateful day after graduation, a celebration of grandiose purportion (Taylor's family was actually rich funny enough). The group met at his mansion for a night of debauchery and celebration to the end of their respective programs, the next day after a wicked hangover and some fuckery the group reconvened to discuss a big job. Some were uncomfortable, it wasen't anything they had ever done before robbing the local drug dealer seemed implausible. The security, the heat they were packing, all worries were disspated by Riley just like Taylor expected. The local dealer, Zak Madison would be at the Grey Tie a local club in Rock Hill later that week and that's where they'd strike.
Everything was going to plan Riley was flirting with Zak, except he was with a big group which meant a bigger take right? Then everyone showed up, masked up, and they had guns too. None of them had the balls to pull it, except Taylor did when the others started and bullets started flying. Riley ducked for cover as it was over in a blink of an eye. So many dead, she was covered in blood as Taylor greedily robbed Zak and his crew. When she tried to run out the club like so many others did she couldent when Taylor told her to stay, maybe she didn't realize it back then but there was something Extra-Normal about Taylor. With his pockets lined he left, the group dead and Riley as a scape goat. She was unable to move, fear struck a chord in her as thoughts of going to jail for this finally spooled up in her mind.
Lady luck was on her side that night, one of the clubs security guards pulled her out despite her fighting it he got her out the fire escape door and to the street where sirens echoed in the distance and the lights flickered as Riley ran. The police would be after her soon, one way or another they would get her. Going back to where it all started she sat down at the old oak tree and began to cry, she didn't understand it all the betryal, the deceit and now everyone was dead.
The event was fucked and it changed Riley forever, and not in a cool way. After that she losted some of her famed confidence, what was the most troubling was the nightmares she would experience afterwards. Cold sweats, screaming it was tearing away at her mental fortitude. Besides that the survivors guilt followed her everyday like a storm cloud threatening to rain on her, she felt stupid and used and even more stupid for following Taylor. How could she of been this naive? She felt helpless and felt like she was the one that pulled the trigger rather than the victim.
It would be only a matter of time before the cops came for Riley, there had been surviellance and everything. She was involved and they were going to get her, wiping away her tears she decided she was going to turn herself in, not before scratching out their intials on that old derelict tree. She looked up at the bowie knife that was embedded into the tree along the high branches. She began to climb, lifting her nimble body up as she went to grab the knife after climbing the tree. Upon contact a voice entered her head, it was stoic and wise like a creepy old man. Riley almost fell from the tree from being startled before she quickly climbed down knife in hand.
The voice, later identified as 'Jinx' the apparation had been trapped in that knife for so long. It was grateful and coulden't stop thanking the mere mortal, however in Riley's eyes she was in awe either she had gone crazy or it had all just been a bad dream. She went to take out her phone while the demon-head-thing was speaking when the battery quickly drained to zero. What the fuck? Jinx explained, whoopsie he drained all the power from her phone, like accidentally putting cheese on a cheese free burger order. He offered Riley his powers in exchange for her help in his 'conquest' it sounded silly, gaining power and becoming a 'great apparation' whatever that meant. Riley just wanted revenge for being set up, being played and for the friends Taylor took from her. She looked down at her hands with cracked momentarily with the eletrcity she had absorbed from her phone. This was going to be awesome.
She decided to skip town, hell skip the entire state! Old Uncle Tyler lived in Tampa, Florida living large compared to her tiny father's farm, and she needed to lay low for a bit. She had no car so she had to hitchhike and 'trade favours' to cover the distance to get to Tampa. Once arriving to Uncle Tyler's unannounced he was excited to see her (no one vistied the poor old fool). While walking funny, she made her way inside where she and Jinx would plot on taking down Taylor and growing the unfortunate apparitations rise to power. Before they could do anything useful Riley was side tracked, falling into an online group. The Coven, it was cool, quirky and a good way to bide time however the two decided to jump down the rabbit hole that was this Coven because things weren't as they seemed.