Important Authors note!
I know I've been MIA, but I couldn't find the inspiration to carry on with Roommates. If anything, it was more like a one shot smut scene or something because I was going nowhere with that plot. So I changed it completely.
Warning! No smut until chapter sixteen or fifteen! No one is going to have sex for a while because Christian is seventeen, almost eighteen and Ana is twelve to thirteen. I've maintained the age gap because the story continues like the book shelves tweeted with Ana twenty two and Christian twenty seven.
This story is posted in Archive Of Our Own under the same user name and same title.
This story has mature themes, sexual scenes and string language (of course it does, its Fifty Shades Of Grey) and original characters belong to me while the rest belong to EL James. I'm only saying this once.
Please comment, ask away if you have concerns or rant to me why I should put my first piece back up. But I want this to be a better written story with developed characters rather than sexual fantasies.
On with the new story...
Stephen had always said I was a nosy little bitch, always trying to find out about other peoples secrets. Damn right I was nosy but he only said it because I busted him cheating on mum and found enough evidence to put him away for a while.
To be honest, the white powder he always had on the tip of his nose and in his stubble along with the ugly purple lipstick marks on his neck made everything too obvious for my twelve year old mind to figure out.
Anyway, those damn nosy skills of mine helped me in busting yet another monster, this one more disgusting, manipulative and horrifying than a cheating crack addict.
I just wished I had spoken up sooner, since the damage was done. One of the people I cared most about had been hurt but everyone told me I had ultimately saved him and others.
If I was such a great saviour, why wouldn't he look me in the eye? He would always blame me for destroying his life when it just started going so well for him.
I guess Stephen got something else right about me.
I was a worthless slut, ruining lives.
Ana's POV
Ray had a much more stable and easy going life in Seattle. He had been from Mississippi originally but met my mother in London when he moved out as an act of defiance from his father. Now he owned a successfull carpentry business and lived in Bellevue, a rich and well off part of town.
It was so different from Stephens murky flat.
"You like it baby?" Ray asked me, setting my suitcase down in the large space called my new room.
"Thank you Daddy." I hugged him, squeezing a bit longer. I knew he regretted not taking custody of me especially with more recent events.
"You're welcome Annie. I'll let you get settled." That was one thing I liked about Ray. He didn't hover like Carla. He let me unpack my clothes without interrupting. I settled rather quickly, not having much to unpack and sat on the double bed, staring at the large space.
It felt foreign.
Everything felt foreign. Everything was foreign. From the country I now inhabited to the street I lived in to the room I would sleep in, it didn't fit. I wasn't American like Ray, I had never seen more money than twenty pounds in the hands of my broke mother and I was used to living inside a wardrobe, hiding from Stephens creepy friends.
My room started spinning and I realised I wasn't breathing properly. Putting a shaky hand over my chest, I tried to even my breathing, not wanting to cause trouble with Ray. I kicked off my shoes and grabbed the ratty Mr Carrot while crawling under my covers despite it only being 8 pm.
I wiped away the traitorous tears and shut my eyes, willing sleep to take me. After twisting and turning, I fell into a restless sleep, only waking up twice inbetween strange dreams.
"Annie, you up?" I bolted upright, hearing Rays voice shout from the stairs. I looked at the clock, noticing how I had slept until noon. Getting up, I heard a new voice downstairs, a girl, talking to my dad.
I rummaged through what little clothes I had, picking my best black skinny jeans and my only decent maroon long sleeved shirt. It was warm outside, since spring was slowly morphing into summer so after brushing my teeth and hair, I slipped on my worn out black ballet flats and decided to greet the stranger.
"Hey Annie, this is Mia Grey, the neighbours from opposite, and she thought it would be a good idea to show you around." Ray said, his steely blue eyes scanning my face, probably noticing the tear stains I desperately tried to cover. Having been in the military, he was trained for this sort of stuff and I could tell he would talk to me later.
I really hated bugging people.
"Hey Anastasia, I can tell we're going to be great friends." The girl was short and petite, not in an unhealthy case like me, rather, it suited her well, like the sleek black bob cut and the pixie like features that made her look like an elf.
She was pretty, rich and outgoing, I had no idea how well we would fit together, but I nodded for her case, smiling a little at her infectious attitude.
"Come on, we need to buy you new clothes. I know the perfect plac for you." She began sizing me up and rambling about clothes and brands I never heard of. Looking at Ray, he shrugged with a smirk on his face, letting the pixie girl take control.
"Welk girls. I hope you have fun. Sorry Annie, but I got to work. I leave you my card if you want to buy anything." He handed me his card, but before he could leave, I pulled from the girl's arms and surprised him with a tight hug.
"Love you Dad." I whispered, inhaling the familiar scent of leather and saw dust.
"Love you too Annie." He replied gruffly, a voice he put on when he was feeling emotional. Ray wasn't my biological dad, but I took his last name and he was the only thing I had closest to a father.
"You go on and have fun kiddo. It's the least you deserve." He cleared his throat and left and I felt a bit better. I'm glad I was getting over my separation anxiety. Of course Ray didn't know about it. He probably just thought I was an over emotional teenage girl and I left it at that.
"You really love him." Mia's voice was quiet and soft, a tone I hadn't heard her speak. Her light brown eyes stared at me, boring into my too large blue eyes, as if reading my soul.
"Yeah." I nodded awkwardly.
"Lets go. My brother Elliot will drop us off to the mall. But first, you have to meet my parents. They'll love you!" And the sentimental and emotional atmosphere vanished as the little girl dragged me outside, barely letting me lock the place with my keys, before we went to a larger house opposite.
I barely noticed it yesterday. It was mostly covered by tall trees on either side of it and although it had the similar oak and wooden structure of the nearer houses, it had glass walls in place of the windows, making the pace larger and more open.
The inside was just as beautiful as the outside.
Once again, I felt out of my element when Mia led me through a large reception area, past the grand staircase and into a large living room, forcing me to sit on the large plush white sofas while she went to seek out her family member in the castle of a house.
God, I felt like my peasant bacteria were already dirtying the pristine surroundings around me.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" An angry voice barked behind me, making me jump. I really hated angry voices.
"I was invited in by Mia." I shrugged, meeting blazing grey eyes which were set in a structured face. He was tall, slightly muscular and very handsome with copper hair, but he was older than me. He looked around 18. He looked like he wanted to say something else, if by the twitching of his jaw was anything to go by.
"Just don't come upsatairs. Keep your little girl things away from me." He muttered. He turned to leave, but was interrupted by a loud Mia coming in, greeting him.
"Christian, this is my new friend Anastasia, she just moved in with Ray." They seemed to stare into each other's eyes, as if silently conversing. Christian then looked at me, his grey eyes widening by a tiny fraction that a normal person wouldn't have noticed.
"Yeah. Whatever." He mumbled, looking away, seemingly embarrassed. Maybe I should stop staring so much. He was about to leave, when two people, a man and a woman walked in. I stood up, straightening my tshirt.
"Mom, Dad, this Anastasia. Anastasia, these are my parents, Grace and Carrick Grey, and my annoying older brother Christian." She rolled her eyes at him, and his jaw began twitching again, as if it downright infuriated him.
"Please, call me Ana, Mr and Mrs Grey." I stuck out my hand for them to shake. Mr Grey took it, his dark eyes scrutinising me. He had neat blonde hair and was handsome, in an older man way. Mrs Grey surprised me, by giving me a hug which I returned awkwardly. People never hugged me, not even Ray, unless I started the hug.
"Please, call me a Grace." She smiled, letting go, her eyes scanning me. I didn't miss the way she frowned and her eyes became sympathetic and angry at something. Her green eyes met mine and she gave me a motherly look that almost made me choke back a sob.
It seemed they all knew something about me. Thenway Christians eyes widened at me, the way Mr Grey stared into my soul, the way Grace hugged me lovingly like a mother should. I had no doubt that Ray wouldn't talk about me like that, but I felt he had shared something with his neighbours, just in case.
"I just love your accent. Isn't it just adorable? So you're from London?" Mia babbled, I just nodded, since everyone's eyes were on me. "Wait, where's Elliot? Elliot!" Mia shouted up the fairs. God, I really hated shouting.
Stephen used to shout a lot.
"Sup baby sis." A big burly boy with blonde curls and cute dimples showed up, ruffling Mia's hair. He smiled goofily, in a way that completely disregarded the scary image his muscles were giving him.
"Ana, this is my other brother Elliot. He'll be our chauffeur for the day, since he got caught making out wth our last maid in the-" She was cut off by Elliot protesting and chasing her around the room while their parents laughed quietly.
I caught the eye of Christian, who was already staring at me.
It seemed, he was trying to hide something. I could tell by the way his jaw kept twitching, probably a nervous trait. He would always turn away when our eyes caught and I'd continue staring.
People were only scared of eye contact when they didn't want anyone to read them. I know a secret keeper when I saw one. It took one to know one. After all, the eyes were the windows to the soul.
Yeah Christian definetly had something to hide.