Guest – I'd rather answer you on a message but I can tell you that I relate with Parker on a number of things; I have Asperger Syndrome and was bullied at school because of my odd behaviour and lack of social skills (I was only diagnosed at the age of 15). I am really glad you dig so much into my story and that you liked mirror mirror on the wall.
I know I left this story behind and I am truly sorry but there were too many thing happened at the same time and I stuck to stories I already had written on my mind (I had no idea how this chapter was going to go, only knew it was going to be the close up of Annie Kroy).
But now the dust is settled and there were some nice people reviewing (thank you all) so I decided it was time to pick this up again, for all my new and old readers. I hope you enjoy this.
"You know, it really is unfair." Nate said facing her, his hands resting on her hips.
"What?" She asked.
"That my shirts look better on you than myself!" She smiled distracted as her mind was in something else.
"There's something bothering you Soph. Is it Annie?" Her eyes drifted to him in both, astonishment and fear.
"What?"
Nathan Ford jumped the steps in pairs as he ran to save the Grifter, damn her, always stealing things, make him chase her and now, now he had to save her.
He burst in the room hoping he was not too late, hoping she was fine; all he found was an unconscious man on the floor and Sophie looking at him with a strange look, holding a blood stained cane in her hand.
"Sophie, are you okay?" He asked because his mind hadn't quite processed that piece of information yet.
"Mr. Ford; nice to finally meet you!" She said jollity extending him her hand, he frowned, maybe she had hit her head. "And you are as good looking as she said you were!"
"Sophie, did you do this to him?" He asked staring at man lying on breaststroke position on the floor.
"I am not Sophie, but you should thank her because if it weren't for her I'd do this and much more!" She lazily dropped the cane on the floor and started to walk away.
"Who are you?" The insurance investigator asked in frustration.
"I would tell you, but she doesn't let me!" and she walked out the door.
"You know her?" Sophie asked still in shock, her biggest secret, the one she wanted to hide and forget and he knew it!
"She was the woman I met that night in Switzerland, wasn't she? I recognized her at the church and noticed you were transforming."
"How do you know her name?" She was moving around the room nervously, opening drawers and closing them right after, grabbing random objects and putting them away the next minute.
"Lucky guess, you never liked Annie..."
"No, I always thought she was a monster..." she responded with her back facing him.
"Is she?" He asked on a very neutral tone since he doubted any part of Sophie could ever be remotely bad, the woman never stopped to surprise him though.
"No..."
She was a three year-old, scared girl hiding under a table with tears running across her face and trembling knees when she showed up for the first time overpowering the constant enraged screams of her father, the desperate cries of her mothers and the sounds of objects crashing and bodies (One body) hitting the furniture or the walls.
"My name is Annie and I don't know these people!" and that though alone, of none relation with her parents made her feel less scared, she didn't feel love for the woman or hate for the man because they were nothing to her, she still kept under the table, relative or not, the man still was dangerous. She just didn't cry anymore, she didn't feel fear, her knees didn't tremble, and she calmly waited for the storm to pass.
After that, the girl disappeared and Eleanor never thought of her again. At school she'd still create aliases, they had her name yet they were other girls, girl with parents that baked a cake for her birthday instead of drinking through it, girls that went to the Zoo or the cinema with their parents, girls with a life parallel to hers, lives that would never touch hers.
All of those aliases disappeared with time, being replaced with others, girls that had other names, other skills, other tastes and sometimes even other ages, Annie stayed and kept showing at her own will.
Annie was the one that run away from home at the age of seventeen to go work as short congrifter for the Kroys, she was the one that walked away with their blessing to face the world. Other aliases were created, submissive ones, powerful ones, from trashy to classy however, whenever things escalated too much, whenever she got scared Annie took over and dealt with the situation. She became Charlotte and Annie liked Charlotte so much she disappeared for a while, but then Charlotte left William at the altar and Annie got really mad, she started appearing whenever she pleased, ruining things for the other aliases and of course, they didn't step up because they were too scared of what Annie might do when forced.
Things took a turn to the right when, one night, a brand new alias called Sophie Devereaux met a man called Nathan Ford and fell in love with him. Sophie never left and Annie actually respected that woman because she was as strong as she was, on her own way, so she let Sophie be and with time Eleanor, who had disappeared a long time ago to be Annie and all the other aliases, being no one at the same time, became one entire person again: Sophie.
When Nate met Annie that night she didn't present herself because Sophie had told her never too, stating that was way of protection, but Ms. Kroy quickly found out Sophie's truthful intention;, it wasn't about protection, it was about shame. Deveraux was ashamed of Kroy, thinking she was a monster so Kroy stop caring about Sophie and became a monster; it was easy. Not to feel. It was easy. To be what people wanted us to be.
When the team was formed Annie faded away almost completely as Eliot did what she used to do reappearing only at the church because Sophie made her too, and because the little girl was called Eleanor, and if she felt empathy for someone, it were children.
She was so happy when Sophie told her she would be unleashed that night at the aircraft facility, thinking that maybe Deveraux was finally getting her, finally accepting her, but then, at the end of the night she heard what Eliot thought of her, what Sophie still thought of her and she felt wronged.
It had been all about Love.
It's easier if you don't love. You don't love your parents so walk away from them, you don't really love your boyfriend so you don't feel heartbroken when he walks away, people come and go and you already know from experience that sooner or later they're going to betray you so you don't love them, it's easier.
But truth was she loved, immensely deeply, however, she could not afford to be aware of it and that was why she respected Charlotte at first and got so revolted after, she had the courage to love only to walk away and breaks someone's hearth.
And Sophie. Sophie loved more than any other alias, Sophie had the bravery and selfishness to do so even though she knew loving was liability. Sophie loved anyone but Annie and that hurt more than anything else; to be hated by the person you care for the most. To know that she understood Nate's demons; that she tolerated everything he threw at her over the years yet couldn't understand the demons of her very own guardian angel; that was killing her softly.
"Let's have sex!" Nate sad in a jolly tone Sophie did not expect.
"What?" She asked puzzled . Before she could respond Nate was grabbing her by the wrists kissing her neck.
"I want to be inside you tonight!" He mumbled as she fought against him.
"Nate, what are you doing? Nate, stop!" He didn't; instead he threw her on the bed, ripped her (his) shirt apart and started unbuckling his belt with one hand as he held her still with the other.
"Shut up, you bitch! I know you want this!"
He was wondering how far would he have to go and if he could actually go that that far when she showed up. Her respiration became quieter and her skin became slightly colder, her eyes, before panicked, became cold and calm. She didn't give him time to react, pushing him away with a strong kick and launching herself to him after, holding him on the cold floor just like he had done with her on the bed.
"I love you!" were the words that came first came out of his mouth.
"I am not Sophie and you do not love her, Mr. Ford. A man doesn't force a woman when he loves her!"
"I know you are not Sophie and I just needed to get to you." He responded calmly. "I love you, Annie Kroy." Her eyes widened in surprise as her body stopped pressing against his so hard.
"You don't know what you are talking about! No one can love me, even Sophie can't. I am a monster!" His hands came to stroke her cheeks lightly.
"You are a guardian angel, a lost child, an angry soul, a traumatized woman... You are many things, Annie, a monster isn't one." She got up from him ready to walk away, no one had ever spoken to her like that, and she didn't know what to do. He got up from the floor and pulled her by the shoulders making her face him.
"I am sorry that your parents never realised how wonderful you were, they should have loved you, nurtured you and instead they mistreated you so badly you had to dissociate to survive. I am sorry Sophie never realized what you really are and truly want to thank you for keeping her alive and intact, for avenging our daughter and Parker and I want to thank you for being so brave. You did all the things Sophie wouldn't be able to live with. For all those things I love you!"
And he kissed her. Annie had never been kissed, before that she was always the one taking the initiative, even with Eliot; specially with Eliot, but now this man was kissing her and it wasn't about control or sex, it was bout care and love and it felt so warm, so incredibly safe… She cried.
The minute they split apart she fell into tears so he took her to bed and embraced her as she did. She fell asleep crying all the tears she never cried before, feeling all the things she had never allowed herself to feel because it made her weak. Only now she realised it made her stronger.
Sophie woke up the next morning with Nate looking at her.
"Did you get any sleep?"
"Good morning to you too. Yes. How is she?" Sophie stood in silence for a moment or two trying to understand how she felt.
"She's… she's gone!" Nate nodded with a smile on his lips.
"She was a ghost of your childhood, a lost soul looking for love and the absolution for her sins." She stared at him for a few moments taking his words in and trying to understand how she felt, she expected to feel empty yet, instead she felt at peace. Every part of her was at peace, finally-
"May she rest in peace!" Sophie said as she kissed Nate.
As usual, you thoughts on this chapter are highly appreciated even though it's not a E/P.
I promise to update the next chapter soon and I always keep my promises.
