Sophie snuck into her apartment, unzipping her boots as soon as she walked through the door, and locking the door behind her. As a usual precaution, she slid the chain as well. It was a long day, a really long day. A good day, no, a great day. A day where you have sex twice and send a corrupt CEO to jail is definitely considered a great day.
As she continued toward her bedroom, she opened up Anna's door to check on her. There was her girl, sleeping peacefully and her Teddy no longer glued to her chest. Slowly the scared, impulsive, angry little girl was evolving to into this beautiful, intelligent, quick young woman. She had been with them for six months and Sophie honestly thought Anna made them better as people. She connected them all.
Just as she was about to close the door, the girl rolled over and yawned. "What time is it?" Anna mumbled already starting to get up.
"It's late, go back to sleep, I just wanted to check on you," Sophie said softly ready to close the door.
Anna glanced at her cell phone laying next to her.
"It's one in the morning." Suddenly the girl was much more alert than Sophie wanted her to be.
"Nate and I got to talking." Among other things. Still, they did some talking. Plenty of drinking and lots of other things, but talking was something they did.
Anna studied Sophie for a moment longer before settling herself back into bed. "Night, Sophie."
Sophie smiled. "Goodnight."
As the turned and pushed open the door to her bedroom, guilt was already eating away at her. If anyone had the right to know, Anna did. Everyday life was very much affected by Sophie and Nate. Decisions couldn't be made without including her in them to. Maybe they made a mistake. Maybe they shouldn't do this.
If it didn't work, Sophie knew she could make Nate and Anna feel like things were back to normal, even if it was at the risk of her own sanity. But if it did… Then over a decade of waiting wouldn't be in vain.
Peeling off her clothing, she threw it to the corner of her bedroom, and for once she didn't care that it didn't make it in the hamper. She knew that Nate and her had something special. She's always known.
No one could possibly love her the way Nate could. He knew her. He understood her. He trusted her, even more than she trusted herself.
Pulling on her night gown, she looked into the mirror and traced her fingers over her stomach wishing she could still feel him holding her against him afterward. His hot breath on her neck and their bare bodies comfortable beneath the sheet.
When the time was right, she would tell Anna. They would tell Anna. But only when the time was right. Still, she almost wanted to make it up.
Two hours later, Sophie jumped awake to the sound of thunder crashing. Her heart was beating wildly as she straightened up in bed and glanced at the clock. It was only three in the morning, she had only been asleep for two hours.
Still, if she was awake, so was Anna.
Stepping out of bed, she grabbed her robe and headed across the hall. Sure enough, there sat Anna cross legged on her bed. Teddy had be snatched away from her bedside table and rested in her lap as she stared out the window.
"Hey," Sophie said softly trying not to spook the girl, but she jumped anyway.
"Hey."
Moving over to the bed, Sophie joined her girl and held her as they both watched out the window. "I know you never sleep through storms," Sophie told her.
Anna looked up at her. "How?"
Pulling the small frame into her arms, she rested her head on top of her daughter's. "I normally check on you and if it's storming you usually are awake watching it."
"You never came in before."
"It's been a while since it stormed. Last time I wasn't sure if you would feel comfortable." She smiled a little. "Unless you count the time on the island and we were all a little busy trying to stay out of jail."
*Anna*
I smiled too.
Sophie's warmth comforted me, more than she could have known. I had been dreaming of my mother a lot lately, strange dreams. Pointless dreams. Yet they still bothered me more than I care to admit.
Wrapping my arms around one of Sophie's, I took a deep breath.
"Tornadoes," I said as though it was the answer to a question she had already asked.
Sophie almost laughed. "What?"
"Tornadoes. They happen a lot in Missouri." Releasing Sophie I stepped closer to the window and pressed my hand against the glass. The thunder roared so loud I could feel the world shake with its fury. "When a storm like this comes, it reminds me of home."
The heavy rain changed into hail that tinked against the cold glass, but I didn't remove my hand. The sound was so familiar that it actually made me turn around and smile at Sophie, and it took her a second to smile back.
Sometimes it felt like the sky was crying. A nice drizzle on those cloudy days that makes it feel like someone up above was mourning, those violent storms that remind you of the angriest tears you've ever cried, and the calm showers that end with a rainbow when you know every things going to be okay.
Storms were mother nature's emotions and you can't grift mother nature.
Moving over to Sophie again, I cuddled into her arms. She sighed as she held me, both of us looking out the window of my bedroom. When it stormed and I was somewhere, halfway across the country alone, I'd think of the Wizard of Oz. How all she had to do was click her heels and say "there's no place like home, there's no place like home".
There's no place like home.
"If I tell you something, will you promise not to laugh?" I whisper as the lightning lights up the room in a blue tint and Sophie yawned.
"Of course."
Taking another deep breath, I squeezed my eyes closed. "The last time I saw my mom, everyone said she was getting better. I knew she was going to be okay… But then she just died. No one told me, no one said a word, they never even showed me where my mother was buried. It was just she was here one day and gone the next. Sometimes… Sometimes I don't think she's really gone at all."
Sophie tensed. I was scared to see her face.
"Anna," she said carefully.
Regretting, my words, I shook my head. "I know, it's stupid. But if my dad lied about you, why couldn't he have lied about Mom too?"
"Anna…"
I bit my lip before pulling away. "I know, it's stupid. Goodnight, Sophie." Leaning down, I kissed her cheek before heading for the living room couch.
I didn't cry. I loved my new family. I loved my new parents and my brothers and sister. I didn't care that they weren't really a blood related family because they were my family. Still, it's that little thought in the back of your mind that haunts you no matter how ridiculous it was.
Curling up on the couch, I pulled the blanket off the back and covered myself in it. But as I laid there, I couldn't grasp why Sophie didn't understand. She was my mother now.
Sophie watched as she left the room. A tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. Anna never meant for her to take it personally, but she did. In so many ways it hurt her, even scared her. She was trying so hard to understand that this wasn't about her and her skills, or lack thereof, of a mother.
What also really bothered her was if Anna honestly hoped her mother was still alive. She was just setting herself up for more pain. There's nothing worse than having hope in something that feels impossible. Especially when you're young.
*Anna*
Eliot was working with me. He pushed my elbows up higher and kicked my feet to widen my stance.
"You're small and fast. Your strength is using other people's strength," he told me, moving in front of me. "If you can avoid their hits, they'll tire. Pressure points are going to be your best friend."
I nodded again, ready. "Same thing as always. Let's go!"
Eliot nodded.
He moved toward me. Hard left swing to my jaw that narrowly grazed my skin as I gracefully ducked back and grinned at him. His eyes narrowed and he started moving faster. Two quick jabs to my right, a finishing swing, all of which I escaped.
I ducked right and landed a fist into his the area right underneath his ribs. His leg swept underneath, taking my feet out from under me. I landed hard on my back, my head bouncing against the floor of Nate's apartment.
Hardison, Nate, Parker, and Sophie all hissed as the tile echoed the sound of my skull colliding with it, but they all remained at the bar, half watching, half doing their own thing. Well, except for Parker. Parker was all into it.
Eliot on the other hand grinned. "Wanna keep going?" he asked offering me his hand.
I glared at him before wrapping my legs around one of his and send him down on the ground perpendicular to me. Doing a back roll, I straightened up. "Sure."
Eliot stood and nodded at me. Something told me he was proud.
The more intense the fight became, the more each member of the team watched. Finally, Sophie put an end to it when my nose and mouth were bleeding and my head bounced off the tile three more times.
"You've been practicing, haven't you?" Eliot asked as he pushed Nate's coffee table back into place and I held tissues to my nose.
"A little," I lied. A whole lot actually. When I had free time I was working on my balance and movement. My head was spinning, but I wasn't going to let Eliot know I hurt. He smiled at me as I forced a smile too.
"You all really need to lay some mats or something," Hardison muttered. "My head hurts from how many times her head bounced."
Eliot glared at him. "There's no safety mats in life."
The line actually made me laugh. Of course Eliot would use something like that. Hardison wasn't a fighter for a reason and Eliot understood that but Hardison needed to stick to his own specialties.
Parker on the other hand looked like she was upset she didn't get to fight too.
"When do I get to fight with you some more? Or can I fight Anna? I bet I could take Anna!"
Reaching out, Parker punched me hard in the arm. I groaned. That girl is terrible at remembering other people's pain which often left them, meaning me, in more.
Eliot shrugged. "I don't know, Anna actually works on it. Hell, if grifting doesn't work out-" Sophie shot Eliot a hard look. He shrugged. "If a girl Anna's size came up, no one would suspect her!"
"That's why she's a grifter," Sophie shot back as I curled up on the couch and reached for some Ibuprofen.
"Come one guys, I thought I was supposed to be a little of everything?" I teased. "Hell, how will I run my own team one day if I don't know how to do it all?"
Hardison looked at me. "I was planning on running a team and I already had you in it! Are you telling me that you ain't gunna be in my team when Sophie and Nate retire?"
Sophie shot Hardison a look. "What makes you think I'd retire?" she snapped.
Poor Hardison, his main problem was never knowing how to shut up. "I mean, you and Nate are both getting older."
Every person in the room silenced. Eliot held a small smirk knowing that Sophie very well may kill Hardison any second. Even Parker knew the boy had said something he shouldn't have.
"Older?" Sophie hissed.
Hardison suddenly realized what he had said and was searching for the right thing to say. "I mean, you don't have to retire, I mean Archie- Uh… You look good, Soph, real good."
Nate was watching from across the room, a safe distance away. Hardison on the other hand was still trying to get his foot out of his mouth.
"Uh… ya know. You're the best that means you can be griftin' for the next twenty-eh-forty years. Did I mention ya look good?"
"Hardison…" Sophie hissed taking a dangerous step toward him and flattening the collar of his shirt. "Keep your mouth shut."
Turning on her heels she walking back toward the kitchen where she and Nate exchanged a glance that, if I didn't know any better, I would say was playful. Hardison was still standing exactly where he stood where Sophie was fixing his collar.
"Yeah, ya no. It's cool. You're cool. I'm cool. We're cool." Sophie shot him a look, he took the hint. "Okay, shuttin up."
Sooo? Some sweet reviews and I'll try and post another chapter no later than Tuesday! You know I love all my readers! Love, Marilynn.
