Disclaimer: I do not own AHS.
A/N:
Hey, guys! No one freak out lol I had updated chapter 48 but then I realized I had updated the wrong document. Thank you WhiteGamme97 for your review, once I read it I went back and realized my flu-induced mistake. Sorry, guys! Ugh, I'm a mess this week. I tell you. I'm down with the flu (During finals week. Can you believe that?) Anyway, I wrote the chapter in two parts and ended updating only the last part so I went back and deleted it. No worries, no one was mean to me or anything and if they were, I wouldn't care and would still continue to do what I do (: thanks for being supportive, guys! You're the best.
Alas, here is the correct version of chapter 48.
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CH 48- Crumbs
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Lana continued to stare at those distant eyes, trying to remind herself where she had seen them before. Lana's stomach suddenly churned with a distasteful feeling and she felt herself trembled slightly. Dominique quickly flooded into her mind, playing on a torturous loop.
"Johnny…" Lana spoke softly, eyes still on the woman. "Drink your milk…"
Johnny did as he was told and finished his milk, spilling a little onto his sweater. He then set the cup down on the table. Just as he did, the waiter came to place Lana's check on the table, distracted, Lana looked away from the familiar woman to the waiter.
"How was everything?" He asked.
Just as Lana was answering him, Johnny slid off the booth and looked into the direction of the family on the table. He noticed the little boy and made his way over.
The little boy named David, who was scribbling on a napkin with a crayon while his father talked animatedly to his silent mother, felt someone watching him and turned to see Johnny standing there. The little boy smiled at the toddler, "Hi."
Johnny smiled and stepped closer, "Hi."
When Lana looked away from the retreating waiter, she noticed Johnny was missing from his seat. "Johnny?" She panicked and quickly saw him at the other family's table, standing on his tiptoes as he attempted to peer at whatever the other boy had been drawing.
Lana grabbed her purse and stood to her feet. Dominique rattled in her mind the closer she approached the table. That woman. Those lifeless eyes. That tight, rigid smile. She had seen her before. She was sure of it.
"Johnny," Lana grabbed Johnny's hand, softly pulling him from the table, "My apologies." Lana said to the two adults.
"Oh, it's quite alright." Said the man. He seemed awfully cheerful.
Lana forced a smile, "He likes to wander off." She hauled Johnny up into her arms. Just as he was settled, Lana met eyes with the woman. Suddenly, Dominique came to a screeching halt.
Lana knew who that woman was.
She had met her in Briarcliff.
"Do I know you?" Lana asked, wanting to be sure of it.
The man looked from Lana to his wife, "Charlotte, is this a friend of yours?" He seemed awfully confused and a little in intrigued. As if his wife had little or no friends at all.
The woman kept her tight smile as her eyes remained on Lana. "No, I don't think we've met." Her tone of voice sounded disturbingly scripted.
Lana didn't know what else to say. The woman obviously didn't recognize her and if she did, she wasn't going to admit it. After all, they hadn't met in the most charming of places.
"Oh," Lana spoke, continuing to hold her emotionless glance, "I'm sorry, I must have you mistaken for someone…for someone else."
The woman smiled and nodded as if it didn't really bother her. As if nothing ever bothered her. Lana looked from her to her husband, "I apologize, have a nice lunch."
"That's alright." He said again, "Thank you."
Lana glanced from him to the woman. She was definitely from Briarcliff. Lana would never forget any of the faces she saw there. So she lifted Johnny higher in her arms and excused herself. She was halfway out of the restaurant when she turned around to catch the woman's emotionless eyes still staring back at her.
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Lana was perplexed by the woman's denial but thought that perhaps she didn't quite remember her. After all, they did only have a small interaction in the rec room. It was an odd thing, however, seeing someone from her days in Briarcliff. Yet, those lifeless eyes of hers left Lana with a chill so strong that her spine continued to rattle until they were miles from the restaurant.
Lana searched her mind all the way home trying to place a name to her. But that woman sure wasn't there when Briarcliff closed. She had gotten out before and that fact left Lana feeling a little bereft. How did she manage to escape? Escape was the wrong word to use. Whatever it was, whatever they did to her, Lana didn't want to know.
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That night, Lana was plagued with a terrible nightmare. She was back in Briarcliff, wandering the halls in that filthy nightgown and cardigan. Dominique had escaped the rec room and played through the entire building, mocking her. In her dream, Lana saw the woman from the restaurant. She stood at the end of the hall, dressed like a perfect 1950s house wife. That wide, rigid smile on her face; accompanied by those deep, dark, emotionless eyes.
"Welcome back, Ms. Winters." She said cheerfully.
That's when Lana woke with a start and a gasp. She placed her hand to her head, brushing back her hair. The room was dark, only passed one in the morning. Lana looked from the ceiling to the little sleeping boy at her side. He slept on his side, facing her with his little thumb jammed into his mouth. He still slept like a little baby and in that moment, he still looked like one.
When Johnny slept so soundly, it was hard to believe he had ever been a little terror—as Lois so nicely to put. Those long eye lashes, that little button nose, those heart shaped lips and those chubby little cheeks; the boy was to die for. And it often made Lana forget who his father was and how he had been conceived.
Sometimes, in the mornings when Lana awoke, there were a few seconds in where she would look at her sleeping son and forget who she was. Those few seconds had her believe that she was a married woman with a complete family living somewhere in the suburbs. She had conceived her son with a loving husband who had already left for work and whom she would see later. However, reality would soon kick in and her brain would make sense of things. It was such an odd thing but it happened from time to time.
Lana took full notice of Johnny's thumb in his mouth and figured it was another habit they would have to break. His potty training was going all right for the most part. Johnny was just stubborn and didn't like using the toilet but Lana could begin to see that having a wet diaper was beginning to make him feel uncomfortable. It would only be a matter of time.
Lana laid her head back down and exhaled, trying to calm herself from such a strange dream. Wherever that woman was now, Lana was glad she wouldn't see her again. Or so she hoped.
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"Okay, do you wanna ride in the cart or do you want to walk?" Lana asked Johnny when they reached the inside of the grocery store. It was Sunday morning and the April showers were continuing relentless. Lana thought Boston would flood if the rain didn't stop.
Johnny pondered his decision and then with a confident shout, called out, "Walkuh!"
"Alright, but hold my hand." She set him down and extended her hand out to him. Johnny took it without hesitation and jumped excited as Lana grabbed a grocery cart to place their things inside.
She pushed the cart with one hand while holding Johnny's hand with the other. Johnny wobbled at her side, quickly trying to catch up with his mother's pace. His little sweater lifted up, revealing his little potbelly. One of his sneakers was untied and somewhere in his pocket he had shoved a toy cat.
Lana stopped to look at the vegetables. "Hold onto me, ok? Don't let go."
Johnny grabbed Lana's jeans, staying close at her side. He watched the people walk by with a slightly parted mouth and big brown eyes of curiosity. He sniffled and then turned to Lana's legs and rubbed his face against them, smearing his runny nose on her jeans. Lana was too preoccupied with the prices of the vegetables to notice right away. When she did, she sighed and reached into her purse, pulling out a handkerchief.
"Johnny, no, don't do that. Come here." She reached down and wiped his nose and then her jeans. She was awfully used to being covered in whatever substance Johnny spilled on her. Bodily or not. It was the life of a mother.
"Now, tell me what you want for dinner. Do you want chicken again or—"
"No, buk buk."
"Okay, what about meatloaf?"
"Yucky."
"Yucky? What do you mean yucky?"
"I no yike it." Johnny looked away as a women with two kids walked by.
Lana stood back up, "Do you want spaghetti then?"
"No."
"Lasagna?"
"No."
"Fine, eat air then." She placed the handkerchief back into her purse.
Johnny gasped, "Oh! No, yair."
They walked past the cookie and cracker isle and Johnny dashed into it. Lana stopped the cart and turned it around to follow him. Johnny stopped in front of the cookies and scanned them. He then reached up to grab a yellow box of Nilla wafers. His sweater went up when he did. Once he had the box in his little, grubby hands, Johnny dashed off back to Lana.
"Mama! Mama! Wookies!"
"Sure, that you'll eat." Lana said with a sheepish smile. "Johnny boy, you little piggy."
"I not piggy!" he pouted with a frown and then turned utterly concerned, "Peas! Peas!" He raised the box up to Lana, "Mama, peas!"
Lana chuckled and plucked Johnny off the ground along with the box of wafers. She sat him on her hip, "If I get you the cookies, will you eat dinner first?"
Johnny tilted his head, thinking about it. He then smiled impishly. "I wuv ya, Mama."
Lana huffed. "I bet you do."
"I has wookies?"
She sighed, not knowing why she could never say no. "Yes, you can have wookies."
"Yay!" He leaned out of Lana's arms and dumped the box of wafers in the cart. "Dere."
"There." Lana repeated and sat him in the cart, buckling him in. "Now, for dinner."
"No, diyer."
"What do you mean 'no dinner'? You promised, you little fiber."
Johnny put his hands up and shrugged, babbling a few words as if he had no clue what Lana was talking about.
When they left the grocery store, the rain had stopped. Lana buckled Johnny into the car and drove them home. On the way, they drove by the park. Johnny glanced out the window and pointed at it, "Pway!"
Lana thought of all the work she had sitting on her desk at home, "Johnny, I have a lot—" She looked at him through the rear view mirror and noticed his sad little eyes. There were wafer crumbs on his pouty limps and his cheeks were rosy red from the fresh air. Lana couldn't help but to feel bad that she had him cooped up inside all day while she worked.
She glanced back to the road. They were close to home and the groceries would be fine in the car for a little while. She didn't see why not. "Well, the rain did stop…okay, let's go play."
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Lana sat on a bench watching as Johnny ran around the playground with a few other kids. He was a little shy at first and watched from a distance but when another little girl around his age went up to him, Johnny opened up and played with her and slowly with the other kids.
Lana kept her eyes on the boy. She had almost forgotten about the woman at Briarcliff. She had seemed so different. She kept to her thoughts until a man came and stopped at the bench, "Excuse me, is this seat taken?"
Lana did a double take and looked up at the man. He was roughly around her age, rather handsome, with a polite smile. She shook her head, "No." and scooted over slightly for him to sit.
They sat in silence for a moment until the man spoke up, "It's a miracle the rain stopped for a moment."
Lana smiled politely and nodded, trying to keep her eyes on Johnny. The man was silent and then slightly turned to Lana, "So, which ones yours?"
"The one in the maroon sweater." Lana pointed Johnny out.
The man scanned the playground to spot Johnny watching an older kid swing from a safe distance. He smiled, "He's quite the handsome boy."
"Thank you."
"Mine's the little pig tails right there." He pointed over to the playground.
Lana looked at a little girl just a year older than Johnny running around. Lana smiled too, "She's a cutie."
"Thanks," He beamed proudly, "It's my day with her."
It wasn't long before the man managed to engage Lana into an interesting conversation. Lana minded at first but then she realized it was nice to speak to someone who didn't always answer with the word, "No."
Apparently, the man was a widow and he shared custody with his deceased wife's parents. He worked a lot and couldn't care for his daughter all the time. So he took her out when he could. Lana didn't open up about her single situation. The man only assumed she had a husband and she didn't correct him.
"No, really I swear, I met the man and he's not as great as everyone thinks." Lana chuckled.
"Seriously? I don't believe that."
"No, I'm telling you—" Lana stopped right in her tracks when she caught Johnny in the playground. He had been chasing another child when he slowed down and began to pant. "Oh, no." She stood, grabbing her purse and hurried to him, "Johnny!"
The man stood to his feet but remained frozen. He watched as Lana went up to the little boy, dug into her purse and fished out an inhaler. The little boy shook his head as he panted but was finally convinced by his mother. She pressed the inhaler twice and let Johnny breathe in. She then softly rubbed his back and spoke gently to him. When he caught his breath he raised his arms up in the air to be picked up. Lana picked him up and held him close.
When she reached the man she gave him a polite smile, "I should take him home. It was nice meeting you."
"You too," He said a little sad to see her go, "Hope he feels better soon."
"Thank you." Lana said and with that, took off.
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Johnny fell asleep on the way home. By the time they arrived, it had started to rain again. Lana entered the apartment with Johnny, her purse and the groceries in arms. She kicked the door behind her closed and dropped her purse along with the grocery bags on the sofa and made her way down the hall with the sleeping boy still in arms. She passed by Johnny's room and took him to her bedroom where he slept too. She always told herself she would get him used to sleeping in his own bed but she just never got around to it.
Lana laid him down and took off his shoes. "Rest up, baby." She kissed his forehead and placed his favorite blanket over him.
Lana then exited the room and returned to the living room. Lana noticed her work on her desk waiting for her but for reason didn't want to bother with it. She just kept thinking of the first time Johnny had an asthma attack and didn't want to repeat it.
She plunked down on the sofa next to the groceries and plucked the open Nilla Wafer box from one of the bags. She sighed softly.
There was a knock on the door and Lana leaned her head back, closing her eyes, not in the mood to deal with people. She then thought about the little girl scout and decided to get up and open the door.
When she did so, Lana's eyes widened and her lips parted in surprise, "Margo?"
