Twisted
Kelly
A/N: Okay this is an EXTREMELY long chapter and I'm sorry about that, I was considering breaking it into two separate sections the chapter and then the flashback but I really do want the chapters to stay in the format of current events then flashbacks to echo the current events. So this is just going to have to be a long chapter, all chapters probably won't be this long.
I don't like this chapter. It's too abrupt and I think Anita slipped her secrets far to easy, but I needed to write it this way so I can continue one with the story so I guess it's a bit of a necessary evil if you will. I am in case you didn't notice writing the first half of the chapter as a normal FF moving through the days and weeks after Leon's accident and so forth, but the second half of the chapter I am writing as a flash back, and not only as flash backs but flashbacks going backward in time. Meaning, the first flashback was two days before, then the next was 3 months before and the next will be 4 months or 5 or 6 or 3 months and one day either way it will be before the flashback before it… I know that is one of the most confusing sentence's I've ever written and there's a lot. But at least I know what I'm saying I think.
Anyway that is why it's a long and messy, slightly ridiculous chapter, but not all of them are going to be that obviously disreguarding of all substance. I promise.
Umm… I apologize it's midnight here and I've had the flu… I'm kinda rambling.
Shout Outs
Victoria79: * Bakes big choc chip cookies and gives you two * You get two because you were the first to review the chapter… and the story hehe.
Greenglowchassis: Yes Anita and Ricky were in 'Were do we go from here.' Which is a fantastic story and I can't wait for Linnie to come home and epilogue that for me… and you know the rest of her fans hehe… but technically this story was around before Anita and Ricky showed up in her ff… she's just much more motivated and better at writing and less fickle then I am hehe. This story has been in my brain for about a year and it's taking me this long to figure it out. Lol. * Give you a cookie too *
Andy: * Gives you a cookie * I'm so glad you are enjoying the ff hehe. I'm still un-sure wheather Leon will give up racing or not, there is going to be a lot of pressure from all different sides on him to keep going or stop accordingly, of course am leaning one way in particular but in the desire to keep me completely off guarge my muses have and probably will change their mind twenty times within the story so who knows.
Loubelle: * Gives you a choc chip cookie * Baked them myself and everything. HEHE. I'm glad your liking the ff… sorry it's taking so long to update but I've had the flu and… like I said this was a really long chapter.
Skittles: * Gives you a cookie AND updates the ff * Now don't you feel lucky hehe. I hope you like the next chapter although it kinda… drones on and I don't particularly like it. Hehe.
ONTO THE STORY!
Chapter 2 "Mommy. Mommy. Mommy." Ricky Elliot sing-songed as he powered along the hall floor towards his mothers room, pushing on of the sliding doors open enough to scamper through then he climbed up on the end of the bed and bounced his way up to land heavily on his mother."Mommy!" Ricky squealed with delight, and in the same breath screamed in fear as something said a bad word and jack-knifed up in bed. "Ahhh!" Ricky wailed pitifully, backing away from whatever was in mommy's bed.
"Ricky! Buddy, it's okay…" Leon said as he came to enough to realize Ricky had jumped on him, and he hadn't been zapped in the heart by a stray lighting bolt. Reaching his hand out he grabbed Ricky's foot dragging him back towards him.
Anita jumped and rolled off the couch at Ricky's screams, she ran a hand over her red hair sure that someone was trying to kidnap him or worse, make him go to bed. Running towards the sound of the squealing Anita flung her bedroom doors open to see, Ricky rolling on the bed his sides nearly splitting with high pitched squeals of laughter as Leon tickled and blew raspberry's on his stomach.
"Morning Mommy." Leon said still grinning down on the two year old, but stopped tickling him.
"Mommy!" Ricky squealed trying to push Leon's hands away as he stood and bounced on Leon's legs purposefully, before launching his angelic little self off the bed at his mother, who moved quickly to catch him.
Good morning my baby." Anita said nuzzling his soft dark head.
"Come on darling I'll make you breakfast in just a minute… why don't you go lie on the couch and I'll come and put the t.v. on in a second." Anita put Ricky on the floor and held the door open for him and he strutted out.
Grabbing a brush from her duchess Anita turned her back on Leon as she brushed and tied up her hair. Turning slowly hugging her stomach Anita questioned softly, "How are you feeling now?"
Leon lay back in the pillows of the warm bed… "My chest hurts, but I can't see if there's any bruising." Leon muttered demonstrating it when he tried to look at his chest but couldn't.
Moving in concerned, Anita pushed the thin blankets away and ran her hand over his right shoulder and peck, looking for the bruise he couldn't find.
"Ow! Right there." Leon muttered softly.
Anita leaned over to get a closer look, and Leon took his chance to tumble her over into the bed, rolling on top of her quickly so she couldn't make a get away. "I feel fine now." He lied dropping a kiss on her nose.
"Get off me Leon." Anita said quietly her lips tightening, her body stiffening.
"I just wanted to show my thanks, you know for what you did last night." Leon smirked down at her, pulling her tighter the stiffer she got. He'd teach her not to snuggle down with him last night.
"Okay you've shown your thanks… now let me go so I can make breakfast." Anything to get far, far away from Leon. "Ricky's waiting for me to…" Anita started.
"Ricky can turn the TV on himself." Leon said his smile widening knowingly as the sound of 'Blue's Clue's' invaded the bedroom as if on cue. "Gimme a kiss." Leon demanded.
"Get off me Leon! I'm not going to kiss you. I'm still mad at you!" And she had yet to say I told you so. She knew that if he kept doing that damn racing he was going to get hurt and she was right. But somehow she found the restraint not to say anything.
"Don't be mad." Leon solved her problem quickly. "Nothing happened babe. I'm fine… I told ya I just needed some sleep." Leon nuzzled her hair smelling the sweet apple smelling Anita scent.
"You got hurt because you were racing didn't you?" Anita said changing tact. "Don't lie I know, I saw how your car looked."
"Yeah so what? It's the first accident I've had in six almost seven years. I'll be fine." Leon shrugged rolling her over to lie on his chest.
"Yeah but you had an accident last night!" Anita pointed out. "What if it had been worse and you'd ended up crippled, or dead? Only takes once!" Anita growled in frustration.
"I didn't. It's okay!" Leon said stroking her hair in comfort.
"Ohh it's okay sure!" Anita snorted, pushing herself out of his arms roughly, sitting on the bed beside him, "Sure it's okay. I'll just go and stock up on hospital vouchers and give them to you for Christmas. They're having a special buy ten injury vouchers get a fucking," Anita bit her lip she wasn't usually one to swear, "Get a cremation free." Anita finished her rant suddenly wasted of rage, and filled with sadness.
"Anita, baby, you're over-reacting. I am not going to die in a car accident." Leon sat up wrapping his arm around her waist.
"Yeah that's what Lisa Baleen's parents probably said, before Mike came along." Anita whispered letting him hold her.
~~~Flashback~~~
3 months before
Anita over here!" Mia waved over the red head with a grin as she lazed on a towel between Leon and a cooler, sunglasses shading her dark brown eye's as she watched her brother and her best friend on the jet ski's they had rented for day. Further down the beach Vince and Jesse were building a sand castle. Well if you asked Vince it was a sand 'masterpiece'.
Anita let go of Ricky's hand as he powered down onto the sand, his sensitive little feet wrapped in a pair of sandal's, after an earlier altercation with the hot sand. His chubby, tanned body was in cased in a pair of brand new Hawaiian flower printed long shorts, there was white zinc on his nose and chubby baby cheeks, and a baseball cap on his dark head to protect him from the midday rays.
Ricky tumbled thrilled onto Mia's stomach, grinning up at her sweetly as though butter wouldn't melt in his little mouth and mewling, "Mee… mee!" as Mia made an exaggerated show of grumbling and dusting sand off her oiled body.
"You mister, are going to pay for that!" Mia threatened, as Ricky giggled abruptly and dashed down the beach squealing giddily as Mia followed in slow, menacing pursuit.
Anita watched from behind her ten dollar sunglasses as Mia scooped up Ricky and spun him around, galloping him into the shallow water and dunking his wriggling little self in it as punishment.
"Hey 'Nita… sit down." Leon said sitting to attention smirking knowingly as he pointed to Mia's abandoned towel.
Anita dusted off her two piece blue swimsuit of invisible particles of sand and sat where Leon gestured, stretching out, swimming at Leon, while casting casual glances back to Mia and her son, just to make sure everything was alright. Ricky had never been to the beach before.
"Did I mention you look fine in your swimsuit?" Leon complimented the red head with his most genuine of smiles, and a sweeping glance from the top to toe of her pale, creamy body.
Anita laughed awkwardly, passing a look down her too wide hips, child bearing hips her grandmother had called them, and the slight pot on her stomach she still hadn't quite lost from when she was pregnant with Ricky, and her to small chest that was the cause of many "She's even jealous of Ironing board" related jokes, and her lack of an form of butt what so ever.
Hiding behind her sun glasses Anita changed the subject with a soft, "You look great yourself… usually your all covered in grease when I see you." Anita chuckled to herself again nervously, gazing out to the group of four now sitting around the sand castle.
"Then you obviously don't see me enough." Leon smiled working up the nerve to reach over and give Anita a kiss. Then leaning back on his elbow's as if nothing out of the usual had happened.
Anita bit down hard on her lip to stop the goofy grin trudging determinedly towards her lips. "He's… really rather big isn't he? Vince I mean. Not like Jesse…" Anita mumbled as she watched Vince talk earnestly to her son, as he gripped a spade in one hand, while Mia and Jesse fought over who got to fill the bucket with sand.
"Yeah… he is a big son of a…" Leon cut himself off. No swearing around Anita and Ricky… he'd been schooled on that rather quickly, after Ricky had tattled to his mother when Leon had dropped a spanner on his foot and a swear word on Ricky's little ears. "He's big." Leon nodded.
"He makes Ricky look even smaller then he is." Anita said burying her head in her hands to stifle a gasp of laughter as an obviously frustrated Ricky, slapped Vince on the wrist and shouted, "NO! NO! Mine!" And snatched the shovel off a equally frustrated Vince, who had been trying to explain the subtle art of sand sculpture to the child.
Leon did nothing to hide his chuckle as Ricky ran squealing around the sand castle as Vince growled playfully and chased him, then Jesse joined in putting the bucket on his head and the handle under his chin chasing the thrilled toddler.
"Yeah but I get the feeling Ricky himself is gonna be a big boy. Bigger then you. Not that that's hard. He must take after his dad." Leon teased Anita slowly watching her face as it started with a grin and ended with a closed off frown.
Anita wriggled awkward in the silence on, Mia's towel, staring out at the waves as two of Leon's friends, Dom and Letty, came in to talk to the group that had trudged back down to the sea with Ricky once more.
"Hey I didn't mean… I don't even know his dad… he could be an ass… at least Ricky has you right?" Leon muttered staring out at the gang in the water as well, frustrated that he may have put his foot in it when they were just starting to get it together.
And by the way Anita's mouth tightened and her shoulders tensed he got the feeling that he hadn't said the right thing to smooth it over either.
"'Nita… I'm sorry… I just opened my mouth and words came out before I could check 'em. I didn't mean nothing by it." Leon apologized quietly, taking a coupla sips on his corona.
"Um… I… no… it wasn't your fault… it was just… a shock… I try not to think about Mi… Ricky's dad as much as I can." Anita shrugged, still un-nerved, by the memories it brought up.
"You know… you can tell me… if you want too… I don't give a fuck… I don't care what happened with him or anything, but if you wanted to…" Leon muttered rationing his curiosity as to Ricky's un-present father to a minium. He didn't want to push her yet… if things worked out… with them… maybe then he'd try again.
It's… not really… you wouldn't…" Anita tried to brush off his concern, she didn't want to tell him about her past. She was ashamed of it. But maybe, she should tell him now before they got serious, he might not, will there was no might about it, he wouldn't want her if he knew what she was like back then.
"Okay." Anita muttered her heart shifting at the mere thought of bringing up those memories she'd pushed away for the last 2 years. But it was a decision, she could keep pushing away the memories, or she could try and use them to push Leon away. It was the… honest, responsible thing to do. It was avoidance, but it didn't stop her.
"I was… I was a teen when I had Ricky… pregnant at 16 had him when I was 17. I… I got pregnant to a guy I had been dating for a little under a month… we both worked at the wings west factory. I worked part-time in the office, and he worked on the floor. Mike Helner. That was his name." Anita took a hard breath and pushed forward before she could chicken out.
"When I told him I was pregnant, he said he'd look after me, that he'd take care of it. So… after that I told my parents. But Mike couldn't make it. We got into an argument I mean what parent wouldn't, but they were actually pretty good about it." Anita smiled painfully.
"My step-mom, she became my birthing partner when Mike took off. I graduated from high school in my 5th month. Then after Ricky was born, I…" This was the hardest part… the part she wanted to ignore. "I went in search of Mike… I figured that we'd be okay… if it was just him and me again… I left Ricky on my parents door step…" Anita's lips trembled as her eye's focused in on her son and stayed with him.
"I went to New York, and found out Mike and his girlfriend had an apartment there. I watched them for a while… I guess… that's like stalking to you, but I didn't think of it like that… I was just so sure… I was hanging around when a police officer came up to me… I thought I was getting arrested." Anita gulped as she remembered that feeling of dread.
"Turns out he was after Mike. Mike… had… been in an accident. A… a hit and run with a 9 year old girl… Lisa Baleen. They had been looking for him for almost a year… the girl had died in hospital… from… like massive internal trauma… it was strange… my first thought was what if it had been my baby. What if Mike had stuck around and done something like that to my baby." Anita wasn't talking to Leon any more just herself.
"I went home… and explained everything to my parents… they got mad at me… couldn't really blame them… and they wouldn't just let me take Ricky… but… they promised that if I could show them that I could look after Ricky properly, they'd give him back. I couldn't really complain, they were more then fair." Anita muttered, forcing her eye's from her son, and the churning and nausea in her stomach to cast her eye's at Leon then away.
Leon sat stunned… he couldn't believe what he was hearing. She'd abandoned her son. Ricky. To whom she insisted the sun revolved around. She'd abandoned him, as a baby? Not when he was fifteen… not that that was any easier… but… he couldn't… believe it… He couldn't handle it… "I need to go for a walk…" Leon muttered getting up and jogging away from her with speed.
When he returned twenty minutes later. Mia was resting her towel Vince and Jesse where building a sand castle and Dom and Letty were on the jet ski's. Frowning he sat down next to Mia but before he could speak she answered, "Anita had to leave real suddenly… she said you've got her phone number if you ever want to speak to her…" Mia related, with a sun-induced yawn.
