MASK: Legacy Saga 2: Death Becomes Her
Author's Note: This, my friends, is where the fun TRULY starts to begin, and it's another long chapter, one we hope you enjoy. If you thought there were fireworks before, well…think again. I won't spoil such a good chapter with a cheesy author's note, but I can't help but leave you with a quote that sets the mood for this scene…
"Oh no, every time YOU show up, something monumental and terrible happens." – Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 : Raziel as he addresses the Vampire Kain, his former master.
The next day Roxanne arrived at the hospital in the evening with a bouquet of flowers. She felt tired and barely got any sleep the previous night. All she could think about was Scott. Her plane from Washington DC landed just hours ago, and she didn't want to waste anytime stopping at home. Her father said Scott was stable, but in a coma. Yet her mind was plagued with thoughts of his death. Roxanne approached a nurse, "Scott Trakker's room?"
"You are Miss?"
"His sister Roxanne Trakker."
"Oh yes we've been expecting you. Room A-3."
"Thanks," Roxanne headed down the hall to Scott's room.
She pushed the door open and realized nobody else was in the room, "Must have gone down for dinner. Oh well, I wanted to spend time alone with him anyways." She entered the room and approached Scott.
Roxanne quietly stood next to Scott observing his chest rising, then sat on the side of the bed and started casually talking. "Hey Scott still asleep, for once I'm not the one over sleeping." She sighed as she realized he was still unresponsive, "I guess I was hoping you'd be up, by the time I arrive. Wishful thinking ya know."
She sniffled and grabbed Scott's hand, "It's not suppose to happen like this. You know only I have the right to kill ya little bro, no one else has that right. I told you that. Why did this have to happen? It's almost like I'm destine to be alone…I'm going to lose you just like I lost my mother." Tears feel down her face, "Don't leave me."
Annie stood at the door to Scott's room, she had just returned from the cafeteria and over heard Roxanne pleading her heart out. "He won't go anywhere. Scott's a fighter remember? He would never dream about leaving either of us behind. Your dad sort of reminded me of that."
Roxanne wiped her tears and snapped, "What are you doing here?"
"Well what does it look like? I'm going to be here at Scott side until he wakes up."
"You," She pointed directly at Annie, "don't even deserve to be in the same room as him. You worthless whore! It all your fault he's lying there." She pointed towards Scott, "That should be you! I don't know what hell he sees in you, but that car was meant for YOU not him! YOUR NOT EVEN WORTH SAVING YOU COWARD!"
At first, Annie was completely taken aback by Roxanne's outburst, but it didn't take long for her recover. Shaking with anger, she forced her tone to remain level and icy calm, and it unconsciously slipped into an imitation of her mother's as she snapped, "You have NO RIGHT to talk to me like that, especially in this environment. If you can't control yourself, then GET OUT until you can."
"How dare you say that! Your not even family nor would I ever consider you family you stupid red neck!" Roxanne spitted at Annie's feet, then noticed one of her poorly concealed knives, "What is it with you and knives? Find comfort in sleeping with sharp objects, after all you are a dangerous woman who gets everyone else killed around her! Planning to slit my brother throat in his sleep just to complete the job, who knows maybe you'll get ANOTHER PROMOTION when ya off him!"
"SHUT UP!" She screamed as she slapped Roxanne across the face.
"You really are a undeserving bitch, Scott could always find better and you know it."
Annie's widen as Roxanne's words sunk into her heart. She fell to her knees in shock, tears forming in her eyes. She had spent so much time in the mountains that she wouldn't know how to act as the fiancee or wife of a multi-millionaire heir. Wetness seeped down her cheeks as she whispered, "He's so good to me, and I can't offer him anything in return… He does deserve better, because I don't… deserve him."
Both Matt and Brad ran towards Scott's room after they heard shouting erupting from the room. "What's the meaning of this?" Matt asked
Roxanne slammed her bouquet of flowers in front of Annie, "Here Annie…do us all a favor get rid of yourself, before you kill somebody else."
Brad grabbed Roxanne, "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY THAT TO MY DAUGHTER!"
She pushed Brad away forcing him to let go of his grip and threaten, "You have no right to order me around singer." She then exited the room with Matt following.
"Roxanne hold up!" Matt ran up to her and stopped her. "What the hell was that about?"
She shrugged, "I don't know. I'm pissed off that Scott lying there, and I'm just looking for someone to blame."
"This isn't Annie fault. Get that through that thick skull of yours. This has been a ruff 24 hours on all of us, it would probably make her feel a lot better if you apologize."
"That ain't gonna happen any time soon either. I'm heading home, it's obvious nobody is going to let me see my brother, not while SHE'S here." She replied slightly hurt.
"I wish you'd two would just set aside your differences. Scott going to need both of you by his side to recover."
Roxanne sighed slightly, "I know…it's just best if I visit him on my own time. I promise I won't attack her again like that, and I'll forget she slapped me. Right now I need to cool off, else I'll stay a few more words that I might regret."
"Alright," Matt nodded and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, "Give me a heads up when you plan to come back up."
Roxanne gave her father a soft smile and headed towards the elevator.
By the time Brad pulled her out of Scott's hospital room, Annie was in hysterics. He half-walked, half carried her outside to one of the more secluded hospital benches. At that point, she could do nothing more than bury her face in her father's shoulder and cry, wishing she were the one lying up in that hospital bed. Brad had never heard her cry so piteously or so hard in his entire life, and the only thing he could do was hold her tight and rest his head against hers, vowing to kill the next person who came along and even looked at her cross-eyed.
It took nearly half an hour before she even began to calm down, and even then she still hiccuped gulps of air through her last few sobs. It was only after five minutes of complete silence that Brad felt he could begin talking to her.
"It's taken me until now to realize what you've gone through with Roxanne all these years, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I tried to play peacemaker, and I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you more. Most of all, I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you when you needed me."
"She's right, Dad." Annie's voice was the barest whisper as she lifted her head from Brad's shoulder and started to pull away from him.
Brad grabbed her shoulders and turned her firmly back towards him, forcing her to look him in the eye. "No she isn't…"
Annie stared back at her father through green eyes that had lost their normal spark. With complete sincerity, she replied as though he had never spoken. "Yes she is! What the hell do I know about being the girlfriend of a multimillionaire! I've spent so much time up in the mountains that I'm not cut out for dinner parties and wining and dining and dancing. Hell, I don't even have a proper education, just a bunch of hillbilly training by a bunch of rednecks deep in the backwoods. Scott deserves better than that…"
This is my daughter's erratic emotions, and NOT my daughter talking! Brad reminded himself as he gripped Annie's arms and said equally forcefully, "He deserves YOU." She opened her mouth to comment, but he gave her the stern look of an angry father, that to this day could still quench any of her protests. "I am not going to sit here and listen to you beat yourself up, but you are damn sure going to sit here and listen to me." Satisfied she wasn't going to interrupt, he continued.
"I think you're forgetting just who you really are, Annie. You're MY daughter, the daughter of a million-dollar selling recording artist, and practically an heiress in your own right. So you never have and still don't act like a spoiled rich kid? GOOD. That's exactly the goal your grandparents and I were aiming for with you."
Brad had her full attention now, so he loosened his grip on her arms as she stared at him intently. "I wanted you to have a normal life, Annie, and maybe sending you up into the mountains made it too secluded, but I have no regrets about that decision. I knew that you would be safe there, and I knew that Jesse and Jackie would continue to give you those down to earth values that your grandparents and I worked so hard to instill in you." He couldn't help cracking a small smile at the memories. "Did you ever know how surprised he was when Buddy dropped off this shy, polite, sweetly charming little girl instead of the spoiled brat he was expecting?"
Brad cocked his head as Annie flashed her first genuine smile in days. "Yeah. He told me."
Brad chuckled, and continued his pep talk on a more positive note. "And speaking of that, having a name to throw around like Jesse Hawkes is no small potatoes either. He's a powerful man in his own right, and so are his sons. And you, my dear," he stressed, "are a part of their VERY elite federal law enforcement organization. Hell, you have people working for you on both sides of the law," he added flippantly.
At first, Annie thought Brad meant some of her few intelligence contacts in the underground, but when she saw THAT LOOK in his eyes, she realized what he really meant. Before she could question him further, he said, "It was your mother that told me about the hit. She came specifically to the house to warn me."
Annie lowered her eyes, unable to meet her father's any longer. The thought that Vanessa told him something that she wouldn't…
"You have power in your own right, Annie, and you have powerful friends too, wherever they are. So you don't have the education to go with it, so what? You're too free spirited to be studying books from a desk, and I never pictured that for you. I'll bet your life experiences have taught you more than you'll ever read in some book."
"That's for sure."
Brad pushed a stray piece of hair away from her face as she managed to look up at him again, "You have just as much right to be Scott Trakker's girlfriend, or fiancee, or wife, as any of those other debutantes out there. Actually, probably more so. When you look at Scott, you don't see the billionaire heir, the dollar signs, the fame, fortune, and prestige. You see your longtime friend, the boy you grew up with, the teenager you fell in love with, and the man you love. I think Scott respects that more than the greed of some of the other girls out there, don't you?"
Roxanne's cutting remarks disappeared as her father's words sunk deep into Annie's soul. She felt a wave of calm relief fall over her as she replied heartily, "Yes, I…I do. We've talked about that…a lot."
"All right then…act like it. You've never let Roxanne's views make you lose sight of your goals, so don't start now."
"I tried to reach out tonight, Dad, for Scott's sake. As much as we don't get along, she is his sister, and has a right to be here. I honestly tried, and when she lashed out at me, I guess I just lost it…I don't know."
Brad pulled her into a warm embrace. "I know, Annie. You've always tried, and I know that you'll try to find a peaceable way to cope. Believe me, I'm not going to let this little temper tantrum pass…I plan on having a few words with Matt about his daughter's behavior."
Annie smiled up at her father and hugged him tightly, feeling like he was completely on her side for the first time in years. "That means a lot to me, Dad. I think maybe I'll get a cup of coffee or something while you make sure the coast is clear."
He kissed her forehead and stood up to leave as he requested, "Why don't you grab a couple more for Matt and I on your way back."
"I will, Dad, thanks."
"Anytime, Annie. I'm ALWAYS here for you," he stressed with a playful tweak to her nose, "remember that the next time you decide to keep something from me."
"I will, Dad."
Brad walked back up to Scott's room and found Matt sitting at his son's bedside, showing an unusually vulnerable expression. Brad tapped softly on the doorframe to get his friend's attention and inclined his head toward the hall outside. Matt followed Brad's unspoken cue and walked out to meet him.
"How's Annie?" Matt asked with a concerned expression.
"I managed to piece her composure back together, no thanks to your daughter," Brad answered as he tried to keep his tone level. "Is she still here?"
Matt shook his head solemnly. "No, she stepped out for a while. I'm not sure when she'll be back."
"Well, when she does get back, I suggest you give her some education in proper etiquette. That shouting match had no business taking place here, and I know for a fact that Annie didn't start it."
"I know, Brad," Matt concurred. "I've already talked to Roxanne, and she promised it wouldn't happen again."
"It better not. Annie's tried her damndest to get along with that girl, and she's got enough going on right now without having to ride your daughter's emotional roller coaster."
"Unfortunately that's her way of coping with her concern for Scott," Matt sighed deeply. "She's never known any other way to deal with her emotions except to lash out with them."
"Well she better learn." A lopsided grin developed on Brad's face as he added. "Heck, Even I'm acting better than that."
Brad's remark caused a smirk to develop on Matt's tired features. "So you are."
"How are you holding up?" Brad asked as he considered his longtime friend.
"Same as I always do, Brad."
Their conversation trailed off as Annie reappeared, looking around ominously for any signs of Roxanne. Satisfied she wasn't in the immediate vicinity, she walked over to her father and Matt and offered them each a cup of coffee from the disposable tray she held. They both muttered their thanks as she took the third cup and discarded the holder. They stood in silence for a few moments as all three of them sipped their coffee, each lost in their own thoughts. Annie's eyes drifted toward the window of Scott's room, where she could still see him in bed, unmoving.
"Was there any change?" She asked Matt quietly.
"I'm afraid not, Annie."
"I think I'll go sit with him for a while, unless…" She trailed off and looked at Matt and her father meaningfully.
"Go on, honey, we'll let you know if anything changes," Brad prompted as he picked up the meaning of her words.
She nodded, knowing Brad would let her know if Roxanne was going to return soon. She quietly stepped inside Scott's room, and sat down in the chair, looking over at the man she loved. She smiled wanly as she brushed that one unruly curl of brown hair off his forehead and held his limp hand in hers. She found herself thinking about the many spiritual moments she had with Avila, and couldn't help feeling that deep down, Scott had to be responding to her presence.
"I'm not going to leave you, Scott," she whispered to him quietly, "and I'm not going to give up on you either. So, don't give up on me."
She squeezed his cool hand in her own for emphasis and settled back to wait.