Heroin and Vodka
Author's note-Ok. As pointed out by nastygustin (shoutout!), I guess the story so far has been too scripted to the Season 2 and Season 4 plots. So, in this chapter, I will be diverging a bit in terms of plot and dialogue. So, without further ado, let's begin.
Chapter 3
"Why'd they do it?" she asked herself, dictaphone in one hand
It was half past ten and the entire house was silent. It was dark except for the tiny lamp turned on in Annalise's study.
She was half drowsy and in much need of sleep having slogged through the entire day and barely having scrapped through the sibling's arraignment two days ago.
"Most parricides are the result of years of abuse." she mused. "But Catherine and Caleb say they had a happy childhood. So, why kill their parents?" she argued. "What's their motive?"
"The prosecution will argue that it's the billion- dollar inheritance." she said spooning another spoon of Choco Delight into her mouth, and letting the cool sweet flavor wash over her mouth.
Ice-cream.
It was one of Isaac's solutions to getting over substance issue, especially alcohol.
Flashback
"While an over indulgence could obviously be harmful for the body, studies have shown that ice cream actually works wonders for the recovering alcoholic. It contains alcohol-mimicking components which provide a sensory delight, producing a similar situation to being drunk." Isaac concluded their latest session.
"Reaaly?" drawled Annalise "Ice-cream? Seems a bit too easy to me."
Isaac eyed her in a knowing fashion.
"I know you're skeptical but at least give it a try. Take it from me." he replied.
Annalise sensed something off in his statement but decided to not pursue it further. She sensed he wanted to say more, but had decided to cut himself off instead.
End Flashback
So, here she was at the dead of night pursuing a case which looked like it had the devil presiding over it personally, occasionally spooning ice cream into her mouth. While she had indeed been skeptical at first, she noticed that the cool, sweet dairy product indeed produced an odd sense of elation within her. While it was no drunken oblivion, it was still much preferable to the dreadful monotony of having to play the devil's advocate at this hour.
"And then there's the outsider theory." she mused, gazing down at a picture of the smiling Catherine and Caleb in the company of their parents. "They felt so unloved and resentful that they tied up, tortured and shot their parents, execution style." she said switching to a picture of the Hapstalls tied to a chair, bullet wound on their foreheads gaping blood.
Her laptop pinged signaling an email. Turning to her laptop, she noticed it was from Eve.
Where did you get those sheets? They were so comfortable. I miss them. And you.
Eve.
Annalise sighed as she read the email. Things had gotten pretty heated up last time Eve had come over to her house.
Flashback
"I hate how you make me feel Annalise. I don't hate you. This feeling that I want you and yet I can't have you…" she trailed off, tears in her eyes. She took her face in her hands.
"I remember you everyday." she replied, softly.
And before she knew it, her lips were on hers. Her hands slid down her waist, unzipping her dress as they both climbed into bed.
End Flashback
Annalise sighed. It had been a mistake. Once had been bad enough. But twice?! She felt guilty, almost as though she were leading her on.
She knew she should have confided in Isaac about Eve. But she had been afraid, scared how he would take it. Not only was she in a socially vulnerable position now, what with being a suspect in her husband's murder and being on probation, but now this whole mess with Eve was becoming too much to deal with. She huffed.
No use crying over spilt milk, she thought. She needed to get this off her chest and the sooner she did so, the better off she would be.
She grabbed her jacket and checked her reflection in the hall mirror. Wiping a smudge of ice cream off her mouth, she grabbed her keys and left.
A knock was heard on the front door. He turned on the lights as his eyes fell on his watch.
10:45
Who could possibly be knocking at this ungodly hour?
Grabbing his spectacles off his bedside table, Isaac got of his bed and pulled on his tweed jacket. He climbed downstairs and opened the door to the hallway. Turning on the light, he noticed a dark silhouette against the door. Walking over to the door, he pulled it open.
"Annalise?" Isaac asked in surprise. "What are you doing here at this time?" he asked in a half-drowsy state.
Looking into his eyes, Annalise felt a bit guilty, knowing that she had woken him up at this strange hour. She took a deep breath.
"Look, I haven't been honest with you." Annalise replied. "In our last session, when you told me to open up, I hesitated because my mind was on something else and…" she broke off, abruptly.
Isaac watched her softly.
"Don't stand outside. Come in." he replied, gesturing inwards.
"Thank you." Annalise replied, walking in.
"So, to what do I owe the pleasure at such an awkward hour?" Isaac asked, as he sat down on his seat.
Annalise began to fidget a bit as her eyes shifted away from him.
"You know what? This was a bad idea. I shouldn't be bothering you at this time." she replied, almost jumping off her seat.
Isaac looked puzzled.
"But you clearly already have." he replied with a small chuckle. "Don't worry. I'm used to such visits from patients. Although, I will admit not quite so late as this."
Annalise began to shuffle around her seat. Soon she began to pace the room. Isaac watched her.
"You could start at the beginning." he informed her
She stopped pacing and turned to him.
"What?" she asked.
"I said you could start at the beginning. Its an advice I give to all my patients who struggle to find words to begin describing what they are feeling." he replied.
"Alright then." she replied, resuming her seat. She took a deep breath before continuing. "It all began 20 years ago…"
Flashback
She was just a fresher a Harvard. An African American from Memphis with dreams to make it big. She had cleared her LSATS with an incredibly high score of 178.
She had just been assigned her class and waited. She was the first to arrive. As she shuffled about her, in walked a girl.
Annalise's eyes zoomed in on the girl.
She was tall and had a curvaceous figure. She had long black hair and a fair complexion. But what struck Annalise the most was her eyes.
They were a deep shade of brown and they shone with a shocking amount of intelligence. Annalise could tell she would one day make a fine lawyer.
She walked up to the door leading into the classroom.
"It's locked." Annalise informed her.
She tried it nevertheless.
"When it opens, you can go in first. I know you were here first." the girl replied.
"Does it matter?" Annalise asked.
"If it didn't matter, you wouldn't be here first." she replied with a playful smile. "Hi." she said turning to her. "My name's Eve. Eve Rothlow." She extended her hand to her .
Annalise looked down at the proferred hand before she took it.
"Annalise. Annalise Keating."
And that was how she met Eve. Eve, who would introduce her to the world of criminal law and her body to new feelings.
End Flashback
"So, you met this woman Eve and you two became good friends at law school. I don't understand how this situation is troubling you, Annalise." Isaac replied, after Annalise recounted the entire story.
"That's because I haven't gotten to the complex part yet." Annalise replied, with a wry grin.
Annalise then went on to explain how she began to develop feelings for Eve, who also developed the same for her. It was an entirely new experience and something which both puzzled and scared her, as she was just beginning to develop her sexual side. Eve told her to visit the on-campus therapist for counseling if she needed to.
"I mean I was just out of law school and I thought it's what really smart people did. They go to therapy. Share their feelings. Of course the only thing I could talk about was this offer I had gotten at a law firm."
She took in a deep breath before continuing.
"I wasn't opening up and my therapist could see that. So then he started opening up and began to share things about his life. He taught me how to share. And it worked. I started talking. I mean really talking. And it felt so nice. And natural… and then things began to heat up from there. I began to develop feelings for him. And then…he became my husband."
Isaac's eyes widened at that. When Annalise looked up, she spotted a perplexed expression on his face.
"Hmph…guess you weren't expecting that twist any time soon?" Annalise replied with a wry smile.
Isaac recovered.
"No, in fact I wasn't." Isaac replied, with a small smile of his own. Although it looked somewhat forced. "So, let me see if I've got this right. You developed feelings for Eve and to get over said feelings and to come to terms with them, you began to visit your therapist, for whom you began to developed feelings and he went on to become your husband."
"Eve and I broke off after that." Annalise replied shortly. "I haven't been in contact with her for all these years and I just re- established contact last week because I needed her for this case and—"
Isaac cut her off.
"So you brought this woman back into your life just for a case?"
Annalise paused. She looked down guiltily.
"You could start by apologizing to her." Isaac replied softly. "Apologize for using her like you mentioned, apologize for casting her aside after you met Sam. Apologize for the years of silence you maintained with her."
Annalise looked up at Isaac. He had a soft smile on his face.
"An apology? You really think its that easy?" Annalise asked skeptically.
Isaac chuckled at that.
"You would be surprised at what an apology can do Annalise. You're an alcoholic Annalise. So you are an expert in self- deception. But in here, I'm the expert. So, quit deflecting and do the work to get better. Or else these feelings will simply remain unresolved and you will never be able to come to terms with them." he replied.
Annalise nodded.
"If that's what you think is for the best…"
Isaac nodded.
"It is. Trust me on this."
There it was again. The feeling that he wanted to say more but had cut himself off purposely.
"Ok then. I guess I'll be seeing you next Wednesday." she replied as she grabbed her jacket and her keys off the counter top.
As Isaac watched her drive off, he sighed.
This patient was quite the troublesome kind. He had to constantly keep his guard up around her. Occasionally, he had come close to revealing too much about himself. He had to be careful around her or things would simply go south from here.
Author's note: There you go. A nice cozy, conversation between Annalise and Isaac. I had to struggle to write Eve and Annalise's past, cuz the show never gave it to us and Shonda left the blanks for us to fill.
Anyways , read and review.