Oooh. Late update. It's probably going to take much longer the next time :( Terribly sorry. Y'know college times. Plus I'm having my Thesis. Can't thank you enough for reading this fic, guys. :'D It makes me motivated.
Hope you like this chapter.
Chapter 6
Dark bags rimmed the bottom of her eyes-nicely concealed by foundation.
She wanted to scream in agony, so badly, but she couldn't.
It has been week since she'd seen the devil. But the time had done little to put her at ease. It just ate her up from the inside out. Anxiety took the form of insomnia and a lack of appetite.
Anna urged Luke to take care of himself. But he was handling the situation just as bad as she was.
At least it was the opposite. He slept more.
She went to work feeling worn out. She didn't even bother to look good, resorting to keeping her hair in a tight clean bun, to hide how dull it was looking.
The mixed scents of the perfumes and bathroom commodities of the retail shop only made her nauseous and slump down on the counter. Edgar and Mary had left town for a small business trip, leaving her along in the shop. She was glad they couldn't see her like this. But Margot couldn't have picked a better time to visit her at work.
She had been trying to hide the distress from her cousin ever since but she was terrible at faking how sick the situation was making her feel. Margot had taken her by surprise, visiting without her knowing. This caught Anna off guard, and her exhaustion became more apparent.
"Ann, are you alright?" Anna tiredly looked up at her cousin who was standing at the other side of the counter. Margot, she had this soft, refined way of talking. Maybe it was just the way the British sounded to foreign ears, but today it was surprisingly melodic to her.
"Yeah. Why do you ask?" Anna replied nonchalantly. Margot raised a brow. "Really? You know, you're not that hard to read. Something's been bothering you ever since the party." Sigh. This would have been so much easier if it were mom and dad. They still couldn't tell how she was really feeling even if it hit them. Killed them.
"Come on. You can tell me." Anna forced a smile.
"It's nothing. I've been feeling a little sick lately." That was true.
Margot stared at her in sympathy. Sweet and caring.
"Sick? Like a head ache or a stomach ache? I can get you medicine. How bad is it?" Her doe eyes looked at her with concern.
"Marj, Marj. I'm okay. I'll live. I just haven't been sleeping well."
"I'll get you sleeping pills- it's right around the corner." Before Anna could protest, Margot had briskly walked out of the small shop.
Anna laughed shakily, amused by her overly concerned cousin, but exhausted.
She plopped back down on her stool in the counter leaning on its surface.
Minutes passed and she grabbed her phone, bored out of her mind. She opened a game app to take her mind off of some things.
Anna hardly noticed the customer that came in.
"Miss?" Anna fumbled with her phone, nearly dropping it. She looked up, flustered when she realized that the elderly customer had been standing by the counter for a couple of seconds by now.
The old lady greeted her with a warm smile, a basket of scented bath soaps in front of her on the wooden counter.
"That'll be seven pounds, ma'am." Anna said with a crooked smile. The lady's watery eyes sparkled with humor.
"Best to put that down, luv. If I could startle ye, I dun know how you'd handle younger company."
Anna chuckled. "Thanks."
The Irish woman nodded in return and moved away. Anna shook her head fondly- going back to the game she had paused. The next customer stepped in. And as they say, listen to your elders.
Anna looked up and yelped.
"Motherfucker!"
"Bite your tongue, young lady!" The old woman called out. She was barely out the door and had very well heard the vulgar outburst.
Anna instantaneously backed away a few feet, crashing against the shelves of boxes of plastic perfume bottles behind her.
His small smile would have been sunshine in England for anyone else.
"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" He quipped, turning his head slightly.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" She near-whispered, trembling.
David huffed, slightly exasperated and shrugged. At this point, her reactions had become rather repetitive and tiresome. "Y'know I'm starting to think you're going to overreact each time you see me."
Anna gawked at him- a mixture of shock and bewilderment in her expression.
"Relax. I'm just a customer today."
Still no reply. David gingerly placed the basket on the counter, pursing his lips as he proved his point. Anna carefully looked down at the basket and its contents.
"... There are cheaper towels and soap in the supermarket."
David smirked. "That's poor sales talk. Not only did you give away your customer to a competitor but you also made a prejudgment on his economic status."
Anna simply stared at him, apprehensive and unamused. All the while, she was clenching her fists together very tightly.
"Well, you don't look like the type to walk into a perfume gift shop... Just broadening your options."
David smiled at her knowingly- obviously quite comfortable. And knowing that, just made the situation all the more aggravating to her.
"You're assuming. What makes you think I don't know my way around town?" Anna internally scoffed.
"You're not from here." It sounded more timid than she intended it to be.
"I get around."
"Do you?" Anna had said this as an afterthought.
"Are you underestimating me?"
"I don't know... Am I?" She said rather carefully, throwing the question back at him. David watched her intently, amused by the ounce of bravery in her effort to maintain some ground.
"Clearly you've learned very little about me." He replied smoothly.
Something like fire burst inside her. A sudden change- from apprehension to a strange surge of deep resentment. Anna tilted her head slightly, eyes narrowed-her expression challenging him.
"Well, we're certainly not who we say we are, now are we?"
It was said with a lot more confidence than she knew she had. And it was all it took to wipe that smile off his face.
Silence stretched between them. This time, Anna refused to cower in front of him. And yet it had never become less unnerving to stare back at the intensity in those eyes- unyielding and very focused on her.
"Kale?"
Suddenly, the world was once again existent.
Both simultaneously turned their heads. Anna was just about dumbfounded by her cousin's impeccable timing. David took a side glance at Anna, one brow raised slightly.
"It's good to see you!" Margot beamed, completely oblivious of what had transpired. At that, both shared a mutual understanding- that they now shared secret.
The tension immediately dissipated. David grinned, charming as usual- an effortless change in demeanor which unfortunately was impossible to pull off for Anna. Margot approached the two, first looking at her unnerved cousin then at David. She noticed the apprehension immediately, though Margot didn't think much of it at that moment.
"You kept your promise." She said. David chuckled lightly much to Anna's revulsion.
"Told you I would visit the shop." The man once again returned to speaking in the British accent. Anna noted, with as much awe as disgust that the bastard was speaking to Margot like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Anna, have you been properly introduced to..?" This time, Margot turned to her cousin, waiting for a response. Anna just stared at her with a perturbed look in her eyes which was impossible to miss. Feeling rather awkward, Margot pursed her lips together.
"This is Kale Parker. We met him at the club." She turned to David once more, who had been smiling the whole time. Anna's expression was frozen in a sort of disbelief. The sheer irony of being introduced to him was almost laughable. If- their lives hadn't depended on keeping quiet.
"So now you've properly met my cousin Anna." Margot grinned, just before remembering the thing she rushed off to earlier.
"Oh, I almost forgot! Here is some Ambien..." Margot busied herself with rummaging through the plastic bag, unaware of the coy smile on David and the wide eyed glare Anna made. Margot finally dug out the small packet.
"It'll help you get some sleep." Anna took it wordlessly, eyes not once leaving the man that stood in front of her.
The awkward silence returned. Margot swished around bashfully, more than eager to break the peculiar atmosphere.
"It was nice seeing you Kale..." Tentatively, she stretched out her hand to shake his. Anna sighed to herself. Thank God, she could now catch a br-
"Maybe you'd like to hang out some time?..."
Anna went rigid. Oh shit. Margot continued.
"My friends and I are off to a camping trip in the end of the month." David's smile grew wider. Oh no. No.
"Would you like to tag along? Anna is going too."
"That sounds great."
"No that's terrible!"
"Anna!" Margot exclaimed, shocked by her cousin's reaction. She looked at her, demanding a good explanation. Anna mentally fumbled for a legitimate reason. But how could she even begin to explain?
She stared at David who was looking rather smug. He was absolutely frustrating and yet Anna couldn't help but stare at him pleadingly.
Margot stared at her cousin, quirking a brow-confused and suddenly wondering as to what was really going on. She looked back at "Kale" apologetically.
"I'm sorry. She's just a little..." She trailed off as David calmly turned to her, a placid expression on his face. He shook his head and smiled.
"No. I should be apologizing. I wouldn't want to impose. I completely understand how she feels, since she hardly knows me...Maybe in the near future when your cousin feels ready." He nodded, smiling very sincerely. Whole-heartedly. Anna would have had the guts to sneer at his display of civility, if it weren't for how grateful she felt at that moment.
"Anyway, I'll see you around." At that, David turned around and finally left the shop. But not without a last glance at the two. The doorbell chimed closed.
Anna felt herself relax, and her body slacken. She had almost forgotten how tired she actually felt.
Margot immediately switched her attention to her cousin.
"Anna, what's really going on?" Her cousin stared at her with a worried expression. Anna shook her head.
"Nothing." Margot pursed her lips, unconvinced.
"Anna, I'm not entirely oblivious. I kind of figured out that Kale was making you uncomfortable." You don't say? Frustration welled up in her but it only made her look more helpless.
"He's not so bad when you get to know him. Every time I meet him, we've only ever had nice things to talk about." Margot added.
Anna couldn't believe the absurdity of the situation. Was she just told that the man that had threatened her and killed her friends and family, was "not so bad"?
"He's very friendly." Too friendly. She wanted to say that. Anna sighed heavily, coming up with the vaguest response she could think of.
"I don't trust him."
The surprised look on her cousin was expected.
"Why not? He helped you out back in the club. He even carried you all the way to the car that night." Margot replied insistently.
"Marj-"Wait. Anna had to do a double-take on that last part. "You didn't mention that before." Margot shrugged.
"Sorry. It was kind of a haze for me too."
Anna looked at her cousin cautiously. "Margot, you shouldn't spend so much time with him." The woman sighed.
"Ann, I know that things had been very rough for you over the months… But, you shouldn't be afraid to make new friends."
Yes. New friends. David wasn't particularly "new" to her.
"What about John, Jenna and Katelyn?"
"They were my friends first. I mean, new people."
"You mean strangers."
"Not exactly what I meant. I just want you to be okay. I haven't known you for so long, but I can tell when you're afraid. And you shouldn't keep going on like this." Margot placed a tender hand on her shoulder.
Anna looked at her, dejectedly. Seconds ticked away before she spoke again.
"...Give me some time. I haven't quite gotten over what happened." Margot nodded. She understood; it was completely understandable.
"But trust me, when I say, keep your distance from Kale." Anna quickly added. Margot quirked a brow.
"There's just something off about him. Just don't." Anna interjected, not allowing her cousin to ask further questions.
Margot quirked the side of her mouth. Anna was glad her cousin was not one to go into too much detail.
"Alright." She finally said. Margot turned to look through the large shop window. Both of them hadn't realized that the man they were talking about still hadn't left their sights. He was across the road, apparently just exiting a neighboring store. For a moment, they silently watched him, before Margot spoke.
"Oh God... Staying away from him will be a lot harder than I thought." Now it was Anna's turn to quirk her brow, bewildered by the conclusion.
"I'm sorry, Anna. But it's not every day that a man that handsome and charming, walks into your life." Oh boy. That was her, like months ago. Anna dead panned when her cousin wasn't looking.
Margot lazily smirked as she leaned backwards on the counter, admiring the view.
The thought of her cousin and David together was absolutely disgusting. And the fact that Margot was saying all these things in a dreamy, old English fashion was just plain disturbing. Anna's eye twitched, visibly repulsed by the idea of him and her cousin getting together. She shook her head and replied firmly.
"You can do much better." Margot simply chuckled.
...
Closing time was five in the afternoon. Anna was thankful that she never had to stay after dark. Especially now that she met the psycho. Margot had left earlier to visit a friend. Mr. and Mrs. Banks had probably went straight home after their day trip.
The day had left her plenty to ponder on- mostly about her conversation with Margot.
She had been very sullen ever since the tragedy. Anna could comfortably admit, she was willing to let go of the past events. However, on the subject of befriending the person that had caused them, Anna was fairly certain, she'd have to be a complete lunatic to do so. That, had been running through her mind like a loop. The worst of it, was that she didn't know who to turn to. Her younger brother was always going to be out of the question. No, if anything, she knew she had to be strong for both of them.
Just as Anna pulled down the metal security door to the shop, she was in for the second surprise of the day. Albeit, just as unpleasant as the last. But at least, less startling, as she had seen the bastard first, casually walking towards her yards away.
She was keenly aware of how nervous she was. But somehow she didn't feel as though she was in any sort of danger. The dozens of witnesses all around them was comforting. But who's to say he wasn't just going to shoot her on the spot- and far worse, bomb the whole town? Anna silently prayed for nothing of the sort.
The man walked up to her, hands in both his pockets. Anna didn't allow herself to let her guard down. For safety reasons, she had always kept pepper spray with her, and this time it was nicely tucked in her coat. She knew not to let her anger get the best of her. After all, there was little she could do. The man was a freak of nature with a dark sense of humor and had a rather smug way of expressing his knowledge of the law.
A strange combination of qualities that made him very unpredictable.
David stopped two meters away, obviously avoiding whatever conclusions passersby would draw out of their interactions. Seeing as he was just going to be standing there, she went back to working on the lock.
"What?" Anna said rather softly, but loud enough for his ears. There was an unusual hesitance that seemed to radiate off him before he spoke.
"I thought about our conversation a while ago, and you're right. I haven't gotten around as much to see the whole place," David called out. His Kentucky accent had returned. She looked up, piqued by his admission.
"What does that have to do with me?" Yes. What did that have to do with her?
David smiled. And by now, Anna knew that nothing good ever came out from that damn smile. The man seemed to enjoy making her regret anything that came out of her mouth.
"I want to go around town... and I want you to come with me." He said. A simple request, which was by far the meekest thing he had ever said to her- in like... ever. This came as a shock.
She fully turned to the man, surprisingly bold enough to stare daggers at him.
"Excuse me." It was hardly a question. It could have very well been an unspoken threat in other circumstances.
"Come on. You've been here longer. I might have missed some things you know of by now." He insisted, this time, more confidently.
"If you're looking for a date, you can go back to that club and find a cheap ho to show you around. You'll be getting a lot more out of it." She retorted sharply. David frowned, a little hurt by that kind of perception of him. The day's events had made her rather rash with her words.
"That's not what I'm looking for."
"Of course not. A person who gets around, certainly needs a tour guide." The sarcasm was not lost on him. He slowly walked up to her, closer. Anna visibly tensed, carefully watching him, and already holding the hidden pepper spray in her coat pocket.
"In case you haven't realized, you owe me for turning down your cousin's invitation." His voice was cool and silent- at ease compared to the reaction that came next.
"What? I don't owe you for anything! Especially that. You owe me for ruining my life." Anna exclaimed.
She was appalled. There he goes again. She was still amazed by his audacity to impose on her.
"Opening an opportunity." He quipped. Anna looked at him vehemently.
"Don't ever call it that. You have no right to claim anything over me." She practically spat out the words, like venom. David eyed her intently, unfazed the entire time. He was suddenly quiet, apparently considering her demand. The silence only stretched. Anna was almost convinced he was going to leave her statement at that.
"Of course not..." He agreed.
His response had completely put her off. The man was damn strange and confusing. Just full of surprises. No sooner did she start doubting him, did he speak once more.
"But right and power can mean entirely different things." He said rather quietly.
The man's words puzzled her.
But when he moved even closer, it suddenly made sense.
David made one step forward- one step too close, and she flinched in response. There.
His cool expression filled tension in the air.
"I'm bigger than you."
The sound of arrogance was more shocking than the irony of the near-forgotten statement. There was a dangerous edge to his tone as he echoed the very words he had said to her a long time ago. She wondered if he was fully aware of the effect they had on her; it felt like all her defenses crumbled, and the strong face slipped away.
Anna swallowed hard. David smiled with satisfaction. She was quite easy to frighten. And frightened people were quite easy.
"It's really interesting how fast your expression changes. One minute you are yelling at me, and the next, you look like I'm about to do something horrible to you." He said fondly. Anna stood glued to the spot, helpless but forcing a hard stare. It wasn't enough to convince him that she was otherwise.
"Pick you up at 9 tomorrow night."
David turned around and walked away.
Anna was speechless.
She stood there for what felt like an eternity trying to piece together what had just happened, and how it ended. Yet, one thing that did not escape her was the reality that he had always frightened her. Always. It hadn't numbed over the months. And it might never go away.
Anna only felt her hate for him grow.
Relatively long chap. R&R? :v
Sadly, I wrote this weeks ago and finished it just now. So, I'm afraid it might feel all over the place? I tried to keep a flow in the changing mood because apparently, Anna seems quite temperamental. I dunno bout David. He's just cray cray. Also. Was it a Kentucky accent? Dan Stevens mentioned the kind of accent he used. Forgot. And I'm not American. Kind of hard to distinguish.