Super Ultra Mega Over 9000 thanks to LolitaArmin129 for beta-ing this story! It was either this chapter or a completely different chapter, and she picked it out for me soifyoudontlikeititsallherfaultkthxbai
Lol jk XD but really, go check out LolitaArmin's stuff. Do it.
JUST...
"That'll do it!" Reiner said happily, dusting off his hands with a stupid smile on his face.
Annie didn't even bother look up from her book. "Reiner," she asked, "what the hell are you doing?"
"Well after the whole ordeal with Armin, I decided that we should make the house safer!" he replied, plopping down next to her on the couch. "We already have an alarm system, so I figured the only thing that'll keep that creeper out would be magic, so—"
At that, Annie finally lifted her eyes. "…Magic?" she asked incredulously, "Really?"
Reiner nodded his head vigorously. "I put salt in all of the doorways, and bought some good luck charms from the thrift store in the mall," he explained proudly, "you know, the one by Bodt Books?"
She's heard of it, mostly because that's the only way to keep contact with Marco. Eren had suddenly become reluctant in driving her to his house, and she sure as hell wouldn't be caught dead going home with Jean. Luckily she likes books and the Barnes & Noble she used to go to had relocated outside of walking distance, making Freckle's bookstore her new favorite place.
Speaking of Marco, she thought, I haven't seen him in a while…
"I'm going to the bookstore," Annie said abruptly, standing and picking her keys up from the table.
"I'm coming with you," Reiner replied immediately, standing as well.
"No you're not," the blonde shot back, "and I swear if you follow me…"
She let the threat hang, making Reiner sit back down. "F-fine…" he muttered, "Just…be careful, alright?"
There was a pause as Annie studied his forlorn expression. It wasn't entirely his fault—he just has no idea what's going on and is trying to keep her safe. He and Bertoldt have always been there for her, and now with a seemingly demonic murderer becoming interested in her must scare the living hell out of them.
It probably doesn't help that she keeps leaving the house either.
Annie exhaled loudly. "Get the keys. You're driving. I'll get Bertl."
Reiner stared at her for a moment, and then the goofy smile was back. "Hell yes!" he shouted, vaulting over the couch and bounding into Bertoldt's room. "Bertie! Annie's taking us out on a date!"
"If you spread false bullshit then I'm leaving you both here," Annie muttered.
"Just kidding!" Reiner laughed, "But get some pants on! We're gonna go out for a bit!"
"Hello there!" Marco said happily as the three walked into the bookstore, sounding the little electronic chime at the front door.
"Hi Marco," she replied as Reiner and Bertoldt disappeared behind some shelves. "Got any recommendations?"
Understanding the phrase, Marco nodded. "Of course," he replied, "Matter of fact, we got a whole shipment of things that just arrived. I can go get them for you or you can just pick for yourself—though I think you should just come and see what we have in stock."
Annie glanced at the shelf the two disappeared behind, hearing hushed chuckling. A whole shipment? "I'll just pick one for myself," she decided.
"Well come right on in!" Marco replied, smile still in place—though she could have sworn she saw something flicker in his eyes for a split second.
The blonde followed the brunette into the backroom, where inventory was stacked neat(ish)ly in boxes, with a few piles sitting around them.
"Well?" Annie asked, "Any news on Armin?"
"Where the hell do I even start?" Marco asked exasperatedly, nodding to the woman who was sitting on the ground, reading one of the books that were sitting in one of the boxes. "Hey," he called to her, "Why don't you introduce yourself to your future niece-in-law?"
Annie's eyebrows furrowed. "…Niece-in-law?"
The older woman sighed and stood up with the help of one of the boxes. "I guess that would be the case," she muttered, somehow looking even more naturally pissed off than Annie did. "You're the woman fornicating with my nephew, I assume?"
The younger blonde's jaw clenched. "Marco…" she murmured, "Who the hell is she?"
"An old, bitter woman," Marco replied, turning back to the older woman. "If I recall correctly, you let your nephew think that he was all alone in this world. You might as well have broken him yourself."
"I don't need you to tell me that!" The woman hissed, clenching her fists. "For goodness sake I had to start from scratch! My career was ruined!"
"Is this how you introduce people all the time?" Marco asked suddenly, "Or do I need to intervene?"
The older woman half sighed, half growled. "I'm Amber Arlert," she muttered, not looking at Annie. "Armin Arlert's aunt…and last living relative."
Annie turned on Marco, eyes wide. "What the fuck!?" she demanded, "I-I thought his entire family was—"
"You thought wrong," Marco replied, "you see, his grandfather still loved his remaining sane relative, so he got her off the radar. Not even Armin himself knows she's alive—and I get the feeling that was by design, was it not?"
Marco turned to Amber, who looked down. "Y…yes…" she whispered, "Armin…he thinks he killed me years ago. My father faked my death so I wouldn't live in fear of being hunted down by him."
"But…why would you get hunted down by him?"Annie asked, though she had a pretty good idea. "Was it just because you ignored his suffering?"
"I wish," Amber sighed, "but…you were right. It was my fault—I had broken him. I-I don't know how, but something tells me that I most certainly didn't help."
The younger blonde's stomach turned as dread filled her. "…what did you do?"
Amber looked down, not meeting her eyes. "I…my second husband had left me that year," she explained, "and…and my sister had always been so happy with her 'one and only' that she knew ever since she could walk. I was furious, and I had actually wished them the worst luck possible—but her life just got better and better. Both of my husbands left me because I can't have a child, and yet Amelia gets a perfectly healthy baby right on her honeymoon? I grew more and more bitter until I rashly wished death upon them all…only for…for…"
Annie could only stare as a tear fell down Amber's cheek. "One day they were just…killed. I know that it wasn't an accident—the driver fucking fled the scene right before impact! I-I was stuck caring for a child that I grew to despise and a dying father, and I…I hated it. I couldn't work as much, and the child reminded me of how perfect my damn sister was…let's just say that I understand why I can't bear any children."
"You were abusive," Marco stated bluntly, "Weren't you?"
"N-not in the way you're thinking," Amber replied hastily, "But…I treated him in a way no parent ever should. He was perfect in every way, just like my sister…so I convinced him he wasn't. Every time he did something even slightly wrong, I…I just lost it. When he became convinced he was imperfect—broken, even—I began to believe it too. I just…I hated him so much because he was so good at everything, but I gave him a fatal flaw—I made him weak, so he couldn't do anything. I locked away every ounce of his talent like that murderer locked away my sister's life in a coffin six feet underground."
"But then he couldn't take it anymore, is that right?" Annie asked, "He…snapped?"
Amber nodded forlornly. "Him lashing out at Daniel should have been the first clue that he was bursting at the seams. I…I was completely cruel and heartless by then. Right below the stairs there was a little closet that locks from the outside, one that he's been scared of ever since he was little and his dad played a Halloween prank that…didn't go as planned. I was so mad that I had quite literally shoved him in there and…locked him in there."
Annie and Marco gasped in unison. "You…you what?" Marco asked, "…what happened after that?"
The older blonde looked back down at the floor. "My father made a surprise visit from the senior home," she replied, "and he went to say hello to his grandson…only to have the door whittled down to splinters and blood everywhere—we found out later that he had weakened the wood with a box cutter he had in his pocket and then punched straight through the door. We heard some…some giggling in the kitchen, and I went in to investigate…"
Suddenly Amber clutched her head, eyes wide. "N-no!" She screamed, "D-don't hurt me! I-I'm sorry! D-don't put me in time out! I-I'm SORRY!"
The two onlookers stared at each other.
Don't put me in time out.
"Miss Arlert," Marco said, kneeling down to her and putting his hands on her shoulders. "It's okay, don't cry—he's not here. He won't hurt you here."
Annie stared as Amber wiped her eyes. "I-I need to leave," she said, "I-I can't do this—!"
"Now Miss Arlert," the brunette warned, "You made a promise, and so did I. You help us, and I'll help you."
There was a tense, silent moment, broken only by Amber's sniffling. "F-fine…" she whispered, "I…I'm sorry."
"It's okay!" Marco said happily, "Feel free to stay back here a little while longer. You can read a few books to ease your mind."
Amber nodded and Marco looked to her. "So…yeah."
"You found Armin's last living relative and that's what you say?" Annie demanded, "And—and what are going to do with this information!?"
Marco scratched his head. "I have no idea," he admitted, "But it is pretty important, wouldn't you say?"
The blonde rolled her eyes as she turned to leave, picking up a random horror novel from one of the stacks of books. "Is that all?"
Marco nodded. "That's all I have. I'll try to get more info on Armin—ooh, that's a good book!"
"Is it?" Annie asked, "I'll take it then. How much?"
"It's free," he replied, waving a dismissive hand. "You're a regular here, and we're friends. You can have it."
Annie felt her lips pull up into a smile. "Thanks," she said.
"No problem!" Marco replied, following her out the door into the store.
When they did, the brunette's face suddenly paled. "Shit."
The blonde's eyebrows rose up as she turned to him. "What is it?"
Marco sighed and pointed to the door where three large men entered through, triggering the chime. One was bigger than the other two—bigger than Reiner even— and was armed with a baseball bat, one was about Reiner's size and had a gun stuffed in his pants, and the third was slightly smaller with a pocketknife sticking out of his front pocket. They were even dressed like the stereotypical thug, sagging pants and bandanas included.
"Well look who it is!" The largest one laughed, "It's little Sprinkles! Y'all remember him?"
Annie couldn't believe what was happening. "Marco…are these friends of yours?"
"No," Marco replied, his face darkening to a point that unsettled Annie. "They keep trying to kill me."
"…oh."
"Who's the little lady, hmm?" The smallest one asked, running his eyes all over Annie and making her want to vomit. "Wanna share?"
Annie was about to comment when Marco suddenly pulled out a fork. "Sorry," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "But a friend of mine called dibs on her already, and I'm going to protect her. One move and it's going to be just like back then, got it?"
Everyone—Annie included—stepped back from Marco as he glared daggers at the three men.
"H-hey man…" the largest one said, "W-we're just—"
"Out."
To Annie's surprise the three high-tailed out of there as fast as possible, and she couldn't help but stare after them in shock.
"…wow."
"Just some idiots from prison," Marco huffed, putting his fork back in his pocket (he carries that thing around in his pocket?) and turning back to her with an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that."
"No problem…Sprinkles."
Marco's face darkened again. "Call me that and I'll swear to all that is good and holy I will tell Reiner and Bertoldt about you and Armin hooking up."
Fear stabbed Annie in the chest at the brunette's almost demonic scowl. Would he really go that far over a nickname? "F-fine, sorry…"
The brunette huffed again. "Good," he said, "Now I think Reiner and Bertoldt are making out by the shelves. Can you make them go away? They'll scare off customers."
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