Riples and Waves

Monster Territory

Anna's POV

When the door opened, noise appeared to attack her all at once. The sound of rowdy guests laced with too much alcohol and too many drugs; music played by tired musicians, but most of all, the sound of reality.

"Tommy, the guests..." Lizzie Stark's voice filled the room. her words halted midway through a breath, however.

"Of fucking course!" She said after a very brief pause and, before Anna could turn to look, the sound of a slammed door took the echo of her hurt away.

"Fuck, I'm sorry..." Anna began the process of detangling herself from the man before her, but he didn't let her go all the way. Just enough so that he could look her in the eyes.

"Don't." He stopped her next attempt at speech. "Stay here." He said and left her for the second time that night. At least he wasn't going to plan an assassination this time. And even if he was, there was a hint of... promise to his voice that made her actually want to obey.

Of course, as soon as Anna was alone, her thoughts had full freedom to press down upon her. And they did. Timelines, rules, and overheard conversations swirled around in the whirlpool of guilt that was her mind. It wasn't a Collision this time, there was no physical reaction. Nothing beyond a mild grinding of teeth. And yet, she didn't regret it either. She had just ordered Joseph Goebbels's death and she would've done it again without thinking twice about it.

What the hell was Anna supposed to do with that information?

Had she always been capable of this? Or had she just crossed the invisible line into "monster" territory? Could she cross it back?

No! The answer assaulted her mind immediately. Not yet anyway. Deeper lines would need to be crossed before she was done.

It is a horrible thing to find out who you really are.

The door opened again and the sound of Tommy's steps surprised her out of her thoughts. She dried a rogue tear running down her left cheek and turned to face him.

Tommy, still in his formal attire, came in with a tray of appetizers this time. Her stomach rumbled at the smell of salmon puffs bathed in garlic, a mild part of her mind trying to decide if it was immoral to eat at a time like this. The water suddenly flooding her mouth made it easy for Anna to drown her mind out though.

He said nothing, just locked the door behind him, and came to sit at the sofa, placing the tray on the coffee table between the two sofas. Only then did Anna notice that she was still standing close to the desk where he had left her. She moved to sit in front of him.

"You should set Lizzie free," Anna said a few delicious salmon puffs later.

"I should eh?" His monotone voice replied a beat later. "I'm not keeping her hostage"

"Please, don't pretend like you don't know the power of those pretty blue eyes Tommy" She snorted and reached for another piece.

Tommy didn't respond.

"Why keep stringing her along when it's so obvious you will never love her?" Anna quirked her head at him, analyzing his carefully expressionless face.

"Why not stop the first Great War and choose the second instead?" he asked, still as stone, but the lines around his eyes denounced distress.

Oh... that.

"I was wondering when you were going to ask." Anna looked down, a cold fist wrapping tight around her stomach. "An answer for an answer?" She looked up again.

"Ladies first." He popped another appetizer in his mouth and leaned back on the sofa.

"Honestly?" His face didn't even acknowledge the question. Anna took a deep breath and let it go all at once while keeping her eyes on him. "It wasn't my specialty," she shrugged apologetically.