Safe at Last--a HTGAWM fanfic

Safe at Last, Part 2

Vodka, sweet vodka. Annalise was at her local grocery store, standing in the aisle that carried alcohol. She developed this little ritual about 4 weeks ago. Wait 5? It was every since her suspension was lifted. She would come to the store, like every other human in the world. Instead of shopping, she would go straight to the liquor aisle. All of the thoughts she so desperately tried to drown out with alcohol would come flying back. She would grab a bottle of sweet vodka or chardonnay. Whatever had alcohol in it, and just smell it. It was intoxicating at first. But then she would want to drink again. She couldn't or she'd lose her license. With these crazy kids always mucking up her life, her career was all she had! But at the last moment, she would screw the cap back on, put the bottle back and buy a factory's worth of junk food.

Annalise continued her new nightly ritual by grabbing a bottle of champagne. It was one that she shared with Eve the last time she was here. The last time was really the last time. She missed Eve so much. She wasted 20 perfectly good years with a man who turned out to be a monster. Her life would be so different, so much happier if she'd stayed with Eve.

There was no cork on the bottle. Perfect. The smooth, fruity aroma reminded her of Eve. And like Eve, it soothed her for a bit. Made those racing thoughts fade away. But it wasn't enough. She tipped the bottle close to her mouth, but she hear a noise.

"Miss, what are you doing?", replied a shocked 30-something woman.

"Excuse me. You got something to say, lady?"

The lady scoffed at Annalise, and went ahead with her shopping.

"Screw this." Annalise put the bottle back on the shelf. Then she headed for the sweets aisle and grabbed what she could.

"Ooh. Someone's got the munchies.", said the young cashier who rang up her food. She hated the way he said "munchies".

Annalise hoped to scare the young man or freak him out somehow. So she said, "No, I've got menopause." He looked like he was going to be sick. Mission accomplished. Annalise fought a strong urge to laugh. Eve would've loved it too.

The cashier cleared his throat and told Annalise the price of the food. "Fifty dollars, ma'am." Annalise was shocked for a moment, but it passed.

"Tryin' to rob me too." Annalise paid with a hundred-dollar bill.

"Anything else, ma'am?"

Annalise was about to say "No" when she suddenly had an idea.

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2:07 pm

While Annalise was sulking at the store, her students were still vibrant and full of excitement. Asher stumbled over to Oliver. "Hey O-Man. Play that, uh, tune for me."

"What tune?", Oliver asked him, perplexed.

Seconds later, "Bye, Felicia" was being played on the computer's speakerphones. The students, still buzzing with celebration, were dancing and laughing even more. "Look at me! It's my video!" Asher even got on top of a table, and started dancing. Michaela joined him, nearly falling to the ground herself.

"Yeah!", said a random male student.

"Babe, that's not how you move!" Asher's goading of Michaela was actually quite cute. He really brought out her softer and more fun sides. She and Laurel had even shared a celebratory kiss earlier in the party. For some reason, neither Wes or Asher minded. With Asher, Michaela was fun.

But Laurel was no longer in the 'partying' mood herself. Wes had snuck off yet again. I should be used to this by now, Laurel thought to herself. But it didn't mean she had to like it. This time, however, she found him really quickly. He was by the vending machines, buying a cup of coffee. Wes probably wasn't completely drunk yet. He was just attempting to balance it all out. "Hey there.", Laurel said in a flirtatious manner. Wes was very happy to see her, as usual. He looked around for a few moments. When he thought the coast was clear, Wes pulled her close for a deep and tender kiss. Wes' kisses were so much better than Frank, Laurel thought. Then she forced all thoughts of the psycho out of her mind. Focused on her sweet boyfriend, her love.

"Hey.", she muttered again.

"Hi". Wes kissed her once more before gently pulling away. He wanted to look at her.

"What are you doing out here? You don't like me anymore?", Laurel replied jokingly.

Wes made a cute joke as well. "You're disgusting". He chuckled and gave his classic dimpled smirk.

They made out some more, chills running through of them. Laurel opened her eye for a moment, and saw Connor walking towards them. Laurel cleared her throat and finally broke away from Wes' embrace, reluctantly. Connor Walsh, the ultimate cock-block.

They kept their relationship a secret from everyone except for Annalise. They didn't tell her about it, she just knew. But "Mama" certainly approved, which secretly pleased Wes. They didn't want anyone to ruin it, especially not Connor.

Laurel looked up at Wes, and she noticed that he was no longer in a flirty and loving mood. This kinda bothered her. Something was on his mind, and she didn't know what...yet. "What is it, Wes?" She tried to stroked his cheeks, but Wes took them away from his face.

The next words were shocked and unexpected. "Why are we doing this, Laurel?" She wasn't sure if she heard him right. She stuttered and stammered a few moments, completely taken aback. She may have uttered a "What?", but she couldn't be sure.

"This. Why are you with me, Laurel. "Cause it seemed like you just wanna save me. I don't need or want to be saved." Wes started to turn away, but Laurel furiously grabbed his arm so he couldn't. Sh wanted him an explanation for this rude behavior....now. "What the hell are you talking about, Wes?! Y-you think I wanna save you?" Where the hell is this all coming from?

"You think that I'm some project, like your mother. Like you couldn't save her, so now you're trying to save me. You think I'm damaged, like her, don't you?!" Wes really knew Laurel, even how to hurt her. Well, two can play at that game. "You think I'm trying to save you? I'm trying to save you?! Huh? Fuck you, Wes!"

"Stop yelling!"

"Isn't that your job, huh? Cause you're the one who just has to save people. It's the only time you ever feel good about yourself. You couldn't save precious your precious mommy, either. At least mine is still breathing. And what about Rebecca, huh? Remember her? Isn't that what your whole relationship was about?! She was just this weak, fragile little bird you just had to save. And now all our little are ruined. Cause of her...and Annalise! You're just so good at saving people, aren't ya Wes?!"

The party was still going on the next room. Surprisingly, nobody heard their yelling and screaming. By this point, they were both shaking and breathing hard. Wes, like Annalise, was usually a master at hiding his emotions. Except in extreme cases, like this one.

Still fuming, Wes told Laurel, "I'm gonna go home now. We'll talk about this later." Laurel retorted by saying, "Yeah. We'll talk about this never. Go save someone, Super-Man. Bye-bye." She kept her back turned to him .

"Fuck you, Laurel"

"Fuck you very much, Wes."

Connor, who heard the fight, couldn't resist giving a witty comment. He could be funny....... some 10% of the time. "What's the matter? You and Laurel havin' a little.....lovers' quarrel." Wes Gibbins had had enough of Connor Walsh. "Shut up, Connor". Someone needed to say it.

By the time Wes reached his bike, his phone started to ring. He pulled it out, and saw that his lawyer was calling him. Why is he calling? I thought the Mahoney case was over?, he thought. The phone stopped ringing, and Wes climbed on his bike. He just wanted to go home and hide. His lawyer wouldn't let him. The phone rang, and this time Wes answered. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Come down to the station....right now."