When We Were Mercs (Jake Muller x Reader)

When We Were Mercs (Jake Muller x reader) Pt20.

She took a deep breath and nodded.

Anastasia: "Alright, um. OK, where do I start? Uh....Well. It was 1987, mom and dad had just had me, but they eventually had to run."

(Y/N): "Run? Run from what?"

Anastasia: "How much do you know about our parents before you were born? occupation and things like that?"

(Y/N): "My mom owned a small independent business. only lasted 2 years though."

Anastasia: "And dad?"

(Y/N): "Ran off before I was born."

Anastasia: "So you don't know much about him?"

(Y/N): "Next to nothing."

Anastasia: "He was a former B.S.A.A. agent. Kind of like a spy. But when the people he was getting information on found out, they threatened to kill him. He escaped, but he had a choice to make: stay put and risk his life along with anyone he loved. Or, run and keep them safe. He chose to run. He was gone for two years! Then, when he thought the smoke had cleared, he came back. Mom and dad were happy again for a year. Then they found him, kept their promise. They shot him dead in the middle of the night, mom was 5 months pregnant. With you. She grabbed me and ran through the house to the basement. She must've known they would find him someday. There was an escape tunnel, under the house. We left with nothing but the clothes on our backs. We ran for about a month. When she realized they only knew about me, she knew what she had to do. She took me to a family she trusted, in New York. She left me with this."
She held up a silver heart-shaped locket out from inside her shirt, and popped it open. Inside was a picture of my mother in one side, and what must've been my father in the other side.

(Y/N): "Mom."
My eyes teared up.

(Y/N): "Can I see that for a minute? Please?"
She lifted it over her head and handed it to me. Her eyes....Anastasia's eyes. They were my mother's. And my father....

Anastasia: "You have his eyes, you know. Our father. I noticed that the second I saw you."
Tears ran down my face. I hadn't even seen a picture of my mother since she died when I was 14. That was when I gave up for the first time until Devin came along.

Jake: "Can I see it?"
I looked at her, almost like I could ask her with just a look.

Anastasia: "Of course."
I handed it to him, and he looked at the photo's, then at us.

Jake: "She's right. You DO have his eyes."

Anastasia: "I'm sorry, but can I have that back now please?"
He handed it to her. She closed it and slipped it back over her head.

(Y/N): "Well shit. Why didn't she ever tell me about you?"

Anastasia: "My guess, to protect you. AND me. There's one more thing that can prove everything I'm saying. Let me see your left wrist."
I pulled up the sleeve of my jacket and showed her my wrist. Then she put out HER wrist. I have a birthmark on my wrist. It's roughly heart-shaped. My mother had it, my grandmother had it. And damn if she doesn't have it too.

(Y/N): "Holy shit. So all this is ACTUALLY true. I'm not sure how to feel about this. All this time I could've had with you. Experiences, memories, things YOU know about our father, things I know about our mother. So much time just....Lost."
She was sitting in an armchair next to the couch on Jake's end. She got up when I started crying and put her arms around me. I hugged her and somehow it felt like I was holding some part of mom again. I guess I kinda was.

(Y/N): "I...I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Anastasia. I should've been there for you. You shouldn't have been alone this whole time."

Anastasia: "I wasn't alone. The family she left me with treated me like I was blood. Beth and Derek Shovian were the best people I could've been with, other then mom. I know this is a lot to take in right now, but-"

(Y/N): "Do you have a place to stay?"
She sat back down in the chair.

Anastasia: "Well...Not exactly."

(Y/N): "You do now. Do you wanna stay here? With us?"
Jake Shot me surprised look when he realized what I was saying.

Jake: "Us?"
I nodded.

(Y/N): "This place is big enough for 3 people. Plus, doesn't Alex have that spare mattress?"
The biggest smile I have EVER seen ran across his face.

Jake: "Yeah, I can go ask him about it now. Give you two a minute alone."

(Y/N): "OK, tell him I said 'hi'."

Jake: "Sure will. And uh, (Y/N)?"

(Y/N): "Yeah?"

Jake: "...I love you."
My heart skipped a beat. I knew he loved me by how he acted, but that was the first time he said it out loud.

(Y/N): "I love you too."
Jake left and, when I looked back at Anastasia, she had the goofiest grin on her face.

(Y/N): "What?"

Anastasia: "I can see it. The way you look at him. It's the same look mom gave dad for that year."
My eyes went wide and teary.

(Y/N): "You remember him?"

Anastasia: "Actually, even if it was only a year....I remember so much, (Y/N). But I know that look better than anything. I was only 4 but I still see it every time I look at these pictures."
She held the locket against her heart. She was older than me by a few years, but, in that moment....She seemed so small.

(Y/N): "C'mere."
I stood up and opened my arms to her. She got up and ran into my arms, both of us dropping to our knees. She held onto me and cried into my shoulder like she had been holding back her whole life.