Secret Weapon (Eustass Kid x Reader : Modern AU)

16. Miss Devon.

Your feet were bare and the road was cold and cutting through them, but still you kept running. No matter what, you had to keep going, just as she had told you.

"Run! Don't look back!"

"Wheels...are you okay? Hey...can you hear me?" Kid's face comes in and out of focus. You can feel yourself shaking as you gasp for breath.

"Miss Devon." You mutter.

"You've been hyperventilating and saying that all day. You always say that name whenever you have a nightmare, but it's never like this." He says in concern.

You sit up on the bed as he holds you steady. You reach out and drink a glass of water. "Sorry. I didn't mean to worry you."

"Fat chance. Who the fuck is this person that's making you like this?" He snaps.

"I heard this morning that she broke out of prison. She got out." You tell him desperately as if that is supposed to mean something.

"This morning?" He frowns. "Wait! Did you overhear me and Bonney talking? By Miss Devon, you don't mean the Crescent Moon Hunter do you?"

"Yeah... that's the one." You say lying back down on the bed.

"Before, when I asked you what happened, you said it was a childhood trauma. Will you tell me about it, or is it too hard?" He asks gently.

"I'll tell you."

***

Being a model whose career was on the rise was hard for your mother, Nell. She and Cindry were best friends who had known each other since childhood and dreamed of taking the spotlight on the tv. Now that they were close to their dreams, nothing could stand in their way, certainly not a scandal. Cindry had a nephew to look after and Nell had a daughter. They paid a young woman named Alvida to look after the two children which was pricey given the secretive nature of the job. Sure she was ripping them off and not very good with kids, but she kept her mouth shut and that was all that mattered.

It would not do for a young up and coming model whose image was that of a sweet and innocent girl from the small Loguetown to be exposed as having a child with a criminal. Even though Nell had lived in Rainbase and had a child there, that part of her history was erased. On the weekends when she did not have any photoshoots or auditions, she would transform back into Cornellia and take you to the next city over, to visit Sabaody Park. That only happened once every month though, and you looked forward to it every day. Even though your existence was kept secret, you loved your mother to bits and watched every single commercial that she was in. You also bought all the posters of her that you could find.

Every month the two of you would spend the weekend away together, away from the press and away from her job. In those times she smiled a lot and you were happy to spend your days with her. One time, when you were six, and your mother was relaxed, you brought up the touchy subject of your father.

"Mama, everyone at school was making cards for father's day. I made one too, but when I gave it to Alvida-san, she told me to throw it away because I have no father." You said. "Why don't I have a father?"

Nell sighed and put her arm around you. "You have a father, he just... can't be around because it's not good for other people to know that he has a daughter."

"Oh.Okay. Hey, Mama when you and uncle Smoker were arguing that time, he said that he wouldn't take me in unless you cut ties with my son of a bitch father. What's a bitch? Is that my grandpa? Can I meet him?"