Anastasia

9- home, sweet home

"I'm gonna take a shower. Do you feel safe here?" Annya asked quietly, not willing to look at Sean who took a breath and put both their things on the couch and went to lean on the dining table.

"Come here" his voice was warm with an arm stretched out to her.

"No, I- I think i'll stay here" she joked, unable to keep the nervousness from her voice. He stood up, walking up to her, lifting her head up by her chin.

"We need to talk about this''. His voice wasn't angry or scared. If Anna didn't know any better, she would think she heard understanding in his voice. Still unable to look at him, she backed away from his grasp and took a few breaths before finally being able to look him in the eyes.

"Do we?" she asked in a small voice, and he only gave her a supportive smile. She looked into his eyes, trying to read his emotions, but they were warm, and curious. She took a breath in preparation.

"I'm in the Russian mafia. Actually my family is the head of it. My mother and father died from an attack, leaving me and my brother in charge until our uncle wanted the title. I think he's been planning this since before I was born and my mother knew about it, and the lullaby confirms it. They say I'm the most ruthless in Russia, but the title belonged to my grandfather. I'm sorry you got dragged into this. I tried so hard to keep you out of it." She was able to keep her voice steady despite all the shame she felt as she introduced herself. Sean just nodded his head in thought. Annya was confused by his reaction, especially all he's seen today. After he's seen her kill someone and act like it was a game she won.

"Do you want me to leave you alone to think about it?" she asked quietly.

"Uh, yah. You can go shower. I'll be right here." he said absentmindedly. She timidly nodded in understanding and walked to get herself a change of clothes and closed the door behind her, undressing as she waited for the water to heat up. She was thankful that she didn't have to keep wearing her wig and contacts anymore. Everyone in Russia knows what she looks like, anyway.

She undressed and walked into the shower, making sure she can hear outside the bathroom for anything suspicious. Within five minutes, she was clean and out of the shower and dressed. As she walked out, combing her long black hair, Sean looked at her with his mouth slightly open. She looked around confused until she looked back in the mirror to see if something was wrong with her. Come to find out, she forgot Sean hasn't seen her with her natural black hair and grey eyes.

"Close your mouth" she said as she lifted his chin with the tips of her fingers to close it for him.

"S-sorry, you just look so different." she stuttered.

"That was the point." she joked with a small laugh as she threw the towel she used in the hamper by the bathroom door. "well, the shower's ready for you." she mumbled, still refusing to look him in the eye. Sean nodded, and stood up, taking a towel with him before he closed the bathroom door behind him. When she heard the shower turn on, she took her phone and a notepad and pen, and listened to the songs through her headphones, taking notes that might help her figure something out. After a few replays, she saw scarred knuckles tap the table in front of her. Looking up, she was frozen just like the first time she saw him with his shirt off, but this time he was wearing sweats rather than his normal basketball shorts

"See something you like?" he asked, referring to their previous conversations.

"Nothing to complain about, but certainly not worth bad decisions." she repeated, making him smile. She was glad to see it. At least he wasn't too traumatized. He took a seat in front of her, turning it around so would straddle it, with his arms leaning on the back of it, waiting for her to notice that he was waiting for her attention.