Deception | Scarlett Johansson x Daughter

10 | Why did you leave me for so long?

The silence after Andie's last words was deafening, making the air thick and hot. You could've cut the tension between them with a knife. The glint in Scarlett's eyes was gone and in its place was something Andie couldn't quite place. It didn't look like anger, more like sadness on fire. All the air from Andie was gone. She felt drained, empty as she sat and waited for a reaction. Scared to break the silence, Andie didn't move. The woman let out a shaky breath, breaking the silence between them. Outside the small window rain was pouring down. Small raindrops racing each other down the glass. Time didn't feel real somehow, almost stagnant.

"I'm sorry."

Those were the only words that came out of Andie's mouth. The only words she could find in her head. Scarlett shook her head, hand against her mouth but she still didn't say anything. Andie wanted to scream, cry, start a fire and watch the whole world burn down.

"I'm going to kill him." Scarlett's voice sounded more raspy than usual, rage firing through her words.

Finally, she looked up at Andie. Their identical eyes met and held each other for a moment before Andie's eyes dropped to her arms. Her sleeve-covered left arm that hid more secrets than any other place on her body. Scarlett seemed to notice, taking Andie's hands in hers to break her stare.

"I'm going to fix this." She whispered. "You don't have to go back there."

A shaky breath and bite of the lip gathered all the courage that the redhead needed.

"Why did you leave me for so long?" Andie finally asked the question that had been bothering her for years.

"I didn't," Scarlett said under her breath "your father and I got into a custody battle. He had some pretty good lawyers so I lost custody. The court granted me visitation rights but only if you wanted to see me."

Her voice trailed off, getting lost in the beeps from the machines connected to Andie.

"He told you that I didn't want to see you." Andie finished the sentence herself.

The woman nodded, her lower lip trembling as she fought the cry that was growing in her throat. But she nodded when Andie spoke.

"I don't want to stay there," she whispered "not where he has been. Not where-"

But she couldn't finish that sentence, the words getting stuck in her throat.

"You wont have to, I promise." Scarlett pulled Andie into a hug.

"Be careful," Andie giggled "my ribs are very sore."

"Don't care." Scarlett joked, a wet laugh lingering in her words.

--

When the abortion was finally over Andie felt so much better, like if a big weight was lifted off her chest so she could finally take a full breath.

As the day started to tread towards evening Scarlett went down to the cafeteria and bought them each a salad and two chocolate bars. She also spoke to her lawyers about regaining custodial rights of Andie but she didn't tell her that. Somewhere inside, Scarlett was afraid of letting her daughter down like she had done years before.

Andie felt herself lighting up when Scarlett came back from her trip to the cafeteria. By now Andie could recognize her steps, the steps of the woman who birthed her. They had a lightness to them that no other had. It was like she could hear Scarlett's emotions through her steps. Her steps weren't as light as they should be, heavy because of the emotional troubles. When she appeared in the doorway, Andie was pulled out of her thoughts. In her hands she could see two salads, two chocolate bars and two diet cokes.