❝But for all we know, we are sinners.❞
☀︎︎
PUSHING THE CART down the isles of the sketchy but huge supermarket, Mia seemed to relax. "Don't tell me you aren't comfortable here," she laughed.
"Okay, I am comfortable," Anna said and grabbed some cereal off the shelf. "I still can't believe the bastards left us to do grocery shopping. They're probably out kicking ass. I so want to do that right now."
"True. I could blow off some steam too," Mia said and looked pointedly at Anna.
She exhaled noisily and fell into step beside Mia, rolling the cart in front of them. "Look, Mia, what I did was unforgivable. I should've talked to you first. You probably have no reason to trust me anymore but believe me when I say this, I'm sorry."
Mia stopped and surveyed a shelf full of chocolates and cakes. She held up a hand, "Anna, it's alright. For the time being. I've already established that I won't fuck your assignment if you don't mess with the team. Cut them deals and get me my family back. That's all."
Anna nodded, relieved that Mia was taking the whole thing surprisingly well. All of a sudden, Mia dumped an armful of packaged cakes in the cart. Noticing the horrified look on Anna's face, Mia chuckled. "Oh come on, a cake a day keeps the stress away."
"If that what helps you sleep at night then sure," Anna shrugged but she was smiling. It was good to have a friendly face around.
"Great. Let's see. We have cakes, cereals, milk, breads, jams, butter, cakes again, chocolates, bowls, plates, and spoons. That's a balanced diet, isn't it?" Mia ran her hand along the rim of the cart and looked up at Anna, wiggling her brows.
Anna burst out laughing. "By the end of March, we'll be two fat balloons walking down these aisles."
"You are thinking of coming back here?" Mia said, not missing a word.
"Well, I-" But before Anna could reply, a sharp cough sounded behind them and Anna turned to see a short, stout old man peering at her. He was shuffling uncomfortably and his face clearly reeked of desperation and fear.
"M-ma'am," he patted imaginary dust off of his coat. "In case y-you haven't no-noticed, th-this is a q-queue. We are s-supposed t-to move f-forward," the man stuttered.
Anna's eyes widened at the sharpness of the tone and Mia doubled over with laughter. She grabbed Anna's hand and pulled her along. "Best. Experience. Ever." She then turned back to the man, "My friend here is getting married in a few days, you see. She's just trying to wrap her head around it. You will have to forgive her."
The old man just grunted and to Anna's horror his face softened. "I had a daughter too. She-" He stopped talking, the fear coming back in his eyes. He went back to waving his hand to usher them forward and Anna gladly shot to the starting of the queue.
Protests rang out from the three people she skipped and Mia screamed, "She's having cravings y'all. Leave her alone; she's going to be a mom, you idiots. Shut up."
The man from earlier perked up. "But you said-"
Mia held a hand up while Anna finished paying her bill. "Doesn't matter what I said. Same difference." Anna nudged her, signaling that she was done. Mia bowed, "Later haters."
She walked out of the store, people staring with annoyance and irritation while Anna shook trying to control the laughter. "The fuck? What was that?" Anna said, once they were a few yards away, laughing.
"That, babe, was me being a hot mess," Mia said and Anna smacked her with the bag she was holding.
"You are crazy, I would never do that." They laughed for a few more minutes, while they walked to their car. They fell into silence, being perfectly comfortable. Anna spoke up first, "I haven't laughed so hard in a long time, M. Thank you."
Mia smiled at her sheepishly. "It's been a long time since I've felt so free too." They approached the blue car that they had arrived in the first time. Anna opened the trunk and threw the bags in while Mia slipped in behind the wheel.
"That's just how friendship is," Anna said, subtly pushing her luck and sat shotgun.
Mia seemed to catch on. "Nah, maybe it's just my aura," she winked and stepped on the gas. They were cruising down the almost empty roads of Ostraria, when they suddenly passed by a phone booth.
"Wait, wait, wait," Anna screamed as Mia braked and they flew forward in their seats.
"What the f-" But before Mia could protest, Anna threw the door open and rushed to the booth. She pulled out a few coins from her pocket and inserted them into the collector, quickly punching in a number.
She tapped her foot on the cobblestone impatiently, waiting for the person to answer. She heard a click and a sleep laden voice answered. "Hello?"
"Oh, thank god," Anna said, calming down. She paused for a second. "Were you sleeping?"
The person on the line went silent, shuffling noisily. "I- er- no. What's up?"
Anna scrunched up her nose but decided to let it go. "Never mind. I just wanted to let you know that Florian isn't here. Also, I won't be calling you till the job ends. We aren't allowed any personal electronics in the facility. In fact, don't call me. I-"
Anna stopped, measuring the weight of her words. "I actually met a- friend." She glanced at Mia, who was sitting in the car, twirling a penknife that she had magically produced.
"If I'm in trouble, she'll get in touch with you. Till then, stay out of this. I'll explain everything later. Okay, gotta go, bye Zach, love you," Anna said, ready to hang up.
"God, Anna, can I talk now?" Zach said, annoyed.
"Fine but make it quick." Anna looked at Mia who was signaling that she was taking too long.
"So, you said Florian wasn't there, right? Come back then. We'll talk to Damien and work on a new strategy."
Anna stopped tapping her foot. Her mind knew he was right. If the target wasn't where you are, then what's the point of wasting your time? Her heart clutched and she felt a stabbing pain.
Waste? In her heart, she knew that wasn't true. Images of Mark and Jeremy laughing at her, Noah being an absolute annoyance, Mia and her out together. She wanted to convince herself that that was all she could think of. But her heart painted images of Harry in her mind's canvas and her breath caught.
Was she seriously thinking about him?
"Anna? You there?" Zach's voice pulled her back into reality and she blinked. She took a deep breath, resolution forming on her face.
"No, Zach. This is my assignment. I will see to it. Even if Florian isn't here, I know there's something worth staying here for. I'll contact you again. Don't worry."
Suddenly the phone was wretched out of her hand and slammed back into the receiver. Mia slapped Anna's hand away. She dragged her back to the car, Anna struggling furiously.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Mia hissed. Anna pushed her arm away with a grunt. Mia just muttered angrily and started the car. When Anna saw Mia's lavender belted watch, she gasped.
"Quick, what's the time?" Anna said, urgency in every syllable.
Mia threw her a dirty look but scrambled to look at her watch which she had worn the wrong way. Anna sighed. She twisted her arm to look at the time. "It's 7:04. Why?"
Instead of replying, Anna started tapping her nails against the dashboard impatiently. Mia looked sideways at her, before concentrating on the speeding road once again. "You know, if you like someone so much, you should tell them. YOLO and everything."
Anna's neck snapped towards her so quick that if she were made of glass, she'd break instantly. "I don't like Harry."
"I never said you liked him," Mia finished with a satisfied grin on her face. When Anna slunk back in her seat, realizing her blunder, Mia said, "I am all up for being the maid of honour. Godmother would be great too. Maybe I'll-"
"Oh my god, Mia, shut up!" Anna yelled. Instead of pacifying her, Mia continued laughing, finally making Anna crack up too, all the way to the dark and deserted warehouse.
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