Charlie Burghard (charlieburghard) wrote in tiberiusswann, @ 2011-06-08 20:39:00 |
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Entry tags: | ana, ava, charlie |
Wednesday: December/10/08
Who: Charlie and Ava (and Ana later)
When: Wednesday evening
Where: their apartment, then Ana's
What: Charlie sucks at saying goodbye
He couldn’t explain it, but Charlie felt something tighten around his heart as he ran along the sidewalk. Nearly tripping from the sensation, he came to a halt and looked around in every direction, holding his hand to his chest. Something was wrong. Immediately, his thoughts went to Maggie. Charlie didn’t hesitate in pulling out his phone to call his brother. But after a short conversation filled with, “Are you sure?” type questions, Charlie was convinced that nothing was wrong with his niece or the rest of his family. That only left one other person: Ava.
Charlie tried calling her as well, but the calls kept going to voicemail. He was walking at first, but as the third call failed to reach something other than a recording, Charlie started running again. There was nothing leisurely about his pace. Charlie flat out sprinted back to campus. Why had he traveled so far tonight? He had a lot on his mind, but he shouldn’t have run several miles away from home. Something was wrong, and he couldn’t get back to the apartment fast enough.
Being a vampire, he didn’t get winded, but he was certainly frantic as he barged into the home he still shared with Ava. “What’s wrong?” he called out as he searched the apartment for her. “Are you okay?”
---
Ava should have been out, just about to start the lesson she gave with Ana, but the twins had cancelled the lesson on a whim, giving the excuse that they were letting the students have the extra time to devote to their other classes and the work for those.
Instead of teaching though, she had been sleeping briefly, only to wake with a jolt, with no idea where the hell she was. A strange room, just waking up in the evening with no memory of how she got where she was.... wow. That must have been a heavy night. At least she was alone, instead of having to make excuses to or slip away from some guy wrapped around her. Standing up, looking around, she clutched the sheet to her body, making sure she was right about not having company, and sort of wondering if Ana was around. It was as she was doing this that she spotted the photo frame. The picture showed a man and a little girl and she cringed. “Shit, there better not be a kid or a wife in this place.” A little worried about running into somebody’s family and not wanting to deal with the drama right now, Ava looked around for clothes, not seeing anything she recognised as being hers. Time to venture out of this room, maybe they were somewhere else.
The teen was still wandering around the apartment, still with no idea where she was, and no clothes, just the sheet, when the front door opened and a voice called out. Once again she cringed, having nowhere to hide. Ava took a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom, putting on a completely confident act, but it was just that, an act. “Calm down. There’s no-one else here, just me. It must have been some night. If you’ll just help me find my clothes I’ll get out of here mister.” She told the man from the photo.
---
Charlie froze in his tracks. Stopped dead right there. He was staring. What. The. Fuck. It was Ava, he knew that much, but it wasn’t the Ava he knew. She didn’t look a day over eighteen. And while his wife wasn’t exactly old, she wasn’t a teenager either. He couldn’t stop gawking at her. The change was dramatic. That’s when the real difference hit him. Charlie could smell it. Human blood. Ava was human. He took slow steps backward, not knowing what was going on here.
“Do you know my name?” he asked her cautiously. He might not have thought to ask such a question a year ago. People didn’t suddenly forget shit. But with all that had happened to him, he knew immediately that magic had to be responsible for Ava’s condition. Fuck. SHE WAS HUMAN! It made him sick to his stomach to realize that it turned him on, and that one of the first few thoughts in his head was ‘how does she taste?’
---
Oh great. The guy was just standing there, staring. She really knew how to pick them didn’t she? The teenage Ava looked back at him as if he were a total weirdo, which, in this moment, he did appear to be. She hoped it was just shock that she was still there.... or maybe it wasn’t him she came back here with..... Interesting. Where the fuck was her twin right now? She really needed clothes and to get back to the penthouse.
When he asked if she knew his name, Ava laughed shortly. “No, but don’t take it personally.I’m sure it was fun and all, but I don’t remember any part of how we got here. Look, like I said, help me find my clothes and my stuff and I’ll go find my sister, be out of here before the wife and kid come back. You don’t have to stand to attention on my behalf. I’m not the clingy ‘call me’ type of girl.” She assured him, heading back into the bedroom.
---
Charlie didn’t mean to stare, but how could he not? His wife and the body he knew so well were completely transformed. There was no mistaking her, but it seemed he wasn’t equally recognizable. She didn’t know who he was. Had the same spell struck again? No, this was more advanced. Ava knew who she was, and she was younger.. not to mention HUMAN! He really couldn’t get over that, and being close to her like this when he was thirsty was extremely distracting.
Charlie couldn’t handle her until he had some blood in his system. “I’ll get your clothes in a second. I need a drink.” Given her current state, in which she seemed to believe she’d had a fling with a stranger, she would probably just see him as a stressed out dude who had cheated on his wife. Little did Ava know she was his wife.
He got a bag of blood and poured it into a mug, hoping she wouldn’t be able to recognize the contents. The memory loss meant she probably didn’t know about vampires, and Charlie didn’t want to scare her. It was odd being in the know this time, when they’d been in the same boat before.
Going to the bedroom, he went straight to the dresser where she kept her more comfortable clothes and fished out a pair of jeans that fit quite snug, because they were the only ones likely to fit her right now. She wasn’t quite as curvy at this age. Charlie handed them to her and then rummaged until he found a shirt. “They’re yours.” It took him a second to realize he should probably turn around, and he very nearly got a show of younger Ava’s body. Charlie wasn’t sure just how old, or young, she was right now, and he didn’t want to commit a felony.
---
Ava had only recently met Saul, and was not yet in the know when it came to the supernatural, but it did lead to another problem. This version of Ava was just starting to feel the need for a pick me up, even more reason she wanted to find her stuff. Either she had something on her or she wanted to get out and find something. Luckily it meant she was too preoccupied to really notice what Charlie had put in his mug, instead just sighing and waiting for him. The teen didn’t seem at all uncomfortable about the fact she was standing in a stranger’s home, wearing just a sheet. Obviously the way she was so comfortable with her body was already in place.
Her clothes were in his dresser? Maybe the guy was a neat freak or something... She didn’t recognise the things he was holding out to her either, but they looked fairly expensive and she had got to the stage where she didn’t really care if he wanted to give away his wife’s clothes. “Thanks.” She offered a small smile as she took the offered items, and dropped the sheet. “Do you know where my underwear is?” Ava asked, standing there completely naked and not caring. There were a few clues to how old she was, or at least to her being legal, like the tattoo she had done just after getting to New York at 18, but being as stressed as he seemed, they probably weren’t enough to penetrate.
---
Charlie had noticed the tattoo, but he had never asked when or where she got it. Besides, he knew lots of people who used fake IDs to get tattoos before turning eighteen. Regardless her age, she looked far too young for him to feel comfortable checking her out while naked. He kept his eyes averted and reached into another drawer to get out some underwear. Charlie wished at this moment that his wife wore something when sleeping.
“What’s the last thing you remember?” he asked her while keeping his back turned. Charlie was fishing for information, but trying not to startle her by letting her know she was suffering from memory loss.
---
Taking the underwear, Ava slipped it on with another thanks to him for passing it. Of course, it didn’t fit right, but again, she couldn’t bring herself to be that bothered. She could always go shopping when she left here, or just go back to the penthouse straight away and get into something that did fit. Well, so she thought, not knowing that she was a good four hours drive from it. That was going to be a shock.
Turning his back while she dressed seemed a little odd if he had indeed slept with her the night before, but each to their own... Ava shrugged. “Being back in the penthouse, getting ready to go out. I guess I must have taken something stronger than I meant to. I’ve never completely lost this much before.” Then again, she had been taking some stuff she hadn’t been taking before recently...
“You can turn around.” She told him once dressed. “Out of curiosity.... what’s your name and how did we meet?” Questions that would never cross Ava’s mind as she got older, but this eighteen year old Ava wasn’t quite so jaded yet, and definitely didn’t sleep around with strangers quite so much. Not to say it didn’t happen, but still.... She felt a little uneasy about not even knowing his name or what happened.
---
Charlie hesitated to answer her questions. He was still lingering on what she’d told him she remembered. She thought she was in New York, and that Charlie was a one night stand she’d met while out partying. He had to tread carefully.
“My name’s Charlie Burghard,” he offered slowly after turning around. He scratched the back of his neck as he often did when thinking through something. “The little girl is my niece.. not my daughter.” He assumed by the way she’d said ‘wife and kid’ earlier that she’d seen the picture of him and Maggie that sat on his night stand. The same picture that they’d both stared at when losing their memories before. “I don’t have any children.” And right now, he didn’t really have a wife. “My wife... it’s complicated.” Soooo complicated. “She’s not really herself right now, and we’re separating soon.” Maybe with that note Ava wouldn’t feel guilty thinking she was a homewrecker. Though she kinda was. Sorta. “You and I met, uh... well... we went for a ride on my motorcycle, and things just sorta went from there.” It was true, mostly.
---
The scratching his neck, slow offering of his name, but then sharing a lot more.... Ava assumed Charlie was feeling guilty about what he did and was trying to justify it, that or feeling bad about sleeping with an obviously drugged out of her mind teen. “You don’t need to tell me all of this. I don’t judge. You wouldn’t be the first married man to decide to go after an eighteen year old while he’s having marriage problems.” She assured him with another small shrug. It was obvious she really wasn’t judging him, even if he had told her he had a blissfully ignorant wife and kids she wouldn’t have cared too much, or felt bad for sleeping with him. If it wasn’t her it would be someone else probably, right? “Although maybe you didn’t know the age part....” Wrinkling her nose, Ava realised that it might freak him out even more to realise she was barely legal. “I’m Ava, by the way, incase I didn’t tell you that part either.”
---
Charlie held his hand up to her, trying to stop her from making him feel weirder about all this. “I didn’t decide to go after an eighteen year old. I love my wife. I love her more than breathing and the sun.”
“Ava Van Der Witt. I know,” he told her with a sigh, leaning back against the dresser. “I didn’t know you were eighteen.” She seemed younger, actually. “You’re not in New York. This is Danvers.. not far from Boston.”
---
“Right, you didn’t go after me. I seduced you? Slipped, fell, landed on your dick, just coincidentally wandered into your bedroom?” She sighed, rolling her eyes and going back to looking around the room for the rest of her things. Where the hell was her phone and purse?!?
Ava looked back over her shoulder at him, eyes widened in surprise. “Massachusetts? Why the hell would I be in Massachusetts? That was a long bike ride...” She muttered the last, going to her knees to look under the bed, incase her stuff had ended there. It was while on her hands and knees that she really took the time to realise what was on her hands and she sat back on her knees, looking at the wedding band and engagement ring. “What the hell happened last night?” She demanded of Charlie, looking at him in shock and panic.
---
Charlie rolled his eyes at her. “Actually, you did seduce me.” That was true, to a degree. Ava had been quite the temptress when she and Charlie were still just flirting. “You knew I was with someone, and you didn’t care.”
He noticed her searching the room but made no move to help her find her things. She wouldn’t recognize her belongings, just like she didn’t recognize her own clothing. It seemed she didn’t recognize her rings either. He sighed as she asked him about them. “Nothing happened last night. They’re just rings.” Obviously, they weren’t. The diamond, while not huge, was very nice and placed in an elegant, antique setting. The band was of excellent quality as well. “You really don’t remember me? At all?” he asked while coming away from the dresser. It was because he’d noticed something that was missing. “Let me see your neck.” He peered over to notice that the flesh was smooth and unblemished. The tattoo with their wedding date had vanished along with her memories of it.
Charlie felt an emptiness that he couldn’t put into words. He’d discussed a memory spell with Ana, but now that Ava really had forgotten him, it hurt. She’d been given the chance to start over. Human, eighteen, and not tied down to a husband and family. It was perfect.. for her. “I’ll take you to Ana.”
---
Ava raised an eyebrow as he seemed to be painting her as the one responsible for this. “I don’t doubt it. I have no problem being the tool to help men forget their wives for a night, but I didn’t force you. I’m half your size. If you slept with me it’s because you wanted to.” Her voice was tinged with amusement at that.
Frowning a little, still confused, she switched the rings around, putting the engagement ring on her right hand, and pocketing the wedding band since she didn’t have anywhere else to put it. If the guy wanted to give her jewellery too she wasn’t going to complain. Maybe it made him feel better, like she was a prostitute rather than some kid he picked up at a bar... although how that should make him feel better she had no idea. She was pretty sure she couldn’t have gotten married in one night with no planning though, which was a comfort. “Not a clue. Sorry. Look, it’s nothing personal. I must have taken something stronger than I intended, like I said.” She still looked unsure though, probably because he was coming towards her, but she did hold still for him to look at her neck, tensed to fight back if she needed to.
Ava stood up when he told her he’d take her to Ana. “You know where Ana is? Is she here too?” What the hell did they get up to last night? “Do you know where my phone and purse is? I should probably ring her...”
---
As if discovering the tattoo was gone wasn’t bad enough, seeing Ava remove the rings and pocket the wedding band felt like kick to the gut. Charlie looked ill for a moment. It was so easy for her to do that, not at all the way she’d acted the last time she took them off. She’d been heartbroken then, thinking Charlie would never forgive her. Even he wasn’t sure if he could at the time. But now he loved her so damn much, and she didn’t feel a thing for him. “Don’t lose those,” he told her gently. If she ever did get her memory back, she’d kick herself if she lost her rings.
“Yeah, she’s here too.. in another apartment. You’re.. this is a special school, uh, boarding school. I work here, or did. I resigned recently, and I’m moving soon.” He was telling her all sorts of things she should already know, but she didn’t. She might never know. She might really, truly be able to move on from their marriage because it didn’t exist in her mind. What if the memories didn’t come back? Ava would be free to start her life over without pain, and isn’t that what he’d wanted for her?
He went over to her night stand and pulled it open, taking out her purse. “The phone’s inside,” he offered as he handed it to her. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to call her though.” What if Ana was going through the same thing? Worse, what if she wasn’t and made Ava upset by saying things that didn’t make sense. “She’s in the other building. It’ll only take a few mintues.”
---
She had absolutely no idea why he was telling her not to lose the rings but she nodded anyway. “Ok...” He obviously knew something she didn’t about them, which was a little unnerving. “I try not to make a habit of losing diamonds and expensive jewellery.”
Ava listened to this extra information patiently, with only the slightest raise of an eyebrow. “You’re a teacher?” She asked with amusement. “I bet you have all the little kiddies crushing on you Mr Burghard.” Ava purred, teasing him. He was so serious, but at least he was nice to look at. She wished her teachers at school had looked more like him, she might have attended more often.
Of course she didn’t recognise the purse at all, but maybe she had done some late night shopping. Ava dug through, looking for her ID and cards, and her phone. There was some strange piece of electronics she couldn’t identify, with a large screen that took up most of the device, and a picture of an apple on the back, but no phone she could tell. She could buy a new phone though, the important thing was her ID and her credit cards, and those she thankfully found. “Since I can’t see my phone in here I’ll have to take your word for it.” She sighed, closing the purse and looking at him. “You really should lighten up. I’m not looking to get you in trouble unless there’s something I haven’t discovered yet, and you obviously have looks and money, and memories of a good night with me, what is there to be so morose about? I bet you can get almost anything you want.”
---
“They’re just..” he started, trying to thing of a way to explain that the rings meant something to her, but he didn’t know what to say. “You don’t remember, but you told me they were special to you. I’d hate for something to happen.”
Charlie shook his head when she assumed he was a teacher. “No. I was head of security.” Of course, that only encouraged more crushes it seemed. There were a number of students who had lusted over him. Ava had been one of them. It was odd to have her flirt with him now. She said the sort of things she’d normally say to him, but it was different without the emotions behind it.
Holding out his hand, he motioned for her to hand him the black object in her purse. “It’s your phone.” Pushing the button at the bottom of the device, he then slid his finger across the screen and was greeted by a prompt for the security code. “0-1-2-8. That’s your code.” Ava would probably wonder why he new the security code to a phone she’d never even seen before, and she’d have no idea why those numbers were picked. January 28th. It wasn’t that far away, and yet he’d be gone before they had a chance to celebrate their first year together.
“I know you’re not looking to get me in trouble. You’re not that kind of person.” Of course he was sad. His wife, someone who used to love him so much it was painful, didn’t even recognize him. “Come on,”
Charlie walked out of the bedroom and to the hall closet where Ava kept the shoes she wore most often. He grabbed a pair she’d been particularly fond of lately and handed them to her. That was when Cassius decided to get up from his nap. He came over to Ava first, sniffing her. She smelled different. He didn’t seem scared, just confused. He still recognized her, but something had changed. “That’s Cassius. He likes you.”
---
“In that case... thank you, for caring if they were important to me even when I don’t remember.” This Charlie guy was odd, and he was behaving weirdly, but something about him melted the bitch exterior that was still in the making, just a little. Ava was glad that if this was happening, at least it was happening with someone like Charlie Burghard.
Hmm not a teacher, still hot. “In that case, I bet you have the students playing up just to see you.” She shot back, still smiling a little and winking at him. She just wanted to make him smile, and she wasn’t a hundred percent sure on why. Perhaps because he had been so serious ever since he walked in, even seeming a little...spooked, and she had no idea why. Had she met him before last night?
A confused laugh trickled from her when he told her the black device was her phone. Of course she handed it over, she had to see this. “That is not a phone, I don’t know what it is but... a phone? I just bought a new phone a couple of months ago, and nothing looked anything like that.” Still, she watched him, trying to store that code in her mind, and taking the phone back when he handed it over, but still not really believing it was one. This all felt like some really fucked up trip right now.
“You obviously don’t know me so well if you don’t think I’m that kind of person.” Then they were moving again, he was handing her shoes, and she put them on without questioning it, still confused. The sudden interest from a dog at her feet didn’t help with that and she hesitantly reached out a hand to stroke him. “Uh... hello Cassius....”
---
It was hard to smile right now. Charlie was suffering. But he could see the effort that Ava was making. He knew her so well. In an attempt to make her feel better, he cracked a smile at her wink. “I only punish the ones who deserve it,” he joked, though there wasn’t much energy behind it.
“It’s somewhat of a small computer. All those little buttons, they’re like icons on your computer. You touch them, and they do stuff.” He pointed out where her address book was saved. “My number’s in there.. if you need anything.” He was afraid to drop her off at Ana’s without showing her that much. What if something went wrong? She wouldn’t know who to call or where to go for help.
“I do know you,” he assured her. “Cassius does too. I know everything about you. You told me.. you just don’t remember.” Those last words came out with a sigh. Charlie grabbed his keys and phone, which looked identical to Ava’s, except for having a different protective cover. “Come on.. we should find Ana.” He grabbed the leash as well, because Cassius hadn’t joined him on his run, and the dog was eager to go outside. He also couldn’t stop sniffing Ava, curious about the change she’d undergone.
---
Yes! A smile! Even if was a weak attempt, it was something. “Oh well in that case...” She purred, biting her bottom lip. “I’ll have to get in touch with my inner naughty schoolgirl... or have we been there already?” Ava joked, laughing softly.
“So.... I just touch what I want? The icons I mean, although I do the other too....” At the very least she may as well humor him until she could sort something else out, and if the world had completely flipped around there was a small chance this thing could function as a phone, just like he said and then she’d need to know this stuff he was telling her.
Oh yeah, because that wasn’t creepy at all. The man whose bed she just woke up in, in a different state, with no memory of, said he knew everything about her. His saving grace was that he didn’t seem psycho, like a stalker, so much as just... exasperated. “That sounds like a good idea. Thank you.”
---
This time, a laugh came naturally. Charlie chuckled ever so slightly when Ava did. “Oh yeah.. been there, done that.” They hadn’t ‘bought the t-shirt,’ but Ava certainly had claimed a healthy collection of his.
Nodding at her question, he even showed her the phone book’s contents so she’d believe him. There had to be a few names in there she recognized. Saul’s was one of them, unfortunately, and Charlie immediately realized she might already know him at this age. “You should avoid him. Saul. He’s not who you think he is. And you should, um.. help Ana get off drugs. She’s not as careful as you are. I don’t want either of you getting hurt.” If they were both in this condition, both human and young with so much life left to live, then he hoped they would do things differently. They could avoid ever having to become vampires. Fuck, they could walk outside tomorrow morning and survive!
---
There was something odd about his laugh, but she didn’t really catch it, something about his mouth... Her amusement and happiness at making him laugh properly distracted her though. “Now that sounds about right.” She agreed. “Makes me wish I could remember it.”
Ava sighed as he warned her off Saul. “Let me guess, you’re basing that off the fact that he’s a drug dealer? Well here’s a newsflash. People who like to partake in those drugs from time to time, that would be me, but you know that since apparently you know everything about me, right? need drug dealers, and Saul is a pretty fair one.” His other little idea was more serious though and she bit her lip, a nervous habit. “Ana’s a big girl, she can do what she wants, and I’m keeping an eye on her anyway.” Ava was trying really hard to put on an indifferent, in control, act, but he had struck at one of the things she genuinely did worry and care about.
“Look... can we just go find her? I won’t be able to relax until I know she’s ok.”
---
Charlie shook his head, and his expression was deadly serious. “No. It has nothing to do with him being a drug dealer. He’s a dangerous and manipulative man, possessive and controlling too. You can find other dealers, ones who ask less of you.” He sighed as she dismissed his concerns so quickly. “But you’re not watching her. She’s slipping away from you, and she’s going to make a costly mistake.”
How the hell could he make her understand? Lie. “I doubt you’ll believe me, but I have a gift. I can see things that other people can’t. In a few years, something bad happens to her, and you will have to make a huge sacrifice to save her. I don’t want that for you. Get her cleaned up while you still can. She’s not capable of moderation like you and I.” Charlie put himself in there, because he too had been an occasional drug user. He didn’t want Ava thinking he was just some stuffy adult lecturing about drugs without having ever tried them. “And if you don’t believe me.. ask me for details about how your parents died and how you really feel about it.” Maybe it would scare some sense into her. Maybe she’d get Ana the help she needed.
He nodded though when she asked to find Ana. “Just keep what I said in mind. Pay closer attention when she uses. You’ll see it if you let yourself. You just don’t want to admit there’s a problem, and you’re running out of time to fix it.”
---
He was right, Ava really didn’t want to hear this, and she was good at ignoring what she didn’t want to know. “Right. You’re psychic, you can see into the future, because this situation isn’t dangerously close to psycho already.” She rolled her eyes. “How about you don’t tell me how to look after my sister, and I won’t tell you how to be a good husband.” It was possibly a low blow, but she was on the defensive, worried he was right. Not about seeing the future, but where Ana was headed.
Her eyes shot back to him when he mentioned her parents, with a dangerous look. “Don’t talk to me about my parents. Whatever you think you know about me and Ana and our lives, you don’t know anything. Especially not enough to talk about them.” She told him, her voice low and even. “I’d be out of here already if I didn’t need you to help me work this place out and find my twin.” Ava sighed again, opening the door to get them moving.
---
This wasn’t going well, and unlike other fights he’d had with Ava, he risked her actually hating him this time. While the memory loss might make it possible for him to have a truly clean break from Ava, and give her the freedom to start over, he didn’t want her only memories of him to be bad ones. He raised his hands up in surrender. “I won’t say anymore about your parents. I just.. I know you blame yourself for what happened.. and I don’t want you blaming yourself for what could happen to Ana.” Because she would. “You still have time.”
He walked through the door though. Charlie was quiet after that. He silently escorted Ava through the halls of the family staff building down to the underground passageway that lead to the single staff building. They could have gone outside, but it was cold, and she wasn’t dressed appropriately.
---
Luckily for Charlie, Ava didn’t have the inclination to hate anyone properly this evening. This whole situation was too weird to waste time on it, so she just sighed. “You can’t be that stupid. Just leave it. I get the message.” How the hell did he know all these things? Had she just spilled her entire life story the night before... or day.... since it was now evening. Who knew what she could have done if she was affected enough to forget the past 24 hours.
For a little while she walked in silence, just taking in what was around her, but eventually she had to speak. “Why did I tell you all of that stuff? There are people who’ve known me for years who don’t know some of the things you’re insinuating you know.....” Ava asked softly, a slight vulnerability creeping into her voice.
---
Ava’s question was impossible to answer. Charlie would have preferred to keep walking in silence. “I told you.. it’s complicated. You,” he paused to look over at her then back down at Cassius who was walking at his side as always. “You trusted me enough to let me see the real you.” It was the truth, but she hadn’t spilled all that in one night. Though he did recall their conversation in detail from that first bike ride. Ava had opened up a lot to him that night, more than she probably planned to.
---
That was no surprise, since when did Ava do what the other person would prefer unless it benefited her too? “You must be something really special to make me trust you. It’s not something I do very often.” She told him, trying to keep tone light, as if it were nothing, but it was definitely something. Part of her was terrified by the thought that she had opened up that way to someone, whereas another part was almost... relieved, that he knew everything, that someone did.
---
Charlie shrugged. “Not really. I’m just a guy who doesn’t know how to treat my wife. Leaving her even though she trusts and loves me.” He sounded bitter, and he was. Life had been exceptionally unkind to Charlie. It felt like every time something good came his way, fate came in and pulled the rug out from under him, kicked him in the gut, and stole what he loved most. Death stole his mother, Val stole his niece, and now shitty circumstances were stealing his wife. Again, he wondered if Hell was actually a place on earth. Maybe this was the damnation that awaited all vampires.
---
Ava wrapped her arms around herself as they walked, shrugging. “Trusting and loving people is usually a mistake anyway. It’s best she learns that. Everybody leaves...” Her voice flat, staring straight ahead. “It’s just a matter of time. Life isn’t fair. So just enjoy it while you have it, and move on, don’t let anyone close enough that it hurts you when they do the inevitable.” Of course even Ava had her exception to this in her twin, but for the most part, she’d already learnt that lesson. “Why are you leaving her?”
---
Feeling a stabbing pain in his chest, not all that different from the feeling that had made him sprint home tonight, Charlie paused, unable to keep walking for the time being. “It’s not a mistake. Just because it doesn’t work out, doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth it.” Cassius whined and danced around uncomfortably on his front two paws. He could feel what Ava couldn’t. He had always been able to decipher Charlie’s emotions, and he knew Charlie was hurting right now.
He answered her question honestly, “Because my family needs me. I have to leave to stay close to them, and she can’t come along. She has responsibilities of her own that are keeping her here. This isn’t something either of us wants, but I think she’ll be better off in the end.”
---
Ouch, seemed like she had hit a nerve. Ava paused, turning to face him properly as he defended love and trust. “So that pain and regret that is quite obviously coursing through you at leaving your wife, the time you spent with her makes it worth it?” Truthfully she was putting on more a cynical act than the way she actually felt. She wouldn’t trade the memories she had of her parents for anything, but it didn’t mean she was going to set herself up for more heartache. Well, not as far as she knew anyway. “She must be quite something.” She shrugged again, walking on, even if it meant she was doing it on her own.
“Family or wife... sounds like a dilemma. I’m sorry you had to lose someone....” Ava said genuinely, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze, for reasons unknown to even her.
---
With zero hesitation, Charlie replied, “Yes. She’s worth it.” He couldn’t say for sure that any other woman would be worth it, but Ava was. Talking about her as though she wasn’t there with him was strange, but then again, the Ava beside him wasn’t yet the person he would come to love. She had some growing up to do.
It took a second, with Cassius looking between Ava who was walking and Charlie who wasn’t, for Charlie to finally fall in step behind his mutated wife. As he came up to walk directly beside her, she reached for his hand with kind words, and his chest tightened. He nearly lost it and told her everything right then and there, but the need to protect her from the truth kept him from spilling it. Instead, he squeezed her hand in return and whispered, “Thanks.” He wanted to pull her into his arms and never let her go. Even if he had to start from scratch in getting her to love him again, he wanted to. He couldn’t do it, and he wouldn’t do it, but it was what he wanted.
---
A LOT of growing up to do, although it could be argued that it was less growing up and more cutting herself off from emotions, but there was a fair difference between the teenage Ava standing in front of him and the Ava he knew and loved no matter what. “I can’t decide if that makes you a fool for believing it or her a genius for having caught such a specimen, and so well..” Ok, so maybe that process of becoming cynical was already in progress.
Ava left her hand in his as they walked, afterall what harm could it do. She’d probably never see him again, or anyone else in this place, right? He had seen enough of her apparently that taking her hand out of his seemed petty. “Thank you.... for looking after me and not taking advantage of the information I apparently gave you... and for not turning out to be a psycho or a murderer... yet.” She joked, smiling up at him slightly.
---
Charlie just shrugged, “Elvis said only fools rush in. And I did. Our first wedding anniversary is next month.. January 28th. We didn’t even make it a year.” And he hadn’t expected them to at first, but now he could easily see himself spending an eternity with Ava.
Frowning as she said murderer, Charlie pulled his hand out of hers. She didn’t know what she’d said wrong, but it hit him hard. Ava wouldn’t say that to him, not ever, because she knew that he carried around a lot of baggage. Technically, he was a murderer. He’d killed Val to protect Maggie, but he’d still killed someone. That could never be undone. “I’m not a saint. I’m looking after you because it’s the right thing to do, but I don’t always do what’s right.”
---
“Now that surprises me. The way you talk about her... Guess it just proves me right. Love doesn’t last... at least not that kind of love. Something always comes along and ruins it.” She said bitterly. “Either that or they’re pretending to get what they want.” Even at eighteen she’d learnt that lesson.
She had NO idea what she had said wrong, but she didn’t take it to heart, just crossing her arms infront of her chest and continuing on. “The right thing is sort of a subjective term. I say do the right thing for yourself and forget whether society agrees.” Ava really was talking and sharing a lot more than she normally would with anyone. Why did this guy make it so easy to do that? “Take you and this Mrs Burghard. You’re both doing what’s right for you, right? But you’re doing different things, so how can you both be doing the right thing if that is only one right thing?” That hurt even her head as she said it, but it made some sort of twisted sense to her. “It is far too early in the evening to be this philosophical, at least without any help.” She muttered, looking through her purse again for anything to perk her up, but not finding anything. Strange.
---
“I’ll agree with that. Something always goes wrong. I’ve been fucked by fate enough to understand it’s never fair. It’s usually cruel. You know,” he said with a little look in her direction. She understood since she’d lost her parents so young. There was nothing fair about that. It was a horrible thing for a child to suffer.
“I’m trying to do right by her. To do right by you.” They were one in the same. “I want her to move on and be happy. She deserves better, and I think she finally has a chance at a fresh start. With any luck, I’ll be permanently erased from her memory.” This time it was Charlie who took hold of her hand, pulling it from her purse. “You won’t find any coke in there. No point in searching. Besides, it’s only a temporary fix. It never makes the pain go away.”
---
Ava simply nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I know, and I learnt my lesson from it early on. Sounds like you’re ignoring it though.” Of course she didn’t know why he agreed with her, or quite how well he understood what she was saying, how similar he was.
“Hmm... pretty to think, that she can just move on. Love fucks you over from the moment you let someone else have your heart. All that’s left at the end is damage control. Face it, you’ve already screwed each other up.” All said without looking up from her purse. At least that was until he pulled her out of it. “It does a decent job of numbing it though, and who am I to turn that down? How do you know there’s nothing in there though, I’m a resourceful kind of girl.”
---
“I ignored it for a long time. I refused to love anyone else. But I wasn’t happy. I was just wasting time. My year with,” he paused, catching himself before saying her name, “My wife.. it doesn’t feel like a waste. It’s the happiest I’ve been in years. I’m miserable now, but it was worth it. I know my mom is proud. That counts for a lot. Your parents are gonna like the woman you become. I can see it.” She wasn’t quite there yet, but Ava had the potential within her already. Look at how nice she was being to him right now, and he was a stranger.
“She has a clean slate right now. I want her to use it. I’ll be the damaged one. We shouldn’t both stay broken.” If he could heal, that would be nice, but he didn’t think it was possible. And Charlie wouldn’t want to let go of his memories, by force or by choice.
“I just know. I see things others don’t, remember?” Ava had known about Charlie’s secret stash, where it was hidden and how to access it, so she’d never kept her own in the apartment. It was there for both of them in an emergency, and now it was gone. Apparently Kim had thrown it out after finding him feeling sorry for himself.
---
Ava didn’t miss the pause as he stopped himself saying a name instead of just calling her his wife, and she stored that little piece of information away, curious, but not using it yet. There were far more unpleasant things being brought up yet again. “My parents are dead, I doubt they’re feeling much of anything.” She corrected him. It was better that way, who knew what they’d think if they could see the people their daughters had turned into, using their money on superficial things. If there was one thing her parents’ death had taught her though, it was that life was unpredictable. The twins could die tomorrow, why not make the most of things?
“Are you avoiding her name to make this easier?” Although whether this was sleeping with her, or the fact he was leaving his wife, she didn’t specify. Mostly she was just trying to throw him, see how he’d react when unexpectedly faced with the question.
Rolling her eyes she looked at him properly. “Oh of course, psycho. Sorry, I mean psychic.” Sarcasm dripping from her words, but also amusement. “Either that or you know we used it all earlier. Somehow I find that more likely.” The older Ava did have means to get more if she had wanted it, but she wasn’t going to store it in her purse day to day. That was just foolish.
---
He dropped the subject of her parents again, because it only upset her when he mentioned them. Even the Ava he loved didn’t cope well with discussing that particular subject, but she wasn’t angry with him when he brought it up. He realized in that moment that she wasn’t wearing her locket. He’d have to make sure she got that back. Like the rings, it was special to her, even if she didn’t realize it.
Charlie was thrown alright. His steps staggered slightly, and Cassius looked up to see what was wrong. “It’s better for you if you don’t know her name.” That was an honest answer. “The less you know about her, the better.”
Shaking his head, Charlie shot down her theory. “We didn’t use. I’ve mostly given it up. Had a one night relapse recently, but I’m clean otherwise. I did it for Maggie, my niece.”
---
It was probably for the best she wasn’t wearing the locket when she woke up. That locket, the photos of her parents... it was so much more personal seeming than the rings. Ava would not have coped so well with finding that when she didn’t have any recollection of it. It was one thing to have apparently shared certain parts of her past and her parents’ death with Charlie, but the thought of him doing that with her, a stranger, was not something she would have coped so well with.
Ava couldn’t help the soft laugh of amusement as he was definitely thrown by her question and fumbled to answer. “Aaw, how sweet, you’re trying to protect me. From her or from my guilt at sleeping with her husband?” She laughed again. He seemed so... sweet, it was almost sickening.
She sighed. “Right. Good for you, but I’m telling you that you don’t forget 24 hours of your life whilst clean and sober, so I must have been on something.”
---
“She wouldn’t be upset with me. And you have no reason to feel guilty.” He couldn’t explain the why on either of those things, she just had to believe him. But he wasn’t about to tell Ava that she was his wife. He was going to take her to Ana, say a depressingly sterile goodbye, and exit her life. With any luck, Ana would be eighteen as well, and then he truly could leave them in peace to begin again.
“You forgot a bit more than twenty-four hours, but I don’t know what caused it. I wasn’t there when it happened. Sorry.” He felt bad that he’d not been there for her, but at the same time, Charlie was glad he hadn’t been transformed back into a teenager. As much as he hated being a vampire, he was an asshole at that age, and he would have forgotten two of the most important people in his life: Ava and Maggie. He’d been selfish at that age, and in that state of mind, he wouldn’t have cared about Ava or his family all that much. He would have said fuck it and run off to cause trouble.
---
“Well that’s good, because I don’t feel guilty and I really didn’t want to get into a fight with a jealous wife just yet.” She shrugged, making light of everything. Charlie wasn’t making an amazing amount of sense, but he was pretty to look at, if a little old, so she could forgive him that.
Ava dismissed the memory loss with a wave of her hand. “Oh well, as long as whatever happened doesn’t get me killed or hurt too badly it doesn’t really matter. No need to apologise. I wouldn’t be surprised if I told you to bring me here, although having to find our way back to New York is a little inconvenient I must admit.” Oh well, that’s what credit cards and healthy bank balances were for. They’d sort something out. “Is it much further to Ana? I hope she remembers more of what happens. God knows what she’s doing.”
---
Charlie hoped she’d simply assume he had an open marriage. It would keep her from asking questions. Plus, he and Ava did have an open marriage in the beginning, sorta. But it never kept either of them from feeling jealous, even though they hadn’t had sex with anyone else (because he didn’t count the threesomes, which he mostly just watched anyway).
“You both have cars here. Getting back to New York won’t be a problem, but I think it’s better if you wait a few days before returning. Give yourself a chance to recover from blacking out.” While he didn’t want her remembering him, he did think she needed to understand what had happened in regards to regressing in age. She could get herself into trouble if she left campus without that knowledge. Charlie just didn’t want to be the one to explain.
“We’re almost there.. just down the hall,” he said pointing his finger ahead. They were a few steps away, and when they reached her door, he knocked with hesitation. Please let her be the same as Ava.
---
They both had cars here? Ava didn’t even own a car. Sure she had the money for one now, but she didn’t see the point once they had moved to Manhattan and driving became mostly impractical. Maybe Charlie had just said the wrong thing, maybe he just meant Ana. Even then the idea of either of them managing to drive down here and not remember anything was odd... and slightly scary. “We’ll see. Depends on what Ana wants to do and what there is to do around here.” She decided. Hey, if nothing else they could possibly drive up to New Hampshire, they still knew people there, although they could run into their aunt if they did that, and Ava didn’t feel like dealing with the old bat.
Ava wasn’t really sure why he seemed so on edge about seeing Ana, but she was too relieved by the prospect of seeing her herself to be too bothered by it. Resting against the doorframe, she tapped her fingers against it as she waited for the door to be opened....
---
Unconscious to the world, an eighteen year old version of Ana was lying asleep on the couch, until a series of raps at the door woke her up. Eyes fluttered open and struggled a bit to focus at first, but once they did, confusion settled in. Sitting up, she quickly took in her surroundings. Where the fuck was she? This was definitely not the penthouse her and Ava shared in New York. She automatically deduced that she was in some random guy’s apartment that she had met the night before, but she barely remembered anything past getting ready to go out.
The knocking at the door continued and she was starting to become agitated by it. Ugh. Standing up, she realized that she was wearing a baby doll the she did not recognize. When the hell had she put this on? And why? This shit was hanging off her loosely and it wasn’t even hers. On her way to the door, she peered into the bedroom, but there was no sign of anyone else in the apartment. Guess the guy had bolted as soon as he was done. Whatever. Ana didn’t care. Opening the door, she came face to face with a rather tall, hot looking guy and her twin. “Well, hello,” she said with a smirk and a wink at Charlie. Her next words though were directed at her twin. “I hope mine was this good looking. Of course, he’s not around, so I’ll never really know.”
---
FUUUUCK! Charlie had not anticipated having Ana flirt with him. It was disturbing and sorta hot at the same time. He managed an awkward smile, but he felt extremely uncomfortable all of a sudden having his wife’s twin, who was also now a younger version of herself, checking him out like that. There had been a time when this would have been Charlie’s fantasy, but not anymore.
“Can we come in?” he asked politely. This was her home, whether she knew it didn’t matter to Charlie. He respected Ana’s privacy, and he wasn’t going to barge in on her. He just came to deliver Ava and say his goodbyes.
---
Ava couldn’t help but laugh at her twin’s response to Charlie. It was nothing less than she expected, they really were too alike. Unlike her new companion, Ava just walked into the apartment, looking around. “Aaaw such a shame, not fair. We’ll just have to split this one.” She joked, winking at Charlie, trying to get a reaction from him. “I take it the fact you need to ask means you don’t remember how we ended up in Massachusetts either?” Ava asked Ana with a sigh, perching on the arm of a sofa.
---
Aww, he was nervous. That was amusing, especially for someone who did not look like he was in his twenties anymore. The taller and older they were, the harder they fell. Ana just stepped aside and followed her sister back into the apartment, replying “Yeah, whatever. It’s not my house,” to Charlie as she did. “Hm, splitting sounds like a good idea,” she replied with a grin. “Though I think I make him nervous.”
Plopping back down on the couch, Ana’s eyes widened as her sister revealed where they were. “We’re in Massachusetts?! What the fuck did we come all the way out here for?” Rubbing her forehead, she continued to run her hand through her now brunette locks. “What the hell did we take last night? I don’t remember much that happened..”
---
Charlie entered the apartment, shutting the door behind him. He cringed every so slightly when the twins discussed ‘splitting’ him. Why couldn’t they have felt that way back in the day when that was what he wanted? The Van Der Witt women were infuriating sometimes. “I’m married,” he informed Ana, trying to dissuade her with a flash of his left hand and the ring on it.
He took a seat on the arm of the sofa, not feeling comfortable joining the ladies on the cushions, especially not comfortable around Ana right now. What was she wearing? He wondered if Adam had been around earlier. Actually, what if Adam was now a teenager as well? Maybe he wouldn’t be able to leave as planned. The security team couldn’t exactly function if they were all clueless teenagers. Shit. “What’s the last thing you remember, Ana?” he asked, trying to stay focused on the issues in front of him. He’d worry about the rest later.
---
Ava laughed again at Charlie trying to use his ring as a means to put Ana off. “Oh sweetie, that won’t stop her anymore than it apparently stopped me. For someone who claims to know me so well, you sure don’t know my twin so well.” The twins really were alike at eighteen, especially physically. It was hard to tell them apart unless you knew them well or went by their clothes.
“I’ve been asking those questions myself since I woke and he filled me in on the few details he has.” She sighed, moving down to the cushions of the sofa, next to Ana. “Unfortunately he’s not so useful on what we took or why we’ve lost so much of our memories...” The rest she left up to Charlie himself, letting him ask his questions in hopes he’d come up with something that helped.
---
Ana mimicked her sister’s laugh simultaneously. “She’s right. That’s never stopped me before. And apparently, it didn’t stop you last night either,” she said as she gave Charlie another wink. Ana and Ava really were so much more alike when they were younger. It was only recently that they had begun to change and even then, the changes appeared to be the same.
Sighing, Ana looked from her sister back to Charlie, trying to go back into her mind to the last thing she could clearly remember doing. “Last thing I remember was getting ready to go out in our penthouse. I think maybe we did a line or two, but after that, it all kinda goes black.”
---
Charlie did know the twins, and he knew telling them he was married and showing off his ring wouldn’t help, but he had to give it a try. If for no other reason than to make himself feel better. Right now, he wouldn’t have sex with either of them. Ana, because he couldn’t ever look at her like that again. Too much had changed, especially since their conversation at the wedding. And Ava, because she wasn’t herself right now, and it wouldn’t mean anything to her. She was also far too close to being underage for him to feel comfortable.
Thinking in silence for a moment, and scratching Cassius’ head as he did so, because he felt like it would help him think, Charlie tried to come up with a plan for what to do next. An idea came to him. He got up and the dog followed. Charlie knew where a notepad and pen was located in Ana’s kitchen, so he fetched both and returned to the sofa. “I think you two should rest a bit here. Sleep might help with the memory loss,” something he didn’t actually believe, but he felt they were safe if they stayed put and together in this apartment. “Tomorrow, I want you to call a guy named Nox. He works here too, and he’s a lot smarter than me. He can help you find your cars and get home and all that shit. He might even be able to figure out what happened that caused the lost time you’re experiencing.” Charlie wrote down Nox’s phone number. “Ava.. remember, the security code for you phone is 0-1-2-8.” Charlie wrote that down as well. Then he scribbled his own name. “And I’m Charlie. My number’s in your phone, but I’ll put it on here just in case you have trouble using it.” She didn’t seem all the comfortable with the foreign device, and it might take her time to learn to use it. If she had the number written down, she could call from a standard land line.
---
Ava wrinkled her nose as Ana revealed that she remembered pretty much as little as she did. It didn’t look like they were going to be much help to each other in working out how they got here. It was all on Charlie Burghard, who seemed to at least have some plan going on. She stretched a little to look at what he was writing and nodding along with his instructions. Of course it didn’t mean that she was going to do what he was telling them to, but it might ease his mind if he didn’t know them that well. Somehow Ava doubted both of them would make it through the night without seeking out some help, most probably chemical, but possibly natural. “Sleep. Nox. 0128. Charlie. Got it.” She repeated back. “Does this mean your part in this is done? Are you going to love us and leave us?” Ava purred, moving in to be barely a breath from his lips, trying to tempt into closing that distance and kissing her. Being with Ana again had put her in a more playful mood once more.
---
While Ava felt like being agreeable with this guy, even if it was just a rouse, Ana had no reason to do the same thing. She didn’t know this guy. “Sleep here? I don’t think so,” she began with a shake of her head. “I don’t know who’s fucking apartment this is. It’s all fine and dandy that I passed out here last night and probably fucked the guy who lives here, but I’m not about to stick around. He probably thought I’d leave once I woke up and that’s exactly what I intend on doing.”
Cars and security code? What the hell was going on? If anyone’s car was here, it was Ana’s because Ava certainly didn’t have one. Unless their bender last night included buying her one or jacking one. And since when did her phone have a security code and why did this guy know it? And why would Ava possibly have any trouble remembering how to use it? It’s not like they had woken up from their crazy night with severe brain damage. The questions bombarding Ana’s mind were starting to give her a headache as she searched around for her purse. Or any of her belongings. “Look, Charlie, the only thing you need to do is tell me where my car is. I just need to find my stuff and then Ava and I can get out of here.”
---
This wasn’t going to work. He knew the twins well enough to know they’d run out the door the second he left, and for their own safety, they needed to stay here. He had no idea what sort of magic was at work, and something could go wrong. What if they kept getting younger? What if this spell killed them? They had to stay, and he couldn’t get them to do that without telling them the partial truth.
He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s your apartment, Ana. If you don’t believe me.. walk around and have a look at some of the pictures. You’re in them. And you’re older.”
He turned to look at Ava, who seemed to be trying to make a move on him. Charlie got up from the sofa, trying to put himself out of her reach. “I lied to you. I’m not psychic. I actually know you. I’ve known you for a few years now. And you know me.. you just don’t remember. You’ve both been here at this school for more than a year now, first as students and now as teachers. It’s not just a boarding school. It’s a school for those with supernatural gifts. Sometimes those gifts go haywire, and I think that’s what happened to the two of you. You’re not really eighteen. You’re actually twenty-six. Something must have gone wrong, a spell or something. It’s happened before. And now you’re both eighteen again, and apparently don’t remember anything past that age.” They would either think he was insane, or believe him and freak out. Neither was a great option, but he hoped they would at least stay put.
---
Of course Ana decided not to play along. It’s not like they had to actually do what Charlie told them! It would have been so much simpler to just let him go, maybe have some fun first, but then let him go, and do what they wanted once alone. Oh well, never mind. Ava figured that he would try and convince them, they’d make it clear that they really had no intention of sitting around some stranger’s apartment hoping sleep would ‘fix them’, and then they’d do exactly what they had originally planned and head back to New York. What she wasn’t expecting was what he then came out with though. Ava listened to his ‘explanation, sitting back down on the sofa and not interrupting, wondering just how appropriate that ‘not turned out to be a psycho... yet’ comment of hers might be. As soon as he stopped there was a stunned pause..... and then she started laughing. “Oh wow.... I really know how to pick them.” She remarked.
---
Like Ava, Ana decided to sit for a second and listen to this guy’s explanation. And also like her sister, she sat there in a stunned silence for a bit before laughing as well. “He is a piece of work.” Standing up, she kept laughing as she began to walk through the living room. “I would love to see how he thinks he’s gonna pull of some strange woman in a picture as me..” Walking over to one of the sidetables closer to the kitchen, Ana picked up a picture from, her eyes widening in shock as she saw older versions of herself and Ava stare up at her from the frame. After a moment of silence, she began to shake her head, hastily putting the picture back. “No, that shit is fake. I’m not a blonde and we are not twenty-six. If this is some kind of joke, you are one twisted son of a bitch because it’s not funny.”
---
Charlie was quiet at first as the girls mocked him. He didn’t need to defend his comments. It was all true, and once Ana had a look around at the apartment, she’d realize it. Granted, photoshop wasn’t as common eight years ago, but he supposed the photos could be faked. Still, who would go to such extremes to confuse them?
“There are a lot more photos just like that one. Check your drivers’ licenses. Check calendars. Turn on the news. It’s December tenth, two-thousand-eight, and you’re twenty six-years old. But something’s caused you both to regress in age to be eighteen again, and lose eight years of your life and all the memories created during those years. That’s why you don’t remember coming here to attend school. Ava, it’s why you don’t recognize the cell phone.. because iPhones didn’t exist when you were eighteen. And neither of you remember me.. even though we met a few years ago at a different school.”
---
Ana’s reaction was what made her worry, and she stood up, going over to look at the photo that had her twin so worked up. It was.... wow. Ava couldn’t believe what she was seeing, but spells? Supernaturals? That couldn’t be real, right? This had to be some ridiculously well planned practical joke. Who else was involved in this? What did they want from the twins? This guy was a psycho!!! Then he continued, trying to convince them more, and she just stood there, shaking her head in disbelief. “This is one sick practical joke and you need to stop it now. We need to get back to New York, people will realise we’re missing. Just... stop it!”
---
With her mouth still hanging half open in shock, she looked from Ava to Charlie then back around the apartment. Walking around, she picked up countless other picture frames.. more pictures of her and Ava looking older and with Ana having blonde hair, a picture of an older and also blonde Ana with some good looking guy who was standing up a little too straight, and then a picture of their parents. “This is sick,” Ana replied, sounding as if she was actually going to be sick. Shaking her head, she just couldn’t get her head around this. “No, this is bullshit. Why the hell is there a picture of our parents here? This isn’t my apartment! I don’t know any of this, I don’t believe you!” Ana was clearly getting upset, now walking around the apartment almost frantically as she looked for her things.