Exposed

Alaric stared at Eva in silence, knowing already what was written. Putting her hands to her lips she closed her eyes.

"You killed my parents?” He said nothing. She didn’t even know when she’d started walking but she found herself brushing past him. Grabbing her arm, he forced her to look at him. "DID YOU KILL MY PARENTS?!” She repeated.

“Yes,” He could feel her shaking. As he released her, she placed her hand to her chest. Trying her best to steady her breathing, Eva sank to the floor.

“30…29…28…” She repeated the set of numbers three times.

Looking down, Eva cried out to him, "WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU?! WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU?! WHY…” She could hardly get out the words, her heart racing a mile a minute. Sitting down beside her, Alaric reached for her again, but she immediately backed away. "GET AWAY FROM ME!”

"Please, just let me explain.”

Eva could hear him talking, but she couldn’t process the words. Staring at him incredulously she mumbled, "You want to explain to me why you killed my parents…”

Alaric shook his head, "No. I need to show you everything. Please. I’ll leave right after, but I NEED you to see.” His voice was panicked, his hazel eyes glassed over. It was the first time she’d seen his resolve completely broken, and yet she didn’t care.

"So what? So you can manipulate what I see? So yo-”

"NO! I can’t do that. I don’t have the power to create false memories…not since my wings were taken.”

"For killing my parents!” the words fell hard on his ears and he winced.

"Please Eva. Just let me show you, and I promise I’ll leave you alone after.”

That part got her attention. She wanted nothing more than to be completely absolved of him. "You show me, and then you leave.”

He nodded, extending his hand. A small white light sat in the middle, and Eva stared at it hard. Hand’s shaking, she placed hers in his feeling warmth throughout her entire body. "Stay very still, we're going to go back into your memories.”

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*Eva’s memories*

"Mommy…are we leaving soon?” Eva’s tiny voice pulled from the backseat of the family’s van.

Her mother told her that they were going on vacation, yet they hadn’t left the garage. She could see the light of the sun pouring in from the small windows at the top. Eva sighed impatiently as her mother continued to ignore her.

"Dell…” She heard her whisper to her father, but instead of answering he just glared at her.

The smooth black surface of something shiny pressed deeply into her mother’s side, and Eva struggled to see what it was. Leaning forward, she shrunk back when she heard her father yell, "Sit the fuck back Eva!”

She hated when he talked to her like that. The anger that always permeated from him when he spoke to her was terrifying.

“"Dell, I promise I wasn’t sleeping with anyone,” her mother was crying. Wanting nothing more than to make her feel better, Eva snuck her tiny hand through the side opposite her father and rubbed her mother’s arm. She could feel her stiffen. "Dell…”

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Eva’s father took the black shiny something and hit her mother against the head causing Eva to jump. Quickly leaning back into the backseat, Eva pulled her tiny legs to her chest. "All you had to do was keep your legs closed.” His red eyes swung towards Eva, and he glared so hard at her that she struggled to keep in her scream. His mouth contorted into an evil smile, the same one he’d wear some nights when he came home smelling like the stuff that made her nose burn. "You keeping secrets for mommy?”

Eva shook her head feverishly. Reaching for her, he grabbed a hand full of her long hair and yanked her forward ignoring her mother's pleas. "Tell me who your real father is. Is it the man at the grocery store?” Eva whimpered.

"SHE’S YOUR DAUGHTER DELL!” Her mother screamed loudly, and he released her.

Readjusting himself in his seat, he leaned back into his chair, "I sure hope you’re telling the truth about that Cathy. Be a shame to go to the pearly gates as a family just to find out you’ve been lying.”

Eva tried her hardest to keep her eyes focus, but she felt really tired. Her vision blurry, she laid her tiny frame out onto the backseat. Every breath she took labored, every movement becoming harder. The sudden tired taking over, all she wanted to do was sleep.

"HELPPP-” She heard her mother scream while coughing, her words slowly drowning out into complete nothingness. Eva could hear the shatter of glass, but she couldn’t open her eyes.

"WHO THE FUCK ARE-ARGGG” Her father's screams and then more nothingness.

She closed them tighter. Partly from exhaustion, partly from fear.

"Please…” Her mother’s soft whisper.

"I can’t. She has to die and you live. I’ve already tampered too much.”

"If she dies...I'll kill myself.” Curses from the nothingness. Eva closed her eyes even tighter. "Me for her…please…” Her mother’s tearful pleas. Eva’s tiny ears absorbed the nothingness, waiting for more words. Her door swung open, and she felt her body lift.

"Keep your eyes closed Little Human.”

Eyes still closed; she spoke, “"Eva...my name’s Eva.”

A chuckle and she finally felt safe, "Well Little Human Eva, I got you. Always.”

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*present time*

Eva opened her eyes and backed away from Alaric. Tears running down her face, her lip quivered, "You save me?” Why couldn’t she remember all of this? She’d been young but not that young, she should have remembered.

"My father didn’t see it that way. I’d disrupted the Grand Design. Your father and mother were both supposed to live. Some shit about teaching your father remorse and your mother accountability.” He clenched his teeth. "Admittedly, I reacted out of rage at him, but your mother…she really did love you, Eva. She was just in a really bad situation.”

Eva inhaled a sharp breath. So much of her childhood seemed to have been blocked out, but what she did remember of her mother was always good. "Like mother, like daughter,” Eva said wryly and Alaric closed his eyes.

"Eva-" She raised her hand silencing him knowing what he was about to say. "It was the ultimate betrayal to destroy what I was set to take over. My wings were clipped, and I was to be erased.”

"But you vowed to protect me?”

He nodded his head. "I’d promised your mother and after a while, my father agreed.”

Eva rubbed her forehead. Pacing the room, she looked at the ceiling. "I don’t understand.” Alaric arched his brow. "So this entire time, you’ve just been waiting for YEARS until you were allowed to keep your word?”

Alaric ran his hands through his hair in frustration and muttered under his breath. "Not exactly.”

Her eyes widened but he said nothing else. "Either tell me everything or get out.”

She heard him blow steam through his nose. "I was originally assigned to you when you were eighteen.” Eva’s parted her lips and tried to speak but nothing came out. "After some time, my dad wasn’t so pissed anymore, so he allowed me to keep my word. Only by then...” He rubbed the back of his neck, "You weren't the little kid I rescued anymore. You were bright, annoying, funny and we actually were really good friends though sometimes I may have unintentionally, intentionally scared off a boyfriend or two.”

"I-I don’t remember that.”

“Because they made you forget.” His words like ice his face hardened, and Eva felt her heart plummet. "I got too close…and almost messed up the Grand Design again. So, they revoked my assignment. Made you forget about me and left me on Earth awaiting a new assignment for redemption.”

Eva stumbled to the bed. Sitting beside her Alaric watched her try her best to process everything. "Were we-”

He avoided the question and instead clasped his hands to his lap in agitation, "Raien-my father's advisor- approached me saying they had my new assignment. As soon as I saw you, I knew it was you. It angered me. I was punished for protecting you, punished for getting too close, and now I was asked to do both...protect and marry you. The shit pissed me off and I refused.”

"And that’s how I got your book?”

"And why I couldn’t kill your husband without your permission like I’d done with your parents before. Your being here was my choice, and I’m not allowed to choose for you anymore.”

Eva knew she should be feeling something, but she didn’t. Much like the silence of the car that night, the nothingness surrounded her. Standing, she folded her arms to her chest, the numbness placing her on autopilot. "Leave.”

"Wha-”

"I don’t want you here. You said if I listened, you would leave for good. Leave.” Eva could see the hurt in his beautiful eyes, but he quickly closed them.

"As you wish Eva.” She flinched. Having waited so long to hear him say those words, but not in this capacity. Sighing, Alaric stood. "It was never that I didn’t want you Little Human, I’m just tired of you being taken from me.” His words washed over her, but her walls were already rebuilt. Instead, she kept her back turned until she could no longer feel his presence.

She inhaled, “30..29-” Eva suddenly stopped. She didn’t need to count anymore. She felt nothing.