Heart In the Wrong Hands - Chapter 3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Definitely didnt take me 2+ months to write a new chapter... NOPE! But its double the length of the last chapter.
anyway heres chapter 3 :) I originally wanted this to go really slow but I think its going to be a faster paced story purely based off the fact that im struggling to find the motivation to write all the world building and slow stuff. I WANNA GET INTO THE GOOD BITS.
Still dont have a schedule but will try to update more regularly.
Also I made an Ao3 account so if anyone prefers to read on that plat form, click here
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Previous Chapter - Chapter 2Â
Read more? - Master postÂ
Time-period typical sexismÂ
Mentions of past domestic abuse (from chapter 1)Â
Thoughts of past murder (From chapter 2)
Please be careful with what you read. You are responsible for your own media consumption
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
âIs this satisfactory Virgil?â You force a shaky smile onto your face. Hopefully he buys it, hopefully he thinks it's okay and you'll be let off the hook lightly. You had rinsed and scrubbed for at least 3 hours, your knees ached from the hardwood floor.Â
Virgil narrowed his eyes and carefully examined every single inch of the white suit coat.Â
âThis is acceptable I suppose. But only because you have other jobs to do.â He carelessly tossed the coat aside and onto the floor. He would no doubt make you clean it AGAIN.Â
âThe kitchen and living room need cleaning, the bed sheet needs to be changed, we need clean laundry and dinner needs to be cooked. Oh and groceries, we need more bread, milk, eggs- you know what Iâll just be merciful and write you a list,â he waved his hand dismissively before walking off to the kitchen.
Well at least heâs not leaving it up to your memory this time. Usually you would be given a verbal list of 10-20 items and he would always complain that you didn't get him this, or forgot that even though you were 90% sure he hadnât asked for it in the first place.Â
When he finally came back he was holding a loooooooooong list. The paper dragged across the floor and your eyes followed it from his hand down to the ground.Â
You were in for a long shopping trip.Â
Alastor strolled down the streets of New Orleans seemingly unplagued by the night's prior events. On the exterior he was the definition of prim and perfect. Hair straightened to perfection, back straight and arms tucked behind his back with his chin held high.Â
Inside, however, was a different story in its entirety.Â
He couldn't shake the feelings from last night. They were foreign to him. Fear was not something he felt, it just wasnât. He wasn't scared per say, more so concerned, protective.
His mind had played a trick on him, he had seen you. He knew he had seen you. But it wasnât you, so why did he keep worrying? Why did you plague his mind?
Alastor sighs and is about to take a seat on a bench when he notices a woman.Â
The streets were rather empty at the early hour. You were strolling the streets, list in hand and counting the egg cartons in your bag. Two. They only had two and Virgil had asked for three. That wouldnât do by his standards and you knew that well, but the best thing to do was gather all the other groceries in hopes to dampen the blow.Â
You pulled the list out from your pocket and mentally checked off the items you'd already gathered. All you had left was⊠some beef and veal from the butcher, and some potatoes, sweet corn and tomatoes. Not too much but, you'd been up since 6am and had stayed up till 2 am cleaning Virgil's jacket. Least to say you were exhausted.Â
âMy, what a delightful surprise, Y/n wasn't it?â came a familiar, smooth transatlantic accented voice from behind.Â
Now where have I heard that voice before�
The voice sounded rather empty, as if it usually had an filter or soemthing over it.. static? Radio! It was the voice from the radio, what was his name..? Albert? Al⊠Alastair? Alastor! Thatâs whoâs voice it was.Â
Sure enough when you refocused and turned around you saw the man you had met the night prior waving at you with a charming smile.
âWell don't keep a man waiting for a response dear.â he replied in a tone far too chipper for this hour of the morning. How did he have so much energy?
âAh, sorry, good morning Mr Alastor.â You smiled at him absentmindedly. He seemed to be in a far better mood than Virgil, then again that wasn't exactly difficult.Â
âAnd a lovely morning it is. How are you doing on this fine day?â He grinned, leaning forward slightly towards you with his hands clasped behind his back
âOh, Iâm fine, nothing special. Just the usual.â You responded and the subtle eye twitch you didnât notice wouldâve told you he knew otherwise. He had heard the abuse after all, and it didnât escape him that you walked with a slight limp.Â
He leaned in further raising a brow and looking down at the list in your hands.Â
âquite the list there. Is this all for that insufferable fiancĂ© of yours?â This time you did notice the twitch of his eye. It didnât surprise you that he wasnât fond of Virgil based on their interactions the night prior. Â
âWell, yes. Itâs the least I could do for him after spilling the wine on his coat like that⊠Iâm not even sure what knocked me. Doesnât matter though itâs still my fault.â At your words Alastorâs seemingly ever present smile seemed to falter a little. You couldnât figure out why.Â
Oh the poor girl. Had I known heâd react like that to her I wouldnât have pushed her..
No, surely that wasnât right. Of course he wouldâve. Why should he care for this girl? He wanted to annoy Virgil, get under his skin (metaphorically and literally) and if this girl was a way to do thatâŠ
âSay darling, may I accompany you on your endeavours? Iâm sure it must be quite dull by yourselfâ he said and without even waiting for an answer he plucked the list out of your hands before you could even register his question.Â
âSeems you have quite the long list for the man. Say, have you got the meat yet? I need to head to the butcher as well for my own meals.â (Although he much preferred hunting his own) He chuckled as you blinked and opened your mouth to speak before clearly changing your mind.Â
âWonderful! Iâll lead the way. Have you been to Creole Cuts? They have a fine selection of meat there-âÂ
Finally coming out of your confusion you looked down to see the list Virgil had given you was no longer in your hands. When you looked back up you noticed Alastor was walking away with YOUR list in his hand as he eccentrically waved his hands around as he spoke about⊠butchers?Â
Clearing your mind enough you turned to chase after him, not running (because that wouldnât be proper) but still walking decently fast.Â
âSir? I believe you have something of mine. Could I⊠have my list back?â You managed to stammer out. Your hands shook slightly, still gripping the heavy shopping bags. You were speaking out to a man⊠surely he wouldnât respond nicely but you had to, if you didnât get the list back then you would surely mess up Virgilâs order and he would be even angrier.Â
âNo need dear. I shall be accompanying you so I will hold onto the list. Besides, you have heavy bags already.â He spoke, not even facing you nor offering to help with the âheavy bags.â
âNo buts, I have made up my mind and will be joining you. Now as I was saying..â he continued to speak but you tunned him out. God this man could talk, but you supposed he needed to to work as a radio host.Â
With a sigh you followed him, simply listening as he talked about his favourite butcher. It wasn't your regular one but that was alright, any would do. What would not do however, is to be seen with him so openly in public. You just had to hope that since it was early morning you wouldn't be spotted. He hadnât exactly left you with any other options.Â
Were all men this insufferable?
This man did not stop talking for even a second. You had long since lost track of what he was saying, too focused on his voice.Â
Why were you soâŠ. Mesmerised focused on his voice?
âAh, just in time for opening. Well get the freshest there is. Come along now,â Alastor's cheerful voice broke you from your spiralling thoughts. Probably best not to dwell on it.Â
You followed him into a brick building with a wooden sign above it, âCreole Cuts.â Creole hmm? Well that would certainly explain the colour of his skin.Â
âAlastor! My friend, it has been far too long. Where have you been?â a short plump blonde woman called out to him. She was seated on a tall wooden stool behind the counter but hopped down and made her way around to give Alastor a hug which he reciprocated.Â
âMimzy, darling! It really has been a good minute hasn't it? I've been around, busy with my radio and other hobbies.â his small wink didn't escape you but you didn't question it. âAnd what about you? Hanging around olâ Rosieâs shop are ya?âÂ
âWell after her speakeasy got discovered a few days back the lady needed a place to stay and some cover. Least I could do for an old friend. Sides, she's great company,â said another woman who came out from the backroom, carrying a few bags of meat in her hands. She was tall but not quite as tall as Alastor. She had a wide brimmed sun hat atop her head despite being indoors and hiding most of her short blonde hair.Â
âAnd who might this little lady be, Al?â asked the first one, who Alastor had earlier addressed as Mimzy
âAh yes! My apologies. This here is Y/nâ Alastor spoke as he walked around to your side and placed his hand on the small of your back making your body tense at the strangely intimate touch from a man who is mostly a stranger. âShe's the fiance of my boss. Met her last night at some fancy party at the Callahan manor. The poor doll was sent on a shopping trip with a list the same length as this building. So, I kindly donated my time to accompany her on her errands.â he spoke as if this was some charity work.Â
âOh dear. Well what's on the list I can provide?â spoke the tall blonde woman who seemed to be the owner. And Alastor had said this was⊠Rosieâs shop? So⊠Rosie, her name must be Rosie.Â
âOh! Yes, can I grab 2 beef sirloins? And a veal cutlet please.â you asked and started reaching for your wallet. If Alastor wanted to chat with these people then he could go right ahead. You however, did not have time for that today, not with the workload Virgil had provided you.
Rosie seemed to be good at reading you and could tell you were in a rush so she simply hummed a nod and grabbed a bag to start packaging your meat.Â
âWhen youâre done with Y/nâs could you grab me my usual from the back?â Alastor asked as he stepped up beside you.Â
âAh, couldn't you get your own last night?â Rosie asked with a knowing smirk. Did this girl have a death wish? Speaking back to a man like that? Had you even suggested Virgil was incapable of doing whatever she was referring to, you wouldn't be able to sit up for weeks. Now that you thought of it, how come a woman was working as a butcher?Â
Before you could ask Alastor spoke up. âSuch a shame Franklin didn't make it back from the war. Are you still managing alright?â
âNothing I canât handle Al. Besides now I own the shop myself and you know how much I enjoy this line of work.â Rosie smiled back.Â
Interesting. She must've had a husband who died in the war. Must have co-owned this shop and now with him dead she owned it herself. A strange woman, but respectable. Not many women worked, they just weren't meant to. Much like yourself many were taught to be house wives, the lady of the house, clean, cook, serve. The fact this woman, Rosie, had broken free from that normal was impressive.Â
After handing you your requested meats, you placed them in your bag and Rosie made her way to the back to grab whatever Alastorâs âusualâ was. If it was out the back and not on display it must be something unique. Then again, Alastor himself was unique from what you knew so far.Â
Your gaze landed on the other girl, Mimzy. She was watching you like a hawk, eyes boring into the side of your head. When your gaze met hers you immediately looked away from the intense quizzical stare.Â
A few minutes passed and Rosie returned with the meat for Alastor already packaged. You fiddled in your purse for the money Virgil had given you and handed her the desired amount. You couldnât help but notice Alastor was paying significantly more for his despite the smaller quantity.
Must just be imported or already prepared.
That's what you put it down to and gave it no further thought.Â
After the three said their goodbyes, Alastor ushered you out with his hand on your lower back. He pulled your list from his pocket and read through it.Â
âWhat else haven't you got off this list yet? He asked
âJust the produce. I was going to head to the market on Bourbon street. Virgil says he doesn't trust any othersâ you replied, more focused on his hand on your back rather than his words.Â
âHmm, suppose weâll head over there then.â he said as he removed his hand from your back. Bourbon street would be busy no matter the time of day and he knew just as well as you what it would look like if he left his hand on your back as you walked. No, rumors would do neither of you any good so he kept his hands to himself.Â
Buying the produce went surprisingly smoothly. You were both spotted but not by anyone you knew personally. You wouldn't be surprised if the word got around but you hoped that since there was no touching involved it wouldn't form into gossip and reach Virgil.Â
You thanked Alastor for his unwanted company and started to head away but he grabbed you by the shoulder and spun you to face him. Your throat went dry as you looked up at him.
âSurely you don't intend to walk home alone? My car is not very far from here, please, allow me to drive you.âÂ
âOh, I shouldnât thank you thoughâÂ
âNonsense! I insist.âÂ
You wanted to argue it but ultimately decided arguing with a man in public was far from a good idea. A worse idea than an engaged woman being driven alone by an unclaimed man.Â
So you agreed and Alastor drove you back to your house. The drive was spent in a comfortable silence despite the sin you believed you were committing.Â
When you arrived Alastor was quick to turn off the car, get out and walk around to your side to open the door before you even had a chance. He extended his hand for you to take with a smile. Reluctantly you took his hand and he helped you out of the car. You thanked him again before quickly retreating into what should have been the safety of your own home.Â
Virgil drove down the street only to see a disgusting sight. His grip on the steering wheel tightened. That black bastard was touching his fiance. His Fiance.Â
He watched as Alastorâs hand lingered on yours as he helped you out of his car. Why you had been in his car? Virgil didn't know. What he did know was that you had clearly met with this untrustworthy man without his knowledge.Â
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: For those who ask, I know Rosie wasn't alive when Alastor was, I just wanted to use a known character. I personally dont like using or making OCs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taglist - If you wanted to be added, just comment
@ghostofajinx @sugarcubepop