summary: smoke isn’t able to go through with his promise to free her, which leaves annie to deal with the consequences.
content warning: lowercase, cursing.
word count: 1.5k, short chapter because this is mostly just an introduction.
chapter 1
-
he couldn't do it.
he tried, he really did, and he wanted to do this.
for her. because she wanted this, she needed this, and he had only ever wanted to give her exactly what she wanted.
but this time he couldn't. he knew it was selfish. he knew she'd hate him for this, and part of him felt like he deserved it.
and and as he stared down at her, tears blurring his vision, wooden stake in hand, lowering further towards her chest, he just simply couldn't do it.
"i'm sorry," he whispered, lowering the stake to rest beside her, his heart immediately breaking further at the small hint of betrayal laced across her beautiful features.
"smoke," the word came out of her mouth with a struggle, voice cracking, blood gurgling, "please."
he looked away from her, he couldn't see her like this. begging. begging for something he couldn't give her no matter how hard he tried.
he knew she didn't have much time left, so he sat there. in that moment, all the chaos around them simply didn't matter. he needed to be there with her because this might just be the last time.
she'd never wanna talk, touch, or be around him ever again. and he'd take it because anything was better than her being dead.
her eyes finally closed, body going completely stiff.
—
he hadn't seen annie for the rest of that night, and part of him was glad.
he couldn't bare the feelings that would come up at the first sight of her. hurt, regret, embarrassment, shame.
the feeling that he'd betrayed her.
smoke had never betrayed anybody in his life. why'd the first and only have to be her?
the next morning after he'd handled the klan, he'd opened the double doors of their juke, immediately going over to the bar, grabbing the first bottle of alcohol he could find.
not bothering with a cup, he'd started gargling it down, cringing at the taste before taking the bottle to the other side of the bar and sitting down on a stool.
he looked around, blood stained the floors and parts of the walls along with burn marks, but once specific pool of blood in the middle of the floor caught his eye the most.
that's where she'd been the last time he'd seen her.
"smoke," the rough voice spoke from behind him, and part of him thought he had hallucinated it, and because of the night he'd just had, he wouldn't have been surprised if that had been the case, but it wasn't a hallucination.
it was her. walking towards him slowly, and he'd immediately stood up, walking backwards, and grabbing the stake that he'd left next to her last night.
"if you couldn't do it last night, you not gon' do it now," she said, standing on the other side of the bar now, the side across from him.
"i'm sorry," he said, the words falling from his lips softly, his eyes filled with sorrow, regret, pain.
"you don't get to look like that," annie started, staring directly into his eyes. her eyes looked different, harsher. "you did this to me!" annie's voice raised, her hand slapping against the bar top.
"sorry ain't gon' change nothin'," annie's voice lowered again, but the same amount of anger had been present in her words.
"i couldn't," smoke said, straightening up, hands crossing below his waist.
annie walked closer to him. he backed up further.
"you ain't gotta worry, smoke," annie continued walking once he'd stopped moving backwards, "i won't take away your opportunity to be with our daughter. our savannah. even though you took away mine."
she stood directly in his face now. "i couldn't lose you, annie."
"you left me for seven years. what, you ain't care about losing me then?" she said, walking backwards, watching as he tried to form a sentence, his mind had gone blank.
annie would never say anything like that.
"you know why i had to leave."
"i do know. that doesn't mean i have to like it," she was now behind the bar again, picking up the now abandoned bottle of alcohol before bringing it up to her nose.
she cringed at the smell, putting the bottle back down harder than she'd intended.
"i thought you understood," smoke replied, gaining enough courage to walk toward her.
"smoke, why you so scared? you ain't never been scared of nothin'."
"i'm not scared. i'm being smart."
"i already told you i wasn't gon' hurt you. can't you trust me?" annie asked, tilting to her head back to stare into his eyes.
"i don't know, annie." smoke replied, sitting back on the stool he'd been on before.
annie scoffed, "you don't know if you can trust me?"
smoke looked down, too ashamed to look into her eyes.
"you get to live your life, smoke. you get to join your ancestors when it's time," annie began, her eyes watering, "i can't." she continued, "because of you. and now you sitting here telling me that i'm the untrustworthy one?"
"what you want from me, annie? you want me to apologize for not wanting to live without you? without my wife, the love of my life, the mother of my child, my everything?" smoke said, "i couldn't. and i know that's selfish, but at least we can be together forever."
annie laughed, a deep guttural sound escaping her mouth, "you think i want to be with you after this? you think i want to be with you after you disregarded my one fucking wish? the only thing i've ever asked you for."
smoke's face dropped, his eyebrows furrowing.
"fuck you, elijah."
—
smoke hadn't seen her for weeks after that and part of him started to think that he'd never see her again.
he'd visited the juke joint every night since then. he needed to see her. he didn't keep her alive for nothing.
every day that decision ate away at him, though, the regret growing stronger by the day. the embarrassment clawing at him.
he felt terrible. and he knew that he should, but that didn't stop a small part of him from feeling like he'd made the right decision.
he was happy to have her still. why was that so wrong?
actually, smoke hadn't seen any of them in the last few weeks. no annie, no stack, no mary, assuming they were even still alive right now. no. he couldn't think about that. that was too much.
yes, he was absolutely mortified with his brother. how could he not be? if it weren't for him, annie wouldn't be this way. but smoke couldn't help but think that he shared an equal amount of fault for her being this way.
currently, he was sat in annie's home, at the table, rolling a cigarette, well doing the best that he could at it. hands shaky, arms trembling, eyes blurring with tears from the frustration from all of his failed attempts, eyes blurring because he missed his wife and had no idea where she was, eyes blurring because his wife, brother, and baby girl were dead.
every bad emotion rising to the surface all at once. anger, sadness, frustration. smoke stood up abruptly, chair scooting further away from him, his hand punching the table harshly.
smoke hissed, bringing his fist closer to his face to examine it. his knuckles were bloody. he glanced around the small room in search of water.
as soon as smoke sat back down, he heard a knock on the door. it was late at night, past twelve o'clock, it could only be one person.
there was only one person he'd hoped it would be.
smoke stood up again, the chair scraping across the floor with a creaking noice. He took small steps forward, his gun in hand.
he reached the door, fingers curling around the knob, heart pounding in his chest. He twisted the knob and soon enough he was face to face with annie.
her face practically expressionless as she stepped inside her home.
"why you here, smoke?" annie didn't even look at him as she asked. she couldn't.
"got no where else to go." smoke replied.
"elijah."
"i was hoping you'd come back here. wanted to see you." smoke said, walking towards her.
"well please leave. this is my place," annie sighed, walking past smoke.
"i'm your husband. this is our place."
"our place? elijah, this hasn't been our place for over seven years. it became mine when you left me. now go," annie spoke so calmly that is almost scared smoke.
"where you been?" smoke asked, walking closer to annie and placing the gun back down onto the table.
annie's eyes tracked the movement, staring down at the gun for a while after it had been placed down.
"why you worried about it?"
smoke sighed, he didn't answer her, staring everywhere but at her. he knew the look in her eyes would be too much for him to bear.
"why you still here? i asked you to leave nicely already." annie said, picking up the gun off the table and twisting it around, as if examining it.
smokes breath caught, part of him scared that she'd pull the trigger on him, but he knew better than that. he knew her better than that.
"that was you askin' nicely?" smoke replied.
"you lucky i asked at all."
"where am I gon' go?" Smoke asked, watching as annie set the gun back down.
Do I sense a touch of irritation in Lady Kilmartin's voice? Perhaps Miss Stirling may have heard something in her travels?
Indeed while this author had hoped Miss Stirling may run in similar circles to our mysterious ingénue, it would seem our suspicions were incorrect.
summary: smoke isn't able to go through with his promise to free her, which leaves annie to deal with the consequences.
content warning: lowercase, cursing.
chapter 1 & 2
chapter 3
"the fuck you mean that ain't my baby?" smoke asked, taking a step closer to annie. that amount of anger from smoke would've scared anybody else, but not her because she knew he'd never hurt her.
"you heard me, elijah," annie said back, turning to walk into her house, looking back to see if he had followed. he did.
"annie, tell me you're lying," smoke said, staring directly in front of her now.
"i can't do that. you came here for an answer and i gave you one and now you're mad?"
"and you standing here acting like you can't understand why i'm mad," smoke said.
"i can't. i can't understand it. you were gone for a long time, smoke. you think i was gon' save it for you?" annie asked, tilting her head up at him.
"hell yeah, woman," smoke stated, pulling his gun from its holster, "whose baby is it?"
"none of your business. now can you go?" annie said, turning her back towards him.
"i'm not going anywhere. not until you tell me who put a baby inside you while i was gone."
"then you'll be here all night. get out." annie said, "i'm serious."
smoke laughed, "ight. i'll figure out myself then don't even worry 'bout it,"
smoke walked towards the door, placing the gun back in its holster, but he stopped once he'd heard her voice ring out from behind him.
"it's your baby, elijah."
smoke turned back towards her, a small smile gracing his face.
"this doesn't change anything. i still don't want you around."
"i understand," smoke said, but he couldn't stop his smile from growing wider, which in all honesty just pissed annie off.
"now leave."
and he did.
—
as soon as smoke had gotten back to the juke joint, which had also been his home recently, he'd sat there staring only at the wall.
he didn't know how to feel. a part of him was so insanely happy, but another part of him felt... horrible.
smoke felt lonely. this was possibly the worst time for something like this to be happening. he had nothing, he had no one. him and annie were far from on good or even just decent terms and here they were bringing another baby into this world. this cold, cruel world. how would something like this even work? would the baby be a vampire? would the baby be like him? regular, human?
as much as he hated him right now, he needed stack. his needed his brother. he needed someone, anyone to talk to and there's not like he had a definite location for anyone other than annie so instead he continued sitting there.
just staring, not knowing what to do, know knowing hot to feel, not knowing whether to cry or smile or just find some way, any way to numb this pain.
smoke was getting a second at this. they were getting a second chance at this. a second chance at raising a child after the first chance had been so cruelly ripped away from them.
that only made smoke feel more terrible about not being fully happy about this. their first baby girl, their savannah, who they'd lost so suddenly and whose death tore them apart both individually as people and as a couple.
after they'd first lost her, annie would say that she'd still felt their baby girls presence often, but smoke had never had that feeling. he believed that once a person died, they were gone completely. no after life, no heaven, no hell. just nothing.
but for the first time ever, smoke wanted to believe that there was something more. he needed to believe that there was something more.
he sighed, lowering his head towards the ground, "sav," smoke whispered, wiping the forming tears before they even fell, "papa's going through a lot right now and i know it's all my fault," smoke paused, lifting his head towards the ceiling.
"your mama ain't my biggest fan at the moment and i get why, but it still hurts. she's all i have," smoke sighed, taking a moment to pull himself together.
right when he opened his mouth to continue, there was a knock on the side door, this time much louder, much harsher than the last couple of times.
smoke fixed himself as best as he could before making his way to the door. "fool, why you banging on the door like that?" smoke said, opening the door to who he thought would be his brother.
but it wasn't. it was annie. smoke furrowed his eyebrows, confusion setting across his features. "as much as i want to, i cant do this alone and i shouldn't have to." annie whispered, lowering her head to look at the ground.
"i'm gon' be there. for you for the baby, always."
annie scoffed, rolling her eyes. smoke knew she wanted to say more, he could tell, but she didn't. she stayed quiet, looking back up to smoke, almost daring him to say something else.
"can we talk?" smoke asked.
"we already talking," annie replied.
"annie."
"you gon' let me in?" annie asked, glaring past him, trying to avoid eye contact.
"come in," smoke whispered, stepping out of the way.
annie walked past him, directly towards the small room.
"thought you needed space," smoke said once he'd reached the room as well.
"you don't want me here?"
"you know i do. i just want to respect your wishes."
"ironic," annie replied. "i do need space, but this is so, so fucking hard. living this life alone. i don't know what to do." annie was sitting down on the small bed now.
"you don't have to do any of this alone. i'm always gon' be here," smoke sighed, kneeling before her, "for whatever you need."
"it ain't the same. you ain't with me twenty four hours a day. you don't understand just how miserable this all makes me."
smoke dropped his head onto annie's legs, tears falling from his eyes. he didn't know what to say. he couldn't say sorry again, he knew it wouldn't change anything and would probably would just make the situation worse because as annie kept saying, 'sorry doesn't change a thing' and she was right. it doesn't.
smoke looked back up. tears were falling from annie's eyes as well, "get off of me, elijah,"
"baby, if i could take this back i would," smoke stood up, "i ain't do this to hurt you. you gotta believe me."
"it don't matter what your intentions were," annie wiped her tears, pushing smoke completely off of her, "it did hurt me and you have to live with that."
"i know," smoke whispered, "whatever you can't do, i'll do for you. whatever you need."
"you think that's gon' fix everything?"
"no, but it's the least i can do. it's what i wanna do."
"we can't always have what we want."
smoke sighed, glancing down towards annie's stomach, still not showing but still wanted to touch it. he didn't because he knew he couldn't.
he looked away. there'd been a time where he'd been able to touch her whenever he liked. a time where she enjoyed being touched by him. not anymore.
"how'd you know i'd be here?" smoke asked instead, distracting himself from the forming thoughts.
annie stayed silent for a while. "followed you here."
smoke didn't respond. they sat in silence for a while before he reached over to grabbed the unrolled cigarette.
and he tried to roll it despite being embarrassed because of the trembling. he knew she was watching and that only made him shake harder with nerves.
he couldn't ask her to leave. he didn't want her to leave so he pushed through the embarrassment for as long as he could.
"give it to me."
he looked over towards annie, her hand reaching out towards him.
"nah, i got it."
"i ain't gon' beg you. you're sitting here struggling so stop being so damn stubborn," annie responded, leaving her hand out for a few more seconds. she scoffed, so close to pulling her hand away after seconds had passed and he still hadn't handed it to her.
he looked back towards her, mouth opening to say something, but he stopped himself, thinking better of it. this is the best they'd been in months, he wasn't going to say or do anything to ruin that.
they still weren't perfect, obviously, they were barely okay, but they were better, and smoke was gonna take anything he could get.
he passed it to her, watching as she expertly rolled up the cigarette, taking no more than thirty seconds.
she passed it back to him, his hand brushing hers as he pulled it away from her. he smiled softly, careful not to do anything that might piss her off or snap her out of this trance of not feeling so angry with him.
"thank you, annie," smoke said, grabbing his lighter off of the small table in front of them.
once he lit it, he quickly placed it into his mouth, breathing in a long slow drag from the cigarette.
after blowing the smoke from his mouth, he looked up at annie, "i know how to make this right."
summary: smoke isn't able to go through with his promise to free her, which leaves annie to deal with the consequences. + a world in which vampires are able to get pregnant!
content warning: lowercase, cursing, use of n-word. (i’m black!!!)
word count: 1.5k, PROMISE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE LONGER. i just felt like i was at a good place to end this chapter.
chapter 1: here
chapter 2
as annie wished, smoke left almost immediately, but that didn't stop him from returning the very next nightfall.
smoke had stayed at sammie's the night before—something uncle jed hadn't been too happy about—and he'd slept not a wink, mind too... awake, filled with too many thoughts about too many things, but mostly annie.
ever since this happened that's what's been on smoke's mind most of all. even before all this happened, she'd still taken up the most space in his head. throughout the seven years and before she was all he'd been able to think about.
he'd been uncomfortable all night. twisting and turning until he'd eventually decided to give up on trying to sleep entirely. at some point smoke went outside to try and roll a cigarette again after he'd stop trying hours ago. the night air had hit him just right, calming his thoughts for just a second.
the cigarette in his hand frustrating him to no end, so he just sat there. all night. staring at everything and nothing. forced to sit there with nothing to do, which forced him to sit with and finally acknowledge his thoughts.
and now as he stood on annie's doorstep, hand lifting up to knock on the door, he'd been wondering if this was a good idea at all. no, he knew this wasn't a good idea, but he couldn't seem to stay away from her.
the knocking sound brought him out of his thoughts.
"who is it?" annie said through the door, voice hoarse.
"c'mon, annie you know who it is."
"what do you want?" annie asked. she sounded closer to the door this time.
"can you open it?" smoke asked, leaning closer towards the door, "please?"
"elijah moore pleading? i never thought i'd see the day," annie said once she'd opened the door.
"why you here?" annie continued after realizing smoke wasn't going to say anything first.
she looked beautiful, she always did. her hair was tied up in one of her favorite wraps and a white nightgown that went to her mid thighs.
"to see you?" smoke replied, moving to step into her home, but she stopped him.
her hand resting on the doorknob still. "i don't want you in here. please respect that." but then she'd chuckled, which confused smoke the most about this entire crazy situation.
"what's funny?" smoke asked, his face twisting in confusion.
"respect. i dont know why im asking for respect from you. you obviously don't respect me." annie said, chuckles dying down, her expression changing into one of sadness? hurt?
"annie." smoke started, reaching into the house, attempting to seek out her hand, but unshockingly, she pulled back, moving out of his reach. he sighed, "i do respect you. more than anyone and anything. you know that."
"the worst part is that i know you truly believe that. and that scares me because that ain't true. you don't respect me at all, smoke. if you respected me..." she trailed off, staring him in the eye now, "well you know."
"what can i do? to make this better. to make you forgive me." smoke looked up again, tears collecting in his eyes.
"i'll never forgive you. but what you can do is leave me alone, elijah. i need space. i don't want to see you."
and as soon as she said the first sentence, smoke's heart broke in half. he couldn't lose her. that was the whole point of why he did what he did. he needed her.
"i'm not even able to put fresh milk on my baby's grave in the mornings anymore. that ain't something i can just forgive and get over."
smoke understood. as much as he hated this, he still understood.
he looked back towards their baby's grave, which had indeed been empty except for the now dead flowers that he'd left there weeks ago.
—
the first month without her had felt like an entire year. smoke truly doesn't know how he went seven years without her. he couldn't even imagine such a thing now.
he'd debated visiting her literally every single day since she told him she'd needed space, but he'd decided against it each time, trying his hardest to respect her one wish because he understood it. because he completely got why she wouldn't want to be around him, but he needed her.
he missed her. he wanted her. and he had nobody. she was all he had left, she and sammie, who wasn't even allowed to be anywhere near him anymore, all because uncle jed didn't trust him. all because uncle jed had been afraid that he'd somehow turn innocent sammie into something not so innocent.
smoke had been living in the juke joint for the last month. there's a small bed in the corner of the small room upstairs, the bed is beyond uncomfortable and is barely able to fully hold his weight, but that's his only option.
With barely enough money to last for the next two months, he couldn't just go out and spend it all in one place on a home.
as smoke laid there uncomfortably, tears rolling down his face, he'd heard a knock on the upstairs door. the upstairs door that no one should be able to reach unless you were a-
smoke's body shot up from the bed, quickly wiping at his face to get rid of the tears that had fallen, he couldn't let annie see him like this.
he'd walked to the door, quickly opening it before he could start to second guess the decision to open at all, and on the other side of the door stood his brother, who he hadn't seen in months, who he'd assumed was dead by now.
"the fuck you want?" smoke asked, anger fully taking over him, now.
"that's how it is, big brother?" stack asked, mockingly frowning.
"yeah, that's how it is, nigga," smoke replied, moving to close the door in his face.
"wait, it's about annie," stack said, reaching his hand out to stop the door from shutting in his face.
"what about her? is she good?" smoke asked, worry replacing almost every trace of anger he'd felt towards his brother.
"she's been talking to mary a lot, lately, and i've been listening in, and i don't know much about women other than what's in their pants but from what she's describing, she's either sick or pregnant, and i don't think vampires can get sick." stack said, huffing out a deep breath once he'd finished speaking.
"pregnant? nigga, ain't no way she's pregnant. she'd tell me," smoke said, but his voice trailed off as he spoke, second guessing if that second part had actually been true.
"yall aren't on the best terms, why would she be so quick to tell you? or maybe it just ain't yours," stack mumbled the last part.
"she ain't fuckin' nobody else," smoke said. the words or maybe it just ain't yours were replaying over and over in his mind.
"i don't know, man. we were gone for seven years. maybe she had a lil boyfriend. i don't know how far along she is. i can get mary to figure that out for you."
"i'll figure that out myself." smoke closed the door in his brother.
—
another month passed. two months without her.
stack had visited smoke many times since the first, giving updates on annie, but nothing else was said about the potential pregnancy.
he wanted to continue respecting annie's wish and he had every intention to, but he needed to figure this out once and for all.
what if his baby was inside her growing each day without him being there? he couldn't deal with that.
he waited until nightfall to return to her home. he hadn't even had to knock this time because she'd been outside already standing over their baby's grave, whispering words that he couldn't hear from how far away he was, but he knew she'd been talking.
"annie?" he whispered once he'd gotten close enough.
she didn't say anything for a while, now kneeling there, she continued brushing dirt off of the small rock that had their baby's tiny hand print.
"why won't you leave me alone?" annie asked, still not looking towards him.
"because i can't." smoke whispered.
she didn't say anything, she just stood up, walking towards the door of her home. smoke followed behind her slowly, scared of being turned away at the door.
"annie, are you pregnant?" smoke asked before they'd even made it to the door. the words came out as if he'd been struggling to hold them in and would pass out if he'd had to hold them in for any longer.
annie turned around, pausing on the steps, squinting at him and resting her arm on her hip.
"what?" annie asked.
"stack," smoke started, nervously walking closer to annie, "he said you been talking to mary about it."
annie sighed. he now stood almost directly in front of her, now.
"so, are ya'?"
"yeah."
"you weren't gon' tell me?" smoke asked, hurt evident across his face.
I just love me some Smoke. Love a grown ass, silent ass, confident ass man. Something about a man that doesn’t gotta say SHIT for everyone to know he’s in the room. A man who means what tf he says. He said FAWK all that talk, I’m bout that action 😫 Also a man that LOVES black women 🫦 It’s always gon be Smoke fah me!
small sneak peek of the second chapter of ‘night whispers’
—
as annie wished, smoke left almost immediately, but that didn't stop him from returning the very next nightfall.
smoke had stayed at sammie's the night before—something uncle jed hadn't been too happy about—and he'd slept not a wink, mind too... awake, filled with too many thoughts about too many things, but mostly annie.
ever since this happened that's what's been on smoke's mind most of all. even before all this happened, she'd still taken up the most space in his head. throughout the seven years and before she was all he'd been able to think about.
he'd been uncomfortable all night. twisting and turning until he'd eventually decided to give up on trying to sleep entirely. at some point smoke went outside to try and roll a cigarette again after he'd stop trying hours ago. the night air had hit him just right, calming his thoughts for just a second.
the cigarette in his hand frustrating him to no end, so he just sat there. all night. staring at everything and nothing. forced to sit there with nothing to do, which forced him to sit with and finally acknowledge his thoughts.
and now as he stood on annie's doorstep, hand lifting up to knock on the door, he'd been wondering if this was a good idea at all. no, he knew this wasn't a good idea, but he couldn't seem to stay away from her.
I’m currently working on a part 2 for “Branded”! Thank you all for the love and comments, I hope the next part doesn’t disappoint.
For now though, I wanted to post my Smoke and Annie playlist (or what I have so far I should say). My playlists are always long as fuck so I’ll likely update this post after a while lol. I’d give a link, but I’m not sure how that works so let me know if you guys want it and I’ll try to figure something out!
And if you guys have any recommendations, please please PLEASE share!
Edit: I figured out the link! Here it is 😁: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/pl.u-kv9lRpvs7BlkJ87
