Chapter Text
Our past never stops haunting us, when you think its gone for good, it comes back to bring you down with all the secrets you buried deep down in your memory. But, what even are we without our past? We wouldn't be the same person we are now, we wouldn't know the things that we know now. So maybe, we should be thankful that the hollow prayers our mouths chanted in the night for the apathetic gods to forgive our sins, didn't work—because some people are not sure they'd recognize the person in the mirror without their sins clawing inside their skin. Maybe those scars make them who they really are.
The scars inside and outside of Lia's skin make her the person she is today. Nobody around her knows the story behind every single one of them. Not even Dean, the guy who's been like a brother to her since day one in the Naturals program. Not even Judd, the caretaker of the five—sometimes six—teenagers living in this house. Not even Michael, her —sometimes— boyfriend and partner in crime. Not even Sloane, sweet Sloane, who's the smartest of all of them. Not even Cassie, the girl she originally hated but now shares ice creams with on the roof.
Not that she complains—on the contrary, actually. It's better this way. They only know the basic stuff: immigrated from China with her mom at a young age, unfortunately trusted a white guy who promised to help them with their documents, then ended in said white guy's cult, spent a few years stuck in the cult then finally escaped by killing the head of the cult and running away at night and finally leaving that life behind. After being homeless for a few months, some fancy-looking guy—who later turned out to be Agent Tanner Briggs—caught her for stealing some cheap jewelry. After a not-so-brief interrogation in a weird-looking room... BAM. She ended up as the second recruit for ''The Naturals'', an FBI program. The end... right?
No. That's only the information they had. They didn't know about the disturbing rituals she was forced to participate in, all the death she witnessed, the hallucinations she used to suffer, the hands that touched her late at night when no one was looking. Not that anyone around her would actually help—too brainwashed by the cult's beliefs and customs to actually process that she needed help. No, they could never find out about those parts. They are too personal. She'd have to face the fact that her hands are full of blood—and she's not ready, not yet.
So, right now, the Naturals don't see the killer that she is—not when she spent years in that cult perfecting every wall that she's put up, blocking out that part of her gruesome past. They see her as the the girl with the tough surface, hard to crack. The snarky girl who can turn off her emotions when necessary, the lie detector and pathological liar who can spot deception a mile away and talk her way through any situation. She obviously has a soft side—everyone's seen it. It's not something she hides all the time. She is gentle with Cassie every time she cries, soothing her with lullabies her own mother used to sing to her when she was a kid. She helps Michael with his bruises every time he comes back from visiting his father. She can show kindness to others, of course. But that doesn't change that she has a tough exterior—like Dean's.
Maybe that's why Judd doesn't treat her as gently as he treats Sloane. Yes, he takes care of her and every single teen in that house, but she doesn't have the fortune of being as soft and kind as Sloane, or even Cassie. Maybe Judd sees her as someone that's independent—and she is, don't get her wrong—but sometimes, she finds herself needing one of those fatherly hugs that he gives the other girls. She really appreciates the little moments where he shows concern for her, like when she stays up late or when she eats too much ice cream. He says it like he's unsure if she will accept his concerns. Maybe that's it—he thinks she doesn't need him and is scared to cross a line. Well, that's what she tells herself, because she is too prideful to actually ask for a simple comforting hug.
And it wouldn't be the first time her pride stood in the way of her secret desires. Like the desire to have Michael Townsend as her actual boyfriend and not just and on-and-off thing, but it's not only her pride standing in front of this distant dream—it's also Sloane's statistics on how they are "too alike" that's why they couldn't work long-term. And she is right. They never end up well. It's an unavoidable fact. But it's kind of their own fault. They are too alike. They know how to get into each other's skin. They know what words to say to hurt one another and they don't hesitate to say them when things don't go their way. But still a part of her—a really selfish part—wants them to work out, no matter how many times he has hurt her, no matter how many times she has hurt him. Because they always come back to each other. And yes, that might be toxic, but no one understands them as well as they understand each other. Then again, her pride—and other things— are standing in her way.
So, their relationship status? Still on-and-off.
But apart from that? She's happy. She has a house, people that she'd call her family— never to their faces though; they'd get too cocky— and a job where she does what she loves: lying and catching liars. Or, more accurately, a deception specialist for the FBI.
Everything is fine and calm in her life...
Until it's not anymore.
"Welcome back, Sadie..."