((Hi, guys! I'm back! A lot of you have been requesting a sequel since a lot was left unsaid, so I decided that I'd give it a shot! I hope ya'll enjoy it! Tell me what you think!))
Chapter 1: Absence Makes the Heart Fonder
Alice was leaning on the kitchen counter, a cup of tea in one hand while the other raked through her bangs, tossing them over her part and sending them messily cascading down to her cheeks in an avalanche of curls. She heard a quiet patter on the fire escape and placed her mug down, pushing herself away from the counter and into the living room. The apartment was small with an open floor plan, so she crossed into the living room rather easily before coming to rest before the window. Placing her hands on her hips, she awaited the intruder.
The window slid open quietly and a teenage girl cautiously ducked both of her feet in before lowering her torso and head under the opening. She stood up once safely inside the window and upon seeing Alice awake in the living room, offered her a sheepish smile.
"Cambree," Alice sighed, her eyes underlined by brown bruises signifying her lack of sleep.
"Mom, listen—"
"Cam, I'm tired of this. You're constantly sneaking out past your curfew running around with that boy—"
"Dustin," Cambree interrupted.
Alice casted as stern of glance down at her daughter as she could manage through tired eyes before continuing, "This has got to stop. Ever since you two have started "going out", you've been nothing but a handful..."
"Well excuse me for being too much of a hassle!" Cambree retorted, taking the initiative to proceed to her bedroom. "You're always working, heaven forbid I actually have company!" she managed to yell over her shoulder whilst still stomping away angrily.
"I'm always working because I'm a single mother!" Alice shouted back, following after her. Loved ones had warned her about the "teenage years", but she never predicted they'd come on in such a torrent as they did with Cambree.
"You always say that!" She bellowed, pausing at her bedroom door to face her mother. "If it's so hard for you to be a single mother, where's Dad? Isn't that the man's job? To help support their wife and child?"
"Cam, I've told you a thousand times before," Alice began, her voice softening. "It's complicated."
"'It's complicated' doesn't cut it!" She yanked the door open, storming inside.
Alice caught the ricochet of the door as it bounced off of the wall and steadied it, gently closing it behind her as she followed her daughter into her room. "You'll never believe me," she mused.
"I probably won't," Cambree muttered as she sat on her bed, grabbing feverishly for her headphones which she promptly placed in her ear. She casted her eyes down to the soles of her shoes as Alice made her way over to her bed and sat on the edge of it. They were caked in mud, but for the time being, she knew her mother was too preoccupied to reprimand her for tracking footprints around the house.
"Cam," Alice cooed, leaning her hand on her daughter's lap. She knew her music was turned down low enough for Cambree to hear her over the music, that's just how she was. No matter how rough of a persona she tried to display, it only took a few minutes into an agreement for Cambree to cool down and reveal the compassionate person she truly was. "The reason why your father isn't here is because he's somewhere far away."
"You're talking to me like I'm five. I'm not a kid anymore, Mom. I'm seventeen. I think I'm old enough to know." She drummed her fingers against the rim of her CD player, pursing her lips together thoughtfully until she raised her head. "Jail? Is that where he is?"
A ghost of a smile tugged on Alice's lips. "No, not jail," she assured.
"Then where?" Cambree asked, struggled to keep her petulant façade and avoid succumbing to the curiosity that plagued her.
Alice took in a sharp exhale. "Wonderland."
Her mother's answer received a dumbfounded glance from her. "Wonderland?"
"I know, it sounds crazy." Alice forced a laugh. "I honestly couldn't tell you how I got there—or how I came back in that matter—but it's real. And that's where I met your father."
"Gram's right, you truly are insane," Cambree murmured, kicking off her shoes.
"She told you?" Alice sighed.
"Well someone has to tell me things."
Alice's fingers found themselves tangled in Cambree's hair, tucking choppy pieces of her auburn tresses behind her ear. She once had smooth locks that cascaded down to her ribcage in perfect order until the prime of her adolescent years; in which Alice found her sitting on the bathroom floor with a pair of scissors in her grasp, cutting away mercilessly at her hair after Alice had told her she didn't have time to take her to get her hair professionally cut. At first, Alice was sure her soul was going to escape from her mouth as she stared at the clumps of hair littering the tile, but after she gave it some time to sink in, she decided the shorter, more edgy hairstyle fitted Cambree's personality quite well. And with her new hairdo, Cambree's resemblance to her father stood out all the more.
"I'm sorry, Cam," Alice cooed, playing with her daughter's hair. "I've been a horrible mother, haven't I?"
Cambree's fingers slid over to the side of the CD player she was grasping, clicking a few buttons until they finally came to rest atop it. The quiet reverberations coming from her earphones ceased, and she tugged at the wire, allowing her headphones to plop onto her lap. She let out a sigh, glancing at Alice. "I wouldn't say horrible…"
"But I haven't been here for you and I'm so sorry it's come to this. If I could go back in time I'd change things one- hundred times over and I'd be a better mother, I truly would. Just know I love you dearly, Cam—both myself and your father love you."
"I know," Cambree murmured. "I've been one hell of a daughter, too. I guess we've both screwed up."
She allowed a lopsided grin, to which Alice responded with a smile. "You have your father's smile," Alice informed.
Cambree reclined back onto her side, facing away from Alice and staring at the wall. Alice would've guessed that the conversation was over had Cambree not spoken up.
"Mom?" she asked quietly, not diverting her gaze away from the spot on the wall she was fixated on. "Will you tell me a story?"
A soft smile pricked at Alice's lips as she repositioned herself on the bed in a more comfortable stance. She knew exactly what story to tell her.
"Once upon a time, there was a young girl. The young girl's parents fell victim to a horrible accident when she was very tiny." Alice paused, half expecting a small voice to question 'They died?' like it had when the story was told years ago. But no interruption came, the only sound being the soft exhale and inhale of her seventeen year old daughter lying next to her. So she continued, "But thankfully, an elderly couple took the young girl in and took care of her like she was their child. Life went on normally until one day, the young girl was visited by a mysterious stranger."
"The Cheshire Cat," Cambree murmured through a yawn.
"Every day he would visit and eventually, the young girl became friends with him. Then, one day, she fell into a deep sleep. When she woke up, she wasn't in her bedroom—not even her village. Instead, she was in a completely different place."
"Wonderland," the fatigued voice piped up.
"And there, she discovered some unique characters like the Queen of Hearts and the Mad Hatter as well as some others. But most importantly, she found Ches, who helped her through many hard times during her stay in Wonderland. And eventually, the little girl fell in love with him."
"But they didn't get married," Cambree muttered, somewhere in a haze between awake and asleep.
"No," Alice murmured solemnly. "But they loved each other and it was just the same."
"So what happened?"
"The little girl had to return home."
"And what about Ches?"
"He's still waiting for her to return with their child."
"Will they ever return?" Cambree yawned, the pestering of her heavy eyelids finally overwhelming her until her eyes finally fluttered shut.
"I hope so," Alice responded softly, placing a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "I really hope so."
