Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: To those of you reading my other fics don't worry, I am not taking away from those in progress. I've actually been sitting on this story for 2 years (ish) and only now have the nerve to upload it. I wrote this for WeasleyWeakness after a conversation we had in which she wondered what it would be like to find yourself on a "Have You Seen Me" Ad. I mean no disrespect to anyone who has had to use those ad's to find missing loved ones and my thoughts are with you. This may be a trigger for some so I wanted to give everyone a fair heads up! Also, Beta free right now and I've gone over this at least five times so please excuse any errors you might find.
WW, Here's something to read. Sorry it took me so long to publish it for you. Forgive me?
One
Alice Brandon came to in the dark, her heart beating rapidly against her sternum as she willed her breathing to slow and her eyes to focus as they fought against the eerie blackness. It was the same dream she'd had for as long as she could remember. The dream she might have ventured to call a nightmare if she even knew what the hell it was about. It was always the same, like there was something there, just out of reach and before she could get to whatever it is she is moving towards, she was awake. And the mystery continued.
She'd had it so many times over the years that one would think she would get used to it, that her palms wouldn't be sweaty and her heart wouldn't be racing as she re entered reality, but yet again she found herself wide awake as she willed her body to relax and her mind to calm.
Finally, she rolled over, giving up on sleep as she turned off her alarms and headed for the bathroom. If there was one thing she had learned over the years it was that once the dream had interrupted her sleep, getting it back was nearly an impossible task.
She took her time in the shower, only to have to rush through her morning routine once she had finished; realizing too late that she could only find one shoe as she hobbled around her bedroom before finally spotting it in the bottom of her closet. By the time she was halfway decent she was officially running late and she rushed through the kitchen, pushing a pop tart in the toaster and pouring a glass of milk before she made her way back to the hallway and opened her son's door.
"Wake up sleepy head," she called as she turned on the light and headed to the closet as Owen fussed behind her in his bed, pulling his blanket up over his messy copper colored head and muttered something unintelligible. "Come on, up you get."
Owen groaned but didn't fight as his mother pulled the covers back and set him up, helping him to take his nearly too small pajamas off and slip on his school clothes.
"Momma," he said as she handed him his shoes and socks, knowing full well she would have to put them on him anyway if they wanted to catch the bus.
"Yes bub?" Alice asked as she watched him halfheartedly pull on one of his socks.
"I'm sleepy," he yawned and she smiled to herself as she made her way back to the kitchen to get his breakfast for him.
"Me too," Alice muttered when she was sure she was out of his earshot, "Me too."
Alice was sure there was a conspiracy against her by the time she made it to work, the bus was behind schedule, Owen's school was late to open its front doors, and just as she made it halfway to the diner, the swollen clouds opened up and the rain let loose. By the time she had made it the three blocks and slipped in the back door she resembled more of a drowned rat than a waitress.
"You're late." Mike said as she passed his office and she fought the urge to roll her eyes as she clocked in.
She ignored his jibes as she got to work and somehow, even though the day started off at rock bottom, it just seemed to get worse.
By lunch time three of the five morning wait staff had called out 'sick' while the other waitress refused to talk to Mike and Alice was pretty sure their not so secret affair had turned sour. She was so distracted with trying to avoid the feuding lovers that she hardly noticed when the knife sliced through the skin on her finger while she was cutting lemons. To add insult to injury, the last table of her shift was raucous and rowdy and by the time they left she knew she was going to be late picking up Owen and the thirty eight cents they left on the table somehow didn't even seem worth the time to pick up and slip into her apron.
Alice ran through the still down pouring rain at five o'clock, not caring that her feet were soaked and her socks were squelching with every step as she tried to make it in time, all while knowing she had already failed. Owen was waiting for her in the office, again, and the secretary didn't even bother to look up when she entered to pick him up, throwing a quick apology to the older woman who sat leafing through a magazine looking bored.
Owen, for what it was worth, didn't seem to mind. His nose was buried in a book and Alice had to call out twice to get his attention. He smiled and hugged his mom as he got up and she shouldered his backpack for him, pulling out the umbrella he kept in the side pocket as they made their way back outside.
He was happy, smiling and laughing about something funny his teacher had said in class and it was then as she watched him , gesticulating wildly while she tried to keep him under the umbrella, that Alice realized no matter what she had to go through that it was all worth it. For him, it was worth it.
It hadn't always been like that.
Six years ago she was seventeen and thought she knew everything. She had graduated early and to her, college had been the way out; a ticket away from her overbearing and overprotective mother, Irina. A chance to finally spread her wings and be who she thought she should be instead of whom her mother wanted her to be.
She met Tyler at a frat party. He was the stereotypical college boy right down to the red solo cup he held in his hand and his flashy watch. His devil may care attitude and his lazy smile drew her in like a moth to a bug lamp and five months later she was sitting in the college health center with tears streaming down her face.
she still wasn't sure what she had expected from Tyler. Perhaps the romanticized lifetime movies had clouded her view but his harsh words had cut deep as he made it clear he didn't want a baby; he didn't want her. Three days later he had made his point clear when he showed up with a new girl under his arm and told his friends all about the other guys Alice had been seeing behind his back, she was marked, labeled; she was scared and alone.
She did what she thought any girl would do in her situation; she called her mom.
If she hadn't been wrong about Tyler, she had definitely been wrong about her mother. Irina had told her what she should do and made it clear where she stood if she didn't. Alice didn't think it was even possible but her mother's words had hurt worse than Tyler's had.
Which was how she found herself sitting in the clinic, fingers clenched around the plastic chair edge and her teeth biting into her lip as she held back tears and tried not to think about what she was about to do.
It was then; as Alice waited for them to call her name that she realized she was doing exactly what her mother had wanted her to do, again. Before she could talk herself out of it, she had stood up and walked out of the clinic on shaky knees; her head held high.
Six months later Owen had come rushing into the world, two months early and a head full of black hair. Alice had fallen in love the minute she saw him. But it was more than that. As she sat there watching him out breathe the machine, as she watched his little body fight, she knew that there wasn't a thing she wouldn't do for him. Not a thing.
Five years later and she was doing her best and doing it alone. While the medical bills from Owen's unexpected birth were slowly dwindling down, his other medical needs had added to the ever growing pile. She bought second hand, everything, and was thrifty with everything else. It wasn't easy but she was doing it. For him.
"Momma?" Alice jumped at the sound of Owen's voice and looked down to see him as he stared up at her. His green eyes were wide, framed by thick, black lashes and the little dimples in his cheeks were pulled in as he looked at his mother worriedly.
"Sorry," she smiled, "Just thinking."
Owen smiled and nodded, "can I get the mail?"
Alice swallowed, trying hard to think about which bills might be in the box today before she nodded and pulled the key out of her pocket and slipped it into his excitedly outstretched hand.
She watched with amusement as he slid it in the keyhole, jiggling it expertly before it finally clicked opened and he pulled out the stack of envelopes and closed the door again, jimmying the key out as he bounced back over to her, a proud smile on his face.
Alice took both the key and the mail from him and started to head up the stairs before his little voice stopped her, "wait, mom. You dropped something."
She turned, waiting for him as he went after the yellow card that fluttered gently down the stairs and she laughed as he tried to catch it, his fingertips just barely brushing against it.
Finally it landed silently on the peeling linoleum floor and he picked it up, studying it as Alice waited halfway up the staircase, before he turned to her with a smile, "it's you momma."
"Huh?" she asked dumbly, watching as he hopped up the steps and held out the paper in her direction. She took it from him as he reached her step and they started up the steps once again.
She smirked as she looked down at the card just as they reached their landing, her feet faltering as she caught sight of the pictures on the card in her hand and her breath caught in her throat as she looked down at herself.
Owen was eating dinner while Alice nibbled on a piece of bread, staring at the pictures in front of her, the stack of bills that needed to be gone through pushed off to the side.
Owen was right; the picture on the card was uncanny. The words at the top were bolded and italicized, the classic Have You Seen Me? That always accompanied pictures like that.
The first picture was somewhat generic; a cute little girl in a denim sundress with yellow and white daisies embroidered on the bib, her black hair half hidden underneath a matching hat. It could have been anyone really.
The second picture however was eerie. The 'age progressed' photo showed a woman with features so similar to Alice's the only discernible differences were in the color of their eyes and the length of hair.
"Momma?" She whirled around to find Owen standing in the doorway, his empty plate balanced against him as he carried it and his half empty glass into the kitchen.
"Drink your milk," she ordered, reaching out to take the plate from him as he begrudgingly finished his beverage.
"Can I watch the Dinosaur movie?" he asked once he had polished off the drink and used his sleeve to swipe at the mustache left behind.
Alice glanced at the clock before finally, she nodded. "For just a little while."
He laughed as he hurried off excitedly before she started in on cleaning up the kitchen in break neck speeds. Once the last dish was put away she sat down, the Have You Seen Me ad forgotten as she pulled the stack of bills towards her while she gnawed anxiously on her bottom lip.
Her checkbook sat nearly empty on the table and she sighed as she realized that she had waited too long to order more, not that she could afford it anyway. Groaning, she thumbed through the bills, trying to decide which bills had to be paid and which ones could afford a little more time.
Before she could get too far there was a knock on the front door. Sighing, she stood up, stretching her aching muscles as she walked and slid the lock before she slowly opened the door.
"Hey Garrett," she said as she glanced over her shoulder, making sure Owen was still lost in his dinosaur movie as she greeted the building manager.
Garrett grimaced as he handed her the letter and she felt her heart drop at the words on the top.
"I'm really sorry Alice. Kate and I tried to hold him off…"
She shook her head, fighting back tears, "No, it's fine."
"We got him to give you the full thirty days though," Garrett said kindly and she laughed sardonically despite herself.
The eviction notice wasn't really a surprise and it definitely wasn't her first but it meant things were desperate and she wasn't going to like what she had to do.
"I'll get it paid Garrett. Thanks again, "she said as she stepped back into her apartment, holding the letter close and out of sight.
He looked like he wanted to say more but she didn't give him a chance as she slid back inside and shut the door firmly behind her.
She leaned against the door, crumpling the letter in her hand before she shoved it deep in her pocket and plastered a smile on her face as she tried not to think about what she was about to do.
"Owen, bedtime."
She clenched the phone in her hand as she listened to it ring on the other end. A part of her hoped she wouldn't pick up, while the other part implored that she would.
She was just about to give up, to hang up and call again later, when her mother's voice filled her ear.
"Hey mom, "Alice responded.
"Alice," She sighed and in those two syllables she heard every wrong thing she had ever done, every mistake she had ever made, every time she had ever disappointed the woman. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"Nice to talk to you too." Alice quipped, only somewhat sincere and she heard her mother sigh once more on the other end.
"I told you this would happen." She said, her voice full of emotions that Alice was sure she didn't even want to try and pinpoint.
"Mom…"
Silence followed and Alice wasn't sure what it meant. Irina was a woman of many words and silence usually meant one of two things.
"How much?" Her mother finally asked and Alice let out a sigh of relief that her mother had either heard the desperation in her daughter's voice or just didn't feel like lecturing right then.
"Enough to cover my rent at least?" Alice asked quietly as her fingers brushed the paper laying on the counter, the other past due bills right behind it.
"How much do you need Alice?" her mother asked firmly.
"Eight hundred?" Alice guessed, rounding up the bills she absolutely had to pay in her head as her mother sighed on the other end.
"Meet me at the park tomorrow at six. I'll swing by before I go to work." Irina said quickly and Alice heard another voice on the other line before her mom added a quick goodbye and the phone cut off.
Alice sighed but relaxed, ending the phone call and stacking up the bills she would have to pay before she turned off all the lights and headed to bed. She was asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.