She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. You could see the pain in her eyes as if she was pleading for him to stop. She made the deepest sigh and closed her eyes. The pain was nothing like the other time but this hurt more mentally to her. A tear trickled down her pale white face and fell to the ground inches from where he was standing. He gave out a loud laugh and walked away leaving the girl crying. However she was not completely alone as she had her younger brother with her. He was completely different from his sister; he was childish and was free to do what he pleased. He watched the man walk away quickly who was accompanied with the girl's older brother. When the two of them left the girl went over and held her youngest brother close to her. As they both began to cry it began to rain but both of them made no attempt to move to get out of the rain. Although, her brother didn't really understand what was going on it was nice for the girl to have someone close to her. It began to get colder and the rain was getting heavier and her brother was shivering so badly that the girl could feel it and it sent her shivers down her back. They both stood up and looked around it began to become more difficult to see as it was too dark to see anything. The young girl quickly took off her jacket and put it around her little brother. He looked up at her and smiled. A few moments later they could hear footsteps coming towards them. They both looked at each other and they could both see the fear and the uncertainty in they're eyes. The young girl grabbed her little brother's hand quickly and took a deep breath. The little boy who's hand was being squeezed tightly by his big sister walked forward and pointed in the direction of where the sound of footsteps was coming from. Out of the darkness came a women alone who looked as though she was lost as well, she looked straight at the children with deep concentration. She did not speak or give any clue that she meant no harm to the children. The young girl held her brother even closer to her. He could feel his sister's warm breath blowing strands of his short brown hair. Then the woman started to walk slowly over to them but still kept her eyes on them as if she were a hawk watching her pray. With every small step she took she made a loud click which echoed all around them and made the two children shiver. They could see her clearly now she was quite tall and very up tight you could tell this because not one strand of hair was out of place. Her coat went down to her knees; it was dark brown and had white fluffy cuffs. Her hair was short and brown but also had blond highlights. She looked quite young maybe in her late thirties or so. She then smiled and the young girl could see the whiteness coming from her pearl white teeth and then the women spoke in a soft tone.
"Hello children are you in need of any help"
They both looked at her with sharp eyes wondering why on earth she was talking to complete strangers such as themselves. The women gave a warming smile and held out her hand and took one small step towards them. The young boy felt his sister squeeze his hand tightly so hard that he could feel his hand swelling up. The two children stared further more at the stranger wondering whether or not it was save to accept her assistance. Then she spoke again.
"Don't be afraid I won't hurt you, are you two lost maybe I could help you"
The little boy forced his hand from his sisters and before she could gain it back the boy walked towards the women and grabbed her smooth warm hand. The woman exchanged looks from the boy and then back to the girl as if she was waiting for her to come over. She then bent down to the boy's height and gently took the boys hands and began to speak.
"What's your name?"She asked softly as if she was talking to a baby
The boy looked back to look at his sister, he was waiting for her to say that it was okay to talk to the woman. She gave a small nod and the boy quickly turned around and looked into the women's pretty face and replied back.
"My name is James" he then smiled
The girl walked over and placed her hand on her brother's shoulder and looked down at the woman who was still holding her brothers small hands.
"And this is my big sister Alice" he looked at Alice when he told the woman
The women stood up and placed her hands on both Alice's and James's shoulder but as soon as she did Alice flinched and took a step back.
"Its okay Alice I only wish to help you and your brother"
The women looked into Alice's eyes and saw that she had been crying; her eyes were as red as the women's lipstick.
"Alice, are you okay you look as though you have been crying would you like me to take you both home"
The women looked at James, he looked as though he was about to say something but before he could but then the woman spoke.
"Well there's a police station just ten minutes away I could take you both there and the police could call your mum so that she can come and get you" She let go of James's hands and let them hang loosely at her sides.
Alice once again grabbed her brother's hand but this time she held it loosely so that she didn't hurt him. She then returned looking at the woman and then gave her a nod. The woman smiled once again and took James's other hand and all three of them began to walk in the direction that the women had came from.
The night was so quiet that the only sound they could hear was the echoing of the women's shoes hitting off the ground and the sound of the rain splashing on the damp ground. Alice had barely noticed that the rain had soaked her clothes as well as her chocolate brown hair. The bruise on Alice's face was being soothed by the rain and the pain began to fade as if the rain had some sort of healing powers. They had been walking for at least ten minutes and in that time no one had forced out a sentence or even a word, this made the atmosphere more tense and awkward. Alice looked straight ahead and saw a something ahead she narrowed her eyes to see properly but before Alice could even think of what it was or what it wasn't the women spoke.
"That's the police station up ahead it's quite big once you get a better look"
Alice exchanged looks with her brother who seemed to be smiling, this gave Alice a warm feeling in her throat and wanted to smile back but she couldn't. A few moments later they had reached the station and James let go of his sister's hand and took a few steps forward. The woman who was still holding James's hand tried to keep up with him leaving Alice to a few meters by herself. She watched the two of them smiling and giggling to each other and felt a rush of loneliness and jealousy. The woman grabbed the entrance door and held it open and as soon as she did James ran in with a big smile spread across his face. The woman smiled as he ran in then turned her head slowly to look at Alice who was walking ever so slowly.
"It's ok Alice everything is going to be fine"
Her voice seemed calm and so sure that Alice listened and walked forward towards the door and stepped inside. As soon as she walked in she was overwhelmed by the warmth and the smell of strong coffee and the sweet smell of ginger biscuits which made her feel hungry. Alice looked around in search of her brother. Once she saw him she noticed that he had feel asleep on the couch which was a creamy pale colour which had a few brown cushions on it. Alice looked at the rest of the room; it was quite small with a huge desk in the middle and plants in each corner of the room. The woman walked forward and rung the small copper bell which sat on the desk and then turned to look at Alice.
"You can sit down you know it's not a crime to relax you look exhausted"
Alice forced a small smile and sat over beside her brother who seemed to be in a deep sleep. A few moments late a man appeared from behind the huge desk. He was taller than the women was and a lot broader. His hair was think and fluffy looking which mane it tempting to feel to see if it was real. Then he began to speak.
"Can I help you miss?"
"Yes do you see those children sitting just over there?"
The man looked straight at Alice and then to James who was now snoring lightly. He then turned his attention back to the woman.
"What's wrong with them?" He moaned.
"I found them alone sitting in the car park about ten minutes away from here and they had informed me that they were lost" She placed her whole arm in the direction of the children.
"By themselves in this weather, where are their parents" sounding shocked
"I have no idea they don't look that happy either they look depressed especially the older one Alice" she gave Alice a weird look as she spoke.
Alice had no idea what they were saying but when she looked up she saw them both staring at her she instantly turned away and watched her brother sleep.
"Did she tell you how they became lost?" He now sounded worried.
"No the girl didn't really say anything and her brother is only little" she sighed
Alice watched them but felt herself falling asleep but she didn't fight it and within seconds she feel asleep.
"Did you happen to catch their last name or an address from them?" he asked
"No but they're both asleep I think we should wait until morning they look tired and they are children after all they must be exhausted" She insisted with a warming smile across her face.
"Good idea we will get the information we need from them in the morning" He nodded and waved his hand behind him to make the woman follow him into the back.
Alice opened her eyes and took in a deep breath and then sat up whilst rubbing her eyes which were still sore. She looked to her left to look at James but he wasn't there she quickly stood up, she then herd her brothers voice coming from the room next door. Alice walked over and pushed the door slowly as soon as she did some one was running towards her.
"Alice your awake" he said whilst squeezing the living day lights out of her
James cuddled his sister and she instantly held him close and laid her soft white cheek on his head and smiled. James let go and went over to where he must have been sitting which was across from the police officer and next to the woman. The police man raised his hand and waved at her and then began to speak.
"Come sit over here Alice next to your brother"
Alice made her way over and then sat next to James who was fiddling with a piece of paper. As soon as she sat down the police man smiled and then offered a ginger biscuit Alice had smelt earlier. Alice stared at the biscuit she was hungry but she didn't take it. The police man sighed and then placed it down feeling annoyed but he still kept smiling.
"Alice can you please tell me your last name"
Before Alice could reply back James shot back an answer to the mans question"
"Swan our last name is Swan" he said quickly
"What's your mother's name?"
James looked at Alice and then back at the police man and then gave a small smile and then answered.
"Her name is Peyton Swan" he replied with joy in is tone
"Does she work?" He said this with a serious face now.
"Yes she works in a shop named Charlie's café" He chuckled
"Yeah I've been there a few times myself" the police man added
It went silent for a few minutes and all you could hear was the pencil heavily moving on paper and the sound of the birds outside. The silence was broken when the woman spoke.
"Alice, aren't you hungry your brother had a sandwich would you like one?"
The woman stared at her she could see the hunger in her eyes and she looked so skinny even ill. Alice also stared back, she tried to answer but there was a chocking pain in her throat but she managed to force something out.
"No thank you I'm not really hungry" Alice lied
"Alice don't lie to me I know your hungry here"
She stood up and grabbed something from the far away table and handed it to Alice. Alice looked at it. Inside the warm package was a honey roast chicken sandwich, the smell filled the room making Alice's stomach rumble.
"Thank you" Alice mumbled
The woman just smiled and returned to where she was sitting and pulled out a lipstick and started putting it over her small soft lips. The police man watched Alice eat the sandwich slowly and then looked at the woman.
"Claire would you keep an eye on them whilst I go make the call"
The woman looked up as soon as she heard her name and then put her lipstick away.
"Of course we will be fine on you go" she replied
The police man walked out the room fairly quick so quick that Alice had not noticed him leave the room. Claire stood up and went over to the book case and grabbed the nearest one to her then sat down and blindly looked through the pages. James stopped playing with the piece of paper and went over to Claire and looked at the books cover and smiled. The front cover was full of different colours and small pictures of animals. James looked up into Claire's eyes with a pleading look.
"You want me to read some to you James" Claire asked with a raised eyebrow
James nodded and sat on her boney legs and leaned his head on her chest and was able to hear the sound of her heartbeat beating against her chest like a small drum. Her gentle voice soothed the uneasiness of the room and James listened closely to the different tones in her voice every time the mood in the story changed. It had only been ten minutes since the policeman had gone to make the phone call to Alice's and James's mother but to Alice it felt like forever. Alice was finished with her sandwich and placed the rappers in the bin across from her which was over flowing with shredded paper and dounut rappers. Alice looked over at her brother who was cuddled up at Claire, it hurt Alice to look at them as she had never experienced that before and she looked away and returned to her seat. A few moments later the policeman returned with a big grin across his flushed face and hovered over Claire and James.
"Good news I guess you seem kinda excited" Claire asked with a smile on her pretty face.
"Yes I got hold of they're mother and she is on her way over to take them home" He sounded pleased with himself.
As soon as the policeman said home Alice stood up and stared at her brother who was looking at the half eaten dounut that was sitting on the desk. The policeman didn't notice it but Claire did and shot a quick worried look at her and then returned her focus at the policeman. James noticed Alice looking up at him with a blank expression and her arms tightly wrapped around her small and fragile body. James made his way over to his sister with a warm smile on his face and the half eaten dounut in is small babyish hand. He held out his free hand in front of him wanting his sister to grab his hand and keep hold of him. Alice looked at the outstretched hand in front of her and gave a tiny smile and took his hand slowly. James smiled back and cuddled Alice squishing the dounut into her clothes making them sticky as he done so. The policeman was still talking to Claire who was awkwardly sitting on the edge of the desk where the dounut had once sat half finished.
Half a hour later the police man got up fairly quickly again and made his way out of the room and then stood up and made her way over to Alice and James who were sharing a small couch at the back of the room. She knelt down to the level of the kids and held both her hands out and smiled wildly showing most of her pearl white teeth. James grabbed her hands and looked at her with excitement.
"Your mother is here you can go home now" she whispered
James cuddled her tightly and then started to walk out of the room quickly almost running as though he was in a race. Claire looked at Alice and winked and then walked out of the room making a clucking noise with her shoes every time she placed a foot on the floor. Once Claire had left the room Alice took one deep breath and slowly got up and walked forward. As soon as Alice caught up with her brother she could see her mother kneeling down with her arms held out in front of her. James ran straight into her arms and she held him close and began to cry. Her eyes were swollen as though she had been crying for ages. Alice looked so much like her mother's apart from her eyes Alice's eyes were bright blue so much that you could see them in the dark. They both had brown hair and were very young looking. Alice was twelve but looked as though she was seven years old. James had just turned six a couple of months ago and still seemed like a baby to everyone apart from Alice. When the pair of them finally pulled apart from each other she stood up and walked over to Alice and placed a hand on her shoulder. The hand was warm and soothing and it brought a small smile on Alice's pale face then it faded when she dropped her hand from Alice's shoulder. She turned around and looked towards the policeman who was walking towards her and then he spoke whilst showing his yellow tinted teeth.
"Don't worry, they are both fine but they are looking rather tired and a bit hungry you can take them home now Mrs. Swan" He kept nodding his head as if he was a bobble head.
"Thank you so much please call me Peyton" She smiled
The policeman shook her hand and so did Claire and also handed her number in case she needed someone to talk to or just someone to babysit. She took the piece of paper and gave her a small nod and said goodbye and took James's hand and walked out of the police station. Alice turned round to look at the policeman and Claire who were both staring at her.
"Here Alice this my number I'm a nurse if you ever need help or advise please call" she pleaded
"Take care of yourself Alice and don't go wondering about at night it's not safe" the policeman said quickly
"Okay" Alice choked out quietly
The two of them watched Alice walk out of the station and listened to the door slamming shut behind her, blowing bits of paper from the desk every where as she did so. Both the policeman and Clair exchanged looks and saw each others confusion on their faces.
Once Alice had reached her house with her mother and brother she sat on the front step and crossed her arms over her knees. James patted her on the shoulder and then went inside the house. Peyton looked angry and stormed into the house leaving the front door wide open. Alice stared into the house and began to hear shouting from both her mother and her step father. Alice quickly ran forward and slammed the door and returned to the step and covered her ears with her small skinny hand. A few minutes later Alice dropped her hands from her ears and listened closely, she heard nothing there was no sound coming from the house. She lay down on the stone cold step and closed her eyes and shortly after she went into a deep sleep.
He grabbed her hand so tight that she could feel his muscles tensing and his bones digging into her wrist. She tried to break free but he was too strong. He laughed so loud that it sent shivers down her back. She finally broke free and ran but she fell over something. She turned to face him right in his evil dark green eyes. He smiled and walked towards her. She screamed.
Alice sat up so quick that she hurt her neck and quickly held her neck which was throbbing with extreme pain. Was it another nightmare, Alice stood up and looked at the front door. It was closed. Alice lived in a flat and just outside was the big car park which was always full of cars. Alice lived on the second floor out of the three floors of the building. She had never liked the place but she had to endure it because of her mother. They had no where else to go or any where else that they could afford. Alice walked towards the door and grabbed the door handle hard and pushed down the ice cold handle and it made Alice's skin crawl. She flung the door open and looked straight into the hall way. It was too quiet. There was no one in site. She took one uncertain step into the empty feeling house and headed for the living room. Again there was no one there Alice checked every room apart from her own and they were all empty it seemed clear that they had all gone out and left her by herself. She opened her room door and walked in. the room was trashed and turned upside down. Alice didn't look surprised at all she headed towards her secret stash which was under the carpet; underneath the floorboards was a small black box. Alice gave a small smile and opened it up. The money was still there and so was her necklace that her friend gave her before she died. Then Alice saw something that she had never put in the box. It was a piece of paper addressed to her and dated the same date as it is today. She picked it up and looked at it. She began to read the letter.
Dear Alice, I'm sorry if I never really paid attention to you since I met your step father things have become complicated but you must know that I wanted to be there for you all of the time. I remember the first day you began to walk for the first time and it brought tears to my face. You were always fast at maturing even before your older brother. Then when I met your step father and had James and Alan I forgot what it was like to be a happy family and I gave up. I know that there is no hope for Alan but you must make sure that James does not become like is father or brothers. Please Alice don't stay in this house go live with a friend I don't want you near him again if you need help go to your uncle or Adam who works in your school he's been a good friend to this family. By the time you receive this letter I will have already left but your brothers are still with him but don't worry he needs them too much to hurt them they should be safe. Please don't try to find me because it will only lead to dead ends. I will always be looking over you no matter where I am so please stay safe, don't do any thing dangerous. I will always love you …. Love from mum.
The letter fell from Alice's hands and fell to the floor with a tiny thud which echoed in the old empty house. Alice fell to her knees just moments after she dropped the letter. Tears started to trickle down her pale face and fall to the floor like a tap dripping into a sink full of water. She wiped the tears from her wet face with the end of her sleeve and sniffed. She picked up the letter once again and clenched the letter with her hand and anger filled her deep blue eyes. She stood up and grabbed her school bag and began to pack. Clothes, food and money left lying about the house and her stash box and her mother's necklace which was lying on the table next to the window. She looked out of the window as she realized that it would be the last time and the thought brought a small sense of happiness. She hated it ever since her mother met her step father life had been turned around from living life to living hell. She took one last look then grabbed her bag and left the house slamming the door as she left.
Alice walked to her closes friends' house who was Jodie and who also went to the same school as her. Jodie was a complete opposite of Alice; she was a really bubble girl and was full of confidence and always thinking positively where as Alice was really negative about nearly everything and had no confidence at all. Jodie looked completely different from Alice as well; she was really blonde and had dark brown eyes with a clear face with not one freckle but she was always known for her beauty. Alice and Jodie had been friends since they first went to primary. They were very popular in school but Alice was always kept her personal life at home to her self as she was always ashamed of who she was. Alice reached Jodie's house. It was really pretty; Alice had always admired it as it gave a homely feeling to anybody. She walked through her garden which was full of lilies which were her favorite kind of flowers. She came up to the door and knocked on the brown door. She waited there with a nervous feeling. What would she tell her what was the best way to explain it. It made Alice more anxious to even think about it. She listened carefully and herd footsteps coming towards the front door. Before Alice could take another breath the brown door swung right open. Standing before Alice was defiantly not Jodie it was her mother who looked nothing like Jodie but sounded exactly like her. Jodie took after her father in both looks and personality. She stared at Alice with her deep in thought expression which nearly freaked Alice out. Her name was Jessica and she wasn't the prettiest thing ever but she wasn't completely plain she had lovely dark brown hair. Her face then went blank and she tried to speak. Then Alice broke the awkward silence.
"Hi, is Jodie there" She grasped her hands tighter as she spoke.
"No I think she went out with another friend short blonde hair" she said whilst frowning
"Well do you know where they went" Alice added quickly she didn't want to stay and talk to her anymore. Jessica mumbled to her self quietly and then returned her focus to Alice.
"I think they went to the beach" she answered whilst screwing her face as she tried to scratch her forehead. Before Alice could say thank you Jessica slammed the door and started shouting but Alice couldn't really make out what she was saying.
The walk was taking for what seemed like forever and it didn't help when the sun was blazing hot and burning Alice's face. Her bag wasn't helping either even though there weren't a lot of things in it, it was still kinda heavy especially the clothes. The bag wasn't that big it was black with a small Chinese symbol in the middle and it was a strappy bag which sits on one shoulder. Alice stopped and took off her leather jacket and put it in her back and started walking again. Finally she reached the beach and went right to the place they were most likely to be. Alice saw them watching the boys playing volleyball. They saw Alice coming and ran over and were at her side in what felt like seconds.
"Alice how are you we haven't seen you in ages" Jodie rushed out as she could hardly breathe from the running.
"I've been ill but I'm fine now" Alice reassured her and then looked at the other girl she knew exactly who it was; it was her dear friend Sarah whom she hadn't since last month.
"Hey Alice I was wondering when I would see you again what's it been four weeks" she stared at the ground as she said this and then looked up and gave her a small smile and then looked at the boys who were still playing volleyball.
"I see things haven't changed" Alice nodded in the direction of the boys as she said this with a humorous tone.
Jodie answered the question as Sarah was in another world of her own.
"Of course what about you what brings you here you never come to the beach not since the accident anyway" her tone saddened when she mentioned the word accident. Jodie quickly changed the subjected but Alice was not listening she was thinking of the accident that happened two years ago.
Her friend had drowned whilst they were playing down at the beach. At the start it was the happiness day of Alice's life as she was away from her life at home and for once she didn't have to worry about anything. Alice's friend had suggested that they should go for a swim in the sea which was near the huge park. Alice wasn't a good swimmer so she sat and watched her friend splashing about in the rather cold sea which never really bothered her friend. She then went further out and was shouting for Alice to come join her. Alice had refused but asked her to come back to shore as she was too far out. She didn't hear her as the wind was quite strong and it was really loud so she went further out. Alice shouted at her to come back with a pleading tone. A few moments later a wave came in and knocked her down. Alice was petrified but she jumped in and swam up to where she was last. Alice went underwater but couldn't see anything, she returned to the surface and shouted out for help. Help came a few minutes later but it was too late she was gone. It nearly destroyed Alice mentally and from then on it has made her avoid the water.
"Hello earth to Alice time to return to this lifetime" Jodie coughed impatiently with a worried look on her face.
"Sorry but I kinda need to talk to you about something important" Alice rushed and then Sarah turned around to look at Alice and Jodie.
"Are you okay Alice I can't handle any more bad news this week" Sarah sighed and then she smiled.
"What are you talking about Sarah you haven't herd any bad news you've actually got good news" Jodie snapped back with an annoyed expression across her face. Then she straightened her face and returned her attention to Alice who was looking impatient and nervous. "Anyway you were saying" she smiled
"Well it's kinda hard to explain" Alice sighed and took a deep breath and then spoke again. "My mother has left and has left me a note and the rest of them have left as well" she finally spitted out and it made her feel a bit better for a couple of seconds and then she was nervous again. She grabbed the letter from her bag and handed it over to Jodie.
Alice watched Jodie in silence as she began to read the only thing that her mother had left her, a letter in which Alice did not fully understand. Sarah kept shifting her weight from her left foot to her right whist glancing at the boys whom had stopped playing volleyball to wave at Sarah. Alice returned her attention to Jodie who looked confused and annoyed. She then looked up and handed the letter back to Alice slowly. Alice grabbed the letter and grasped it tightly in her hand and sighed.
"I'm sorry Alice is there anything that I can do to help" Jodie asked softly to sooth the tension in the air.
Alice looked up and looked at Jodie; she shook her head to say no. Jodie's face saddened, she stepped forward to get close to Alice. Alice quickly took a step back and looked down at the ground. Jodie's face had a really worried look on it. She elbowed Sarah in the side and quickly took her attention away from the boys and glared at Jodie. Alice watched in confusion and raised one eyebrow. Then the silence was broken when Jodie spoke.
"Alice I would let you stay with me but my mother is kinda loosing the plot but…" She said slowly but was interrupted by Sarah.
"You can stay at mine, my mother is away on holiday it's just my big brother looking after me" she giggled.
just a wee bit of what's to come, its only one of many that i am working on, sorry if theres a lot of spelling mistakes or some of it doesnt make any sense, im still working on it