"Welcome back everyone, I hope you all had a nice long weekend." Mr. Greyson greeted his students as they slowly shuffled in and found their desks. Despite the fact that it was a rather nice Tuesday afternoon, where nice meant that it wasn't pouring out, everyone was dragging along as if it were a rainy Monday morning due to the holiday that had given them the previous day off.
"Wasn't long enough if you want my opinion." Edward muttered to his two siblings as he sat down in his assigned seat. Alice put her pile of books down on the desk beside him and smiled.
"You're just upset that Bella isn't in class with us this period. You were perfectly fine for the last three periods you spent with her." Edward looked up at his sister in disbelief, he thought he was the one who had the ability to read minds, but Alice's guess was about as close to the truth as it could get.
"How did you…?" Edward started, but Alice interrupted him with a small laugh being as cheerful as ever.
"I'm just observant, that's all." The tiny girl smiled and sat down in her desk, turning her attention on her beloved Jasper, who was seated in the desk to her right. He looked at her for a moment, his lips barely moving upward in a tiny smile only she could coax out of him.
"Ahem…" Mr. Greyson cleared his throat, looking at Alice while he waited for her attention so he could begin. "Okay, so as you know we finished up our section on nutrition last week and hopefully you all passed in your take home test, if you didn't we can talk at the end of class to discuss partial credit on a different assignment. Do any of you have any more questions having to do with what we talked about on Friday before we move on?" Mr. Greyson paused for a moment and scanned the room for any hands, none came. "Okay, moving forward. This week we will be exploring the history of mental health care and the treatment of mental health patients in institutions from the early 1800s up until today. Does anyone want to share what they know about this topic to get us started?" A few stray hands went up and the teacher selected one to start off the discussion.
"So, like, back in the old days…" The girl speaking, Sasha, paused to pop her gum obnoxiously before continuing. "…crazies got locked up in the nut house by the men in the white coats so they could learn how to be less psychotic." Edward and Jasper cringed when they heard the girl's insensitive description of an event that hit so close to home for the youngest Cullen girl. Edward didn't dare look over at Alice in that moment, especially since her thoughts were screaming the lyrics of some infuriatingly stupid new song on the radio in a loop as a tactic to keep him out of her brain. Jasper, being braver than Edward, chose to sneak a look over at his soulmate. His heart broke for her as waves of pain, humiliation, anger, and a flurry of other negative emotions emanated from her tiny body.
"Uh…" Mr. Greyson thought for a moment. "…is there anyone who would like to offer a different idea for the group to discuss." A few sniggering laughs passed through the room as Sasha's comment hung heavy in the air. "Anybody at all?" The teacher looked around the room and noticed Alice had sunk lower in her chair, he mistook her bad posture as a sign that she wasn't paying attention and decided to call on her. "Alice? Would you care to share anything you may know about asylums?"
"Me?" Alice asked, looking like a deer in the headlights as she forced herself to sit up straight and bring her attention to the teacher.
"Please make an effort to pay attention Ms. Cullen. I asked you what-"
"I heard the question the first time." Alice interrupted sharply as she tried to compose herself. The small girl took several seconds to think before attempting to answer Mr. Greyson's demeaning question. "From what I understand, asylums were awful places that treated people inhumanely just because they weren't what people would describe as ordinary or normal." Alice crossed her arms, daring the man to push her to elaborate any further. By now the class's laughter over the starkness of Sasha's comment had faded away and uncomfortable silence took its place. After a few more seconds Mr. Greyson opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly his expression changed and he dropped the subject. Edward looked over to Jasper, who nodded ever so slightly confirming Edward's suspicions that the odd display had been encouraged by Jasper's ability over emotions.
"Umm… so moving right along then…" The teacher sighed, scratching his head as he fumbled through a transition. "Well, I was going to save this for tomorrow's class, but seeing as how everybody is tired and it's the first day back after a long weekend, I'm going to show you a documentary film on some of the treatment methods used in some of these institutions."
"Are you okay?" Edward whispered over to his sister while Mr. Greyson struggled to cue up the video he wanted to show. Jasper silently cursed his brother for asking such a stupid question when he felt Alice's negative feelings intensify.
"Let her be." Jasper whispered over to him, knowing from experience that this was not the way to get Alice to talk when she was upset. He also knew better than to try and sway her emotions to make her feel better, he'd done that once before and she wouldn't allow him into their bedroom for days. Over the better part of the next half hour Edward and Jasper watched Alice cringe through watching her past flicker across the screen. She'd sat there outwardly stoic as she watched people endure ice baths, confinement, and isolation. The torture for both the patients and Alice got worse as the video progressed. Watching people try to fight the doctors as they were strapped into straitjackets or restraint chairs made the small girl squirm in her seat; her discomfort only grew as the documentary depicted the procedures of lobotomies and trephinations. About forty-five minutes into the video Alice had been emotionally beaten down and looked as if she would have broken down into tears if it were possible.
"I can't." Alice whispered weakly as an image of a young teenage girl being subjected to electroshock therapy appeared on the screen. Without asking permission Alice slid out of her chair and held her breath using every ounce of self-control she had not to sprint from the room right then.
"Ms. Cullen!" Mr. Greyson reprimanded when he noticed Alice out of the corner of his eye. His tone warned her to get back in her seat, but she didn't allow herself to hear him as she walked numbly across the room. She forced herself to walk at an everyday student's speed as she exited the room, but once she got to the hallway she allowed herself to quicken her pace a bit. Alice had started off at a normal human's quick gait, but before she could stop herself she was nothing more than a blur of color as she made her way to the bathroom and forced the lock shut so nobody would disturb her. Alice willed herself to take a deep breath then, placing both hands on the sink before she looked up in the mirror to face the girl staring back. The girl she was looking at wasn't Alice Cullen this time, in that moment she saw little Mary-Alice Brandon… the 'crazy' that the men in the white coats had dragged off to the nut house back in the early 1900s.
"Leave me alone!" Alice cried, stumbling back a few steps. The girl in the mirror looked back at her with wide eyes, her mouth moving to say the same thing and instantly Alice was transported.
"Leave me alone!" Mary-Alice screamed as two men came into the sheriff's office where she'd been trying to convince the authorities of her father and step-mother's role in the death of her real mother. When she'd gotten to the sheriff's office, the marshal had already been paid off and she'd been held in a cell until her father had arrived and ordered her to be condemned to a life in a psychiatric prison a few towns away.
"Stop struggling!" One of the men yelled at her, hitting her so she would stop trying to resist. No number of blows or amount of pain caused her to stop fighting though.
"Daddy please!" Mary begged as the two men closed in on her in the tiny barred room she'd been locked in. "Please! I was lying! I'm not crazy! I was just pretending!" The girl yelled, lying in a last ditch effort at freedom as her arms were secured too tightly behind her back in a foul smelling straitjacket. "I don't want to be sent away!"
"Shut up!" The second of the two men ordered, slapping her face as he shoved her out of the holding cell. "Nobody's going to put up with your shenanigans where you're headed."
"Maybe you'll like your new cell better than this one." The first man taunted as terrified, hurt tears streamed down Mary's face.
"Why don't you want me Daddy? It's not my fault… I'm not crazy, I'm just a little different. Please..."
"Please…" Alice whimpered, her palm coming up to rest on her cheek as she was brought back to the present by the sound of the school bell signaling that it was time for everyone to make their way to their next class.
"Alice?"A familiar voice called a few moments later. "Darlin' it's me… please open the door, I know you're in there." Alice let out a soft breath and looked at the door for a long second before walking over to the piece of wood and leaning against it with her palm pressed firmly into the paneling. She had no idea that Jasper was mirroring her on the other side.
"Jasper." She whispered, closing her eyes. Just saying his name outload offered her some relief.
"I'm here." He answered in his perfect southern drawl, he was completely ignoring the line of furious girls waiting impatiently for the bathroom to be unlocked. "Can I come in? Please?" He held his breath, waiting for a long moment before he finally heard Alice twist the lock and open the door just enough for him to slide in.
"Hey!" One of the girls shouted. "You can't go in there!"
"Bite me!" Jasper shot back in response though the look on his face had said enough on its own. A fraction of a second later he was closing the door in her face, relocking the door as he turned to face Alice. "Darlin' I am so sorry." Jasper whispered, holding his arms wide open for her. Alice wasted little time scrambling into his embrace, burying her head into his chest as soon as she had her arms locked around his waist.
"I…" She started to speak, but her voice robbed her of the ability to make a sound.
"I love you ya know." Jasper whispered into her hair, holding her strongly in his arms. Alice frowned slightly, her thoughts glued to the flashback she'd just had. Before, it had tormented her to not know her past or even a little bit of who she used to be, but now she'd give anything to go back to the blissful state of ignorance she'd had before James had told her about her previous life. The only thing knowing did was allow bad memories to float up and remind her of an isolated life of pain and suffering.
"They didn't want me." She whispered. "My father just stood there and watched them haul me away."
"I'm so sorry Darlin'." Jasper whispered back, rubbing little circle patterns onto Alice's back. "I don't know what to say to make that pain go away, but I want you to know that I will always want you." He paused, shaking his head at his next thought. "If anyone ever tried to take you from me, I don't care who or what is there to trying to stop me, I will fight until I'm nothing more than a pile of burnt up ash on the ground for you. You are everything to me Alice, I'm so, so sorry your old family was too stupid to see how amazing and special you truly are. I will never make the same mistakes as they did."
"You mean it?" Alice asked, Jasper's words gave her comfort, if only a tiny bit… she didn't exactly appreciate the image of her soulmate reduced to mere dust. Jasper flashed a smile at her, trying to cheer her up by using the girl's favorite crooked grin. Alice couldn't help letting the corners of her mouth turn up even the tiniest bit.
"There's my Alice." The boy whispered gently, kissing the top of her head as he tightened his arms around her protectively. His actions told the girl that he meant every word of what he'd said to her without having to affirm anything with words. All Jasper had to do was simply hold her there and make her feel loved, which wasn't hard for him to do even without projecting the feeling onto her.
"Thank you." Alice whispered, standing up on her tiptoes so she could kiss Jasper. The boy smiled, leaning down the extra couple of inches so their lips could meet comfortably. He decided that it would be better to let her break their kiss on her own terms this time, a simple gesture that didn't go unnoticed by his wife. "I suppose you would like to get out of the girl's bathroom now?" Alice teased though her voice still sounded deflated. She held her hand out for her husband who happily laced his fingers with hers.
"It would be nice, but I won't rush you if you feel like you need a few more minutes." Jasper offered. Alice was about to respond to him when her eyes glazed over for a couple seconds, a deep set frown had made its way back on her face by the time she blinked back into the present.
"Trust me." She begged, pushing him backwards into one of the stalls and pulling the door closed. Jasper didn't try to stop her, though he could have if he'd really wanted to.
"Alice, what did you –"
"Shh!" She frowned when the bathroom door was unlocked and Mr. Greyson appeared alongside the principal, Mr. Greene.
"In my office." The principal ordered, pointing her in the right direction with a stern looking finger. Alice felt smaller than she already was as the two unhappy men escorted her into the office and made her sit down.
"We called your father." Principal Greene informed her in a way that eerily resembled the marshal back in Mississippi all those years ago. Despite how many decades had passed Alice still shrank back in her seat, she didn't say another word as she waited for Carlisle to get there.
"What seems to be the issue here?" Carlisle asked the two faculty members as he walked into the office. Alice turned to look at her father when she heard his voice, but when she caught sight of his lab coat her unbeating heart dropped and the taste of venom became apparent in her mouth. It took every ounce of self-control she had not to run and hid from him despite knowing her dad would never ever hurt her.
"I am sorry to have called you away from your work Dr. Cullen, but your daughter is out of control." Mr. Greyson started. Carlisle forced himself to remain quiet as the cranky man continued. "During my psychology class today your daughter failed to pay attention during our group discussion, and to make matters worse she walked out during the video I was showing without permission and never returned."
"That doesn't sound like my Alice." Carlisle tried to defend his daughter, his eyes darting over to her. He frowned when he saw the pain behind her eyes. "I'm sure she has a reasonable explanation for what happened…"
"Ms. Cullen?" Principal Greene prompted, offering Alice a chance to give her side of the story. Alice choked on her words as she tried to form a coherent sentence.
"We… uh… the movie… I mean… asylums…" Alice shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. "It reminded me of Mary..." As soon as the words were out Carlisle understood why Alice had responded the way she had in class as well as why she'd looked uncomfortable when he walked in.
"It's warm in here… do you gentlemen mind?" Carlisle asked as he slipped out of his white medical jacket. "Alice…" He whispered gently. Alice slowly looked over at him and watched him lay his coat over a chair in an effort to make her more comfortable. Carlisle sighed when he watched her look away and moved the chair over so he could sit in front of the girl.
"Dr. Cullen…" Mr. Greyson interrupted. "If I may, I would like to offer a few options for a suitable punishment here."
"You may not!" Carlisle snapped, turning his head quickly so he could glare at the man. The vampire patriarch had become extremely close with Alice over the years and had become closer with her than any of his other adopted children. Alice was the only one who accepted him as her father one hundred percent and he was happy to be that figure for her, it made him angry to see her so hurt. "I'll discuss the matter with my wife when I see her at home. From what I've seen here you've already put Alice through quite enough."
"Dr. Cullen, if we could just –" Principal Greene started, but Carlisle held a hand up to silence him.
"This is absolutely unacceptable." Carlisle told them, his voice dangerously calm. The two men looked at each other to see which of them had to be the brave one.
"But, Dr. Cullen… She still skipped class…" The principal tried weakly. Carlisle shook his head and sighed, he was becoming more and more annoyed.
"I understand… I will deal with that problem at home." He lied only to appease the moody humans. "Do you want to come home with me now Alice?" The girl nodded and slowly rose from the chair, holding her arms tight across her chest as she avoided making eye contact with Mr. Greyson. Carlisle stepped between his daughter and the other man, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "We'll be going now." He told the two faculty members as he took his jacket off of the chair and led Alice out to the parking lot. He used the remote on his keychain to unlock the car before opening the passenger side door for Alice.
"I'm sorry…" Alice whispered softly, turning into his chest so she could wrap her tiny arms around his waist. Carlisle sighed softly and held her for few moments.
"It's okay sweetheart, nobody's mad at you." Carlisle told her gently as he patted her back. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"
"Not really…" Alice sighed, slowly bringing her eyes up to look at her father. Carlisle frowned when he saw the embarrassment and pain those golden orbs held, he couldn't imagine what she must be feeling in that moment.
"That's alright. I'm here to listen if you change your mind." Carlisle reminded her, Alice nodded and took a shaky breath as she got into the car and the two of them started the quiet ride back to the Cullen estate. Once Carlisle put the car in park, Alice opened the door and ran upstairs to her room to avoid having to explain herself to Esme. Her efforts were moot considering she could hear her parents discussing the matter in hushed voices from the living room.
"Alright! Who's ass am I kicking!?" Alice heard her brother Emmett yell as he walked into the house with the rest of her siblings maybe an hour or so later. She sighed, pulling her knees into her chest as she sat alone in her room listening to them discuss the information Edward had given them regarding why she hadn't joined them for lunch that day.
"I don't think they know who they're dealing with." Edward added.
"Maybe we should look them up!" Rosalie offered.
"Please just shut up about it…" Alice whispered knowing nobody could hear her as she covered her ears trying to drown out the sounds of her siblings' ranting. The only voice she didn't hear downstairs was her husband's, but she found out why a few moments later when she heard a small knock on the door followed by Jasper poking his head in the room.
"I know they're not doing a very good job…" Jasper started, slowly crossing the room and coming to sit on the side of the bed beside her. "…but they mean well." He finished.
"They're driving me insa…" Alice pursed her lips, rethinking her word choice. "They're making me cr…" Alice sighed and looked away from Jasper.
"I know what you mean Darlin'." Jasper replied, lifting her chin up so he could look at her eyes. It pained him to see the sadness they held, he rarely ever saw that emotion when it came to her. "What can I do?" He asked, scooting up to lean against the headboard with her.
"I don't know." Alice sighed, letting herself fall against his shoulder. Jasper frowned, searching his mind for the right thing to say to her.
"1948." He finally said after a little while.
"What?" Alice looked up at him curiously, trying to see where he was going with this.
"1948." Jasper held his hand out for her, watching a small smile make its way onto her face as she interlaced her fingers with his. "That year is more than just the year we met and it's more than just the year you saved me from myself… That year is also the year that I chose you, regardless of anything else." Jasper squeezed Alice's hand the tiniest bit and smiled. "When you held out your hand I took it… I didn't even know your name, but I chose you."
"I hoped that you would…" Alice smiled thinking back to one of the happiest moments in her life. Jasper laughed, remembering what he'd read in Alice's emotions all those years ago.
"I know you did Darlin'." Jasper leaned over and kissed her softly then. "May I?" Jasper asked, waiting for Alice to consent before he used his power over emotion to show her just how much he really loved and cared for her. Alice closed her eyes and allowed herself to bask in the warmth of it.
"I love you Jasper." She whispered as her negative feelings melted away while he held her.
"I love you more Alice." Jasper teased, kissing her temple. "I know you went through hell before we met, but I did too… and nine times out of ten just knowing I have you by my side now is enough to get me through anything that gets a little bit harder now." Alice thought about Jasper's words for a minute or two before her smile grew.
"You're right. Thank you for reminding me of that Jazzy."
"Any time Darlin'." The man smiled back. "Now are you ready to go downstairs and show the rest of the family that you're alright? I know they can be a little much, but that's only because they love you so much."
"Yeah... I should probably apologize to Dad for the whole 'getting called into the principal's office' thing too." Alice sighed and slid off of the bed, keeping Jasper's hand tight in her own as she made her way downstairs and found her family in the parlor.
"Alice!" Esme exclaimed, quickly crossing the room to give her daughter a tight hug. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that at school." Esme pulled away still holding Alice's arms. "Are you alright honey?"
"I will be. I feel much better now though." Alice smiled at Jasper and Esme before sitting down on the couch with the rest of her family. She thought back to what Jasper had said about choosing her without knowing anything about her… in a sense, the Cullen's had done the same thing. Mary Brandon may not have had a family that wanted her, but the Cullen's had taken Alice for what she was without asking a single question and there was definitely something to be said about that.
A/N: Well that ended up a little different than I planned... I still really like it though and I hope you guys did too. I would love it if you left me a comment telling me what you thought (only if you want to though, no pressure).
Anyway, this was actually requested by Snowgirl01 on here (so, I hope you liked it!). That being said if you guys ever have any requests just shoot me a quick PM or leave something in the reviews and I'll see what I can do.
Thanks for reading!