Hey! This is my first fanfiction, and I have no beta so please be honest but kind!
Also, I own nothing but my OC's.
-K
x
Alyssa's eyes opened as her alarm clock rung out, she wanted to wake up first so she set her alarm clock the earliest. Five A.m. was way too early but she soldiered on, shoving her feet out from the safe haven of the blankets and into the air of her bedroom the hit her senses and left her shivering. No light peaked in from behind her curtains so she fiddled around on her bedside table, eventually finding the lamp and turned it on.
Light poured into her room, causing her eyes to shut in protest. She waited a moment for her eyes to adjust then crept out of her bed further. She enjoyed being back in her childhood home, her walls still painted her favourite shade of burgundy, and she smiled to herself as she planned the rest of her unpacking.
She changed from her plaid pajama pants and black T-shirt, into a black camisole with lace surrounding the top and black leggings. She decided she would wear both under her Spenser uniform but didn't feel like putting that on until close to the time they left. Grabbing her black wool cardigan from her computer chair, she made her way down stair to the kitchen.
Light streaming from the kitchen into the hallway, she wondered to herself who was awake at this time.
"Hey Aly Cat." Her dad, Victor Larose called from his place at the kitchen table. His button nose buried into his newspaper and his large hands wrapped around an oversized coffee mug.
"Hey, old man" Alyssa teased back.
"You're awake early, planning on making breakfast?" Victor asked as he turned back into his paper, but still sounded interested in the prospect of french toast.
"Wouldn't you like to know." She replied offhandedly as she reached into the stainless steel fridge, grabbing eggs and French Vanilla Coffee Mate. Turning to the marble counter she lifted the coffee pot and poured some into a mug that her father had spooned sugar into for her, adding some of the French Vanilla for flavour.
She found the rest of the ingredients she needed and began putting the egg soaked bread into the pan; her mom had always put Coffee Mate as one of her ingredients, it made it crispy and Alyssa was a sucker for it. She couldn't order french toast at any restaurant; they didn't make it right and it always cause her to think of her mom which still caused her heart to hurt.
She had finished making more than half a loaf of bread, and turned off the element. Shaking icing sugar on top of two slices of toast, she slipped them into a Tupperware container and packed it into her father's lunch quietly. She added two more slices for him onto a plate, shook on some icing sugar and topped it with Maple Syrup. Bringing it to him, she slid the plate onto the table in front of him and kissed the top of his head. Victor turned to his daughter and looked into her eyes, brown eyes meeting brown eyes.
"I love you, Aly." He said, genuinely. Smiling at her with pride.
"I love you too, old man." She said back, smiling.
"Which of the guys are downstairs? And when did you get in, I didn't hear you guys come home." He asked
"I'm not sure, later than curfew I think. I'm sorry about that." She answered honestly.
"It was your first night home, don't beat yourself up over it. How did they react to seeing you home, again?" He asked cautiously, they were here so they couldn't have been too upset.
"They said we'd talk about it today, so I don't know. That's why Reid and Tyler slept over, so we could talk before school." Alyssa sighed.
"They were your best friend's Aly, they're probably just happy to have you here. I'll have my cellphone all day today, and I only have two meetings. I'm assuming they're giving you a ride so I'm going to go in early, but you call me if you need me. I'm always here." Her dad spoke honestly.
"I know Dad, I'll text you and let you know how everything today goes?"
"You better," Victor smiled and stood from his chair. Realizing something and frowning; pointing at the toast she'd made him "I don't really have time to sit and eat…I'm sorry honey."
"I figured, so I packed some into your lunch." She laughed out with a smirk.
"What would I do without you?" Victor asked
"Starve, I think that's the most likely answer." Alyssa responded as she wrapped her father in a hug.
"See you tonight, I'll make spaghetti.." Victor said.
"I'll text you, I'm not sure if they boys will be ready to let me off the hook by then.." she trailed off, still apprehensive about how today would go.
"Ah, well good luck then. We'll do our own thing for dinner tonight. Love you Aly." Starting towards the door that lead out to their drive way, he exited the house.
Silence fell over the Larose abode, save the snoring she could hear from Reid down stairs. She went about pulling the wooden cupboard doors open to find a tray to place the plates she'd prepared for the boys on. She was a hell of a cook for seventeen but she wasn't a magician, or as most people called them, waitress. She always wondered at how they could carry so many plates on their arms. The coordination they had, that she lacked, was astounding.
Placing the plates and coffee onto the tray she'd found, and pulling her cardigan tighter around her. She twisted the knob to the basement door, in the hallway cross from the kitchen, and pulled it open. The T.V that had been left on casted enough light for her to safely make her way down stairs, food and all.
Once downstairs she turned the T.V. off, and a few lamps on, placing the food tray onto the coffee table. Reid took the black couch on the left, and Tyler the one on the right.
"Rise and shine, Nancy and Hermoine." She said loudly, trying to be heard over Reid's snores. Tyler stirred first.
"Ah, Hermoine, first to bed and first to rise." Alyssa joked.
"God, I really hate you in the mornings." Tyler croaked.
Alyssa laughed while he sat up, passing him his breakfast.
"Thanks Aly." He missed her cooking.
"Reid could sleep through anything. Truly, anything. If I threw water on him, I doubt he'd even notice." Alyssa wondered if she should, but decided against it. After the night he had last night, and the way he probably felt about her splitting town, pranks weren't the best way to start off his day.
"I can hear you assholes." Reid grumped.
"It's alive!" Alyssa feigned shock.
"Ha-ha." Reid sneered as he sat up.
"I see Nancy is still not a morning person." Alyssa noted.
"Nancy also doesn't appreciate your witchy references." Reid mumbled, taking sudden interest in the breakfast that waited for him.
"Look-"Alyssa started. "You know how great I am about talking, and feelings... So I'm just going to talk, and you two are going to eat. Questions come later."
Reid and Tyler nodded their agreement to her terms, picking up their forks and shifting their eyes to their food. She laughed internally at how similar they were despite being almost complete opposites. That much time spent together had caused them to mimic each other's mannerisms.
"You guys know already know that my mom was diagnosed with cancer at the end of grade nine. I don't have to explain that to you, but what you guys might not know is how much of her family lives in Vermont. She wanted to spend what time she could with her family, all of her family. My dad never wanted to leave Ipswich but he couldn't stand the thought of making her travel back and forth all the time. He's a journalist, and he can work from anywhere. It made the most sense for us to move to Vermont. Dad and Mom sat me down at the beginning of that summer. Explained how mom was only given an estimated year, how she was young but there was nothing any treatments could do. I was angry and scared, leaving Ipswich actually made sense to me. I wouldn't have to explain to anyone how I was feeling, what was happening, or how losing my mom was going to devastate me. It may sound selfish, but I needed to be alone, and away from you all. I would have suffocated here. We travelled a lot for the two months after school. Mom still felt like herself and we spent the time making memories together, just the three of us. That ended too quickly though, and soon we moved in with my Aunt and Uncle in Burlington. I went to some shitty high school and made no friends and missed you all every day. I thought about reaching out to you guys so often, but couldn't bring myself to actually do it…" Alyssa paused for a moment. Reid and Tyler had forgotten their food, and were staring at her. She motioned to their breakfast and once again they began to eat.
"I'm sorry for that, I really am. You all deserved to be kept in the loop. We've always looked out for each other. I just didn't know how to tell you guys what I was going through… My mom was the best. You guys know that. I don't feel like talking about the details of her last months, but my mom ended up living half a year longer than expected.. Caleb's mom ended up buying our house and keeping it the way we'd left it. She reached out to my dad a few months after my mom passed, asking if he'd like to buy it back. She was sure we'd eventually want to come home, we're so grateful to Ms. Danvers, she was my mom's best friend and we won't ever be able to repay her for her kindness. Everything was left the same, my mom's handwriting is even still on the archway in the living room where she used to measure my height. We're home now. We're not leaving again. My family just needed to be together, and I needed the radio silence. Losing my mom was that hardest thing I'd ever been through; dad and I went to counselling before we came home. Being back in this house, it's like her memory is still here, you know? And none of the shitty one's near the end, only the ones we all spent together as a happy family. Coming back to Ipswich is exactly what she wanted for us. I'm so so sorry I left you all. It's not going to happen again." Alyssa finished. Looking at the two boys perched on her couches from her spot on the floor on the other side of the coffee table.
"Wow.." Tyler trailed off. Reid looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.
"I know." Alyssa said, hoping they understood.
"We love you Aly, we're so sorry for everything you've gone through." Tyler finally spoke up.
"Thanks Saint Tyler. I'm honestly happy to be back home."
"We're not letting you out of our sight ever again, kid." Reid added, then smirked "And I think that might actually have been the most I've ever heard you talk, Larose. Vermont turned you into a chatter box."
"God, Nancy, go find some manners!" She joked, throwing a pillow at him. "Are you guys ready to go get your uniforms before school?"
"Yeah, let's bring these dishes upstairs then head out…Caleb and Pogue are going to want answers too, Alyssa." Tyler said
"I know, but I'm choosing to face this one challenge at a time. Small victories." Alyssa replied
"Did you learn that in counselling?" Tyler questioned, genuinely curious
"Yeah, honestly I really enjoyed my time spent with my grief counsellor. Dad said he'd help me find someone here to talk to if I felt like continuing but I'm feeling pretty good." Alyssa answered.
"Well you sound like Yoda, I like it." Reid laughed finishing his coffee.
"Get going we must, long day ahead of us we have." Alyssa joked.
As the guys did the dishes Alyssa snuck away up to her bedroom, grabbing her shirt, blazer and skirt and slipping on her basic black ankle boots, she decided to finish dressing at Reid's seeing as that was their only stop between her house and Spenser. She knew how long the boys really took to get ready, and she wanted something to do in the meantime.
Running back down the stairs, with her bag and clothes in her hands she smiled at the boys she saw as brothers waiting in the foyer of her house by the front door. She really missed them, even though she was thankful to be able to deal with everything on her own terms and in her own way, she was glad that they welcomed her back with open arms. It gave her hope for how the rest of her day would go.
Six fifteen A.M and they were out the door.