By Mistyrious_Charades
Summary: Summary: Tonight, I thought. I will find you and I will find out what is going on. Alice had a little sister. A sixteen year old girl named Cynthia. This is her story.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed Chapter One! It was nice to see a good response to my first chapter as I've posted this story on several sites! I appreciate everything, even if it's one line!
Special thanks to dsolo, Angeliss and for their inspiring reviews!
And sincere gratitude to Tamoral for the dedicated pre-beta advice and Admittedly Obsessed for the beta read!
Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight. I am not SM, associated with SM, or anyone or anything to do with Edward Cullen's favourite time.
Chapter Two
Like most things, our church St Frances', was only a walk down the road from our house where we lived - but even so - that short mile didn't hide the nasty heat from us today. It was only nearing nine o'clock and the sun was high and warm. I could not understand how Mother was wearing stockings and was very glad that I hadn't bothered to put a pair of my own on.
Fortunately, we reached the inside of our little church soon after, and within ten minutes, I was very aware of the fact that Frederick Cunningham's eyes were on me, as I sat nervously in the church pew between Mother and Mary Alice. I was desperate to start scanning his individual handsome image with my eyes, but was also too aware of the fact that I was sitting between two stiff mother geese, who were currently concentrating on my every movement, however subconsciously they were doing it.
"Don't turn around!" whispered Mary Alice in my ear in all nun-like fashion, "It isn't proper while we're inside our church!"
I tried to ignore her. I had after all liked Frederick for a long time and he was my only self-permitted indulgence. Even though at an early age he had changed to a unisex school through his parent's wishes, we had still always kept in touch through our pen pal letters. This one hour a weekend at church was the only chance I ever got to see him and was (wrong as it felt) the part of church I liked best. In fact it was the part of my week that I most looked forward to.
Ignoring her didn't work. Mary Alice continued her reprimand.
"I haven't done anything yet!" I said, desperately defending myself, but pointlessly, as I was cut short when Mother placed a hand on my arm; her signal to quite me.
"Stop fidgeting, Cyndi, you'll see him shortly," my sister urged again importantly, "He'll be present at your party tonight."
My head sunk very quickly. I had forgotten that fact and remembering it now made me nervous. My only dilemma was that I wasn't sure which meeting I was more nervous about: seeing Frederick alone or being newly acquainted with his parents. I had never met them and the fact that Mary Alice had invited them to my party too was a fact I would never forgive her about.
My throat was dry and parched, but I didn't dare move, because I was getting annoyed and frustrated with my sister's constant harrying over my every blink and breath. To distract myself, I concentrated on a loose button on my church frock, loosely toying it within my fingers - but it was during the time that Reverend Antony was giving his sermon that I gave up, got up to take some water outside, and instead, dehydrated, simply passed out onto the floor.
--
I felt my consciousness coming to; I knew it had been hot and stuffy in the church. I wasn't used to my new hair style; my dress was tightly fitted onto me and I was nervous about a boy and meeting his parents for the first time at my party - but even remembering all these things, I still wasn't nearly as close to remembering what had happened when I passed out; when I finally woke I was outside and Mary Alice was sitting near me.
When she saw me awake she jumped on me, squeezing me into a tight hug, her thin pixie-like demeanor was often too much to bear. She was so think and fragile and whenever she hugged me it felt like she was going to snap any minute.
"Ooh! Cyndi, why must you scare me so?"
I was feeling much better but my head was still dizzy, "I didn't do it on purpose!"
"Really?" she asked me teasingly, her eyes swiftly moving to someone behind me.
"Hello Freddy," she cooed. I would have elbowed her furiously, she knew I didn't like my crush on Frederick to be voiced out loud, but quite suddenly I was frozen.
All I could feel, at that very moment, was an immediate, illuminating presence right behind me.
"It would be a pity if when I arrived at your party, it would be to discover that the birthday girl was not alive!"
I blushed at his voice, smiling at his lame joke - but there was more than that - Frederick didn't speak like a normal boy. He was vastly more mature, tall as well, and downright handsome. He didn't chase after girls, his friendship with me and my sister was enough and that fact was so important to me.
I turned around to face him, "Hello Frederick. I'll be fine for my party, I promise. Does this mean you'll be there?"
He nodded, "With Mother and Father, yes I will be."
Great, I thought. I glanced quickly at Mary Alice with the blame I felt towards her obvious in my eyes.
She sighed, "We better go back inside before Sister Margaret comes out here with her ancient cane!"
I looked at Fred standing there, willing with all my might that I may simply just know what he was thinking. Simply know of our future, of if we even had one. Staring at his face, I was surprised to see that he was suddenly worried. His expression had been blank for so long. Unreadable.
"We better go," he urged quickly. "I think I hear her coming..."
He linked arms with Mary Alice and I, and we were suddenly running around the outsides of the church like we did so long ago, and just as rebelliously, when we had been younger. We paused out of breath, reaching a giant oak tree that stood parallel to the church, laying our backs on it puffing and panting like three very different bad wolves from The Three Little Pigs. The oak tree we stood under was at the very least over a hundred years old and we often joked that it had been planted there after the scary Sister was born.
"You're a liar!" I exclaimed to Fred, laughter evident in my voice, "She isn't coming at all!"
"You're right!" he admitted, joining in laughing with me, "I simply and singularly desired to escape Reverend Antony's sermon!"
Mary Alice laughed too. She often became very quiet around Frederick and I usually forgot she was there until she made a noise. The change to her expression was instant. "Oh no," she sighed, her right hand gently rose to cover her mouth, which was open in a small expression of shock.
"What is it?" I asked; I was half curious and half worried about her. Sometimes, Alice would make no sense.
She made a little curtsey and confused I turned around to stare into the face of strict old Sister Mary Margaret, her cane obviously polished, subtlety shining luminescent in the daylight through the holes in the leaves of the tree above us.
"Cynthia Ann Brandon..." she exclaimed, uttering my full name in statement. "Am I to believe that today is your sixteenth birthday?"
I nodded, too scared to speak. I was never usually afraid of her but I could feel Mary Alice shaking besides me as though something was about to go very wrong. Sister Margaret brandished her cane towards us.
"It's always the same story!" she said, waving the threatening piece of wood around, my eyes fixed on its every movement and following it caught in a trance. "The older they get, the more unfaithful they appear towards our church. I pray to God every night to turn you away from the Devil but one of you always seems to slip away from my binding prayers and I do not" -
My ears fell short of her speech. I had acquired this skill from years of practice of listening to Reverend Antony. I hung my head low, appearing to pay attention to her every word, turning my head ever so slightly to Fred, hoping that he would catch my eye. His expression was blank. Again. His eyes did not move. He appeared strangely panicked and worried, and then in the slightest and subtlest of movements, he raised his hand to rest against my sister's shoulder.
Her reaction was immediate as she flinched with his touch and what was seemingly due to the gentle caress, forcibly shoved Sister Mary Margaret hard to the ground. The fragile nun stopped talking and toppled over onto the floor wordlessly with Mary Alice's invisible unasked for strength. I screamed frightened, and looked aghast at my sister who had both her hands over her mouth now and was looking like she was about to cry. Freddy rushed to join me to help Sister Margaret up, the poor nun who was beyond speechless.
"I'm sorry…" Mary Alice whispered, "I was trying to help." She turned on her heel and headed for the church. "I'll be getting Mother," she added, still in whisper. I wanted so desperately to go after her, to comfort her, to find out what was going on. I turned to Fred as he cared for the Sister.
"I'm going after her," I told him, "Will you be okay with" - ?
He suddenly grabbed my arm hard and pulled me towards him. I would have been mesmerized by the gesture but it was over too soon, in a matter of seconds, for he then he pushed both a laying Sister and myself furthest away from him. He jumped right over us as if playing an athletic competitive version of the school yard game Leap Frog, prancing gracefully like a deer, but smooth and right on time like a panther; a huge thick branch above us came crashing down to lay too perfectly parallel to where we were all now, safely out of harm's way. The whole incident had occurred much too swiftly. I was too stunned to speak.
Sister Margaret passed out with shock but he had her caught in his arms. He tried so desperately not to meet my gaze.
"Frederick?" I asked timidly, "How did you - ?"
"Go." He said simply and his voice was low. "Go. See to your sister. I'll visit you tonight. Go!"
His urgent voice swept through me and evidently rejection followed. That simple touch he had fed onto my sister's shoulder had been the cause of much confusion.
I ran back to the church to find it had just finished. People were congregating outside waiting to meet and greet with Reverend Antony. I searched the crowd desperately to find Mother and Mary Alice but was stopped several times by members of the crowd wishing me for my sixteenth, promising to come and celebrate tonight with me. I thanked them but evidently too hurriedly and had to elaborate my rush for immediate absence; I really was desperate to find Mary Alice and to distract myself from Frederick's urgent rejection.
It was Mother who found me first. "Cynthia!" she exclaimed, "How do you feel? Did Mary Alice give you enough water to drink?"
I stared at her question, confused. Why was Mother so concerned about my relapse? Did Mary Alice not inform her of Sister Margaret's fall?
I opened my mouth but Mary Alice's eyes pleaded secrecy with my own. Not now she seemed to say. I nodded, slightly enough for her to see, but more obviously towards Mother in answer to her question.
I grasped Mary Alice's hand gently and we left church quietly together following Mother. I turned back to the great Oak tree; Sister Margaret was still there clutching her cane. Other Sisters, my teachers, were present there too, standing around her. I looked among the hooded women for Frederick but to no avail; he was nowhere in sight.
Tonight, I thought. I will find you and I will find out what is going on.
**
A/N: Like it?? Please review!!