Alice reminded me of a little puppy in the car. Her nose was practically pressed to the window, watching the surroundings go by with major interest.
"Are you alright there, darlin'?" I chuckled, and Alice sat back in her seat with her hands on her legs.
"I didn't tell you to stop," I gave her a quick reassuring glance. Alice relaxed, but didn't look out the window. She began to look bored.
"My phone's by your feet, you can go on that if you want. I have a couple games on there," I smiled at her. Alice was hesitant, unsure what to do.
"You look bored," I laughed a little, "Go on, I don't mind."
Alice reached into my bag and got out my phone. She stared at it in awe, as if she'd never seen one before.
"Do you not have a phone?" I asked, and Alice shook her head.
"I'm sure Esme or Carlisle will get you one," I nodded. In fact, I was certain. I knew Esme would spoil her rotten, and for someone as vain as Rosalie, I'd consider it a bad thing. With Alice, it was easy to make an exception. She'd had so little all her life, a lot of things of value had been taken, stolen or damaged. She deserved a loving home and some possession she could be proud of, both of which she'd get from Esme alone.
I heard the familiar theme tune of Angry Birds playing beside me. I hated that music, from being exposed to it excessively. Emmett was hooked on that game, and persistently played it with the sound up. I didn't want to frighten Alice, so I didn't say anything about it. When there was only about half an hour left of the journey, I looked over to find Alice asleep. My phone was on her lap, and her hand clutched at her tiny soft toy. I couldn't help smiling.
She woke the moment I parked the car and smiled excitedly.
"Ready?" I chuckled, and she nodded rapidly. She took her money from Esme and handed it to me.
"Want me to look after it?" I asked. Alice nodded again, smiling as her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.
I'd never seen Alice as happy as she looked around all the clothes with thorough detail, feeling the texture and weight of it before taking it to try on. Every time she tried on something and liked it, she'd ask me my permission. Her sweetness brought a smile to my face.
"You can have whatever you like, darlin'," I smiled, "It's your money."
I paid for Alice's jacket, as well as a pink bobble hat and matching gloves and scarf that she'd picked. As well as not having many clothes she seemed to like, it seemed all her warm clothes had been stolen or destroyed. Winter was approaching, and I remembered how cold she was without her jacket. She was wearing one of Esme's jackets for the day, a better fitting one than mine had been. Esme was reasonably small, but her jacket hung awkwardly on Ashley's miniscule frame.
At the checkout, I replaced some of Alice's money with my own without her noticing. As we walked out the store, it began to rain. Alice squeaked as a cold raindrop ran down her back, and she hunched her shoulders and tried desperately to stay dry. The sky was dark, the air icy and sharp. I took Alice's hand and ran with her into a bookstore, having to slow down a little to accommodate her speed. She panted quickly from the short run, shivering from the cold water dripping from her hair. I knelt down to Alice and helped her replace Esme's jacket with her new, thicker and therefore warmer jacket. She looked adorable in her hat, scarf and gloves. It made her look even younger than her age, but I was just glad she was warmer. She looked at the books half-heartedly, later revealing that she struggled with reading, and hated it. Stumbling over words frustrated her greatly.
Alice picked out her favourite restaurant, one she'd been to with her Mom as a kid. We were sat at a table, but Alice didn't look at the menu. She looked at me in worry.
"What's wrong?" I asked with a frown.
I can't eat a whole pizza on my own.
I checked the menu and found the smallest size they did was a medium. I aborted my plans of a steak.
"We can share," I said, "I'll pay."
Alice shook her head.
I'm paying.
"I won't let you," I laughed, refusing the money she shoved in my hands.
My stepdad said I'm too spoiled.
Alice's eyes were wide as she stared at me, terrified of the mere label. I frowned in confusion. Alice wasn't spoiled at all. In fact, she was the complete opposite. Then again, her stepdad was the reason for her separation from her mother. He sounded like the type to hurl insults and abuse at someone he wanted out of the way. I placed my hand over her as she scrabbled to give me her money.
"You're not spoiled, darlin'. I just want to pay for our meal. I want you to spend your money on clothes and whatever you want," I spoke to her softly; it seemed to be the best way to calm her down. She stared at our hands, and then rested her head on them, letting out a slow sigh.
Her eyes were dull and missing the sparkle they'd had yesterday. I wondered if her mom was okay. I could tell she was distracted. I stroked her hair, and she went and sat on my knee. She cuddled close and clung to me tight. I kissed her cheek and stroked her hair, and then I heard her sniffle.
"Don't cry, darlin'" I whispered, "Everything's going to be alright, I promise."
She looked up at me with red eyes and took a deep breath, and I handed her a napkin. She wiped her eyes and sat back in her seat.
"Are you alright now?" I asked, and Alice nodded.
Thank you.
"Anytime, sweetheart," I smiled at her.
She perked up once our pizza arrived. She carefully used the pizza cutter with a look of excitement in her eyes, cutting herself a small slice. I watched for a moment as she ate neatly and daintily, her mouth tightly closed and taking the tiniest bites known to man.
She ate around a quarter of the pizza before giving up, but I managed to have the rest. I paid for the meal while Alice watched a little nervously.
We walked along the seafront for a few hours to pass the time, and Alice watched the waves for a while. The only reason she stopped was due to a large wave splashing against the rocks and spraying her with sea foam. She let out a little squeak, but then giggled and ran over to me, hugging me tight and getting me covered as well. I couldn't help but laugh at her childish excitement; it relieved me after her minor upset.
I felt my phone ringing in my pocket, and immediately answered Esme's call.
"Alice needs to be back at the home, get there as soon as you can," she said quickly, "Drive safe, sweetheart!"
She hung up abruptly, and I looked over at Alice. She knew instantly what I'd been told, and seemed to shrink into her jacket.
"I'm sorry," I sighed, "I don't want to either."
She took my hand and stared at her feet sadly.
Once we got into the car, Alice drew her knees up to her chest and started writing in her notebook. I didn't want to disturb her, and so I left her to it. The roads were reasonably quite, and I unfortunately meant that Alice was home quicker than we both desired. She ripped a page from her notebook and folded it, giving it to me and getting out the car. I was about to take out her shopping bags, but she darted to my side and shook her head rapidly.
"You want me to keep them safe?" I asked, and Alice nodded. She took off her hat, scarf, gloves and jacket and put them into the car, allowing me to lock it up. Alice took me inside, her hand cold and clammy with nerves. She began to quiver at the sight of one of the careworkers.
"Alice, you missed dinner. You'll have to make yourself something," she looked even stricter than the social worker. Alice nodded and sighed, letting go of my hand.
"It's my fault, I didn't ask when she needed to be back," I broke the woman's hard stare at Alice, that was clearly making her uncomfortable.
"Even so, Alice knows she must be back by seven at the latest. It's almost eight!"
Alice started writing in her notebook, an apology from what I could see, but the notebook was snatched from her.
"Speak, girl! Writing everything down is a waste of time," the woman snapped, "Go to bed."
Alice nodded again, hugging me tight for as long as she dared and then running upstairs.
"She's a strange one," the woman muttered. I looked at her in outrage.
"Haven't you read her file?!" I asked as politely as I could manage.
"Not yet," she replied, "I started here yesterday. I moved from Seattle to here, and I've never come across anyone like her."
"You should read it before treating her like that," I muttered, going back home in disgust.
Thanks for all the support on this fic, it means a lot and encourages me to carry on! This is my last update until after Christmas, so I just wanted to say have a great Christmas and a happy new year! I'll update as soon as I can, I might write more over Christmas day! Thanks again! xx
