Her head was pounding before she even opened her eyes, and she groaned.
Her face was pressed hard against something, and she was absolutely freezing. Even in Africa, at nights the temperatures plummeted.
Opening her eyes, she peeled her face from a wooden table, sitting upright and screwing up her eyes as the early morning sun began to rise over the high rise buildings.
She was back in Jo'Berg. She had driven there the day before, and spent the remainder of her day at a bar.
Alice presumed she was sitting out in it's beer garden, alone, having passed out drunk.
However, nothing looked familiar as her eyes searched around. The small garden was filled with small wooden tables - one of which Alice had fallen asleep on - with large wicker chairs surrounding them. Beer bottles lay scattered everywhere.
She suddenly remembered why it was she had drunk herself into oblivion. And so, she reached forwards, opened up one of the un-opened bottles on the table, and took a large swig, instantly feeling sick, but not stopping.
-x-
She was holding on to the table for support as the ground spun.
She glanced at her watch, it's hands merging together and she started to laugh at herself.
A man from inside the bar saw her, and he leant back in his stool looking out towards the beer garden.
'It's half 12!' The man called, laughing, seeing her struggle to read her watch.
Half 12 in the afternoon, and she was already absolutely plastered.
-x-
She was sure she was on a bus. Either that or South Africa had implemented moving seats on wheels on pavements.
-x-
She was being sick by the sick of a road, somewhere.
-x-
Dancing with someone as night fell, in a different bar, much, much later.
-x-
Someone was kissing her, and Alice was kissing them back.
She was sure he had said his name was Danny.
Alice pretended it was the one she loved.
-x-
More music, and dancing. Where had Danny gone?
-x-
Laughing as someone danced close to her. They asked her what she had done to her cheek. She told them her old boss had hit her, and laughed.
-x-
Doing shots with a large group of women.
-x-
Trying to tell someone her name, but was so drunk, she couldn't even speak.
-x-
Oh...god.
Oh god my head.
Oh god, I feel so sick.
The thoughts chased themselves around in her mind, certainly not helping her feel much better.
This time, when she woke, she had absolutely no idea where she was. She could only remember the tiniest details of where she had been and what she had done since about 12 o'clock in the afternoon the day before.
She opened her eyes, dreading what she was waking up to.
She lay curled around a metal pole, the cool metal pressed against her sore cheek - which had significantly calmed the swelling. Her hair was tangled around her neck and arms, her fringe sticky and wet looking.
The morning sun was again just beginning to rise, she could see the red glow between yet more high rise buildings. Sitting herself up, she noticed she had her back to two, large industrial looking bins. She had a beer bottle next to her head.
What the hell.
She stood up quickly, suddenly worried that she was somewhere she shouldn't be. Behind the bins, was a stone wall with a small wooden gate, and behind that - another beer garden. Alice exhaled loudly.
Dusting herself down and checking her pockets, she realised she still had her car keys in her pocket, but her handbag was no-where to be found.
Cursing under her breath as her head pounded, she moved towards the small wooden gate that lead in towards the beer garden, presuming that it was where she had come from. Being still early morning, the garden was still littered with empty beer bottles and glasses.
Alice wandered through the mess slowly, searching for any sign of her handbag - that contained all of her money. She couldn't remember ever having it during the night - which worried her. She couldn't even remember if she had had it the day before, when she had woken up in the other bar.
She headed towards the end of the garden, where there was a small entrance to, obviously, another bar.
Alice caught sight of herself in the window.
Jesus Alice, you look like a tramp, a small voice told her. She was wearing exactly what she had been wearing the day she had left Leopards Den. She was in desperate need of a shower, and she looked absolutely terrible - tired, slightly gaunt. Apparently 2 days of straight drinking could do that to you.
She gasped in fright when someone suddenly opened the door, instantly regretting it as her head pounded painfully.
It was a young man, in his early twenties, and he almost dropped the empty crate he was carrying when he saw her.
'Woah.' he said, taking in Alice's appearance. She blushed. She saw his eyes search over her dusty looking jeans and shirt, and her fading bruise under one of her eyes. '...Are you alright?' he asked.
'...Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks.' Alice added, not sure what to do or say as she stood awkwardly.
'Are you sure? You were pretty out of it last night. I wasn't sure where you went.'
Alice blushed furiously. 'I'm really sorry, I remember very little about yesterday.' She told him, and laughed awkwardly. 'Have we met?' She walked forwards slightly as he smiled and began to place empty bottles into the crate.
The young man laughed, running a hand through his short, but messy brown hair casually, and sat the crate on a table. 'I'm Max. I work here. Actually, not to blow my own trumpet or anything, but I run this place. Which is why I have all the rubbish jobs the next morning.' He laughed, gesturing to the numerous bottles he had in his hands, before placing them in the crate.
'Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't do anything...stupid did I?' She asked, again blushing.
Max shook his head and smiled reassuringly. 'No, you were fine. Although, like I said, you were pretty drunk. You didn't arrive here till the early hours of the morning with a couple of women, you told me you had been clubbing.'
Alice swallowed loudly. She had no recollection of ever being in a club. But then again, she did remember dancing...
'Oh. Alright.'
'You don't remember it do you?' Max asked.
'Nope.' Alice sighed, and Max laughed. 'You don't happen to know where my handbag is do you?' Alice asked, not expecting good news.
'Oh, I do actually.' he told her, and Alice's mouth literally fell open in surprise. 'I'm sure you had told me you left it in your car in Jo'Berg. One of your lady friends told me that people had been buying you drinks all night, I don't think you actually had any money on you.'
Alice opened her mouth to reply, but stopped when she realised what Max had just said.
'Wait. What do you mean I left it in my car in Jo'Berg?' Alice took a deep breath, 'Where the hell am I just now?'
Max looked baffled. 'You're in Cape Town.'
Cape Town?
Alice felt herself go light headed and she held onto the back of the chair in front of her.
'Cape Town?' She asked, gasping. 'What the bloody hell am I doing in Cape Town?...I didn't drive here did I? My car is still in Jo'Berg then, right?'
Max looked completely bewildered at her questions. 'Em...yeah I'm pretty sure you told me you had got a bus.'
She suddenly remembered swaying around on a terribly long bus journey, completely and utterly drunk.
'Oh my God! What's the matter with me?' She cried. 'What in the hell made me think coming all the way to Cape Town would be a good idea?'
Max shrugged, but Alice was really only talking to herself now.
'Oh my God I'm such an idiot!' She hissed, holding her head in her hands.
'Listen...' Max started, the bottles clinking together in the crate as he picked it up, 'My wife Rosie and I are supposed to be heading out that way today to see family, I know it's a bit out there, but if you want we could give you a lift? I mean, we could at least get you to the city. Rosie wouldn't mind at all, she's great, she would completely understand.'
Something clicked slowly in Alice's mind, and she stayed quiet for some time.
Max, his name was? Max and Rosie? Rosie Trevanion's husband had been called Max. And they lived in Cape Town. And he ran a bar...Surely not.
'...Em, it's Alice isn't it?' Max asked her,obviously remembering her name from the night before. Alice nodded slowly.
'I never meant to scare you with my offer of a lift or anything - I'm not crazy or a-'
'No, it's not that.' Alice interrupted, holding her hand up apologetically. 'You said your wife's name is Rosie?'
Surely not...her mind told her. It's too much of a coincidence...
'...And,' Alice swallowed, 'your wife isn't by any chance, at University training to become a vet?'
She could tell instantly by Max's facial expression, that she was indeed.
-x-
Reuniting with Rosie had been fun.
Her jaw had almost hit the floor when she appeared at the bar with a small suitcase packed, ready to head off to see her family.
Rosie, Max and Alice now all sat in Max's Jeep, speeding along the motorway.
Aware that she probably didn't smell particularly nice, seeing as she had slept curled around a pole outside next to some bins, Alice sat pressed up against the door with her head almost hanging out of the window - the air soothing her aching headache.
Alice couldn't believe how coincidental it had been both times she had met Rosie. And the first time she had met her husband, she had woken up drunk like a homeless person outside his bar - how embarrassing. Out of all the bars she could have ended up in in Cape Town...
She apologised frantically to both Max and Rosie for the first 15 minutes of the journey, for showing up out of the blue, for looking and smelling the way she did, for scavenging a lift off them, and for burdening them with her presence.
The pair of them, however, were both too nice to say anything horrible. Instead, they had chatted away happily to her. Alice listened to the pair of them talking between themselves, Rosie tucked against Max's body as he drove. He had his arm wrapped over her shoulders happily too. They looked so in love, and a tiny niggling of jealously was twisting Al
'Anyway Alice,' Rosie started, and Alice instantly felt dread squeeze her stomach - she knew exactly what Rosie was going to ask her - 'how come you're not at Leopard's Den anymore? Dad called me just the other day and said you were going to be with them for a while, that you had quit your job up North?'
Alice sighed, deciding to tell her the story from the beginning - or most of it.
'Yeah, it was just after the animal auction, when we arrived back at the game park, I had a slight argument with my boss,' she cringed, 'and so I left. Ended up on the phone to your dad, ended up staying...Well, that's it really.'
'...So, if you don't mind me asking...how come we found you in Cape Town this morning, at Max's bar?' Rosie asked, sounding slightly embarrassed for asking what she saw as a rude question.
Alice sighed.
'I left!' She laughed. If she didn't laugh, she would cry.
'So...were you not happy there? Or...?'
'...I realised something.' Alice told Rosie after a moment. 'Realised that some things wouldn't work they way I had wanted them to.'
Rosie was looking at her sadly, sensing her pain, but not understanding why.
-x-
Alice was now leaning against the door, her eyes closed, pretending to be asleep to avoid having to talk any more about herself. Rosie and Max had been talking quietly for a while, discussing things from the weather to how excited Rosie was to be going home for a while.
After a minute of quiet, the Jeep's rumbling engine the only noise, Rosie's mobile phone started ringing.
'It's Leopards Den!' Alice heard Rosie tell Max excitedly. 'Hello?' She answered.
'Oh, hey Dup!'
Alice could hear Dup's deep muffled voice from the mobile, but couldn't hear what it was that he was saying.
'Yeah, we're on our way,' Rosie said, replying to Dup, 'But oh my god, Dup, you are never going to believe who we found in Cape Town.' She said quietly, and Alice could almost feel her eyes travel across her 'sleeping' body.
When Rosie told Dup, Alice could just imagine his reaction.
'Yeah! Max said she was in the bar all last night...we think she was out elsewhere as well. When did she leave?'
Dup's low montone grumbled in reply.
'Dup...I'm worried about her.' Rosie practically whispered.
Alice kept her eyes screwed shut, still facing away from both Rosie and Max. Her cheek bumped against the now closed window every so often.
'I mean this in the nicest way possible, but...she looks pretty terrible. Gaunt...sort of skinny. And really tired. She admitted to Max, too, that she couldn't remember anything about her night out - I mean she didn't even realise she was in Cape Town, she still thought she was in Jo'Berg! Something must be upsetting her...I mean-' Rosie fell silent, as Dup obviously interrupted her.
Alice could almost feel her ears straining to hear what he was saying, but it was impossible.
'An argument? Between her and Dad? ...But I always thought they got on so well!' Rosie exclaimed.
Their conversation continued, as Alice bit her lip.
'Well, when he sobers up, you can tell him we are going to bring her straight to Leopards Den. She's sleeping and we are approaching Jo'Berg now, so we're not going to wake her up and drop her off. I'm worried about what state she'll get herself in again. And obviously, her and Dad need to resolve something. When they are both sober.'
Alice eyes were wide open, staring out of the window, but she kept her body as still as she could, as not to give herself away. She didn't want to go to Leopards Den. Nope, she really didn't. Not to where Danny was.
To where Vanessa and Danny were.
She suddenly realised that Danny obviously hadn't been dealing with her departure any better than she had - they way Dup and Rosie were talking, it sounded like he was drunk.
'Right, Dup. I'll see you soon. Can't wait to see you.' Rosie added, before Alice heard the phone being flung onto the dashboard gently.
-x-
Pretending to wake just minutes later, Alice stretched and turned towards Rosie and Max slowly, faking a yawn.
As she peeled open her eyes, she saw them exchange a shifty glance - they really had been hoping she wouldn't have woken up.
'Where are we?' Alice asked as sleepily as she could.
Neither of them replied immediately, and Rosie bit her lip.
'Just...coming up to Jo'Berg.' She said quietly.
'Oh, perfect.' Alice said, and she dusted herself down, trying to make it look like she was ready to depart.
'But...Alice, we-'
'Hope my Jeep is where I left it!' Alice laughed.
Rosie fell silent, looking at Max.
'...Where about did you leave it?' Max asked, trying to shift the slightly awkward atmosphere that was steadily growing.
'Outside the first bar I went to, I think. 'Loft', it was called.'
'...I know the place.' Max nodded, and rubbed Rosie's shoulder gently with his free hand.
'Aww good. Thanks you two. Really, it was lovely of you to give me a lift, I appreciate it.'
They both just smiled, the strain showing on their faces.
-x-
Alice jumped out of Max's car and felt a wave of relief wash over her as she spotted her Jeep parked outside the closed bar.
She sighed and started to walk towards it, hearing Rosie and Max jump out behind her.
'Alice,' Rosie started, calling to her as she followed Alice to her Jeep, 'look, we want to take you with us to Leopards Den.'
Alice shook her head, and just kept walking.
'Alice? Alice! Please, I don't know what happened between you and my Dad, but I think you both need to speak to each other. If not for your sake, for my Dad's. Dup said he hasn't been sober since you left.'
Alice spotted her missing handbag sitting on the seat of her locked Jeep, and she turned back to face Rosie.
'Alice...please.'
She laughed slightly and shook her head.
'No, Rosie, I'm sorry.'
Rosie's face fell, and they were both quiet for a moment. Max stood by his Jeep, kicking the type mindlessly.
'Well...will we see each other again? Will you come by?'
Alice shrugged. 'I'm sorry Rosie, I don't know. I've made a decision that I need to stick to, for more than just my benefit. I'm sorry, I know it doesn't make much sense, but...'
'Did he make a pass at you?' Rosie suddenly blurted out, sounding upset.
Alice was startled. 'What? Who?'
'My Dad. Did he make a pass at you? Is that why you left? I knew he liked you, I wondered if he would.'
Alice frowned, frustrated.
She couldn't really take in what Rosie had just said. She thought that Alice had left, because Danny had tried to kiss her? Rosie had thought that would upset her? And she said 'She knew he liked her?'
'...Wh- I...What?' Alice asked, resting her hand on her Jeep's door handle.
Rosie blushed. 'I...I thought he maybe tried to kiss you.'
'Rosie, he is in a relationship with Vanessa.' Alice told her, the confusion evident in her voice.
Rosie looked as though Alice had just run her over with a truck.
'WHAT?'
-x-
A/N; Okay...I think I'm losing my story a bit here, dragging it out a bit too long? If you guys are confused I'm really sorry, quality of writing has just dropped wayyyyyy low as well haha. sorry guys. Only one or two chapters left. If I can bring myself to write them!
Sorry! L x