Title: When the World is Dark
Chapter Rating: K+
Pairing: Alice/Bella
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.
A/N: I had a snow day today, so I guess that's how I was finally able to finish this. I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed last chapter! They made me happy :)
10:28 a.m.
"Would you like to sign up for the Barer's Sweepstakes?" The girl appeared to have taken note of my dull enthusiasm, because she quickly added, "It's free. You really don't have to. My manager's making me ask all the customers."
"Do you ever get many yes's?" I asked, uninterested, to be honest.
I supposed the moment was perfect to create a conversation with a stranger. There wasn't a reason why, though I felt as though I needed to talk to someone. Anyone. It was a nagging feeling I had whenever I felt depressed or lonely, and sometimes talking actually helped.
"Maybe about once a day," she replied humorously, and, looking at her nametag, I assumed her name was Samantha. "People don't usually take these contests seriously. I don't blame them, but they don't realize that the least entries there are, the greater the chances that you could win."
"What's the prize?" I added, merely to lengthen the discussion.
"No clue." She laughed. "I think it's a five hundred dollar gift card or something. The King here isn't really specific."
"I'm guessing you're talking about your manager?" I pondered, and, much to my surprise, I was growing slightly intrigued. "He can't be such a bad guy."
"You have no idea," she answered, stretching out the word 'no.' "It'll be the greatest day of my life when I can finally quit."
"But you need the job, huh?" I said, sympathetically, and she nodded. "You could always apply at Newtons Sports Good Store. The store close to Forks High School? I used to work there, since a friend owns it. He's... okay."
"Anything beats this crap hole," she muttered.
"Hey. Look on the bright side," I said, suddenly growing very timid with my newly found confidence. "You just got a new customer."
To my relief, she laughed again, apparently finding my horrid attempts to joke around amusing. She was really pretty, I noticed, with or without the laughter. Her eyes were a stunning shade of green, though what probably stood out the most was the shape of her face.
It was… familiar.
"That's true. I'm Sam, by the way, though you probably already knew that." She smiled, pointing a finger toward her nametag, all the while holding out a hand. "I've never seen you around here."
"Everyone usually refers to me as the daughter of Chief Swan," I told her, and shook her hand. "I'm Bella."
"Short for Isabella, right?" she asked. "I've always loved that name. It fits you perfectly, though."
I wasn't completely sure of what it was that struck me as odd, though I knew something had to have caused the sudden discomfort penetrating in the air. Maybe it was the obvious fact that someone was actually flirting with me, and by a girl, of all… genders. It sort of thrilled me and overwhelmed me at the same time.
Thrilling, because I wasn't as clueless as I thought I was.
Or maybe, and this may be the reason that exceeded the borderline of surprise, it was the expression of unease slowly emerging on Sam's face, revealing to me that there was a time limit when it comes to buying something at a store.
"We have to leave now, Bella." Alice glared from behind, her darkening eyes piercing past me in a menacing approach.
To me, having known a family of vampires for a while, she was simply frightening. I could never get used to the way they can threaten, as if ready to attack their prey.
But to anyone who hasn't encountered one, it had to have been terrifying.
As in heart stopping, bone shivering terrifying.
"A friend of yours?" asked Sam after a few seconds of awkward silence, and even when it felt like an incredible amount of time, she appeared as though she hasn't recovered from the ominous glare.
I simply pursed my lips and nodded, refraining from showing any evidence of my discomfort, or even the slightest hint that the word 'friend' didn't do justice.
"Thirteen eighty one," she said, quickly flicking her eyes from the money in my hand to what I assumed was Alice, and then back.
I handed her a twenty and retrieved my disposable camera and picture frame, bagged in some kind of woolen sack.
I decided it was best to leave, and not bother saying goodbye to the stranger I just met, who I just happened to know the name of.
"Hey!" she called out before I could reach the exit, and I had no choice but to turn around. "Was that a yes or a no to the contest?"
I smiled. "I think I'll hold back."
"Suit yourself. I'll just add you to my long rejection list." She shrugged, catching my eye in a sly wink as I was dragged out by an irritated Alice.
10:41 a.m.
I slid into the car seat rather slowly, careful as to not meet Alice's gaze when I placed my bag between my feet. I allowed my hand to linger there for a moment, grasping both the handle and the small events that were nowhere near insignificant, despite what I kept telling myself.
I knew I could never ask her why she reacted that way, though it never stopped me from pondering the situation myself. But there was only one question worthy of receiving the answer I wanted, and the one I didn't have an answer to.
What did the girl do?
I released my grip by the time the car engine roared, mostly because I was frightened by the suddenness of the movement, and tilted myself toward the door in my usual awkward way.
It was really the only thing I could do if I was going to prevent any humiliation, if the car ride to my house was anything like the one to the store.
Who knew I could blush so much when I hadn't even uttered a word?
"Wait," I whispered to myself, even if the sound could've easily reached Alice's ears. I pushed the thought aside and shifted from my position, obtaining a clear view of the window and the Welcome to Port Angeles sign greeting me. "We're leaving Forks."
Of course, the only words leaving my lips had to be the obvious.
"Alice," I uttered in a panic, unable to care about the rule I made to keep my mouth shut. "You said –"
"You have to understand, Bella, that I never agreed to take you back to your house," she said, and rather bitterly, I might add.
If I weren't so preoccupied by the terror I collected from this newly found piece of information, I would've been shedding tears from the anger directed towards me.
But I didn't, and for that, I was eternally grateful.
I was… angry, in fact.
"No, you didn't. But I thought you could at least act like you were my friend, and do this one favor for me!" I shouted, attempting to unbuckle my seatbelt with trembling hands.
Alice's expression remained ambiguous, however, imagination or not, I could've sworn I caught a hint of hesitation in her features… or hurt.
"Let me out. Now," I threatened. "I'll jump if I have to."
"Don't be ridiculous, Bella," she said.
"I'm tired of being the weak human that everyone has to look after. I'm not being ridiculous," I seethed. "It's the truth."
"Are you trying to kill yourself again?" Alice replied. "Is that it? Because I thought you were past that phase."
"Then obviously you don't know me as much as you thought you did," I spat, furiously taking hold of the door handle as an attempt to thrust it open.
The car came to an abrupt halt, violently sending me forward into Alice's arm, which appeared to have flown in front of me before I could hit the glass.
I couldn't tell. I was too busy crying.
"Nothing is going to happen to Charlie, Bella," Alice stated, hands wrapped tightly around my arms, though not tight enough to crush me. "Or any of us."
"Promise?" I whispered.
"Excuse me?"
"You owe me for keeping mine," I pointed out, throat tightening at the mere thought of it, but I was able to put the tears to a halt. "Do you promise?"
Her eyes met my own before I had the chance to look away, and if there was one thing that I learned after my memory loss, it was that not even a plane crashing through the sky could tear me away from her gaze.
It was these moments that made me wish I had Edward's gift.
"I promise," she muttered softly, and in an instant, far sooner than I had wished, she turned back to the road and continued driving.
11:19 a.m.
There was a loud beep sounding across the elevator, and at nearly the exact moment, the doors opened at what I assumed to be the fourth floor. The man standing to my right shuffled through the papers in his hand, cursing repeatedly beneath his breath before he made his way out, and several more came in.
I stared at the doors with curiosity, unable to conjure up a memory in which I used the elevator before. True, there was an infinite amount of times where I was dragged to the mall, which meant there should've been an infinite number of times that I rode on an elevator.
But most people call it the escalator.
I didn't realize I was finally alone with Alice until the last person – a weird woman with huge glasses and a creepy smile – left. I took a step closer to the corner and stared at the numbers blinking above the doors, snapping out of my reverie when the number twelve stayed lit.
No words were spoken as I followed her through the maze of hallways. I already knew this wasn't exactly the cheapest hotel in Port Angeles, but the idea of how expensive never really crossed my mind.
Judging by how the twelfth floor seemed to go on for an eternity, I could bet my own money that Alice spent more than what Charlie makes in a year.
I didn't bother harassing her about it.
I nearly bumped into her when she stopped in front of Room 206, and, without any hesitation, I took a step back to give her some space. It was a habit I made whenever the urge to touch her reappeared, and with the silence between us growing increasingly awkward, allowing my instincts to take over was probably the worst idea anyone could come up with.
She led the way inside and I followed without a second thought, gasping at the first glance of what must have been a president's suite.
I may have been exaggerating over the size, though I wouldn't have settled for anything less than amazing when it came to describing it. According to the paper sprawled across the table near the entrance, it was a one bedroom suite with two bathrooms and practically everything you could never find in my house.
I closed the door behind me and took one last glance at what lay before me.
Alice was nowhere to be seen.
12:07 p.m.
There were three things bothering me at the moment, each of them with a level of frustration greater than the other.
I was hungry, to start off with, and I didn't have a clue how to use room service. The phone even served as a mystery to me.
Secondly, the television was on, and I probably had as much interest in the program as a one year old has with a book without pictures. The annoying laughter coming from it made me think the channel was Nickelodeon, and the thought itself decreased the amount of fascination – if that was even possible.
And the last one was the most obvious, and, unfortunately, nagging me to the point that I was just about to leave the hotel. I wasn't exactly worried about Alice, despite how horrible that sounded. If she was in danger, it would be the person attempting to harm her that would be injured.
And I wasn't even worried about myself, seeing that everything was replaced by the confusion and grief caused by her leaving without telling me.
A few minutes passed with me staring blankly at the television screen, my mind scattered in a variety of places that would most likely never be found again. It wasn't until I was lulled into a light slumber that I heard a crash coming from one of the bathrooms.
Really, what was the point of getting up to check?
A door closed nearby, and I was instantly greeted by Alice's petite form practically appearing out of nowhere. She didn't meet my gaze when she entered, and any sign of where she was disappeared long before I even noticed what was happening.
"I ordered some food for you. I wasn't sure what you wanted, so I got everything on the menu," she said, and my eyes widened at the sound of her voice rather than her explanation.
She sat down on the chair on the other side of the room, attention directed toward the t.v. screen.
And I watched.
I watched with fascination and curiosity and confusion and dread and relief and sorrow and happiness. I watched her, which may sound a bit creepy to anyone who didn't understand my position, but it was anything but abnormal to me.
It reminded me of a time I was in a hotel again, and it was like this because Alice was there with me, but it was different, too, because so was Jasper… and we were running away from something dangerous rather than my best friend.
I never discovered what we were running from, and I couldn't care when I had the memory of my friendship with Alice – more of the beginning of it. I remember some parts to it, like the way she just sat there and watched t.v., or the way she tried to calm me down when I only knew her as Edward's sister, or even when she told me how to become a vampire when Edward wouldn't.
I blocked out the theories as they approached, pushing them aside for another day.
And I began to wonder… hope and think about what to say, anything that could ease the need to know that this could still work out, no matter how broken I was.
Should I have asked her if it could?
Or should I have gone on with where she went?
Before I could dwell upon it even further, however, I whispered, "I was eight when I wanted to be an astronaut."
I didn't know where this came from, or why I even bothered telling Alice. It just felt like something she would want to know about me, and it seemed to work when the volume of the t.v. was lowered.
So I continued.
"I remember because it was career day at school, and there were firemen, policemen, models, office workers and practically any other job that didn't involve flying. It's kind of funny, now that I think about it. I was probably clumsier at eight than I am right now, so it wouldn't have been a pleasant sight if I was in the air rather than on the ground."
I smiled at the mere thought, turning my gaze from the ceiling to the t.v. screen once again, all the while avoiding Alice's eye. It helped when I was about to spill out some of my secrets. But I knew Alice.
She always listened.
"Besides the flying, being an astronaut involved planets and stars, which is what I loved back then. I had this... crazy idea that if I wanted to do something, then there's nothing there to stop me. And since the words were taken from my mom's mouth, I believed them.
"So." I sighed. "I jumped off the roof when she left to buy some bread at the market. I thought I could fly, you know? What a big surprise it was when I landed on some bushes… I broke my arm, of all the body parts. I would've traded both my legs just so I wouldn't have to do anything stupid like that again.
"She came back to see me crying on the ground, and you should know Renee. Just a paper cut would've have made her crazy, so nothing can describe the way she reacted that day. I told her I fell off the kitchen counter when I was trying to get some cereal, and I ran outside to get some help. The doctors actually believed it.
"I didn't want to be an astronaut anymore after that. If anything, it made me afraid of heights," I muttered, sensing an increase of temperature within the room. I was certain I had to have been blushing. "I never told anyone," I said, pausing. "Not until now, anyway."
And I stopped there, knowing there wasn't much left to remember. Nothing was said for the next few minutes, and I used this time to reconsider my decision, despite it being too late to not have said anything.
I stared at nothing in particular, lying on the couch with my front against the cushion, and mentally insulting myself with words I didn't even think I knew.
When I couldn't handle the silence any longer, I tilted my head to look at Alice, who soon met my gaze.
And surprisingly, she smiled. "Am I allowed to laugh?"
1:30 p.m.
She did laugh.
And I laughed with her.
It didn't completely destroy the regret and distress left from the night before, but it helped me forget, and I was willing to take just about anything for the time being.
We spent these moments talking and laughing, sharing information that were only meant for our own ears, and secrets that we were willing to share with the other.
It wasn't like old times, where we would have the sleepovers and shopping trips that I considered to be the heart of our friendship. It was deep and honest, but awkward when the conversations were led in a direction neither of us cared to precede.
These were the directions that made me remember.
Room Service came at the exact time Alice said it would, and I was dumbfounded by both the preciseness of her visions and the colossal amount of food she ordered for me.
It all pretty much ended up on the floor and on the walls rather than in my stomach.
She had the ability to clean it up a hundred times faster than any maid could, though that didn't stop the guilt of knowing my hatred for steak started it.
2:42 p.m.
"Alice?"
"Yeah?"
I paused, briefly pondering over which of two questions to ask first. "You don't have to tell me, really. It's none of my business. I just… where-"
"I didn't leave, Bella. I have to call Edward when I can't rely on my visions," she replied, and I immediately froze when I realized she could still see me. "You have another question."
Of course, she most likely already knew what I was going to ask. It seemed absurd to have to say it out loud when she could simply answer it and save my own humiliation.
I decided to get it over with. "At the store, why did you glare at that girl?" I asked. "You realize you can give any human a heart attack when you do that?"
I caught sight of a slight smirk playing her lips, instantly disappearing before I could make anything out of it, and what came next was the unbearable silence.
"It's… sort of an instinct for vampires to show hostility toward anyone they don't like," was her response. "That was my fault, Bella. I apologize."
And that was the end of this very short discussion.
3:12 p.m.
I had forgotten about the camera I brought until I ended up stepping on it beside the bed. It was in perfect condition when I took it out of the box, though the picture frame wasn't as lucky.
"Your mom gave you a camera for your birthday last year, you know," Alice told me while I attempted to figure out how to turn it on.
"I know. I think I remember that. I couldn't find it when I looked through my pile of scrapbooks," I said. "Besides, it's not like I'm made out of money. Disposable is good enough for me."
"Uh huh," she muttered, watching me struggle with an amused smile. "I'll just have to get you a new one, then."
I snapped my head up. "Don't you dare, Alice."
"I've been good! When was the last time I bought you something?"
"Two hours ago," I muttered without a thought. "If you don't count the money spent for the damages I caused."
"Too late. You're getting a new camera, Bella," Alice confirmed, surprising me when she snatched it out of my hands and pointed it in my direction. "Smile."
I didn't have time to consider her words before I was blinded by a flash.
3:51 p.m.
I was depressed again, and it was one of those circumstances where you actually knew why you would be depressed. I supposed it was my fault, like everything else was, when I went to the bathroom and decided to stay there.
The walls were practically mirrors reflecting the events from hours before, and merely staring at the images of myself brought back the thoughts I've been attempting to hold back, thoughts of the girl on the other side of the door.
I didn't cry, and I was thankful for that. The tears were, instead, replaced as I began contemplating over why the hell I was there in the first place.
There, as in the hotel. With Alice.
I wanted to leave. God, I just wanted to stop thinking. Feeling had to have been the appropriate word, though, when I realized I wasn't accomplishing anything.
Nothing. Nada.
The fire was only getting brighter, and I continued to play with it.
"Are you okay?" asked Alice once I was able to find the courage to leave the bathroom.
I nodded and attempted to smile as a reassuring gesture.
Alice, having noticed my gaze shifting to the object she held in her hand, said, "I was thinking we could watch a movie to pass the next few hours. Edward isn't coming until later on, and we have free cable."
I laughed. "Don't you already know the answer to that?"
"Now I do," she said, smirking. "Romance or horror?"
I eyed her suspiciously. "Aren't there any other choices?"
"Yes. But those are my favorites," she replied, sticking her tongue out.
I groaned inwardly.
What a difficult decision. I hated both genres.
I despised the mere thought of blood. Even fake blood on a television screen was enough to make me shudder. And then romance…
"Horror."
8:01 p.m.
I was wrong.
It wasn't the blood that freaked me out, seeing that there was no blood used in the movies Alice chose, and, judging by the quality, they must've been filmed in the eighties.
They were actually scary. I could only assume horror was at its best around this decade, because not once did the urge to hold onto somebody disappear, and with the only actual somebody being Alice, the definition of horror took on a whole new meaning for me.
"What's this?" I asked, pointing to the white bag Alice handed me.
"Medicine," she replied with a shrug. "I got your prescription from Charlie when you stopped taking them. Why do you think we stopped by the store?"
I stared at her. "Are you stalking me?"
"Maybe a little," she joked.
"Oh. Well… good," I said, taking hold of the bottle between my hands. "Better you than Mike."
She giggled as I began reading the side effects labeled across the sticker, my vision blurring in and out between each word. I remembered taking them after my trip back from the hospital, and threw them out without anyone knowing when I realized that it was the pills that were making me lightheaded.
I didn't even want to know how Alice found out.
Sighing, I took the cap off and dumped a few of the blue tablets in my hand, eyeing them with the utmost desire to just throw them out the window.
I glanced at Alice, only to quickly turn away when I caught her staring, as if expecting me to shove them down my throat already.
I laughed silently at the thought.
Grabbing a mug from the coffee table, I popped one in my mouth and devoured it with water.
Alice POV
10:09 P.M.
She told me she felt dizzy, and by the rate of her slowing heartbeat, I knew she was fighting the urge to sleep.
It was always like Bella to be so stubborn.
I was just glad she was going to take her medicine again. It wasn't much of a difficult task to drag her to bed when it became blatantly obvious that she could hardly keep her eyes open.
It was still fascinating, no matter how many times I've done it, to watch the muscles of Bella's body relax beneath the moonlight spilling from the window, and hear the pacing of her breaths even out. It was peaceful and just… right.
She began muttering in her sleep, which was as common as her falls, though not once had I heard her say my name in her dreams. It was what she said that brought me back to her side.
"Don't go. Please," Bella whispered softly, clenching her hands around the sheets of the bed and turning her entire body over. "Don't leave me. Don't…"
"Shh… It's going to be fine," I said, interlacing my fingers with hers to stop her from hurting herself.
It should have made me happy to think she was dreaming about Edward, even if it was a nightmare, yet I couldn't explain why it pained me instead.
I tried to let go when she appeared to have calmed down, but she tightened her grip on my hand – strong, even for a human – and pulled me closer.
"Don't go," she cried again, and the anguish within these words was evident. "Please. Alice."
I stopped breathing at the sound my name rolling off her tongue, and just a gentle tug was enough to pull me on the bed, slipping beside her trembling frame.
"I'm not leaving you," I promised, bringing our interlocked hands to my lips. "I won't. Never."
She whimpered again, like a child afraid of the dark, though that was all that escaped before she was still again, pulling herself closer to me while holding onto my hand, and resting her head against my shoulder.
I hated it because I enjoyed it.
I loved the feeling of Bella's body against my own, and the warmth radiating from her flesh and the blood pulsing through her veins. I loved how that blood wasn't what caused temptation. I loved how her breath tingled across my neck, and the way she moved closer when I brushed a strand of hair from her face.
I hated myself for loving these things.
And when the vision came to ruin what was both good and bad, I sighed, loosening my protective grip around her hand. If I was about to have company with a sight like this, there wouldn't be much to explain.
"Edward," Bella murmured in her sleep.
What perfect timing.
I only had about two minutes before he was to arrive, so I released my grasp, though not before I was able to catch a final glimpse of the girl sleeping before me.
Edward or not, she said my name first.
And the thought alone made me smile.