"Get in the car Alice!"
"No!"
"Get in the fucking car!"
"No...no he's in there!"
Alice stumbled backwards trying to get away from her Mother.
"Leave me alone! Please leave me alone!"
"Fuck sake, get in the bloody car!"
"C'mon Alice."
He, Craig, was speaking now. Winking at her from the back seat.
"Come and join me." He patted the seat beside him. "You know you want to baby."
"See! See what he's like Mom?"
"He's being friendly Alice, get in the fucking car before I make you!"
"C'mon Alice...Alice...Alice...Alice?"
"Leave her sleeping." Edward muttered glancing in the rear-view mirror seeing Jasper trying to wake Alice up. "I'll drop you guys off at school and drive her home." He decided.
"She'll be mad." Jasper said shaking Alice's shoulder again. "C'mon Alice, wake up." He whispered. "She'll want to make the decision." He spoke to Edward again.
"She'll be pissed you woke her up." Emmett laughed glancing back to the three of them in the back seat.
They usually took two cars, but Rosalie's was low on gas, they'd all squeezed into Edward's Volvo.
Emmett and Edward got in the front seats where as Jasper and Rosalie were in the back with Alice squished between them.
Rosalie tried to push Alice up, wanting her to lean on Jasper and not her, she was getting too hot in the car.
"Mmm." Alice mumbled, finally coming to. "What?" she groaned rubbing her eyes, trying to rid herself of her awful dream.
"You fell asleep." Edward stated the obvious watching her for a second before looking back to the road. "Want me to take you home?"
She thought about it for a moment but then nodded. "Please." She whispered, she suddenly didn't feel up to going to school, she wanted to be home on the sofa, cuddled up with a duvet, feeling sorry for herself.
"I'll take her." Jasper piped up. "Right Alice?" He said.
"Let Alice pick." Emmett insisted, Jasper was always deciding things for Alice.
"I want..." Alice looked at them all before she stared down at her knees. "I want Rosalie to take me home." She mumbled and could actually feel Jasper slump beside her. "Sorry."
The rest of the ride was silent, it all felt rather awkward.
Finally they arrived at school and everyone got out.
"See you tonight then." Jasper said leaning in to give Alice a hug but she flinched back.
"Bye." She whispered getting into the passenger side quickly, shutting the door behind her.
Rosalie couldn't help but laugh seeing the look on her brother's face. "Chill out, I'll talk to her." She squeezed his shoulder. "See you later." She smiled getting in the car.
She started it and pulled out onto the main road, staying quiet for a few minutes before she finally spoke.
"What's up with you and Jasper?"
"It's complicated." Alice sighed pulling her feet up onto the seat, wrapping her arms around them. "He just...got all mad at me for the James thing right?" She said, watching Rosalie nodding. "Which I totally get...I was being stupid, but then he goes off with that Maria girl!" she frowned rubbing her hands over her face. "But now he's like...I don't know trying to get back with me." She shook her head.
"And...you don't want to be back with him?" She wondered glancing down at her for a second.
Alice shrugged picking at a loose thread on her shirt. "I do...I mean I love being his girlfriend." She smiled a little. "And before this morning I'd do anything to be with him."
"What happened this morning? Well...you know, other than...the thing." Rosalie sighed, still not understanding why that man thought he could try and do that with Alice.
"That's just it...it's that...thing." Alice shook her head. "I didn't feel comfortable with Jasper trying to kiss and hug me this morning." She admitted. "It's not just him...Carlisle tried to hug me and I didn't want him to." She sighed rubbing her hands against her face again. "With you and Esme though...it's fine." She said. "It's just the men."
Rosalie glanced back at her and shrugged. "I guess...after this morning you're just uncomfortable around guys?" she said. "I don't know, I'm not a psychologist." She laughed a little. "I'm sure it'll go away."
Alice nodded watching Rosalie as she spoke. "Hopefully it will." She mumbled. "I do like Jasper." She said then blushed.
Rosalie laughed pulling up at their house. "I know you do." She looked down at her as she stopped the car. "And he likes you to...he's just a bit slow when it comes to all this relationship stuff." She said. "Now go, I need to get back to school."
Alice smiled to her before she got out of the car. "Thanks." She said. "See you later." She waved then went into the house.
She could hear Carlisle on the phone in the kitchen and found Esme sat in the lounge.
"Hi." She said sheepishly, worried she'd be shouted at for coming back home. "I eh...feel asleep in the car." She admitted sitting beside her. "Had a bad dream." She told her. "And I wanted to come home...don't be mad?"
"I'm not mad." Esme promised putting her arm around Alice, pulling her to her side. "I didn't want you to go in today anyway." She admitted. "What was your dream about?"
"Him." Alice muttered letting her eyes close. "He was there...and my Mom was trying to get me in the car with him...she doesn't see how bad he is." She frowned then looked up at her. "Am I just being silly?" she asked. "I mean...he didn't actually do anything did he? He just...tried."
"Alice no." Esme said firmly, looking down at her. "That's not the point. You're not being silly at all, he tried Alice, he hurt you...he scared you." She shook her head. "We're sorting it don't worry. Carlisle is on to the services right now, there is no way you're going back to that woman." She insisted. "She doesn't deserve the right to call herself your Mother."
"Right." Carlisle said putting the phone back in the holder when he came into the lounge. "I've told the social worker what happened." He said sitting himself beside his wife, not at all shocked to see Alice there; he thought she'd come home at some point. "They're going to look into it...going to speak to Mary and this man." He explained putting his arm around Esme's shoulder. "They said Alice can stay with us if she's comfortable to do so."
"I want to stay." Alice insisted leaning closer to Esme. "I want to be here, please...I don't want to go back to them."
Alice spent the rest of the day in her room watching dvds on the television she'd dragged in from Edward's room, she couldn't bring herself to do much else.
The rest of the Cullen children arrived home around four thirty and Jasper went straight up to Alice's room.
"Edward's going to be pissed you took his tv." He laughed a little, going to sit on the edge of her bed. "Can I talk to you?"
"You already are." Alice pointed out, sitting herself up straight.
He watched her then smiled to himself. "I want to talk about us...me and you." He said leaning across to take her hand but she pulled it back. "I like you Ali...I really really do. I can't stop thinking about you." He admitted moving a little closer to her. "I want to forget the whole James thing...and Maria...I just want you Alice."
She stared down at her hands for a long while, just listening to him.
When he stopped speaking she peeked up at him. "I want to forget it too." She admitted, cautiously reaching across to take hold of his hand. "I really like you...you make me happy." She said, trying hard not to flinch when he pressed his lips to her cheek. "So so happy." She said. "I'm sorry I've been...childish lately...so difficult."
"No no Ali." Jasper shuffled up the bed to sit beside her, pulling the duvet over himself too. "I totally understand...so much has happened." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, glad to see she didn't pull away, in fact she cuddled up against his side. "But I promise Ali...from now on I'm not going to let anything else pull me away from you, I'm going to be here, I'm going to protect you from everything yeah?" he nodded. "You need to let me in babe, stop shutting me out, I'm here for you. I love you."
She froze at his words.
Did he just say he loved her?
She looked up at him and saw how serious he looked.
That usually scared her away, but now she had to smile. "I love you too." She nodded, eagerly meeting his lips when he leant down to kiss her.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him closer, shuffling down in the bed so she was on her back, lying down.
He lifted his leg and moved so he was over her, trying hard not to break their lips; he wanted to kiss her, he wanted to keep this going.
He heard her little moan as his hips pressed against hers. "Alice." He whispered, pressing his lips gently to the nape of her neck. "My Alice."
She nodded stroking her fingers slowly through his hair. "Your Alice." She agreed, she wanted to be his.
He smiled hearing her little voice squeak back to him. "I love you." He said again using one of his hands to unbutton her shirt, he kept it slow so she could stop him at anytime, but she didn't.
He managed to get her shirt and pants off and she didn't complain about it, she looked like she was enjoying it.
As she lay there in her underwear her thoughts started to wander to the events of the morning and she started to panic. "No...No." she shook her head shoving her hands against Jasper's chest. "Get off! Get off me!" she shouted. "Get off!"
Hearing Alice's shouts Carlisle rushed up to her room and opened the door. "Jasper!" he exclaimed seeing him lay atop her.
Jasper jumped up and looked at his Father. "I wasn't...I wasn't forcing her into anything!" he practically yelled. "Did you think I was?"
Carlisle looked at his son then over to Alice, lying on the bed in her underwear. "No, no of course not." He knew his son wasn't like that.
"I'm sorry." Alice piped up. "I wanted it...I just..." she trailed off and started down at her knees. "I'm sorry." She repeated.
Carlisle rubbed his hands over his face and sighed quietly. "You're both much too young to be doing things like this." He started quietly, watching Alice pull the duvet around herself. "You don't need to be doing this." He said, rather lost for words, he'd given 'the talk' to his three boys a few years ago, leaving Esme to speak to Rosalie...he never thought he'd have to bring it up again. "Just please...think before you do anything." He nodded.
Before leaving he asked Alice if she was alright, she just nodded.
"Jasper." Alice whispered when Carlisle closed the door. "I'm so sorry."
Jasper sat himself down near her on the bed and smiled a little. "It's fine." He said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "It's too soon for that...I'm the one that should be sorry; I shouldn't have pushed you into anything." He said.
She shuffled to his side and lay her head against his arm. "We'll take it slow...yeah?" she glanced down and blushed seeing the rather obvious bulge in his jeans. She felt guilty for getting him so worked up like that.
"They were going to have sex." Carlisle muttered as he slumped onto the sofa beside his wife. "Alice and Jasper...but she panicked." He shook his head looking at his wife. "I had the talk with Jasper...he promised me he wouldn't do anything until his was married." He frowned.
Esme leant against Carlisle's side and rubbed her hand soothingly against his thigh. "Jasper's a teenage boy. I know he wants to do the right thing, I know he wants to wait until marriage...but he's a teenage boy!" she repeated. "You were his age once, you know how hard it is to do the right thing...especially when you're with someone you're certain you love." She went on. "We weren't married for our first time." She reminded him. "As long as they're being safe...then it wouldn't be the end of the world if they did."
He nodded watching her hand stroke over his leg. "You're right." He said quietly. "Where does the time go?" he shook his head. "Wasn't it only yesterday that we were teaching them to ride bikes?" He laughed a little. "How did they get so old?"
Esme squeezed her husband's leg before she wound her arms around his neck. "I know my love, I still see them all as our babies, even Alice." She said. "But we have to accept that they're growing up, there is still things for us to look forwards to." She smiled a little. "Their weddings...you get to give Rose away to whoever she marries...then there are grandchildren." She was rather excited about that, Esme loved being a Mother and she was sure she'd love being a Grandmother even more!
Carlisle chuckled hearing his wife's excitement. "I'm too young to be a granddad." He decided. "Stop wishing our life away love." He chuckled pressing his lips to the top of her head.
"Too young? Is that a gray hair I see?" Esme teased stroking her fingers through his hair.
"Never!" Carlisle exclaimed before chuckling. "You keep me young love." He said leaning in for a kiss but the phone stopped him. "Well." He sighed reaching for it. "Hello?"
"Right...I see..."
Esme watched Carlisle as he spoke to whoever was on the phone, it seemed important.
"Will the police need to speak to Alice?...yes...yes...right...right okay."
"Police?" Esme whispered but Carlisle shook his head and held one finger up.
"Right...We'll see you soon then...okay, thank you bye." He hung up then looked at his wife.
"Mary's dead." He whispered.
Dun dun dunnnnn!
Sorry...dramatic yeah but I was bored!