EPOV

I stumble out of bed thinking there's an earthquake because the apartment's shaking. Then I hear the pounding at the door. It's heavy and loud and relentless. I should probably be frightened.

I have a gun… somewhere. But I threw that thing into the farthest corner the minute Jasper left the apartment. I'm not a gun kind of guy. That's going to have to change, I guess. I have target practice tomorrow.

"I know you're in there!" a shrill little voice screams from the other side of the door.

What the hell?

"Come on out and face the music, trash man!"

That's not what I was expecting, at all.

I quickly unbolt and unlock the door and throw it open in time for two tiny hands to shove me halfway across the apartment.

"You dirty, double-crossing, good-for-nothing trash man!"

"Excuse me?"

The chick's small and angry and stronger than I would have figured.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm sure she has herself to blame for this mess, but you! You!"

The little whirlwind of a woman pushes me farther backwards each time she screams "you".

"You! You broke her heart! You lost her house! You thought you could change everything by getting Bell in with the mob!"

"Whoa, hey!" I'm up against the kitchen wall. And this chick's a little off base. I flip on the light switch and I gasp. I'm staring into Perky's eyes.

"Listen, uh, Alice?"

The little woman jumps. I think I've guessed right.

"Alice, usually 'hey', or 'hi', or 'nice to meet you' come before any of this other stuff you're yelling," I remind Bella's older sister, while I inch away from her strong little hands. They're clenched into fists just at Mr. Ed's height and it's making me nervous.

"It's not nice to meet you, though," Alice says through pursed lips, bringing her hands to her hips.

"Listen, Alice, first of all, I didn't get, uh, Bell into the mob. I got her out of the mob," I hiss under my breath.

"My sister was not in the mob!"

"Shh!" I warn. I mean, that kind of language shouldn't get thrown around out loud and stuff. "Second of all, I didn't break her heart."

"You did."

"Did I?"

Alice throws up her hands into exasperation. "You don't even know?"

"I guess not," I admit.

Perky's older sister shakes her head sadly and sinks into a seat at the table. There's only one chair, so I lean against the wall, a little relieved that there's some more room between her and Mr. Ed.

"Um, did Per-, um, Bell, tell you where to find me?" I ask.

"She'd never. She doesn't even know I'm here. And you, sir, you're supposed to be in the mob?"

"Shhh!"

"Yeah, like whispering's going to help you out, when I can find your cell number, put a trace on it and end up at your door, all in less than a day?"

I'm flabbergasted.

"Really? How'd you do that? I mean, who the hell are you?"

"You seemed to know my name."

"Well, yeah. You're Alice, right? Perky's big sister. You snuck her in to see the Pixies on their Trompe le Monde tour. But that doesn't explained how you knew how to track me down."

Alice smiles a little, despite herself. "Yeah, I did. She told you that? About The Pixies?"

"Among other things."

"I really like The Pixies."

"I'm not surprised," I half-laugh. Perky's sister's got this short haircut and this turned up nose and she probably weighs less than Jasper's dog. She looks a lot more like a pixie than Frank Black, Kim Deal or Joey Santiago ever did.

Alice's Perky-like eyes flash like she's suddenly remembered that she's angry. "Yeah, well, I'm not here for social reasons. I'm here to tell you that you better fix things with my sister. Two phone calls and I could have you and your friends and family in the fucking slammer, buddy. But Bell loves you, so I'm going to leave you alone as long as you make this right."

I choose to think she's just talking shit about prison. I can't handle any more complications at this moment in time. Instead, I concentrate on Perky. I've become an expert at that over the past couple days. I can't believe that she loves me, and I don't want to believe that I broke her heart. And I do want to believe it, too, all at the same time - because then, maybe there's hope.

"I offered to make it right, Alice," I explain. "Like, a bunch of times. But Perky won't let me handle the shit with the house. She won't even talk to me. What'm I supposed to do?"

"What are you supposed to do? You're in your bed sleeping, buddy! Get off your ass and get over there! You were her trash guy, right? You know where she lives. You want her? Fight for her."

"Who am I fighting?"

"She doesn't open up to people, trash man. But for some reason, she's chosen you. Bell meets you and then she calls me. She hasn't called me in almost five years. But her trash man ruins her life and breaks her heart and she reaches out. Of course it only lasted until she sobered up, but I'll take what I can get."

"Sobered up? Perky doesn't drink, Alice."

Alice shakes her head in bewilderment. "How long have you two known each other?"

"Like a month."

"Like a month, or for a month?"

Seriously, I can't count the number of times my mom's said shit like that. "Whatever, mom," I say sarcastically.

That shocks Alice. She doesn't look much older than Perky, but then I remember that she saw The New York Dolls, live. She must be… as old as my mom. Shit.

"Sorry, uh… Mrs., Um…"

"Alice," she adds icily. "Alice is fine."

"Well, listen, Alice. I tried working things out on my own and I screwed up. A lot. Perky won't talk to me. I'm not messing with her life again, unless she wants me to. She doesn't want my dad involved, and he's the only way I'd have the money for the house. I've got nothing. And I go over and over it in my head. It's all I do."

Alice looks around my apartment while I try to explain things. Her eyes settle on the window ledge next to the bed.

Shit. Skin So Soft.

"All you do?" she asks with raised eyebrows.

"What exactly do you want from me, Alice?"

"Fix my sister's broken heart, trash man. She's waiting for your next move."

"The next season of Mr. Ed?"

Alice gives me a funny look. I've guessed wrong. Once again, I'm lost, and kind of hungry. "Want some Rice Krispies, Alice? Snap, Crackle, Pop?"

Alice ignores my attempt at Krispie humor. "Listen, Bell must have given you a hint about what could make this right for her."

I think back over the last time Perky and I talked as I pour myself a bowl or cereal. That night in her car it was more like the last time I begged and she yelled. Maybe Alice was right. Maybe all I needed to know was in that last argument. I drop my bowl of Krispies in the sink and rush across the apartment to find my laptop. I'm already deep into my research by the time Alice sits next to me on the bed.

"Google is going to make this right?" she asks skeptically.

"Dude, Google makes everything right. You know anything about rock climbing, Alice?"


A/N: Next update... late tonight. xxx, M