If you recognize it, then I probably don't own it

Chapter 17: Visitor

Unnaturally still and white, with her large black eyes intent on my face, my visitor waited perfectly still in the center of the hall.

My knees trembled for a second, and I nearly fell when she hurled herself at me.

"Alice!" I cried, as she slammed into me.

She must have forgotten how hard she was; it was like having a wall slam into me.

"Miri?" She asked, relief and confusion mingling in her voice.

Automatically I locked my arms around her. When I released her, she dragged me to the living room couch.

"You're…" She exhaled, her eyes large, "Everything's okay!"

"What are you doing here? Is Jasper…?" I slid my finger across my neck.

Alice sighed, disapprovingly, "I'd forgotten how high strung you are."

I'm not high strung!

Alice's neck was tight, straining away from me, her lips pressed firmly together. Her eyes were pitch black.

"I can go roll in some dirt? Or put on some dirty laundry?" I puffed. I knew I smelled appetizing. She was thirsty. With Jake it had been so easy to forget about that thing. "Sorry."

"It's my own fault. It's been too long since I hunted. I shouldn't let myself get so thirsty. But I was in a hurry today." She glared at me, "Speaking of which would you like to explain to me how you're alive?"

Then I burst into tears. How could I tell her that Jake had saved me from Victoria? How could I tell her that Victoria was after me? How could I tell her I jumped because I wanted to confirm I loved Jake, not her brother? Could I tell her that I heard Edward's voice in my head, occasionally?

"You saw me?" I swallowed, wiping my face dry.

"Yes." She agreed, her eyes narrowing, "I saw you jump."

I pursed my lips, Jake had just asked me to be his girlfriend… how could I tell her that I wasn't committing suey? How could I tell her that I jumped because I was…trying to prove to myself that I loved Jake, that I trusted him? I pushed some hair behind my ear.

Alice shook her head. "I told him this would happen, but he didn't believe me. 'Miri, promised.'" Her imitation of him was perfect, "'Don't be looking for her future either,'" She continued to quote, "'We've done enough damage.'

"But just because I'm not looking, doesn't mean I don't see," she went on. "I wasn't keeping tabs on you, I swear, Miri. It's just that I'm so attuned to you… when I saw you jumping, I didn't think, I just got on the plane. I knew I would be too late, but I couldn't do nothing. I thought made, I would be the one to turn you. But I got here thinking maybe I could help Charlie and Pricilla somehow, and you drive up." She shook her head this time in confusion. Her voice strained. "I saw you go into the water and I waited and waited and waited for you to come up, but you didn't. What happened? And how could you do that to your parents? Did you stop and think about them? Or my brother? Do have any idea what Edward—"

I cut her off then, I wasn't going to be scolded like a baby for being hunted by Victoria.

"Alice, I'm not suicidal."

She eyed me dubiously, "You can't lie to me and tell me you didn't jump off the cliff. I saw you, and I saw the pills."

"I jumped for…funsies. It was… recreational." I bit my lip. "And the pills… I've been anxious. They're helping me manage my anxiety. I didn't like them at first, but I feel a lot better when I take them."

Her expression hardened.

"I'd seen a couple of Jake's friend's cliff diving." I insisted. "It looked like fun. And it was stupid, and I'm not doing it again."

She waited.

"I didn't think about the storm and how it would affect the currents. Actually, I was kinda focused on the fall, not the water."

Alice didn't buy it. I could see that she still thought I'd been trying to suey myself, after all I had SSRI's, it was evidence that had confirmed her speculative fears, and nothing I could say would help.

"So if you saw me go in… why didn't you see Jake?"

She cocked her head to the side, distracted.

I continued, pushing hair behind my other ear. "It's true that I probably would have di-died if Jake-Jacob hadn't jumped in after me." I felt my like I couldn't breathe, as soon as I said that. "But he did, he pulled me out, and got me to shore. But I don't think I was under water for a long time, before he grabbed me. How come you didn't see that?"

She frowned in perplexity. "Some pulled you out?"

"Yes, Jacob saved me."

I watched as a range of emotions flitted across her face. Something was bothering her—was it her visions? Then she leaned in and sniffed me.

I froze, was she hungry?

"Don't be ridiculous," She muttered to herself.

"I can leave if you're hungry."

She ignored me. "Who was with you out there just now? It sounded like you were arguing?"

"Jacob Black. He's my boyfriend." I thought of his angry betrayed face, and wondered if he still was, "At least he was."

Alice nodded, seemingly preoccupied.

"Why are you here, Alice?"

"I don't know." She said, sounding far away. "I'm not sure what it means."

"I'm not dead, that's good."

She rolled her eyes, "He was a fool to think you could survive alone. I've never seen anyone attract life-threatening idiocy."

"Thank you."

She was thinking of something else. "So if the currents were too strong for you, how did Jacob manage?"

"He's strong."

She heard my voice flat line, and knew I wasn't telling her the truth. Her eyebrows rose, inviting me to say more.

But my loyalty was to Jake. Not her. No matter how close we were last year, she left too, she hadn't even sent me a letter.

"But that doesn't explain the smell."

"What smell?" I asked.

She wrinkled her nose. "You smell awful, like a wet dog. But that doesn't explain why I didn't see?" She frowned her forehead creasing.

"Wet dog?"

She brushed me off. "Don't worry, you also smell like you do usually," she took a deep inhale, "The cucumber melon and the honeysuckle. But the dog smell. It's terrible. It's all over you. I can barely focus on anything else."

Did she not know? Jake told me it was Carlisle that Ephraim made the treaty with. Maybe she didn't know. But how could she not? They never went to La Push. She had to be aware of it in some way.

"It's kind of funny," She continued. "I remember when we first moved here, Edward told me weren't allowed to hunt in La Push because of wolves. Which is ridiculous, because we can over power any wolf…except…" Her eyes widened, and she turned on me with a horror filled expression.

I nodded.

"Miriam Eve Swan! How long have you been cavorting with a werewolf!" She took a deep inhale. "A whole pack of them!"

Oh shit.

I stayed silent, and reached for the blanket to hide in. When she saw where my hand was going she pulled the blanket away.

"How long." She glowered.

"A couple of weeks. He's only been one for a couple of weeks." Where the fuck did my spine go?

"A young werewolf? Even worse! Edward was right—you're a magnet for danger. Weren't you supposed to be staying out of trouble!"

"I am staying out of trouble! There's nothing wrong with my boyfriend!" I crossed my arms. There was my spine.

"Until he loses his temper." She shook her head sharply from side to side. "Leave it to you, Miri. Anyone else would be better off when the vampires left town. But you have to start dating the first monster you can find."

I didn't want to argue with Alice, but she was wrong. She Jake wasn't a monster, the others weren't monsters, either. How could she be…so vile about them.

"No, Alice, the vampires didn't leave. That's the problem. If it weren't for my werewolf boyfriend and the rest of the pack. It wasn't the current that I needed saving from it was Victoria. She was in the water." I wiped the tears off my face again. "And Laurent was here too, so I would have been dead before the jump. And they saved me, while you and everyone else were—"

"Victoria?" She hissed, "Laurent?"

I nodded, I couldn't help notice the alarm in her eyes. "Yeah, so much for protecting me by leaving. Danger magnet and all."

She shook her head again, "Tell me everything—start at the beginning."

I glossed over the beginning, the motorcycles, and the voices. She wouldn't understand. Instead I started with the movie, then the middle with the meadow and seeing Laurent, and the wolves' chase. I told her about today's mistake. Alice didn't like my thin explanation—funsies for jumping. I jumped because Jake had told me it would be fun, and jumping was me trusting him, whether it was big like the Victoria thing or small like letting chose the song we listen to on the radio. I skimmed over my blossoming relationship with Jake. When I edged at it, her eyes narrowed. And when I mentioned that in the water I had seen the vivid red thing, her eyes narrowed further. It was strange to see her so dangerous—like a vampire. I swallowed hard and went on with the rest about Harry.

She listened to my story without interrupting, with her mouth. Only with her facial expressions told me her thoughts. Occasionally, she would shake her head and make a stink face, or her forehead would crease and deepen until it looked like it would stay. I told her about Harry's passing, and how my parent's would be home soon. And wondered aloud if they would be okay.

"Our leaving didn't do you any good at all, did it?" Alice asked,

I snorted, "It's not like you left for my benefit. Besides, the pack's got it covered."

Alice scowled at the floor for a moment. "Well… I guess I acted impulsively today. I probably shouldn't have intruded."

"No you shouldn't have. But I'm glad to see you. I've missed you." I told my friend. "If you were human, we would be gossiping in a sleep over now."

Her eyes opened wider. "Could I…I'm not going anywhere tonight. Can I stay here?"

I nodded.

With that she felt comfortable enough to comment on my looks. "You look like hell, Miri. Have you even deep conditioned once since I left."

"I jumped off a cliff, today." I reminded her.

"It's deeper than that. You're different from last year."

"What do you mean?"

"I told him." She muttered to himself.

"What the fuck, Alice. What did you think you were going to find here anyway? I mean, besides me dead. But did you honestly think I would being dancing and singing and happy-go-lucky-grease-lightning? I know I didn't help in the beginning by the emails. But stopped sending them, I stopped writing them. You know me better than that."

"I do. But I hoped."

"Then I guess I don't have a monopoly on the idiocy market."

The phone rang.

"I have to get that." I said, jumping to my feet.

"Dad?" I answered the phone.

"No, it's me." Jacob said.

"Jake, thank god!"

Alice scrutinized my expression.

"Just making you sure you're alive." He said sourly. "Sam said to stay away, but I can be there in a few."

"No, I'm fine. I'm sorry—"

"Yeah, I know. Bye."

He hung up. On me. That's gonna be a problem.

Alice squeezed my hand. "They're not excited I'm here?"

"Not one bit."

Alice put her arm around me. "So what do we do now?" She mused, to herself for a moment. "Things to do. Loose ends to tie."

"What things?"

Her face was suddenly careful. "I don't know, for sure. But I have to see Carlisle."

I nodded. "So you're not staying here, then?"

"I have a house, Miri." She told me.

I nodded. She hesitated, considering her stance on being here. She'd asked before, if she could stay. Like the prospect of being a girly-girl, regular teen was too delicious for her to leave.

"Well," She sighed, "I need to get a suitcase of clothes, at the very least."

I nodded. My wolf would not be happy.

"And I think I'll need to hunt immediately," she added. "Can you stay out of trouble for an hour?" Then before I could answer, she held up one finger and closed her eyes. Her face went smooth and blank for a few seconds.

And then her eyes opened and she answered for me. "Yes, you'll be fine. For tonight anyway." She grimaced.

"I'll be back in one hour. Please deep condition." She told me.

I glanced at the clock over the kitchen table. When I turned around she was gone.

I had plenty to do before she came back. My dad had left me a message telling me they dropped Little Mikey at a friend's where he would spend the night. A shower was, definitely, first. I don't know about wet dog, but brine and seawater clung to me.

I did deep condition like Alice requested, but not because of her. Because I was already supposed to deep condition today anyway. I took my contacts out, and replaced them with my glasses, they would be my chosen eyewear for the next couple of days. I didn't see any signs that my parents had eaten recently, and they would be hungry when they got back.

I made a quick spaghetti and meatballs and placed that in the fridge. I didn't make any sauce, instead I placed the jar stuff on my own bowl. While that heated up in the microwave, I made the couch up with blankets and a pillow. She wouldn't need it, but my parent's needed to see it.

I ate without tasting, my mind still going back to water. I drank a half gallon of water by the time I was finished. I tried to distract myself by watching TV.

But Alice was already there, sitting on her improved bed. Her eyes like liquid butterscotch. She smiled and patted the pillow. "Thanks."

"You're back early." I said.

I sat down next to her and she leaned her head on my shoulder. Then wrapped her cold arms around me and sighed.

"Miri. What are we going to do with you?"

"Roll me in bread crumbs and bake me at 350?"

"I'm serious!"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I've been doing my best."

"I believe you." She said unfurling herself from me.

It was silent. The question I wanted to ask hung in the air like a knife over us.

"Does—does Edward know you're here?"

"No." She said softly.

There was only one way that could be true. "He's not with Carlisle or Esme?"

"He checks in every few months."

"Oh." I bit my lip, how could he leave them too? "You said you flew here…Where did you fly in from?"

"I was in Denali. Visiting Tanya's family."

"Is Jasper with you?"

She shook her head. "He didn't approve of my interfering. We promised…" she trailed off, and then her tone changed. "Are you sure Charlie won't mind my being here?" she asked, sounding worried.

"Charlie will be happy for the distraction. And so will Prissy."

"Well, we're about to find out."

A few seconds later I heard the cruiser pull into the driveway. I jumped up and hurried to open the door.

Charlie and Prissy trudged slowly up the walk, his eyes were on the ground and his shoulders slumped. Prissy held him up, but let go when I walked forward to meet him. I don't even think he saw me until I hugged him. They both embraced me fiercely.

"I'm sorry about Harry, Dad."

"I'm really going to miss him." My Dad said.

"How is Sue hanging on?"

"She seemed dazed, like, she hasn't grasped it yet. Sam's staying with her…" Prissy said softly, letting me go.

"Those poor kids. Leah is only a year old than you, and Seth is only fourteen…" He shook his head. He kept his arms tight around me as dragged himself to through the door.

"Dad?" I figured he might notice Alice. "You'll never guess who's here."

He looked at me blankly. His and Prissy's heads swiveled around, and they spied the Mercedes across the street, the porch light reflecting off the glossy black paint. Before they could react, Alice was in the doorway.

"Hi," She said in a subdued voice. "I'm sorry I came at a terrible time."

"Alice Cullen?" my dad blinked, "Alice is that you?"

"Yes." She chirped, "I was in the area."

"Is Carlisle?" Prissy asked without saying much.

"No just me."

But Alice and I knew that's not who she was really asking about. My dad tightened his grip on my shoulders.

"Can she stay here?" I asked my parents. "I already set the couch up for her."

"Of course," My dad said mechanically. "We'd love to have you here."

"Thank you Charlie, Prissy. I know it's such horrid timing."

"No, it's fine. Really." Prissy insisted. "We're going to be busy doing what we can for Harry's family; it'll be nice for Miri to have some company."

"There's dinner for you two. It's in the fridge." I told them, as Prissy helped my dad into the house.

"Thanks, Peachy." He said softly as he and Prissy disappeared into the kitchen.

Alice went back to the couch, I followed her. But this time she pulled my head onto her shoulder.

"You look tired."

"Yeah." I muttered. "Almost dying does that to me. Anyway, what does Carlisle think of you being here?"

"He doesn't know. He and Esme were on a hunting trip. I'll hear from him in a few days."

"You won't tell Emo Eddie, though… when he checks in again?" I asked.

"No, he'd bite my head off." She said grimly.

"On to brighter things!" I steered, "Tell me if I'd look good blonde?"

…

We talked for a while. I wanted to talk to her for hours. I'd spent an entire day sleeping with Jake, but I guess almost being drowned takes a lot of energy out. And the longer I stayed awake, the more I felt like I was fighting my eyes to stay open.

I woke up early the next day, in my own bed. As I left my room, I could hear Alice and my dad in the kitchen. It sounded like my dad was cooking.

"How bad was it, Charlie?" Alice asked, softly. At first I thought they were talking about the Clearwaters.

My dad sighed. "Real bad in the beginning."

"Tell me about it. I want to know exactly what happened when we left."

There was a pause while a cupboard door was closed and a dial on the stove clicked. I waited at the bottom step, to hear the horrible truths that my dad would spew, or worse.

"Before… I never worried as much. After she got here… I don't think I could even worry more. Now Mikey is another story, but, with Miriam. She's a lot like her namesake."

"What do you mean by that?" Alice asked. Yeah, what did he mean by that?

"My mother, and her, have too much in common. A mouth that could make a sailor blush, for one, and she's so freaking stubborn. You can't make her do anything she doesn't want to." My dad began slowly, "After my father passed, I never felt so helpless. I wanted to do whatever I could to help my mother, but she refused. Absolutely shut me down. My daughter is the same. Gun to her head and she'd tell you to fuck off. She still hasn't told me what she was doing in the goddamn woods that day. That first week, she seemed okay. Like she was getting used to the situation. I thought she was doing okay, but then she went to a checkup with Dr. Gerandy, and he kept throwing words like 'catatonic', but I didn't let him see her. I was afraid it would check her out."

"She snapped out of it, though." Alice asked. I sunk to the

"I had to call her mother to take her back to California. I just didn't want to be the one… if someone had to take her to a hospital, better her mother. But when Prissy and I started to pack her clothes, she…" I waited, listening to what my dad had said. I was never catatonic. Sure, I didn't talk to anyone but Lizzie, but Lizzie has been my best friend since kindergarten. But if they thought I was suffering, why wouldn't they believe me when I told them I was fine. "She woke up with a vengeance." My dad said.

"I'm sure you heard about the tantrum she threw to get here?" My dad asked. I heard Alice hmm. "She's never been one to throw a tantrum, she's more the silent treatment kind. But she flew into a fury. She threw clothes everywhere and screamed that we couldn't get rid of her. I thought, I thought that would be the turning point. I was kind of happy, you know, when she insisted on staying here. But she was just the same…"

My dad trailed off. It was hard listening to this, knowing how much shit I put him—them through.

"But?" Alice prompted, hopeful.

"She went back to school and work, she did what she had to do. She'd have casual conversations, but not really say anything. But, it was like she was missing something. There were little things, she constantly had her head phones in, and was texting, or on the phone with a couple of people. She didn't read as much.

"Pricilla and I talked a lot, about… we were so worried about saying something to make her run. And she never volunteered anything. If I caught her smiling at her phone or something, and I asked about it. She wouldn't answer. Not that she was an open book, before. She only spent time with Jacob Black, but…

"Alice, I hope you don't think less of me… but I didn't fight for her hard enough. When she was younger, I thought it was better for her, to stay in California, with her mother and her living grandparents. To have the world move around her, while she was able to stay still. For all the problems she has, I think...I think a big part of it, was she didn't have me until, not really, until last year."

That's not true.

"That's not true, Charlie," Alice said, softly.

"She was alone, all the time, Alice. She didn't call her friends back, and after a while they stopped calling. I'm just glad she had Jake, you know. That and she didn't have nightmares, I don't know what I would if this shit invaded her while she slept."

Oops.

"I'm so sorry, Charlie." Alice said.

"It's not your fault." –Cough Edward cough— "You were always a good friend to her."

"She seems better though."

"Yeah, it's Jacob Black. Once she started seeing him in person, it's been like—she's been happy again." He paused, "He's a year younger than her, and I know she thinks of him only as a friend, but I think there's maybe something more now, or at least headed in that direction, anyway." My dad sighed, belligerently. I was a warning for Edward, not Alice. "Jake's old for his years, he's taken care of his dad physically the way Peach had to take care of her mother emotionally. It matured him too soon. He's a good-looking kid, too—takes after his mother. He's good for her, you know." My dad insisted.

He was right, it was headed in the romantic direction. Unfortunately, I blew up the road with some TNT. So who knows where that road ended now?

"Then it's good she has him" Alice agreed.

My dad sighed, "I guess I'm overstating things Alice, she wasn't bad—she just wasn't present. Like she was occupied elsewhere. But, I don't think she knows, how much pain she's been in. It's almost like someone died, not left." His voice cracked.

I felt the lava of guilt and shame burn my throat and stomach. I was fine. I was fine. I was okay, I was gonna break up with him, too. Fire pricked my eyes, and if I blinked fire would touch my cheeks. Did he think, I was the one who died. Because I just kept to myself. Because I mourned a relationship? Because I didn't feel like talking? Because I didn't want to gossip about Lauren or Angela and Ben? Pressure built in my nose, and I felt the fire burning my eyes reach a higher temperature. I almost died, and I couldn't tell anyone about it. I almost died twice, and I couldn't say anything because… because I promised a family I wouldn't, because I promised them a long future to match their long past.

My dad went on in hopeless tone, "She's too fucking stubborn for her own good, you know. Never met another person so goddamn willing to cut their nose off to spite their face. She used to have scar on her palm because Renée's mother told her not to touch a hot stove, and what does she do? She maintains eye contact and slams her entire hand on the white-hot stove. Doesn't even cry when they have to take her to the burn ward in the hospital. That was a fun bill."

Oh, yeah. I did do that. It wasn't my fault though, my Grams told me not to touch—okay that makes it sound like it was my fault. It wasn't, I was like four. Okay like six.

"She's really one of a kind." Alice agreed in a dry voice. "I can see her doing that now."

"And Alice…" My dad hesitated, "Now you know how much I like you, and I can tell she's happy to see you, but… I'm worried what's going to happen when you leave."

"So am I, Charlie. I wouldn't have come if I had any idea. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, honey. Who knows? Maybe… she'll be the Peach she was before."

"I hope you're right."

There was a long pause while forks scrapped plates and my dad chewed, I wondered if Alice actually are or if she shoved food in her cheeks like a chipmunk. Anything to keep from crying.

"Alice I have something to ask you." My dad asked.

"Sure."

"He's not coming back to visit, too, is he?" I was surprised to hear the anger in his voice.

Alice answered in a soft, reassuring tone. "He doesn't even know I'm here. The last time I spoke to him, he was studying abroad in South America."

South America? With all the sun? And people? Clearly he lost his mind too.

"That's something at least." My dad snorted, "I hope he's having a terrible time."

"He probably is." Alice said, her words edged with a bit of steel.

A char scooted from the table, scraping loudly across the floor. I pictured my dad getting up, there was no way Alice would make that kind of noise. The faucet ran, splashing against a dish.

It didn't sound like they were going to say more, so I stood up quickly, so my knees would crack.

All was quiet in the kitchen.

"Alice?" I asked innocently, the rasping in my throat added nicely to the just woke up charade.

"In the kitchen, Miri." Alice called, no hint in her voice that she suspected I had been eavesdropping. But she was good at hiding that.

My dad had to leave then—he was helping Sue Clearwater with the funeral arrangements. Prissy would be meeting them later, after she picked up Little Mikey from his sleepover. It would be a very long day without Alice, or Jacob. She didn't speak about leaving and I didn't ask her.

Instead we talked about her family—all but the emo in the room.

…

Carlisle was working nights in Ithaca and teaching part time at Cornell. Esme was restoring a seventeenth century house, a historical monument, while maintaining the integrity of the original structure. Emmett and Rosalie had gone to Europe for a while on another honeymoon, but they were back now. Jasper was at Cornell too, this time studying a philosophy. Alice had been doing some personal research, since I discovered bits of her human life. She'd successfully tracked down the asylum where she'd spent the last years of her human life. The life she couldn't remember.

"My name was Mary Alice Brandon." She told me quietly, "I had a little sister named Cynthia. Her daughter—my niece—is still alive in Biloxi."

"Did you find out why they put you in there?" I asked.

She shook head, her topaz eyes thoughtful, "I couldn't find much about them. I went through all the newspapers on the microfiche. My family wasn't mentioned often; they weren't part of the social circle that made the papers. My parent's engagement was there, and Cynthia's." The name fell off her tongue with uncertainty. "My birth was announced…and my death. I found my grave. I also flinched my admissions sheet from the old asylum archives. The date on the admission and the date on my tombstone are the same."

I gave her a hug, it had to have been hard to find so much and so little, and still have a majority of what made her…what she was today blank.

Alice moved on to a lighter topic.

The Cullens were reassembled again, with the one exception, spending Cornell's spring break in Denali with Tanya and her family. I listened to the trivial news. It was enough to listen to the stories of the family I'd once belonged to.

Prissy left around 9 to get Little Mikey and dropped him off. Alice and I had fun playing make over and older teen sister with him. I think he had a fun time too, though he didn't like it when I tried to do his eyeliner and I had to make dino nuggets to get him let me glue lashes on him.

Prissy and my dad didn't return till after dark and they both looked worn out, way more than the night before. They would be headed back to the reservation first thing in the morning for Harry's funeral, so he turned in early. Alice stayed in my room this night.

…

My dad looked like a stranger in the black suit I'd never seen before. He got up before the sun, and Alice got me up so I could hug him and Prissy before they left. Prissy didn't look like herself either, it was weird seeing her the same dejected as my dad.

As soon as the door was closed Alice came out of my room.

"So what are we doing today?" She asked.

"Chores, unless there's something exciting happening? Do you see anything exciting happening?"

She smiled and shook her head, "No, but it's early.

All the time I'd spent spending in La Push meant a pile of things I'd been neglecting here, like chores. Besides I wanted to do something—anything to make life easier for my dad. Maybe a cleaner house would make him feel better? Even if it was just for a minute.

I started with his bathroom.

While I worked, Alice leaned against the door jam and asked nonchalant questions about my well, our high school friend and what they'd been up to. Her face stayed casual and emotionless, but I sensed her disapproval when she realized that not much had happened. Or maybe I was just being a guilty little eavesdropper. Who knows? It's probably the first thing.

Mikey stopped by while I was scrubbing the bathroom and wanted me to play Madden with him, and I offered to bleach his hair instead, which Alice agreed to help. But then he asked her if she would make him lunch and if it was okay if he could watch tv in our parents room. So we agreed and he was munching on some hopefully edible concoction watching cartoons while sitting on our parent's bed. Which was good because it meant that Alice couldn't dig into the past.

I was scrubbing the floors, elbow deep in Tilex when the doorbell rang.

I looked at Alice, and her expression was perplexed. Which is weird, because nothing ever surprises Alice.

"Hold on!" I shouted at the door, getting up to rinse my arms off in the sink.

"Miri," Alice said with a trace of frustration in her voice. "I have a fairly good idea guess who that might be, and I think I'd better step out."

"Who is it?" Little Mikey asked, looking up from the TV. "Who is it?"

"Guess?" I echoed, "Since when do you guess?"

"Who is it?" Little Mikey asked again, jumping off the bed. "Is it someone who's gonna let you put that stuff in my hair?"

I held a soaped up hand out. "Mikey I don't know. The grownups are talking."

"Because Charlie and Pricilla are gonna be mad if you do that. And you're not a grownup!" He walked over to me, as I washed my hands. "Who is it!" He demanded, as I slopped soap up my arms.

"If this is a repeat of my egregious lapse in foresight yesterday, then it's likely Jacob Black or one of his…friends."

"What does that mean?" Mikey asked, looking from Alice to me. "What does Alice mean?"

I stared at her, while scrubbing soap and Tilex off my arms, putting it together. "You can't see…" I pantomimed howling at the moon as best I could. I wasn't about to share my boyfriend's secret with my brother.

But thankfully, she got the memo and grimaced, "So it would seem," She was obviously annoyed by this fact—very annoyed.

The doorbell rang again—two quick impatient chirps.

"You don't have to go anywhere, Alice."

She laughed her silvery little laugh, with a dark edge. "Trust me—it wouldn't be a good idea to have me and Jacob Black in a room together."

"Why did you date?" Mikey asked.

She smirked at him before she vanished out of my parent's room, and probably out of my window.

The doorbell rang again.

…

I know some reviewers have said no Alice, but the thing is if I don't include her, then I end the series. And I don't want to do that. I want to write more! And now it's getting interesting in the story. Long time readers know, I read the chapter I'm writing and then I make it my own, but I didn't have access to the book for almost 3 months. I just got it back, and am writing. Unfortunately, I am back in school (and if you're thinking still it's been like 10 years, I'm no longer in undergrad! I'm in grad school and if you're thinking ew, why. Me too) and this time school needs a lot more attention, I'll try to update a couple more times before the semester ends, but no guarantees, I'm sorry. But I want to hear you're thoughts? How do we feel about Miri and Jake, Miri and Edward, so should I say fuck that and introduce someone new? What do we want to happen in Italy? I'm pretty partial to an impossible choice! What about you? Let me know! Any essential works reading this, thank you for your hard work.