A/N: No idea yet. This is the second time I've posted this, making adjustments here and there. I'm feeling summer romance story, may possibly be taken into Season 4. This is set early summer, Season 3. Like always, if you find it agreeable Follow/Favourite/Review, but most importantly my dears, enjoy! Cheers. Xx
Hawkins: HELL
She had messed up this time—really fucked up. Alice Henley fucked up so badly, her family decided to relocate to an entirely different state. And if that wasn't enough, Mr. Henley, who by nature was an abusive husband and father, hadn't let the ordeal go unpunished from the moment they set out the door. The second they had piled into the car the shouting ensued, the insults. Honestly Alice didn't know how her mother could sit next to him for the twelve hours from Escanaba to Hawkins; he was a fucking vespid. "You're an ungrateful little whore—that is what you are—a Goddamn whore."
Seventeen-year-old Alice laid her head against the window pane and looked out at the passing sign: Welcome to Hawkins-scratched out-HELL. Her chest began burning as her heart jumped up into her throat, eyes stinging with hot tears. Wrapping her arms around herself, the only thing she could think to do was apologize, yet again. "Dad...I'm sorry...I didn't mean for any of this to happen."
Alice found herself jolted upright as the car screeched to the side of the road, mere feet from the Hawkins sign. No...no not again. "Mom, please don't let him do this... MOM," Panic blazed through the girl, tears freely flowing as she continued to beg for her mother to intervene as her father stepped out of the vehicle. "Mom...mom, mom please... please!" The rear driver's side door was flung open bringing with it the hot summer air; an angry fist thrust in yanking Alice from the car by the collar of her shirt, the other undoing the thick leather belt around his waist.
"You're sorry, are you? For which part? The part where you destroyed our family's reputation? Or maybe it was when you decided to disobey my orders when I told you to stay home...no? Oh, no. No, no, no, little Alice knows best," his grip which was now on his daughter's forearm tightened as he pulled her towards him—he could see her pleading tearful expression in the reflection of the car door windows.
"Dad please, I'm so sorry...please don't. Please...dad." Alice's begging was interrupted when she screamed in pain as the leather made contact with her backside. Crack! The next blow landed directly on her exposed thighs, unprotected by her denim shorts.
Pulling back his arm and giving her lick after lick just wasn't enough for Brenden Henley. He was determined to crush her into obedience, so help him God. "You just had to travel down that rabbit hole, didn't you?" Crack! "You want to act like a vile little bitch?" Crack! "Maybe next time you'll think twice before parading yourself around looking like a fucking rent girl." Another snap against her backside caused the released sound he was finally after: devastating defeat. A wounded animal. He had broken her. "Now, you're sorry. Get back in the fucking car, and fix your face. We will be there soon."
Her body was shaking. Alice used the end of her shirt to wipe her salty, tear-stained face before very gingerly sliding into the backseat. Her rear-end might have been stinging fiercely, but that wasn't the rub. She glanced over at her mother, who quickly averted her gaze out the window. Alice scoffed and laid down across the back row of seats.
"I'm sorry, did you say something?"
Closing her eyes, willing it all to be a dream, Alice cleared her throat, "No sir."
Forest Hill Trailer Park sat before the Henleys like a bad omen. The decrepit motorhomes and trailers were headstones, marking where the lost and impoverished came to die. Alice might as well conform to the notion that her life and all it had been made up to be at that point was indeed over.
"There it is," Mr. Henley parked the car next to the doublewide. Before anyone exited the vehicle, he laid down the itinerary for the following day. "Everything should be inside ready to unpack. Alice, that is your job tomorrow—I want it done, do you understand me?"
"Yes sir."
"Your mother has an interview in the morning at the post office and then she's off to run errands. I start my new job at the station, so it's up to you to unpack. We should both be back home around five. I don't expect it done all in one day but your siblings' room needs attention before they arrive. Your grandparents will be dropping them off on Monday."
Alice's maternal grandparents had taken her three younger siblings off her parents' hands, when the whole reason they were now all sitting in this Godforsaken cesspit occurred. It was decided they would stay with Nanny and Pops until Alice's shame was put to rest and left behind in Michigan; keeping the youngest members of the Henley household at arm's length and untainted by their sister—the whore.
Alice took a deep breath and sighed, "Roger that."
"Alright," Brenden turned to his wife, Rebecca and gently patted her hand. "Let's get inside."
The trailer smelt of must and mildew that filled their nostrils. Mr. Henley flicked a switch and the pale lighting illuminated their new home. It wasn't half as bad as Alice was expecting; Mrs. Henley sighed in disapproval. "It's not the Ritz, is it?"
"I was thinking of the Four Seasons." Her daughter chirped back.
Brenden laid a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "I wouldn't be making light of this situation. It's because of you we all have to find a way in this hell hole. Now give your mother a kiss and start unpacking your things."
Alice pecked her mother on the cheek, whispered an 'I love you' and made her way down the darkened hall.
"It's the first room to the left." Her mother called after her.
Alice pushed the door open; hearing boxes tumble to the floor in a dull thud. "Got it, thanks." She hit the light.
It was a beige room that smelled worse than the rest of the trailer, it's only saving grace was its window. Alice stepped over the boxes, and threw it open. The coolness of evening began to roll in and sounds of crickets were in a way, a lullaby. This was it. This was home now. "Might as well get stuck into it."
Bending over to lift the boxes up from the floor Alice sucked in a sharp, quick gasp. Her ass was so sore. Maybe she should take off the rough denim and slip into one of her oversized shirts? Yeah, that's what she'd do. A quick glance about the room and she found a box labeled ALICE INTIMATES. Chucking it up onto her bed, she reminded herself to locate her bedding and sheets after she changed. Opening the lid and grabbing the first night shirt on the top, Alice threw the tee she'd been wearing off and slipped into the old, nearly sheer garment. Now comes the fun part.
She was unbuttoning the shorts and slowly pulling them down away from her body. Then slipped them past her shoes and kicked them under the bed. Alice bit her lip in bitter anticipation. Tilting her head, she made an attempt to assess the situation that was her causing her so much discomfort. "Fuck." Her ass was a patch of red blistery skin, swirled and spotted with blueish purple bruises. Only time was going to heal that one. The back of her thighs were a bright pink—no visible damage would be seen tomorrow in that area, anyway. "I fucking hate you," she whispered to the air around her. "I fucking hate you." One would have assumed she was thinking of her father when she said those words. She wasn't.
"I hate you so much. You ruined everything. You always ruin everything." Alice reached down to her left shoe and pulled out a small pocket knife. She opened it carefully with shaking hands. Her eyes never strayed from the wall in front of her. The wallpaper stains. The putrid color. She attempted to focus on anything other than what she was about to do.
A single tear pooled in her left eye, stinging before falling down her cheek. Simultaneously, Alice could feel the crimson blood running down the front of her leg. No one could hurt her, but her. She thought. Finally when the deed was done, she looked down at the knife before wiping the blade clean above the cut. Alice folded the blade and placed it under her mattress. As quickly as the cutting started, it had ended. She could run to the bathroom, clean up, and then get to making her bed. She could forget.
The rest of that evening was uneventful, nothing being unpacked by her parents. They simply sat on the sofa which had arrived well before they had with the rest of the family's things, watching the television, happy for Alice to be in her room making no noise and playing to their whims that she didn't exist.
After finding the bedding, putting away some of her belongings, Alice crawled up onto the mattress. Tossing and turning to locate a position she could sleep in that didn't cause her immense pain. Eventually she just drifted to sleep. Drifted into a sleep filled with memories of what had happened...things that were still happening. She could almost feel the weight of his body on hers, ripping away at her clothing… reliving the nightmares. It wasn't restful to say the least.
Morning came more quickly than Alice had hoped. Nonetheless she pulled herself from where she was laying and fumbled into the bathroom to brush her teeth and piss—in that order. It took a few minutes to locate her toothbrush, because God forbid when her parents unpacked theirs, they could place hers in the holder on the edge of the sink. Passive aggressive bullshit.
Once her routine in the bathroom was complete, she flushed the toilet. Dressing for the day she opted for a loose and light long sleeve shirt and a matching pair of sweats to minimize the pain she was still enduring from yesterday's beating. After that she got to work on her chores, deciding to skip breakfast. There wasn't any food in the fridge yet anyway.
Cleaning out her siblings' room, Alice did her best to accommodate the space to fit a snobby fifteen-year-old and ten-year-old twin girls. Lord fucking knew she'd never hear the end of it: getting her own room while her teenage sister had to share one. Maybe that's why her parents set it up that way—so even her sisters were her enemies. Not a friend in the world. She came across a box of their clothes and opened it. Nothing had been organized or clean for that matter.
"Why the hell does someone pack dirty clothes?" Then Alice remembered their shit was simply thrown into boxes and sent on its way. With her siblings not being in Escanaba at the time, and the decision to uproot everything on a whim...it made sense. That was fine. She'd hook up the washing machine and do some loads of laundry.
Alice flung the wooden sliding door to the laundry open, saw the washing machine was already hooked up, and started a load. While she waited for it to finish, all attention was directed toward the kitchen. It desperately needed some cleaning up. So, rolling up her sleeves she dug right into it. Cleaning out the sink, dusting cupboards, putting coffee mugs and plates away. From the kitchen she went to the linen closet and started placing all the linens in their proper places: the way her mother liked. When that had finished, she hung out the washing and started another load. Time seemed to be passing by quickly; every so often she glanced at the clock and another thirty minutes had elapsed. Things were actually going smoothly for a change. All she got done that day without drama pretty much guaranteed an easy night. "Cool. Everyone should be in a good mood when they get home."
CLUCK-CLANK.
GHOOSH.
What's that saying? Don't count your chickens before they hatch?
"Shit. Shit—shit, shit, shit." Alice ran to the washing machine and groaned. The draining pipe busted away from the back she reckoned. How that happened however, was a mystery. The drum inside was clunking back and forth; out of balance. Water began pooling in every direction and the panic set in. There was no way to fix this, there just wasn't enough time. "I'm dead. He's going to kill me this time."
Mrs. Henley was home before Mr. Henley with the fantastic news she had been offered the job at the post office. Alice muttered a congrats as she helped unload the needed groceries from the trunk of the car. "Where's dad?" The inquiry held a tone of cold fear.
"At work. Someone offered to give him a lift home so I could use the car today to run the errands. Why, what's up?"
Alice ran up the steps and opened the door for her mother. "It's about the washing machine..."
Rebecca looked at the floor from the kitchen leading into the hallway. "Alice, what did you do? That machine doesn't work. We were told that before we moved in. That's part of the reason I went out today, to buy a new one. Oh my God Alice—the mess."
"In my defense I was not told it didn't work and the girls needed some of their clothes cleaned...I was able to get a load done before this happened."
Her mother growled in furious tears; she was well aware of what this was going to cause. "The carpet is sodden; I don't know how to fix this."
"I tried mopping some of it up with towels but—"
"So, all of my towels are dirty now?"
Giving a bit of a scoff Alice threw her arms in the air, "Not all of them? I'm sorry, I just can't do anything right."
"Well, you're certainly making it seem that way," Her mother's voice trailed off as she walked briskly towards her room, disappearing only to reappear in a moment with a box fan. "We will just have to wait for it to dry out. Oh Alice...sometimes I just don't understand why you do the things you do."
Raising her brows and folding her arms around herself, the teen felt her chest catch fire. It burned. God did it fucking burn. The pain of being a disappointment. The pain of feeling utterly and wholly unloved.
She made a fist and brought it down on top of the cut on her thigh. The little stinging pain was enough to abate the encroaching darkness. No one could hurt her but her.
Both women shared a worrisome glance as they heard a vehicle pull into their driveway.
"Thanks again Chief," Officer Henley stepped out of the Blazer and slammed the door shut. Leaning down into the open window he gave a smile. "See you tomorrow, bright and early."
Jim Hopper nodded in his direction and then turned his attention to the opened front door. Rebecca gave a small wave which Hopper returned by lifting two fingers from the steering wheel. "Looks like you're needed. I won't keep you."
Brenden looked over his shoulder at his wife and remembered her interview that morning. "I appreciate it, take care."
"You too."
Henley patted the hood of the Blazer and gave a short wave, watching as Hawkins Chief of Police pulled out of the drive and made his way to the front of the trailer park, before disappearing down the road. Turning towards his home, he gave his wife a kiss and stepped inside. "So, how'd it go?"
"Fine. Just—fine. They offered me the part time position I had applied for. It's flexible. I can schedule days around your shift work." Rebecca smiled softly, briefly eyeing Alice before asking her husband how his day went. He replied with something like, different environment, same bullshit. "That's good honey...Um..." Clearing her throat she nodded towards Alice. "Alice had a bit of an accident today."
"Accident? What accident?" Kicking off his boots, hanging up his gun and hat, her dad pointed at the fridge. That was his daughter's que to get him a beer as he slumped into his arm chair.
Alice didn't waste time. She promptly reached into the fridge and pulled out a can from the case her mother had just bought and took it to her father. He snatched it from her hand, cracked it open, and took a swig finishing nearly half in one go. "So? What happened?"
Chewing her nails, she sucked in a plunging gulp of air. Might as well get it over with. "I didn't know the washing machine wasn't supposed to be used. I accidentally flooded the kitchen and the hallway—I cleaned it up though. Mostly. Mom got the box fan up and running and I finished mopping up the kitchen."
"Was it bad?" He was addressing Rebecca now.
"No. It could have been worse."
Here it was...any second now she was going to get it. Alice braced herself.
Nothing.
What the fuck?
"She can just take the rest of the washing to the laundromat tomorrow. You ordered the new machine—should be here next week sometime. I'll get the old one cleared out between now and then." Standing up he finished his beer in one more swig and crushed the can. "I say we all go out for Mexican tonight—a treat. Let's celebrate you're getting a job honey."
Alice could not believe what she was hearing. The day before she was pulled out of a car in broad daylight and beaten for apologizing. Now she accidently floods the house and no one bats an eye-lid? Super-duper. "If it's okay with you guys, I'm gonna stay back. I'm not in the mood for Mexican and my stomach is acting a bit funny."
Before she knew what happened, Alice had a beer can thrown at her face and her father's own livid mug closing in behind it. "Jesus, dad all I said was I wasn't in the mood for Mexican fo—" Alice found herself cut off as she flinched at her father's approach.
"Don't you take that fucking tone with me, you selfish, ungrateful, bitch." Each insult became cemented to her being, his index finger drilling every word into her collarbone. "I worked all damn day to come home and find you've done nothing but sit on your ass and then destroy the only home we have left. I'm done. You can get your things and get out of my house. I'm done going up to bat for you. Done. Do you understand me? Look at me when I'm talking to you."
She raised her terrified eyes towards her father's mouth. What the hell was going on? Was he really that pissed because she said she didn't want to go out to eat? Alice could see he was really vexed this time. There was spittle caught in his graying beard at the corners of his mouth.
He raised his fist and grabbed her by the collar.
Alice flinched.
He paused. Letting go of his daughter, Brenden began to walk back towards the empty boxes in the corner. They were labeled kitchen. The boxes Alice had spent all day unpacking.
"All I said was I wasn't in the mood for Mexican food. I just wanted—" Cowering again she found herself cornered, backing away from her father in fear, shame, and embarrassment. Alice closed her eyes tightly. This time she refused to give way to tears, even when his fist had gripped the hair at her scalp, tossing her head around like a ragdoll. The brain in her skull was beginning to feel scrambled. Alice felt nauseous. When he finally let go of her, she felt awkward and ashamed standing there, disoriented...empty.
"Get out of my face," He spat at her, making his way to the fridge to grab another beer. Mr. Henley looked around the room before pointing at Alice and locking eyes with his wife. "Get her out of my sight or I'll fucking kill her."
Alice didn't wait. She walked—briskly—towards the door. She had to get away before it got worse.
"Where do you think you're going? You better not try running again; I'll call the boys at the station and have them drag your ass back here and then I'll beat some sense into it this time." His voice trailed off as she closed the door and stepped out into the dusk.
She was shivering. Whether that was from the surprisingly cool summer air or her own nerves hardly mattered. Her underarms were wet with adrenaline sweat. It fucking stank.
Looking around her new home, she did her best to block out the sounds of screaming arguments from inside the trailer. What the actual fuck just happened?
Walking aimlessly in no one particular direction, Alice forced her eyes towards her feet and gave a small yet depressing laugh. So, this was her life now? It was all too perfect. Ironically everything fit: the fucked-up family living in a shit trailer park, located in a shit town. And it was her fault—all of the shittiness. If she had just kept her Goddamn head down and gone through the motions of life, none of this would be happening. If Alice had only stayed in her room that night...listened to her parents...if she hadn't left...none of this would be happening. The corners of her eyes began to sting. Fucking tears. Weakness. Pain. All she wanted at that moment was a cigarette. A cigarette and for her head to stop with the throbbing, stabbing pains. She wanted a fucking gun. A gun to blow her fucking brains out.
"Hey, new girl. You okay?"
Her eyes shot up to meet the owner of the voice. A teenager. He was around her age and carrying a black metal lunch box. For a second, she wondered what the fuck he was doing out there—on the abandoned playground equipment that sat just next to where the trailers ended. Alice quickly wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve and tucked her arms under her armpits. Looking back towards her home she exhaled shakingly. If her parents saw her talking or even standing next to someone who looked the way this guy did, she'd never hear the end of it.
"Uh Huh. Well—"
"I am—I'm fine. Fine...thanks." She was eyeing the cigarette he had between two ringed fingers.
"Well fine, my name is Eddie and uh...you look like you could use something to mellow you out. Do you smoke?" He leaned against the frame of an old swing set, tucking the box under his arm and folding his hands together, letting them fall into his lap.
"Cigarettes?" Alice's voice croaked just a fraction above a whisper.
He chuckled, shaking his head slightly as his tongue pushed against his lower lip. "Nup, that's not what I meant, s'okay. Did you need one—cigarette I mean?" Eddie lifted his hand, holding the cigarette upright between his thumb and index finger. A coy smile pulled at the corners of his mouth, his head tilting to one side. "Come on, it won't bite."
Oh, that was tempting; so very tempting. If she risked it and went back inside the trailer smelling like an ashtray, there would be no end to the torment that evening. If she didn't take the offer, she could probably side step another confrontation with her dad. Fuck it. "Yeah, I do—I mean yeah. Yeah, I need one. I don't have any money on me though…to pay for it."
Shaking his head, Alice could see he was confused. Either that or he thought she was an idiot; he probably thought she was an idiot. "It's cool man, take it. Think of it as a welcoming gift. Welcome to Hell. You'll need it after this town fucks you."
He held it out for her to take. "What's your name, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Alice," The voice of her father boomed from behind her. He was standing at their front door. "Come inside."
Without a skipping a beat she turned on the heels of her Chucks and made the short walk from the decrepit play equipment to the trailer. She hadn't even realized Eddie was trying to catch up to her without running.
"Oh shit, your old man is Hawkins new officer friendly?" Alice heard him whisper in slight shock. She didn't answer him.
"Who is that? Who are you?" The anger in her dad's voice was building tension again.
"Oh, I'm Eddie—Eddie Munson, sir." His hands were behind his back, hiding the lunch box still under his arm. Eddie gave a small nod of his head up at Mr. Henley. He looked over at Alice, who was caught on the three steps between him and her father. "You forgot your welcome to Hell gift." He attempted to hand her the cigarette slyly, without bringing too much attention to it.
"They told me all about you at the station—you keep that shit to yourself son. Now go on, get going. Don't come around here anymore."
Eddie stood there watching Alice being ushered in by her father; a bit taken aback by the tone of his new neighbor. Then again, pigs were always going to be pigs.
Waiting until she was out of view and giving a half wave to the old man, he took a few steps backwards before turning in the direction to his own trailer, concealing the black box as best he could. Listening carefully, he could hear their door close, which wasn't enough to mask the roaring of shouts that ensued shortly thereafter. Damn, just what this place needed. Still, there was this prying feeling Eddie couldn't shake as he lit the cigarette he'd now been holding for ages.
Eh. It was probably nothing.
He flung open the fly screen door, placed the lunch box inside and took one final glance over at his new neighbors. "Alice," he said her name, exhaling the smoke and tossing the butt to the ground. With the thought of her in his head, Eddie Munson then went inside and added a new stain to his mattress.
Hues of pink clung to the bright yellow of sunrise. Somewhere in the distance, deep blue clouds followed the moon to sleep while fiery skies ushered in a day promised to be hot, sticky, and miserable. In the quiet of her room, Alice's eyes fluttered open. Everything she saw appeared fuzzy, disoriented. Rubbing her eyelids with the back of a lazy fist, a deep yawn brought life into the stagnant room. The beige lace curtain above her window swayed in the humid breeze. Slowly, her vision cleared—what time was it? The alarm clock to her right read 6:45 AM; too early to get up.
Rolling over to face the wall, memories began to creep like the growing mold in the corners of her bedroom. Everything that led up to this point replayed over and over like a broken record, reminding Alice of all she'd lost, given up, and suffered. That one night—that one decision—haunting her. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't sweep clear the cobwebs that liked to hide in the dark corners of her mind. Right when she thought they'd all been cleared away, another appeared. This time it consumed her; she found herself drowning in it. A pain crept up inside of her chest. The burning that started in her breasts and her face turned in on itself to consume every fiber of her being... the party she was never meant to be at... the drugged cocktail he gave her... the room spinning... the rocking of their bodies as he violated her over and over and over again... She had tried to scream... She had tried to fight... 'Sing for me, little bird'... No. That was enough. She would go no further. Clearing her throat Alice felt water drip down her neck, some droplets pouring into her ears. She was crying again. Fuck. She wiped her eyes with the palms of her hands. "Stop it, Alice."
Deciding to sit up, she swung her legs over the edge of the single bed, letting her feet hit the floor. There was only one way to stop it, these writhing emotions—the fucking pain. Reaching under the mattress Alice pulled out the small pocket knife and opened it. Staring at the blade the tears began flowing again. No one could hurt her, except for her. Placing the cool metal to her upper thigh, there was a rushing release from suffering as it sliced the delicate skin with ease. In an instant it was replaced with cold indifference. As the blood pooled onto her bed sheets, the numbness returned; she could do this. She could get through at least one more day.
Eddie woke up that morning in a haze. Sitting up from his bed he blinked hard, swatting his hair from his mouth and yawning loudly. He looked over at his alarm clock. 8:17 AM. What day was it again? Saturday? Sunday? "Fuck," he muttered reaching over for his jeans and putting them on half asleep.
Fumbling out of his bedroom door, he popped a cigarette in his mouth and headed straight for the coffee. Could he really be fucked making a new pot? He felt the side of the machine. It was still warm, which was good enough. Pouring a cup, Eddie lit his smoke and began singing Angel Witch as he took a long drag which filled his lungs. It was followed by a sip of coffee which went down the wrong pipe. Falling into a coughing fit, he meandered towards the front door to make it outside. The less noise he made while his uncle slept the better.
Once he'd recovered, Eddie took a few short steps towards his van and opened the sliding door. Lying just under the driver's seat was an old Dungeon Master's Guide Book and some loose tobacco papers. He wasn't even sure what he was looking for. In truth it was just an excuse. A piss poor excuse at that. He looked at the trailer kitty-corner to him. Her window was open. Eddie knew it was her window too, because he may or may not have seen her the night before undressing, hours after they met.
He had been sitting on the hood of his van smoking a spliff when he caught sight of Alice. And it wasn't like Eddie had been snooping or anything—she'd just been there, unaware of her surroundings. It was pure coincidence that he'd just happened to be lucky enough to be there. Maybe he was hoping he'd be lucky enough to catch her again? No, it wasn't a maybe—he definitely wanted to see her again. Munson took another swig of his coffee and crushed the butt of his smoke under his shoe.
"Don't forget to take the washing downtown today—I don't want to hear from your father tonight that it wasn't done." Mrs. Henley was chewing on a piece of toast while flipping through her copy of Vogue magazine.
Alice cleared her throat as she worked her way through their small kitchen, carefully not to bump into her mother. She pulled a hot cup of water from the microwave and then rummaged through the unemptied boxes until coming across the Lipton tea bags. Tossing it into the mug Alice yawned, "Do you want me to move the broken machine out of the laundry?"
Rebecca sighed and shrugged her shoulders, never looking up from the brightly colored pages. "No. I don't need to hear it from your father if something else goes wrong. He said he'd take care of it and if you move it, I'll never hear the end of it. He'll be on both of our asses."
"He'll be on our asses if we leave it alone." Her daughter muttered under the breath.
"Goddamn it Alice, why can't you just do as you're told?" Throwing the remainder of her toast onto the saucer plate, Rebecca finally looked up and placed a tired hand against her forehead. "Alice please, just do as you're told." She sighed in desperation, "Your grandparents are dropping your siblings off tomorrow evening and I want things at least somewhat functionable for them. Clean clothes being on that list."
"Alright. How am I meant to get there? Dad has the car."
"There's a twenty on top of the fridge. Call a cab. Use what you need for the laundry; if there is anything left, bring me home a pack of cigarettes."
Alice put her cup down and went to the fridge. Standing on her tiptoes she felt around the top before snatching the bill. She went back to the counter and grabbed her tea. "How am I supposed to call a cab when we don't have a phone hooked up yet?" She took a sip.
Rebecca stood up from the breakfast nook, placed her plate with the toast in the sink, turned to face her daughter, and hooked her finger under her chin. "Go use a payphone or ask one of our neighbors if you can make a call. Honestly sweetheart, you're not this stupid. I'm going to take a shower—be back by four."
Alice rolled eyes as her mother walked away down the hall to the bathroom. "Yup, love you too." She muttered under her breath, finishing the tea in one big gulp.
"This is a fucking mess." A simple observation that wasn't too off the mark. There had been little time to unpack her own things since the Henleys arrived. Alice had been too busy with other chores to worry about her own shit. Clicking her tongue, her gray eyes scanned each box in her bedroom before falling onto the one she wanted—it was labeled ALICE SUMMER CLOTHES. Lifting it from the floor onto the bed, she opened the folded top and tossed a few shirts and shorts aside. For a moment she was worried that it may have been left behind until her fingers found the light cotton fabric. There you are, she thought to herself. The light purple and blue sundress had always been one of her favorites. Especially on days like this one.
She pulled off the nightgown she'd been wearing and surveyed her father's handy work. Today her ass didn't hurt so bad, and the bruising had begun to turn a yellow-green. Not much longer now; it will be healed.
Deciding against a bra or anything constricting against her skin in the heat, Alice quietly told summer it could fuck off. Throwing on the dress, she brushed and plaited her long dark hair. She had just started slipping the fabric over her head when the sound of a van door being closed snapped her attention toward her window. It was the guy she spoke to last night, standing there watching her. Her eyes grew wide as she glanced down at her bare chest. Quickly she pulled the garment down over her body. "You fucking pervert." She hissed storming toward her window. He was getting into the driver's side, his eyes downcast. Clearly embarrassed he'd been caught.
"Hey," Alice hollered, "fucking pervert!" That got his attention.
Munson looked up from the steering wheel, put a finger to his lips, and then held his hands in prayer-like pose. It was a plea for her not to shout again. The last thing he needed was pervert added to the ever-growing list he had against him. Eddie the pervert freak Munson didn't sound so great. Alice shook her head and he got out of the van, taking a few steps away from it. She rushed out of her own front door to confront him, full of rage.
"You make it a habit of peeping in on girls while they change?" Her voice was seething.
"Woah woah—wait a minute." Eddie held up his hands in self-defense. "Listen, Alice, right? I wasn't spying on you. Your window was open, I glanced over. I didn't see anything, I swear." Well, that was a lie. He saw everything from the waist up and wasn't likely to forget those two perfect breasts. They were now cupped by the thin fabric of that delicate little floral dress she was wearing...he could just make out her small, perfect, upturned nipples.
Alice snapped her fingers in front of his face. "My eyes are up here, Mudson."
Eddie bit his lip and scratched the back of his head. He coughed to clear his throat and bring himself back from wandering thoughts. "Firstly, it's Munson...second...you're right. I'm sorry—I shouldn't have been staring."
"How would you like it if I were to be a creep and stare through your window into your private moments?" She huffed, wiping the sweat away from her brow and shielding her eyes from the creeping sun.
"Well, what if you saw something you liked?" No containing himself that time. The words just fell right out of his mouth. His brown eyes danced as a shit eating grin revealed something about Eddie that made Alice's knees buckle.
"I... excuse me?" Her stomach flipped when he bit his lip and cocked his head to the side, looking at her. Oh no...no, no. "You know what? I'm going to file a police report on a peeping tom. Let's see that added to your rap sheet." Alice turned on her heels to walk back home. It didn't take long for Eddie to run in front of her, hands outreached to her shoulders pleadingly.
"Woah hold on a minute—you don't need to do that. Look, I'm sorry—right?" Once he realized she wasn't going to run off on him, Eddie slowly lowered his hands. "Can I make it up to you? What do you want—drugs, money—date maybe?" His arms reached out to stop her from taking off again; she wasn't amused. "Okay sorry, no date... C'mon Alice there's gotta be something. Please don't make a report—I'm not a creep, I swear."
She stood there for a moment, placing her hands on her hips, shifting her weight to her left. "First of all, get your fucking hands out of my face." Alice waited for him to comply; he did. "Now," she pointed with her lips at his feet. "Your shoes."
Eddie stared at her with bewilderment. "What?"
"You heard me Munson—shoes, now." She held out her hands, waiting.
Shrugging his shoulders Eddie did as Alice asked, using his toes to press against the back of the shoes to slip out of them easily. He reached down, picked them up, and then handed them to her. Watching curiously as Alice tied together the laces, he let out a shout when she marched over to a nearby tree and threw them as high up as she could, into the branches.
"What the fuck?" Eddie's arms flung in the air. "Really?"
Alice smiled at him and in that moment, Eddie hated that he liked it—that smile.
"Now, you're going to take me into town so I can get my chores done." If he really wanted to apologize for snooping, she figured he could save her a cab fee.
Munson's eye twitched. He rubbed his lips together and leaned in closer. His voice was vexed, though calm. "What makes you think I'd take you Goddamn anywhere?"
Caught up in the moment and out of reach of her demons, Alice didn't think before speaking. Maybe it had something to do with raging teenage hormones and the way he was looking at her—pissed yet admiringly. It could have been a complete lack of self-control due to the immense pressure she'd been under the last few days. The only thing that was certain was when she didn't think things through, they hardly ever played out in her favor. This time however, Alice threw caution to the wind.
"Because Eddie," She took a step forward, closing the already small space between them. "I have to finish my chores before you can take me on that date."
Eddie's eyebrow was raised as he bit down on his lip trying to figure out what the hell just happened. "What the fuck?" He whispered to himself.
Alice, who had now passed him by, was headed back towards her trailer to grab the clothes that needed washing. She called back, "Hey, Munson! You coming or what?"
Oh, this girl was going to get him into so much trouble—he could feel it. "Goddamn it."