A/N:

To be fully honest with all of you, I've lost inspiration for this story and actually all of my origins stories. A part of me still wants to write them all because it's an unfinished project and I hate leaving things unfinished, but for months before this current low-period in my life, I was struggling to write on this.

Since I don't want to abandon anything, I'm reaching out to you with a question. What do you want to see happening from Alice's POV? Was there anything in her life that you truly wished SM had explored more? Was there a missed opportunity you wish was seized?

After all, I'm writing these for your enjoyment!

So, let me know, what Alice-centered event do you want me to write about in this story? Hopefully, it'll shake up my inspiration and get me writing on it again :)

Title: Origins: Living in my Future

Author: MarieCarro

Beta: Alice's White Rabbit

Pre-reader: BitterHarpy

Genre: Supernatural/Mystery

Rating: NC-17

Summary: Mary Alice Brandon had always been different. She seemed to know things that had yet to happen, and the people in town avoided her at all costs. But the cries of "Witch" or whispers of "Changeling" wasn't her biggest concern. Someone much closer to her than the townsfolk couldn't accept her differences, and it put her in life-threatening danger.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


CHAPTER 12

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14th 1922 – WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19th 1930

The church I was in was similar enough to the one I saw in front of me that I could pretend I was there and celebrated that special day together with my family.

Esme was stunning in her white, ankle-length dress and long veil while Carlisle looked dashing in his tuxedo, but it was his smile that made the vision feel warm and fuzzy. He was taking in Esme with such love and pride I could almost feel it from two-thousand miles away.

Edward was the only witness, apart from the priest, upon Esme's request because she wasn't confident she'd be capable of controlling her bloodlust if a congregation of humans were shut inside the church with her. He stood straight and tall next to Carlisle, with a soft smile on his lips, and happily handed over the ring when asked for it.

It made me happy to know that my brother had no qualms about welcoming Esme as a permanent addition to our little family, especially considering how happy she made Carlisle, who after two hundred-sixty years deserved to find love more than anyone.

Slowly, the vision dissipated, and I let out a content sigh. I couldn't be there in person, but I was happy I didn't miss the wedding completely. It made me feel like a real part of the family even though they didn't know of my existence yet.

Hopefully, that would change soon. I could tell that Jasper was growing restless with his situation with Maria. He rarely allowed her to touch him anymore, which was a huge relief to me because I no longer had to witness their intimacy, and he spent more time around the newborn vampires he trained for her, honing their skills and making them the most lethal, yet stealthy, army of vampires that existed in Mexico.

I'd deduced from every nugget of information I gathered about Jasper from my visions that he definitely had a military background, but I didn't know much more than that since I was limited to seeing the future. His past from before I woke up remained a mystery, and while I was convinced I could learn more about him if I dug enough into his and my future, I found myself not wanting to do that.

Jasper was clearly a person who you had to earn his trust from, and he wasn't one to abundantly share his story with just anyone. I wanted to be the one he trusted above everything else in the world, the one he confided in, and the one he loved with his entire being, and that wouldn't happen if I didn't respect his boundaries and allow him to share himself with me in his own time and in his own way.

I'd allowed myself to see that much into our future but stopped as soon as I saw the consequences were I to keep looking.

"You must be new here, miss," the reverend of the church I was in observed as he walked past the bench I was sitting on. "I don't think I've seen you here before."

I turned to him with a polite smile, carefully concealing my teeth with my lips. According to instructions Carlisle had given to Esme, humans sensed our lethality when we exposed our teeth. They never knew why their pulse suddenly spiked with fear, but it was there, so the best way for us to keep them as comfortable as possible was not to show our teeth.

"I just recently relocated to Memphis," I said sweetly, and his eyes glazed over at the sound of my angelically melodious voice. "I liked your church and wanted to pay my respects."

The reverend smiled happily. "Then allow me to welcome you to the congregation, Miss …?"

"Cullen," I said, not feeling an ounce of guilt over using Carlisle's last name because I knew we'd share it sooner or later anyway.

{=LMF=}

NOVEMBER 6th 1927

"I don't want to give it a century! I don't want to deny myself any longer!"

Oh, Edward, what are you doing? I asked him in my thoughts even though we were miles apart, and there was no way he could hear me. But I hated to see my brother in such distress and yell at Carlisle because he'd had a momentary lapse of control.

"I don't want to live this half-life anymore. It's not right, Carlisle. It's not natural."

His eyes were already a blazing red from the human blood he'd consumed, and I could see how torn up yet resolute he was. He was convincing himself in the moment that he had to leave, but I doubted all of him wanted to.

"You've always had the choice, Edward," Carlisle calmly told him. "It's your life, and you have the right to live it however you want."

"If I told you I don't want to live off animals anymore, what would you say?" Edward asked, and my stomach turned into a pit. I'd seen the signs pop into my visions over the past couple years. He'd struggled more recently, and it had felt as if he was just waiting for the right moment—a catalyst that would push him enough to admit his darkest thoughts to his creator.

"Do what you must, son." Carlisle had already figured out what Edward had decided to do. Their bond was strong enough that he didn't need any extra abilities to read him. "We will miss you, but you're free to go whenever you want."

The vision branched into several possible outcomes, but those where he stayed quickly faded as his decision solidified. He was uncertain whether he'd ever return, and it terrified me because the visions I'd had of him on my wedding day grew blurry.

Was it possible Edward was on the brink of walking down a path that would take him away from me? Deprive me of the chance of ever meeting my brother, who I already loved?

I didn't want to believe it, but as previous visions changed, I had to accept that it was a possibility, and it broke my silent heart. What would our family be without Edward? He and Jasper were supposed to become close—at least, that was something I was hoping. I was yet to see anything of Jasper's interactions with them. His future with me was almost immutable but not quite yet set in stone. His future with the Cullens was a different tale because it would all come down to me.

But Edward's ability to read minds would be essential for the others to accept us as additions because he'd be able to see my memories, my visions, and everything in-between. Carlisle and Esme would, on the other hand, have to rely on their own judgment, so I had my doubts the transition from strangers to family members would be much less smooth if Edward wasn't in the picture anymore.

A feeling of hopeless dread washed over me, and I pushed the visions out of my immediate focus so they could play out in the back of my mind without distracting me too much. Of course, I didn't care much about Edward's contribution to our eventual joining of the family. What really saddened me was the prospect of how the choice he made in the present would affect his future and change his personality.

I was positive it wouldn't bring about a change for the better, no matter whether he returned or not.

{=LMF=}

SEPTEMBER 1st 1929

I stepped into the bank and scanned the tellers to see which one would be willing to bend the rules and provide me with a positive outcome. I was prepared to do what I had to do to get my money, even flirt shamelessly, but it turned out, to my utter surprise, that the one who'd actually help me would be the oldest of the gentlemen. If I gave him the sob-story of the ages, he'd take pity on me and speak for me with the bankers.

In a matter of a couple seconds, I devised a story and placed myself in the teller's queue, plastering an expression of distraught worry onto my face. When the man saw me, there was a microsecond when he took me in with genuine concern lighting his eyes.

"Miss. How can I help you today?"

"I'm not quite sure if you can, sir."

He gave me a gentle smile. "Why don't I give it a try, Miss ..."

"Whitlock, sir. My name is Mrs. Alice Whitlock." It wasn't technically a lie. I would bear that name one day. The teller didn't need to know that future had an uncertain date as of now.

"Mrs. Whitlock, please tell me what I can do for you?" the teller asked, charmed by my impeccable manners.

"Well, my late husband, Jasper Whitlock, had some investments in the stock market through your bank. He very recently passed away in a horrible auto accident." I shakily dabbed a handkerchief in the corner of my dry eye. It certainly was a disadvantage to not be able to cry when you were supposed to tell a sad story.

"My condolences, ma'am. You're much too young to already be a widow."

I nodded. "Yes, and it has left me with quite a predicament where I can't provide for myself or my little one." His expression smoothed out at the mention of my phantom child. "I know Mr. Whitlock wanted me and his daughter to be taken care of. The money he invested was for our future, but the accident was so sudden, and he never wrote up a procuration in the event of his death."

"I see," the teller said and gave me a sympathetic look. "And there's no man who could assist you with this? Your father or brother? A brother-in-law perhaps? Even a cousin would suffice."

"None, sir. It was just me, my husband, and our baby girl. I'm left destitute without him."

He hummed, and then gestured for me to wait while he left to look up the account.

It had certainly not been easy to forge all the information I'd had to provide under the guise of being Mr. Jasper Whitlock on the phone when I first set up the account and invested in stocks, but it was the only way I could do it since I was a woman. My only advantage was that my enhanced senses allowed me to distort my voice enough to sound like a man when I spoke with the bank a few years back.

Apparently, investing in stocks was quite easy when you could see the future, but I was careful not to always make good investments to reduce the possibility of suspicion against me. The last thing I wanted was to be investigated for fraud and for them to find out that Jasper wasn't around yet.

My plan hadn't been to sell my stocks now. They were supposed to remain there and grow until I finally could search out Jasper. At that point, he could take over as the front person and simply invest as I told him. We'd be set and have no problem with financially getting by as Jasper adapted to the new lifestyle before we joined our family. But I couldn't sit back and wait for the economic crisis to come to America.

It would be bad. Really bad. So bad it would be talked about for decades after. It would lead to even more poverty and class discrepancies. It was already starting to happen in London, although the humans hadn't picked up on the minuscule signs that predicted the biggest stock market crash in history.

The teller came back with another man in tow. This new man appeared much more important and was most likely one of the junior bankers.

"Mrs. Whitlock, we've found your husband's account, but we'll need some sort of proof you are who you say you are before we take this matter any further," the banker said.

"Of course," I said. I was prepared for that, and I pretended to search through my bag for the papers that "proved" I was, indeed, Mrs. Alice Whitlock and that Mr. Jasper Whitlock was my late husband. "I have my marriage certificate, and his death certificate. The signatures should match the ones on the account. I also have this." I showed them the framed staged photograph of me and "Jasper" on our wedding day. I'd paid the man generously to pose with me, and he happily took the money. He didn't even ask what I'd needed it for or why we had to wear wedding attire.

It was fortunate I'd seen I'd have use for it all when I decided to open the account. Otherwise, I'd have nothing to show the banker, so he could confirm that the photograph of "Jasper" that they had on file did match the appearance of the man in the wedding frame.

"I believe you've given us sufficient proof, Mrs. Whitlock. What do you wish to do with the investment? It's quite a substantial amount."

Success!

I had no other possessions. I threw away the clothes I was wearing once it was time to change them. I had no house to store them in or luggage to bury away in some corner. The money was my only tool to blend in with humans because it allowed me to buy what I needed without having to break into department stores constantly. Even though the first sum I used to begin my investments wasn't technically mine but stolen, I refused to harbor a guilty conscience since I'd paid it back once the investments began to grow.

Now, I saw the entire capital as my own, and I couldn't lose it. It would set me back to square one to when I woke up in that meadow eight years ago with nothing to my name.

"I'd like to sell, if at all possible. It won't put food on the table for me or my daughter if the money's tied up in stocks."

The two men shared a look, and then the banker nodded. "Very well, Mrs. Whitlock. We'll get everything in order for you. Once they're sold, how would you like to receive your capital? Cash or check?"

"Cash, thank you, sir."

{=LMF=}

The love I felt for Edward was most likely why I continued to have visions of him even when I stopped actively looking since they all ended with his teeth buried in a man's neck.

All of them were men. Horrible, monstrous men who shouldn't have even been allowed to roam any streets. Rapists, pedophiles, murderers. They were the worst of the worst, and I didn't grieve them as Edward extinguished the life in their eyes.

I wasn't happy he had strayed from Carlisle, but I understood him, and his choice of victims could at least be somehow justified. But it was chipping away at him. I could see him become more guarded every day, and he wasn't exactly thriving in his new life. He wasn't like Jasper, who wasn't even aware of a different way of life.

The magazine in my hands rustled as the wind caught its pages. I wasn't fully focused on it even as I read the predictions about the upcoming fashion of this new decade. There wasn't a stack of invitations to cocktail parties or dinners waiting for me at my hotel room so I'd have no use for the fancy dresses printed on the paper, but I liked knowing what would become fashionable. It let me know when it was time to toss my current outfit and buy something new.

I internally sighed when I saw Edward begin the hunt for his next victim. He was currently in Milwaukee while Carlisle and Esme were still in the house in New Hampshire. Jasper was still stuck in Mexico, and I was killing time by roaming the streets of Oklahoma City, waiting and biding my time.

We were all scattered in the winds, and I was growing impatient. Every day and night, I looked for Jasper: where he was or what he was doing, his conversations with Maria, and his episodes of self-hatred, which were becoming more frequent.

But he wasn't ready. He was still in her clutches, and every time I decided I was going to go to him, the vision was the same devastating one where he first rejected me, and then attacked.

A whole decade had passed since I opened my eyes as a vampire. For ten years, I'd been alone and only lived on the hope of one day being with my family and true love. I'd have lied if I claimed it wasn't becoming more difficult every day to stay away. The only thing stopping me was that my visions told me Jasper had to come first, or the future wouldn't unfold as it needed to.

I closed the magazine and placed it into my bag as I started to slowly walk back to my hotel. The clouds above me were dark and angry, and there was an electric charge in the air. A tornado would hit the city, and I'd booked the hotel room for that sake alone, just so I wouldn't have to wait out the bad weather outside.

Quite a few humans would be injured but not too many fatalities, and there was nothing I could do about it. It was the burden I had to bear as a prophet because I'd only come across as insane if I spewed out to people that there would be a bad storm in a few hours.

The doorman acknowledged me with a nod as I passed him by the entrance.

"I believe there might be a storm tonight," I conversed politely, subtly strengthening my human portrayal to the staff. "The air feels thick."

He hummed in agreement. "I believe so, too, ma'am. Hopefully, it won't be too bad though."

"Yes, let us hope. Make sure to have some cover if it does though." I smiled at him and headed for the elevators.


A/N:

The deeper I dive into this story, the more my sympathy for Alice grows. I understand her over-zealousness, her eagerness to "force" people into doing things she knows will be great memories in the future. I understand her need to shop because for the longest time, she owned nothing. Everything that she is in the Saga was created by her memory loss and subsequently having to build herself up from nothing without the ability to root yourself with anyone because you know, at some point in your future, there will be someone. You just don't know when exactly.

It's no wonder she became who she became.

Anyway, I will repeat myself from up top, what do you want me to explore and write about in this story? What Alice-centered event do you want to know more about? I'm actually pleading with you because the dry-spell I'm experiencing with this story is now bordering on ridiculous!

I want to finish it! I really do! For a story I was so excited about writing when I first began, I had no idea how difficult it would turn out to be -.-

I truly hope I'll see you soon!

As always,

Stay Awesome!