Disclaimer: Don't own WOWP... or Tempur-pedic. But boy oh boy, I wish I did ;]
Enjoy you guys!
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Alex couldn't seem to get to sleep that night.
Even though her comforter was satin and she was pretty sure her mattress was a Tempur-pedic. But after Justin had settled down about the whole "remodeling", they spent the rest of the day in anxious silence. Justin kept checking his watch and phone. They chewed their dinner without conversation. Max tried to break in the video games, but his brain wouldn't connect with his fingers. Alex spent the rest of the night doodling on the couch; drawing sketches of random scenes in nature and the new animal life she had seen running around, including the little rabbit she'd saved. Justin stayed at the kitchen table, holding his head in his hands and bouncing his leg like he always did when he was nervous.
It was close to ten o'clock when Justin came into the new family room and addressed his siblings. "Okay guys, I'm going in the morning back to Waverly Place. I'm gonna find out what happened to Mom and Dad."
Alex started to nod but then she comprehended what Justin was telling her, "Wait- what? What is this "I" business? We're going with you." She stood up from the couch at the same time Max did. They faced Justin and both crossed their arms. Why do they always gain up on me? Justin thought angrily.
"Look, I don't know what might be back at the house okay? It could be really dangerous. There's no way I'm letting you guys come!"
"Excuse me?" Alex's voice dropped an octave and was barely above a whisper, ""Let us"? They're our parents too. And we're old enough to decide for ourselves. We're going." Alex's mocha eyes burned into Justin's green eyes. She could tell this was going to be a long fight, but eventually she would win it. She always did.
Max spoke quietly, "Justin, what if something happens to you and you don't come back?" His eyes blinked rapidly as if he were keeping tears away. Justin had no choice but to soften at his brother's look, but he wasn't backing down.
He took Max by the shoulders and met his eye line, "Maxie, I can't risk losing you guys. Do you get that? If something were to happen to you or your sister, I-" his voice broke a little, "I don't know what I would do, okay?"
Max sighed and nodded slowly and Alex's jaw dropped. Now the tables were turned. Justin and Max both straightened and face Alex now. She clenched her hands into fists and refused to look at them. They barely heard her whisper, "Whatever, I'm still going." Then she sat on the arm of the couch, stared at her knees, and didn't say another word.
Alex heard Justin mutter something unintelligible to Max. She heard his retreating footsteps and felt the couch jerk as Justin fell back into it. She stole a sideways glance at him, retaining her stoic expression. He had his limbs spread out, completely vulnerable. His hands were covering his face and she could tell he was trying not to start yelling at her. It'd be easier if he did, she thought, I can deal with angry Justin no problem.
Instead of shouting and jumping up and down like Alex had hoped, Justin scooted over to Alex's arm of the couch and leaned his head against her leg. She tensed, not knowing what to do or what to expect.
Without looking at her, Justin said, "Alex, can you just try? Try to understand for me? I have no way of knowing what's back there. They could have rigged the apartment to explode or something," he threw a hand in the air for dramatic effect.
Alex rolled her eyes and her anger melted away. "Must you always over think things? I swear, I'm surprised you're not dead from all the things you get scared of. Look, I get it, okay?" She turned, forcing Justin's head to move to look at her.
"You're doing what big brothers do. Looking out for us kids. But here's the thing, Justin. We're not kids anymore. We know that it could be dangerous; we grasp that concept. Max and I don't care, though. We just want to be there for you and help you. Because believe it or not, you do need help sometimes."
Justin folded his arms over his chest and shook his head a little. "But what if-"
"Alright, enough. There's always going to be a "what if" in every situation. Sometimes you just have to take a risk, you know?" Alex said simply.
Justin started to breath heavily. How do I always lose? Even if she stays here, she'll end up coming anyways. Can't stop Alex…
"This is so not fair, how you always get your way," he murmured with his eyes still shut. He turned his head towards her body and opened his eyes just in time to see her perform her own little victory dance.
"But," he said sternly. "There are some rules you will follow." The tone of authority forced Alex's arms to cross again and her eyes to roll. But she held her tongue and let Justin boss her around… just this once.
"Number one: You do what I tell you. I know that will be so incredibly difficult for you," he teased, "but what I say goes. Number two: No magic unless I say so. Number three: We're only there to look for things that might tell us what happened to Mom and Dad. We are not going back for your clothes," Justin ignored Alex's scowl at the last rule and folded his arms over his chest in a very haughty manner. He knew soon she would be running out of outfits to wear and that he would be hearing about it for weeks, but he would not chance any of their safety just so Alex could get her favorite pair of cowboy boots.
"That's a lot of me doing what you tell me. I don't like it," Alex pouted. Justin was about to snap back a response when she finished, "But I'll follow the dumb no-fun rules."
Justin's eyes widened in mock surprise, "What, but- It's a miracle! Praise the Lord, Alex is going to follow rules!" He threw his hands up in the air and waved them around.
Alex sniggered and shoved her brother's shoulder. "Hey hey, don't get used to it. This isn't for you… it's for Mom and Dad." Justin turned to her slowly and brought his hands down to his lap. He nodded once and then glanced over at the kitchen.
"How about some hot chocolate?" he asked.
"With extra whipped cream," Alex answered automatically.
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So there was Alex, in the most comfortable bed she'd ever been in, and she couldn't sleep. She kept playing over scenarios in her head, imagining terrible things that had happened to her parents. She knew she shouldn't, but the bad things have a way of just popping in there. She was a little scared to fall asleep, afraid of the dreams that might find their way into her head. She didn't know if she could handle any more nightmares.
Alex would never tell anyone, not even Justin about the nightmares that already plagued her sleep. Ever since the horrible night with Dean, he would revisit her in her dreams. Sometimes he would turn into a terrible creature, sometimes he would hurt her more, and sometimes he would finish the job. Every night though, she always screamed and yelled in that cold, dark basement, and no one could hear her. Every night, Justin wasn't there to save her.
She groaned in frustration and pulled herself up out of bed. Alex knew she wouldn't be able to sleep with all this impending danger nonsense buzzing around in her head. She tiptoed to the bathroom for a quick blistering shower. Surprisingly, all thoughts were erased from Alex's mind as the water beat down on her face. Instead she focused on the rhythm of her heartbeat, the sounds the water made when she shifted, and the feel of every drop on her skin. It was so incredibly relaxing, and Alex felt that maybe now she could sleep. And she did, even though the thoughts flooded her brain. Thoughts of her mother and father, of a certain necklace, of her little brother's goofy grin, of her big brother as a superhero, of hot chocolate, of tiny rabbits in trouble…
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Alex felt the warm sunlight on her bare shoulders. Her knees were tucked underneath her chin and she could see the sun sparkling off the waves. She wiggled her toes in the sand, enjoying the grating feeling. She felt cool metal on her neck and saw that she was wearing the amethyst. The sun reflecting off it winked at her and she sighed.
She'd always loved the beach. Even though she complained about how the sand always lodged itself in her hair and she couldn't get it out for weeks, about how the ice cream she'd begged her dad to buy her melted to fast and got her fingers all stick, about how Max managed to splash the stinging salt water right into her eyes, and about how Justin was such a nerd and brought his homework with.
But at the end of the day, those are the things that made her smile the most. Now she was here again. Why am I here? she thought to herself. Alex realized that just the night before she and her brothers were in the warehouse-now-mansion type thing.
She lifted her head from her kneecaps and looked around. The beach was completely empty except for her favorite pink towel with little smiley-faced starfishes. Alex stood up and brushed the sand from her body. It was perfect weather for her black and pink polka-dotted bikini top and matching black sarong she had wrapped around her waist. She turned around, eyes scanning the beach. Besides the water behind her, it was all just beach. There weren't even seagulls or tiny hermit crabs scuttling in the sand.
"Alex!" A voice called from behind her.
She whipped around and saw her mom wearing her beach attire, standing where the waves broke against the shore. She just appeared. Theresa beckoned her daughter over, grinning. Alex stumbled over the sand in the hurry to get to her mother. She hurtled into her mother's embrace laughing hysterically through her tears.
"Mom, you're okay! Where were you, what happened?" Theresa stroked her hair and whispered, "Don't worry querida, everything is going to be all right now."
Alex released herself from her mother and looked over her shoulder. There in the water, splashing and goofing around, was the rest of her family. Theresa slid to stand beside Alex, one arm around her shoulder. They watched together as Max tried to make "sand angels" right where the water reached its peak before retreating back to the ocean. Every time he managed to make a decent angel, the waves would come and wash it away. Jerry and Justin were attempting to body surf. Jerry's suntan lotion he had pasted on his nose and cheeks was visible even from the shoreline.
They tumbled with the waves when they collided with the beach and ran back where Theresa and Alex stood, sputtering out water and sand. Justin pulled his sister by her wrist, "Come on, Alex! It'll be fun!"
There was a feeling that crashed over her that was… uncomfortable. It wasn't necessarily a bad feeling, but there was something telling her it wasn't right. She refused, pulling her hand back, "What about Mom and Dad?"
She looked over her shoulder at her parents, who smiled and nodded, encouraging her to go with Justin. Then she touched the necklace on her neck and asked, "What if I lose the pendant?"
Justin rolled his eyes and reached back for her, replying, "Don't worry, it'll come back to us eventually."
Somehow these words made sense to her. Alex grimaced but then allowed herself to be pulled into the noisy waves. The water was very warm, almost like a bath. Forgetting all thoughts of the worry in her stomach, she plunged into the water after her brother. He slowed up and kept pace with her until they were far out enough to get the big waves.
The two laughed insanely as they surfed wave after wave. Alex always came up from the water with her thick brunette tresses in her face and Justin always had to readjust his trunks, they would always go awry from the waves. Theresa and Jerry watched from the shoreline and Max looked like he had passed out on his towel. It felt like they were little kids again. They were about to head out of the water when Justin waggled his eyebrows and pointed to the massive wave that was forming behind them.
The anxious feeling that gripped her insides came up again, but the adrenaline coursing through her body took control. She grinned jubilantly and started to paddle out alongside Justin. Treading water, they waited. This wave was incredible. It reminded Alex of the time she had watched Poseidon. The fact that nearly everyone died in that movie because of the giant wave didn't phase her excitement to ride it. It crept closer and Justin yelled over to her, "Alright, get ready! This is going to be amazing!" He flashed Alex a grin before focusing on the wave again. She turned herself from the wave and started to swim.
The surf from the wave was unbelievable. Alex felt like she was flying high over the beach. The sun kissed her face and she held out her arms, enjoying the ride. It felt like hours before the wave finally collapsed onto the shore. Surprisingly, she was not encased and sucked back into the ocean. She landed on her knees and hands right on the shore, gasping for breath. She stood and looked around grinning, for Justin.
But he was nowhere. Alex twisted to where her parents and Max were laying. But there was nothing. She revolved in a circle, scanning the beach for the second time today. It was like how it was before. There was nothing but beach and ocean. Panicking, Alex ran back to the ocean and called out her brother's name, "JUSTIN!"
She was about to break down into tears when she heard a soft voice through the breeze, "Alex, here!"
Alex looked back at the now completely calm ocean, and saw splashing in the distance. She tore into the water but couldn't seem to get her feet to move out of the wet sand. She turned around and looked for something, anything when she yelled, "Help, please! Someone help me!"
All of a sudden, a wave had crashed around Alex, knocking her to the ground. The water pulled her ankles to the ocean and enveloped her entire body. She flailed her arms and legs, fighting the ocean. The amethyst tightened around her slender neck, keeping her down. Bubbles flew from her mouth and nose as she screamed. Then the water poured into her mouth. The salt burned her throat and set her lungs on fire. Alex tried to rip the necklace off but it cut her fingers as if it were a razor. The water was so dark, Alex couldn't even see the surface, but she kept fighting and fighting. Her brain was foggy and she couldn't think anymore. The only thought that flitted across her mind was I'm going to die. Alone. The darkness overtook her…
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Alex's eyes snapped open and her breathing was ragged. She sat straight up in her bed, which was drenched from her sweat. Her hands immediately flew to her mouth to keep from screaming. She automatically started to gulp in huge amounts of air, making sure she really hadn't drowned. Alex felt the strong desire to rock herself back and forth for comfort but she resisted as she heard footsteps approach her door.
A light tapping on her door and Justin's voice calling softly, "Alex, you awake?" forced her to take deep breaths to calm herself before answering.
"Ugh, yes!" Alex yelled back, laying face down and muffling her voice with a pillow to deter Justin from any suspicion. He cracked open her door and popped his head in.
"Come on, we've gotta start getting ready. Breakfast in five minutes, okay?" Justin said quickly. Alex responded with a thumbs up over in his general direction, face still buried in her pillow. He shut the door again and Alex made sure his retreating footsteps were real before sobbing uncontrollably into her pillow. She wondered how something so silly as a dream could make her cry so hard and feel so alone and scared.
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A/N: Hope you guys liked the chapter, if you did please please please review!!! This chapter was inspired a little bit by a dream I had not too long ago.. Boo nightmares. But yay material for writing! =D
