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Two hours, twenty-three minutes and forty-seven, oh, forty-six seconds until the workday was officially over. Two hundred and forty-six hours, sixteen minutes and seven seconds since she had been pinned to a wall by some creep trying to rape her. Alice stared at the clock and sighed. There was no way she was going to get through the rest of the work day.
She glanced at her phone. Two hundred and thirty-nine hours, forty-eight minutes and twenty-two seconds since she had left Jasper in the hospital room, her body aching in two different ways.
With a sigh, she slapped the sample books shut and carried them back over to the shelves. Burying herself in work had kept her mind busy for a while, but it just wasn't enough anymore. The books slid into their places easily. She wished everything else would slide into place like that.
"I'm taking off, Amelia!" she called to the older woman in the back of the shop. "I'll see you on Monday." A quick wave was the only response she got, so Alice grabbed her purse and darted out the doors before Amelia could remember something that she needed. Guilt flared up, but Alice pushed it away. She needed a break and Amelia could handle running the boutique on her own for a few days.
Her car hummed to life, the smooth vibrations soothing some of the tension in her body. With a small sigh of relief, Alice maneuvered out of the parking space and slipped onto the street. She enjoyed the feeling of blending in, of becoming a part of the crowd in pseudo-acceptance.
With a little growl, she shook her head clear of those thoughts. She had to remind herself that it would take time to recover, but she knew that life wasn't going to wait for her to recover her balance. She'd had enough time to pity herself, she decided and glanced at the clock. Seven thirty-five. Edward would be at Luster, preparing for their third weekend of business. She hadn't been back since opening night, but she figured that she could work up to the scene in degrees, starting when Edward was present and only employees were in the building.
Her tires squealed a little as she whipped into a parking space a little too quickly, but the sound only made her smile. Their whole family shared a special love of fast cars. In addition to taking driver's education classes, Carlisle had signed her up for a defensive driving course and several stunt driving classes, just to give her a hands on experience of what was possible in a car. He had only smiled when she caught Edward's same enthusiasm for speed. She hopped out of the car with a grin and set the alarm. The only time he had gotten upset was when she and Edward had been caught racing in an old track on the outskirts of town. And even then, he was only upset because they had been caught.
The service door was propped open, so she just walked in, ignoring the shiver of dread crawling up and down her spine. Waving to a couple of workers she didn't quite know by name, Alice slipped through the partitions separating the club from the rest of the building.
A sudden wave of fear nearly overwhelmed her as she surveyed the interior of the club, though everything seemed so different with all the lights on, soft classical music playing through the speakers and only two other people moving around the room. She braced herself on the lip of the bar and pressed her hand to her sternum as she took deep breaths to calm down. After a few minutes, the panic faded and she straightened from the bar. She set her jaw and exhaled decisively. She was not going to let that asshole turn her into a quivering ball of fear at the thought of one of her favorite activities.
The room oddly felt so much smaller without the crush of people filling the main dance floor. She took careful, measured steps around the floor to familiarize herself with the layout but still avoiding the site of the altercation. She wasn't quite ready yet.
Alice folded her arms tightly across her chest, seeking every bit of extra warmth she could find as the air seemed to grow colder. Finally, she stopped pacing and just stood, her eyes locked on that section of wall to which she had been pinned. One hand slid up to cup her throat, the other sliding down to press against her hip. The bruises had faded to nothing, but she could still feel the suction of his mouth and the pressure of his grip. She shuddered. "Fuck you," she whispered to the ghost of the memory, her dark eyes hard and flat. "Fuck you." The knot of unease in her stomach loosened a little.
"Alice?" Edward had opened one of the windows of his office and leaned out to call to her. She could practically see the urge to protect shimmering in the air around him. "What are you doing here?"
She shrugged. "Hey, Edward. I'm not doing anything. I just left work early and decided to come by to see you. Is this a bad time? I can go." She tucked her hair behind her ear as she watched his face shift while he decided what he wanted to say.
"No, no. Come on up. I've got something to show you anyway." He disappeared from view.
Alice sighed and with a last glare at the wall, picked her way across the floor to the VIP staircase. She wound her way around the tables and slipped through the partition. As she approached the second flight of stairs leading to Edward's office, a dull glow from a room she hadn't noticed before caught her eye. Always curious, she changed her route to determine what this new room was. Edward could wait.
She pushed the door open and her mouth dropped open. Several computer monitors covered much of one wall, mounted in precise lines. The image on each was a view of a different section of the club in an odd greenish cast. Night vision, she realized.
"Oh, hey."
She jumped at Edward's voice.
"Mmm, sorry," he said. "I thought you heard me." He slung an arm around her shoulder and pressed her to his side in a quick hug. "How's work?"
Alice wrinkled her nose. "Boring. What is this?" She waved at the monitors, knowing what it was but wanting to hear him say it.
"A monitoring system. I can't believe I didn't have one installed earlier," he said. His light eyes were serious as they watched her reaction. She said nothing, so he continued. "When that, you know, happened, it made me think about all the other women that might have suffered the same thing in one of my clubs. I hate that it took something happening to you to get it into my head, but I figured that having a system like this might decrease the incidence of assault, at least here."
"Oh," was all she said. She knew that he was waiting for more from her, but she couldn't quite muster up a response. "I hope it works."
A scowl crossed his face.
"No," she said, feeling bad about her reaction to his efforts. "This is a great idea. I'm just a little shook up from being in here. Even without all the people in it…it still has an effect, okay?"
Edward's features softened. "I'm sorry. I wanted to make you feel safer." He sat down in the swivel chair in front of the monitors.
She moved forward, placing her hand on his shoulder.
His hand covered hers and squeezed gently.
Alice appreciated how they didn't need to do or say anything to communicate, though it often frustrated the other members of the family. A small smile tilted the corners of her mouth upwards. Time to themselves didn't happen quite as often as it used to with Bella around. To be sure, Alice didn't really mind at all, because she loved Bella like family, but these moments were nice when they came along. It was like a tribute to the way things used to be without feelings of resentment or regret. It was soothing to know that the connection was still there. With a sigh, she stretched up and prepared to leave.
"I'll be home in a couple of hours. Tell Bella, would you?" he said as she shifted.
He always knew what she was thinking, almost before she did. She rolled her eyes kissed his cheek. "Will do, brother dear. I'll see you later."
The darkened stairwells and poorly lit dance floor seemed far less sinister than half an hour ago. She smoothed chapstick over her lips as she passed the "corner of hell" and only the barest flicker of apprehension slid through her. She smiled to herself. It wouldn't be long before she was back on her feet entirely.
She slid into her car with much higher spirits than she had possessed in getting out and demonstrated that lightness of feeling by blasting her favorite tunes at much higher volumes than usual. In fact, when she got home and shut off the car, she could still hear the bass from the last song thrumming in her head. She was going to have a headache later.
As she reached for the doorknob, the door separating the garage and the rest of the house flew open and Bella tumbled through with a soft shriek. Alice caught her hand and pulled, bringing her back to equilibrium. "You okay?" she asked with a smile.
Bella scowled. "Thanks," she said and tugged her clothing back into place. "Yeah, I'm fine. My feet just don't like me. You're home early."
Alice shrugged. "Yeah. It was slow and I couldn't take it anymore. Amelia can handle things for a few days."
Her friend's face brightened. "You're taking time off? Good, then you can help me study. I've got barely enough time to get prepared for finals. I'm going to need all the help I can get."
Alice couldn't help but laugh at the expression of desperation. "Of course." She looped her arm around the taller woman's waist and hugged her. "Edward said he'd be home in a couple of hours."
"Good. I wouldn't want him to miss dinner. I'm having someone over," she said, glancing at the large clock mounted over the workbench. "Oh, shoot. Can you grab some wine? I've got to check on the lamb." Bella whirled around and darted up the stairs, while Alice silently applauded as she made it up the stairs without a spill.
Wondering who could be their guest, Alice shuffled into the wine cellar and selected a few bottles of red and white, just to cover the bases. She took the stairs carefully, mindful of her high heels and the many bottles balanced in precarious positions. Bella met her at the top of the stairs and took two of the five bottles. Alice set the rest on the counter.
"Will you be okay? I'm going to go take a shower," Alice asked. She didn't really want to help and she knew that Bella didn't really want her help, but she had to ask.
Bella waved her off. "I think I'll be okay. Enjoy your shower." She turned her back and busied herself over the food in a frenzy.
Alice grinned and took off to her floor, shivering in anticipation of boiling hot water easing the tension in her body. She slipped through the door of her apartment and clothes started hitting the floor as she headed toward the bathroom. The hiss of the water moving through the pipes caused a deep sense of satisfaction to bubble through her body and on impulse she decided to take a bath. She closed the drain and sat back watching the steam rise as the tub filled.
The pipes groaned as she shut the water off. She set a big fluffy towel on the small table next to the bathtub and proceeded to enter the water in degrees. First the toes of her left foot, then her foot up to the ankle and so on until almost her entire body was submerged underwater. Soft moans of bliss issued from her throat as the heat enveloped her and the tension drained from her muscles in a slow but satisfying flow.
Nearly an hour passed and Alice didn't realize that she had fallen asleep until a sharp rap on her door jolted her from her dreams.
"Wake up!" Bella called. "Dinner's in forty-five and our guest will be here soon. You need to get ready."
Alice slowly shook herself awake and washed in a mild hurry. It wouldn't do to disappoint their guest.
Barely twenty minutes later, a record for Alice, she padded down the steps in her bare feet and hopped up to sit on the counter near the refrigerator where she would be mostly out of Bella's way. "So, who is this person?" she asked, running her fingers through the beaded fringe on her shirt.
"He's a friend, so be nice," Bella answered shortly.
Alice narrowed her dark eyes at her best friend. Bella was trying very hard not to give something away. Alice knew all the signs and it made her very suspicious. "He?" she asked, her voice deceptively mild.
"Yep," Bella said. She was very obviously not looking at Alice, keeping her eyes firmly on the food she was preparing.
Alice wanted to growl, but the doorbell rang and effectively cut off anything she was going to say.
"Could you get that?" Bella asked, the excitement in her voice barely contained.
It was a blind date, Alice realized as she slid to the floor. She glared at her best friend. "I thought that you were over trying to fix me up! This isn't funny, Bella. I'm sending him home." She didn't give Bella a chance to answer as she stomped down the steps, the sound not nearly as satisfying in her bare feet as when she wore boots. She flipped the locks and wrenched the door open in three angry motions, saying, "Look, pal. I don't know what Bella told you, but you can just – " The words froze in her throat as she stared at the man standing just outside the doorway. She knew that her mouth was hanging open and her eyes were wide, but she couldn't force her body to move. He looked just as surprised.
"Hello, Alice," Jasper said.
The obvious shock on her face and her lack of reaction to his greeting left Jasper feeling slightly uncomfortable. Whatever Bella had said, he was certain that this was not the reaction the woman had been hoping for, so he just watched her. Slowly, her features thawed and flowed back into a more relaxed expression, though her eyes remained wide.
"May I come in? Or would you prefer that I leave?" he asked, teasing her gently in an attempt to lighten the mood. "You don't seem too keen on me being here."
She shook herself a little and stepped back, good manners overriding her initial reaction. "No, please. Come in," she said a little breathily. She shut the door behind him and held out her hands. "Can I take your coat?"
Obligingly, he slid the trench from his shoulders and laid it across her hands. "Thank you," he said, watching her pull open the coat closet door and slip it onto a hangar.
With a small jerk of her head, she started up the stairs and he followed close behind, amused when he noticed that she had nothing on her feet. They reached the top of the stairs and she immediately made a beeline for the young woman darting around the large kitchen.
"Hello, Jasper," Bella greeted him warmly, ignoring Alice as she crossed the room to shake his hand. "Edward will be back soon. Would you like some wine?"
He smiled, noticing the strain at the corners of her mouth. "Yes. That would be lovely. Is there something that I might help you with?" He followed her across the expansive living room and into the large kitchen.
"Oh, no. I've got it handled. Red or white?"
He glanced at Alice, unable to quell the surge of desire he felt just seeing her again. No need to make it worse. "White, please."
Bella turned to the petite brunette with an expectant look. "Alice?"
Alice nodded. "Of course," she said softly and dodged neatly around the two of them to the refrigerator. She pulled a bottle from the door and opened it quickly, grabbing two glasses from the cupboard. She poured the wine with an expert hand, dumping considerably more into one glass than the other. There was a slight tremble in her hand as she handed him the less full glass.
He made sure their fingers touched when he took the glass from her and felt he won a small victory when her eyes finally flickered up to meet his. He thanked her and heat flared beneath her pale skin, drawing a beautiful flush to her cheek.
She took a long drink.
Jasper could practically see the emotions roiling through her as they flickered through the obsidian depths of her eyes. It was as though he could almost feel her apprehension and dismay, though it was tempered by her innate sensitivity. He glanced at the other woman and sensed her desperate hope for something good to come from this meeting in the way her gaze flitted between the two of them.
The deep rumbling of the garage door below them shattered the odd silence that fell over the room. The sound snapped whatever had been holding Alice together and she jumped to her feet from the seat she had taken at the counter. Wine sloshed over the rim of her glass as she practically threw it onto the counter. "That's Edward," she said and fled from the room to the garage stairs.
Jasper carefully schooled his face into a neutral expression as he stared at the glass in his hand, fighting the tide of despair threatening to drown him.
Bella laid her hand on his arm. "It will be okay."
"She doesn't want me here. I should go," he said.
Bella's hand tightened on his arm. "No," she snapped. Her eyes narrowed and her jaw set. "You are going to stay for dinner and Alice is just going to have to get over it."
Jasper disengaged her fingers. "I doubt that she'll like me any better if my company is forced upon her.