Chapter 2

Back To Life

The next day, Alison found herself awaking on Felix's couch. Her eyes scanned the flat for anyone else. She spotted Cosima and Delphine in bed together as she lifted her head. She raised an eyebrow. There is so much these girls just don't tell me, Alison thought. She shook her head and got up from the couch. She gathered her things into her arms. She wondered if Felix, Sarah and Paul were having any luck. She stared at the pink mobile that sat there silently.

After a moment, she picked it up and placed it in her right pocket. Her keys were in the right pocket of her jacket. If it was any other way, Alison might have lost her mind. As she opened the door, the noise shook Cosima out of her slumber. She looked up from the bed at Alison with hurt in her eyes.

"Where are you going?" Cosima asked.

"Out," Alison said.

"Why didn't you wake me up to say bye?" Cosima pressed.

Alison closed her eyes for a moment and slowly shut the door. She turned around to face Cosima. She began to point her finger at her and she said, "you have some nerve you know that?"

"What?" Cosima said with a hint of confusion on her tone.

"You heard me! You have this girl here, you are with her obviously and I didn't know who she was until yesterday!" Alison shouted.

This made Delphine jump in bed. Her eyes shot open as she sat up in bed. The covers fell off her chest revealing her breasts. Cosima eyed Delphine's naked chest and laughed. She found it adorable and rather French of her girlfriend. Alison shielded her eyes and made a gasping noise with her mouth.

"What did I do?" Delphine asked innocently.

"Delphine, I know that perhaps things are different in France but this is Canada where God still pays attention!" Alison explained in a slightly squeaky voice.

"Alison!" Cosima shouted. "Come on, not cool!"

"Just because you have a free spirited pot smoking college attitude does not mean the rest of us do, Cosima," Alison scoffed.

Delphine covered herself up and was still sitting on the bed with a quizzical look on her face. "Alison, I didn't tell you about Delphine because I was dealing with a lot. I couldn't even tell any of you that I was sick. In fact, you are the only one who DOES know that. So how about you keep that secret huh?" Cosima said pointedly.

Alison stood silent for a moment before she turned around for the door. "I won't tell anyone," she said over her shoulder. "I promise."

Cosima smiled as Alison smiled back and walked through the door.

The dark alley that the body of Sarah and Helena's birth mother had once inhabited was silent and darkness filled every corner. The form of Helena's body was rigid in the dark. Her eyes were open staring straight into the ceiling. She had succumbed to the pain and was out cold for the last two days. Now, here she was. Laying in a pool of her own blood. Frozen by the air that swept through the building.

She managed to move her head. Slowly, she moved her right arm. It felt as if it was breaking in a million pieces. The bullet was lodged in her skin. She looked down to see the blood on Sarah's shirt. She gritted her teeth as she pulled the bullet out. The pain was unbearable but she managed to keep her consciousness. She noticed that her body needed attention. With agony ripping through her body, she managed to move herself in a position where she could get to her feet.

Gingerly, she rose from her grave. She limped outside and looked around for a vehicle. She spoted a Harley Davidson motorcycle that no one was around. With all of her might, she draged herself over to the bike. She left behind a bloody trail as she stumbled. She fought back the urge to scream in pain. She knew that no one could know she was there. She had to be completely silent.

She opened the bike's motor and easily hotwired it. Her fingers expertly covered it back up. A smile crept on her face as she mounted it. With a kick of her heels, the motorcycle came to life and her blood continued to drip from the open bullet wound. With a look of determination, Helena rode the bike out of the area.

Alison made her way back to Tobias' apartment. She wasn't sure why she was going back to him but there was something unsettling about the fact that not only was her husband a monitor, her mother was as well. She shook her head and fought back tears that pressed their way out from her eyes. She wiped them away as she saw his apartment building coming into focus.

She parked her SUV and exited it. She looked up at his flat and gathered herself. Once she felt ready, she took a few steps into the complex. While she was walking she smiled the scent of laundry being done. She loved the smell so she followed it. She stood for a moment enjoying it. I have to remember to enjoy these little things when they present themselves, she thought. As she opened her eyes, she saw Tobias in the process of retrieving his clothes out of a dryer.

Alison walked up to him quietly. She wasn't sure what made her do it but she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him into her. An odd surprised noise came from his throat. He turned around to see who was hugging him and he smiled brightly.

"Alison, it's great to see you!" he greeted her. "What brings you back?"

She smiled ear to ear. She couldn't help it. If Donnie really was her monitor, the marriage was over. She had thoughts of him. How his love must be a fake. It explained the affairs he must have had. This was Alison's time to have what she wanted.

"Tobias," Alison said, "There is so much wrong with this world. My mother was my monitor until the day I met Donnie when I was in high school. Seven years we've been married. We dated for three years before that. I just wanted to see a face of someone who genuinely liked me."

Tobias' smiled faded. "Alison, I'm sorry you read that. I couldn't bring myself to tell you. I figured you would find out with the others and that might be easier. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"It's fine Tobias," Alison said. She dismissed him with her hands and then wrapped her arms around him.

"Are you coming on to me?" he asked awkwardly.

Alison laughed at his innocence. "You are the youngest man I've ever been with. Donnie is a year older than me. Chad was even older. I think it's time I see what it's like to sexually object a young man like you."

Tobias laughed. "Sexually object?" He shook his head and wrapped his arms around her. He pulled her closer. "I wouldn't mind if you did that."

"Good cause it's happening Toby," she laughed.

He leaned into her and kissed her softly on her lips. She threw herself into him. Her lips pressed into his. She explored every itch of his mouth with hers. Tobias broke away. "We should go inside," he said. "With our luck, someone we don't want seeing us is going to see us."

"Good point," Alison agreed. "Come on. Into your apartment, Toby. I'm not waiting."

She grabbed onto his hand and led him down the hallway to his flat. She laughed the entire way over.

Later that day, Alison found herself waking up on top of Toby's naked body. The entire afternoon came to her. She looked down at him with an impish smile. His eyes were closed as he slept. He looks like a fluffy bear when he sleeps. How adorable, she thought. Her smile grew larger as she leaned down to kiss him.

He kissed her back as he woke from his quiescency. Their lips parted slowly. He looked up at her with a smile. "Hi," he greeted.

"Hi," she giggled.

"I'm horrible at this," he admitted. "I'm not sure what is supposed to happen next."

"You think a lot don't you?" Alison asked.

"Huh?" he said as he cocked his head to the side.

"You're over thinking this," she laughed. "Come on, get up. Get dressed. I just had a really terrible idea."

Tobias wasn't sure what she meant but she was getting up from his bed. She reached for her knickers and then for her trousers. She slid them on and turned around to make sure he was getting up, which he was. He was on his feet and already in his trousers.

Once they were dressed, Alison took his hand. "I need to go tell Donnie to get out. I have to tell him it's over. I don't think that is going to go over so well. Especially since he's my monitor. The last time I mentioned divorce he was certain I'd come back. Which I completely did but not this time. He's going to know something is different," she said rapidly.

He put his hands on her shoulder to calm her down, "It's okay, I'm here for you." He looked into her eyes. His heart broke when a look of sorrow came over her.

"Please, I need you to come with me and protect me if something goes wrong," Alison pleaded.

Tobias cocked an eyebrow. "You hit this guy on the head with a golf club, tied him up and tortured him with a hot glue gun," he stated.

"Yes, what's your point?" she asked.

"Well, my point is, you are more than capable of doing it yourself," he said. "You're a strong woman even though you don't really see it. I think you can handle Donnie. I'm going but only if things go bad."

"Did you just psychoanalyze me?" Alison squeaked.

"Yeah, I guess I did," he said. "But I also see that you want me to protect you." He laughed. "Very cute."

"Just do me the favour before I change my mind about liking you," she grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him into her for a kiss.

"Alright, you got it," he said with a smile.

Alison smiled as she once again grabbed his hand and led him out of the home.

Helena drove back to a secret hide away she had. She left the bike next to her dirty mattress. The room looked much like her other hiding places. Grungy white walls with paintings she did herself in her own blood.

She sat down on the mattress and opened up a first aid kit that sat next to it. Inside was thread and needle. She took it into her hands and gingerly began to sew her wound. The blood stained her clothes, her skin and her hair. She screamed in pain as the needle pierced her skin. She gritted her teeth each time it penetrated her skin. In and out she went until the wound was patched.

Sweat rolled down her brow as she cleaned the blood with a wet cloth. "Sarah," she said aloud to no one. "I will forgive you, sister. This time."

Helena got up on her feet and walked over to a makeshift closet. She stripped off her bloody clothes and looked for new clothes. She took out a t-shirt, smelled it and tossed it aside. "No, that is not right," she said.

She took out one piece of clothes after the other until she found a white tank top. She examined it for a while before deciding that it was the one she wanted. "Sister," she said as she slipped into a pair of trousers. "Why did you do this?"

Her green jacket was stained with her blood. She looked at it with a despondence in her eyes. "You ruined my jacket, sister," she sadly said. She traced her fingers over the blood. She brought her fingers to her mouth and licked the blood off the tips. "That is okay. I will find you. I will find, Kira."

Helena turned around and took another jacket out from the closet. She put it on and mounted the motorcycle again. She revved it back to life and rushed out of the hiding place with an urgency.

Alison drove up to her house with Tobias in the passenger side. He looked at the house and nodded. "I only saw this place in photos," he said. "Leekie must have spent a lot of money on this place."

She turned around to stare at him with an open mouth. "Excuse me?" she questioned. "Donnie didn't buy this house for me? That lying bastard! Wait, are you lying to me?"

"It's in the records I gave you which are real," he said. "Cosima is smart. She would have spotted a fake by now. I'm telling you the God honest truth. Dr. Leekie bought this house for Donnie so he could lock the deal with you. Don't you find it odd that he was able to afford this right out of university?"

Alison sighed and placed her hands on her face. "This is just getting worse and worse," she said. "Donnie is a dead man."

"Don't kill him," he said. "Even if he is a lying sack of shit and even though I hate him, don't do it. I know you Alison. You won't be able to live with it."

He was right and she didn't want him to be right. She wanted him to be wrong. She should have stopped Aynesley from dying. There were thoughts in the back of her head that wouldn't really leave her alone. She nodded. "Fine but if he gets violent with me, he's dead," she said.

"That's okay," he said. "That will be self-defense. Now, how are we going to do this? Please don't tell me you are going to go in there and introduce me as your new lover."

"That's not a bad idea," she said with a smile. "I can say I'm leaving him for you!"

"Bad idea, I don't know if Leekie has told him anything about me or my dad," he pointed out. "He might know who I am."

"You really think so?" she asked.

"Yes, I do," he said. "Here is what we'll do. I'm going to go with you but I won't go into the room with you and him. Get him into the living room and I can wait in the foyer. If something goes wrong or if he hurts you, I can jump in and help you beat him to death."

"It's sexy that you would beat my ex-husband to death for my honour," she smiled.

"I would seriously do anything for you," he said.

She leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. "Let's go in and do this thing," Alison said.

They left the SUV and walked through the front yard. She took out her keys from her pocket and opened the door slowly. She looked back at Tobias who was quietly following behind her. She walked into the house as slowly as she could but Donnie had heard her. She heard him coming down from up stairs.

"Shit!" she whispered. "Get into this closet!" Alison opened the door and pushed Tobias into it. She manged to close it on him just in time. Donnie was down the stairs and eying Alison suspiciously.

"You're back," he scoffed. "Finally, you do know you have two kids who need their mother right?"

"I'm aware, Donnie," Alison scoffed back. She didn't move from in front of the closet door.

"Why did you open the closet? Getting another one of my clubs?" he asked harshly.

"You know what Donnie, this was perfect for a day and then I realised something, I was wrong," Alison said. "I was so delusional to think that this could work. That we would work out. That our kids wouldn't have to deal with a broken family but I can't do this anymore."

"What the fuck are you talking about, Alison? It's only been two days since you left without saying a Goddamn word!" Donnie bellowed. He made his way down the stairs and was now face to face with her.

"Donnie, don't you dare get in my face like this! Back off!" Alison shouted as she pushed him.

He grabbed her arms and pulled her in. "Shut up, the kids are upstairs," he whispered. "Do you want them to hear their parents fighting? Do you want them to hear that their family is breaking apart? That you were to blame for it?"

Alison's face twisted in a mix of emotions ranging from hurt to anger. "You slimy piece of shit!" she spat on him. "You are just the biggest ass and this is why I'm leaving you! I thought I was the rock of this family! I thought you were going to change!"

As if he was programmed, Donnie let go of her. He stepped back and looked at her with a puppy dog look on his pathetic face. "I did," he said. "I wanted to change all of this but you are so fucking difficult! I feel like I can't make you happy! You know we haven't had sex in forever! That's why I have those porn movies!"

Alison slapped him. "NO! You had those there to deter me from the science bullshit you were sending to Dr. Leekie! WEREN'T YOU?!" she screamed.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Donnie shouted back.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about, Donnie," she hissed. "I asked you this when I had you tied up in the basement. Remember? I asked you about this experiment. I asked you all about this. That was your chance to prove to me that you love me and you should have TOLD me instead of making me feel like I was GOING INSANE! INSTEAD OF MAKING ME KILL AYNESLEY! You fucking piece of shit! You could have helped me!"

"You want me to do what Paul did? I heard all about it," he said. "How he protected Sarah's honour. How he was about to give up his precious little military life for her. Here's the thing Alison, he did that out of love. Do you think I love you? How could ANYONE love you?"

Alison stood frozen. Tears flooded from her eyes. She couldn't control her rage. She flew at him with such a force that he was knocked to the floor with a loud thud. Tobias flung the closet door open and rushed over. He tried to get Alison off Donnie but there was no stopping her.

Her fists were raining down punch after punch on him. She found a strength she didn't know she possessed. Tobias watched as she screamed with each hit. The blood was starting to run down his face. He grabbed her by her hair and flung her off of him.

"You bitch!" he shouted. "Who the fuck is this?"

"My name is Tobias," he said. "And I'm the guy who could love her because Alison is fucking amazing. You have no idea what you had you stupid shit."

He slugged Donnie across the face knocking him unconscious. He turned to Alison with a frown. She rushed over to him and hugged him tight. "My kids, we have to go get them and get out of here," she said. "I can't trust him with my kids!"

"Alright, let's go," Tobias urged.

They made their way up the stairs. Alison rushed into her daughter's room. "Gemma, sweetheart," she whispered softly as she gently woke her up from her slumber.

"Mom?" Gemma turned over to look over at her. Her innocent eyes were still half-way closed from lack of sleep.

"We have to go, honey," she said.

"Why do we have to go?" she asked.

"Something bad is happening, I won't lie to you," she said. "You can't trust your father okay?"

"What's going on?" she asked in a more panicked tone.

"It's all going to be alright," she said. "Now, come on. We have to get up and go now."

Alison took her daughter's hand in hers and rushed to her son's room. She looked over at Tobias. "Can you hold her?" she asked.

He nodded his head and took Gemma by the hand. "Who are you? Are you Mom's friend?" she asked.

"You could say that," he replied. "I'm Tobias."

"Hi, I'm Gemma," she said with a smile.

He smiled back at her as Alison woke her son Oscar up from sleep. "Come on, we have got to go. I'll explain everything to you kids." She held her son's hand as Tobias held onto Gemma's. Together, they rushed down the stairs.

Donnie was still unconscious on the floor. Tobias shielded Gemma's eyes while Alison shielded Oscar's. "We have to go through the back. Quietly," Alison whispered.

They made their way downstairs to the basement. Down the stairs they hurried. Tobias ended up scooping up Gemma in his arms to go faster. She held onto his neck tightly as they made their way to the back door. They were almost out. Freedom was only steps away. However, from upstairs, Alison could hear the sound of Donnie getting up. He was so enraged that he punched a hole into the wall. The entire house shook.

Tears were forming at her eyes as she heard him bust the basement door open. "ALISON! IF IT WASN'T FOR THEM WANTING YOU ALIVE, I WOULD KILL YOU RIGHT NOW!" he shouted at the top of his lungs from the top of the stairs.

Alison sobbed as she tore the back door open and took her kids out of the house. Her thoughts were racing though her head; now what am I going to do?