See? I told you I'd upload the next chapter on the same day! Hope you guys like it!
Alice comes back from winter break more worried than relieved. Her brother is doing well in university, and her grades look good in terms of getting a scholarship to a prestigious university. But the thing with her back bothers her to no end.
You coming down to Nicky's tonight? Reid sends her a text as she pulls into Brody's to drop off some papers. Pogue wants to celebrate that you're back. And I think I can finally beat you at pool now ;) ;P His name in her phone is Casanova.
Alice laughs. Yeah she writes, I'll be there in half-an-hour. I've got to drop something at Brody's first
Sweet Casanova replies simply.
Alice enters the biker bar, and the scent of whisky, old leather, and burgers hits her nose. Nicky's may be a favorite of rich teens from Spencer, but Brody's was a classic among the oldies in this part of Massachusetts.
"Alice, you waitressing tonight?" An older man, Wily Joe, called out from a table he's sharing with his buddies. At the bar, a younger but not young man turns to watch her.
"Sorry Joe," Alice calls, heading behind the bar to Brody's office, "I'm not on tonight."
"We've missed you though," Wily Joe calls back, "When will you be back?"
"Tomorrow," Alice smiles at them before disappearing into Brody's office. After dropping off the papers, her 4-month notice because she doesn't think she'll want to be working 2 jobs during finals, she reenters the bar.
Joe and his friends are immersed in a drinking game, but the man behind the bar looks like he could use another pint.
"You want another one?" Alice asks, removing his glass and grabbing a new one.
"I thought you weren't working tonight?" The man asks, bright eyes sparkling behind middle-aged skin. If he were younger, Alice would consider him good-looking. "But I was having the lager if you want to pour me another pint."
"No worries," Alice pours the lager from the tap. She sets it in front of him, "You're new right? Just passing through or planning on becoming a regular?" She adds the extra pint to his bill, making conversation.
"I'm thinking of sticking around," He says, taking a sip of the lager. He puts the pint down and extends a hand, "I'm Chase," He smiles, "Chase Pope."
"That's cool, my friend Pogue used to have a friend named Chase," Alice smiles and shakes his hand, "Obviously not you because they went to school together, but that's still cool."
"Obviously," Chase smiles and Alice feels an unpleasant tickle at the back of her neck, "And your name is?"
"Alice," Alice retracts her hand, "Nice to meet you. I'm in here a lot, waitressing and bartending, so I'm sure I'll see you around. Have fun with your pint, sorry but I have to run." She smiles at him and leaves the bar. His eyes follow her.
When Alice gets to Nicky's, she notices two things. One, Reid looks like a kicked puppy for some reason, and two, Pogue is radiating energy.
Alice makes her way through the crowd, dropping a quick hello to Nicky as she passes in the form of a nod, and ends up at the Spencer kids table.
"Alice!" Pogue jumps up and catches her in a good-natured, tight hug, "How was Maine? How's Ram?" He's smiling when he lets her go.
"Maine was fun," She says as she hugs both Sarah and Kate, who have attacked her since Pogue let her go, "Ram's good. He's doing well at college, he misses the guys at the shop though. Apparently, they're not as great in California."
"Of course they wouldn't be," Pogue smiles and pulls out a chair for Alice to sit in, "You want something?" He asks over the music.
"A hamburger with bacon," Alice replies back, smiling and nodding at Caleb and Tyler. Reid doesn't acknowledge her, which makes her frown.
Alice makes small talk with Kate and Sarah, commenting on the movie she saw in Maine with her brother, and ignores Reid.
Pogue drops the burger in front of Alice, climbing into the chair next to her, "Your brother mentioned another episode, what happened?" He asks softly. Across the table, Caleb turns ever so slightly to hear better.
"I just dropped again," Alice says before taking a bite, "No warning. It was over in like a minute, but apparently, I was seizing pretty bad on the ground."
Caleb frowns but doesn't say anything, turning back to his conversation with Sarah. Reid talks lowly with Tyler, not acknowledging Alice in any way.
"You sure you're okay?" Pogue presses as Alice starts to eat, "Maybe you should go to the hospital, have a brain scan done or something. That's the second in a couple of months, right?"
"Yeah, since I turned 18," Alice frowns, "But I don't have the money for the doctor, and I'm going to be put on the pro-bono list because I work two jobs and am in full-time education."
It's Pogue's turn to frown, "Are you sure? They sound bad from what Ram told me,"
"I'm sure," Alice rolls her eyes, "And Ram's over exaggerating, you know he likes to do that."
"Okay," Pogue squeezes her shoulder affectionately, "I'm here if you need anything, okay?"
"I know," Alice laughs and shoves his arm off, "Now go pay attention to your girlfriend," She shoves his shoulder so he faces the other way.
Without Pogue to talk to, Alice feels like the odd woman out. She eats her food slowly, her mind racing with the talk of her episodes. The seizures aren't bad, but the accompanying feelings of being struck by lighting, and the marks on her back worry her the most. What do they mean? Who can she talk to about them, since she can't exactly go to the doctor? Why are they appearing? It's more than a medical condition, but who's going to believe that tattoo's randomly show up on her skin?
Alice doesn't realize she's finished until she looks down and her plate is empty. Her mind is swirling and the atmosphere in Nicky's suddenly feels like a prison, constricting her. Pogue's shoulder accidentally hits her as he talks animatedly with Kate and it feels like an electric shock to her system.
"You okay?" Caleb asks suddenly, looking at her.
"I have to get some air," Alice stands up, the hairs on the back of her neck rising as she feels a familiar sensation passing over the back of her neck. Like a cool breeze just went by, only none did. That had been happening to her randomly since she was 13.
Alice makes it outside and breathes heavily, leaning against the wall. Her mind clears, and the sensation building in her chest dissipates. The sky above twinkles with stars barely seen behind the neon road lights lining the alley.
"You okay?" Reid leans against the doorway Alice just came out of, concern very naked on his face.
"You care now?" Alice bites out, trying to control her breathing.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Reid asks defensively.
"You invited me here, and you barely acknowledge me the whole time I'm around," Alice doesn't want to have this conversation now, not when her head is recovering from whatever the fuck happened in there, but once she's on a roll she can't stop.
"Oh what? You freaked the fuck out because I didn't acknowledge you in there?" Reid yells.
"A hello or something would have been nice!" Alice yells back, "And that's not the reason I'm out here asshole, god how fucking narcissistic can you be!" She balls her hand into a fist, "Just go back inside Reid, I'm not in the mood to deal with company." Her anger flares inside her, and she begins to feel like punching the wall until her hand breaks.
She's at her tipping point, she knows that. Maybe she'll be okay this time.
Reid looks like he wants to say something else but doesn't instead heading back inside and letting the door slam shut.
Alice breathes heavily in the alleyway before slamming her fist into the wall as hard as she can; once, twice, three times.
"Stupid fucking idiot," She whispers to herself harshly before running a hand through her hair. The motions calms her as she leans against the wall, bringing her hand up to her face. It's going to bruise, she knows that for sure, but it doesn't look or feel like anything's broken.
At least she hopes nothing's broken. Broken bones don't mend well when you're a mechanic and a waitress.
Alice leans in the alley for sometime, letting the calm of the night air wash over her. Anger gets her nowhere. Maybe she should apologize to Reid.
She shakes her head, she never apologizes. That means admitting weakness, and while she knows the boy know about her seizures, that's a medical weakness, and apologizing means revealing a mental weakness.
Better to just leave, which is exactly what she does.
Hope you liked it! Please R&R so I get feedback!
-Margii