Alice
Everything was so strange. Looking at my old clothes, it was like they were from a life so far away from me. It looked like they were someone else's. The girl wearing those clothes was so naïve, so happy and carefree that it felt wrong to wear them. Like I was going to look like an impostor if I used some of them. That's why I took one of Rafi's hoodies and one of his sweatpants that I needed to roll a lot until I was able to walk in them. Leaving his room after the shower was strange, too. This idea I could walk wherever I wanted whenever I wanted was...it felt wrong in a way, and that made me so angry.
With a new determination, I walked out of his room in search of him. I found him sitting on the sofa, with his hands resting on his knees holding his phone between them, looking at the black screen like he was waiting for something.
"Hey." He looked at me when he heard my voice. His gaze inspected my clothing, a little smirk showing on his lips, but at the same time, his eyes looked sad.
"They look better on you..."
"Yeah, right."
"I love seeing you in my clothes."
"I love stealing them..."
"It was you, wasn't it? You stole my favorite blue hoodie from high school?" Yeah, I did. It was so soft, and it smelled like him, and I loved it. So, I took it one day from his room when he was not at home.
"Maybe... maybe not..." He was going to say something else when his phone rang.
"I need to take this." He was looking at me when he answered. His eyes were showing a little anxiety. And I understood why it was when I heard the voice on the other end screaming.
"Raphael Romero! How dare you keep my own daughter away from me after all these years! Who do you think you are?! You are no one to her... you are..." I couldn't stand and listen how my mother was ripping a new one on Rafi, and he was just letting it happen. Because of me... because I asked this of him. He didn't deserve it. So, I grabbed the phone from his hand and put it to my ear.
"Mom..." The other end went silent.
"Ali?" Her voice was trembling while trying to whisper my name.
"Yeah, mom, it's me."
"Oh, my baby! Where have you been! Why is your brother telling me you don't want us to come and see you?" Rafi tried to take the phone from me, but I shook my head. I knew that my mother wouldn't let Rafi speak on my behalf. She wouldn't believe it if she didn't hear it from me.
"I...it's kind of a long story for the phone, mom..."
"Then I'm coming tomorrow, and you'll..."
"NO."
"No?! But, Ali..."
"No, mom. I...I need some time."
"But we are your family. You need us to be with you and..."
"Mom...please... I know that it hurts you, but... I need it. I need some time for me to get back on track... on my own."
"But Raphael..."
"Will help me with all the stuff and will call you if I need you to come."
"This boy..."
"Saved my life. And you know he'll help me with whatever I need."
"I...I know he will, but..."
"You want to do you yourself."
"Yeah, I do. I'm your mother, and I am supposed to take care of my children, not someone else."
"But you know he is not just someone else." We haven't seen each other for years. I had no idea what he's been doing throughout these years, but from the little he's shown me for now, I know that he'll help me. We may not continue our relationship like before, but he'll always be one of my closest friends.
"I... I know."
"Good."
"I missed you, Ali."
"I missed you, too, mom. And dad, and Andy... Missed you all."
"Will you ever tell me where've you been all these years?"
"I'm not sure."
"But..."
"Let's take it one thing at a time, okay?" I wasn't sure that my family could bear the knowledge of what had happened to me. And I didn't want to worry them at this point. I knew that when they knew the story, they'd see me differently. They'll act differently. And this was something I didn't need right now.
"Okay. Love you."
"Love you, too, mom." I ended the call before she decided to ask something else from me... like change my mind on her visiting me.
"You okay?" Rafi was watching me, searching my face for any sign of distress.
"As okay as I can be right now." I sat next to him, and he immediately put his hand around me, pulling me closer to his body and holding me tight.
"You know I was going to make it work with your mom? In the end she was going to listen to me..."
"Yeah, no. She wouldn't, and we both know it. But thanks for trying. You didn't deserve for her to be yelling at you like that."
"It was not a big deal, Ali. It's not the first time and I think it won't be the last, too."
"Yeah, you're probably right."
"I'm always right."
"Confident much?"
"Always." Damn, I missed our senseless conversation so much. "Honestly, I don't want to do it right now, but we have to go to the Police for you to give your statements." Shit. I knew that I'll need to do you, just hoped it won't be so soon.
"Now?"
"Yeah, the investigators weren't very happy that I took you away from the scene and kept you here, so if we don't go sooner, they'll come here and try to take you..."
"Okay, let's get this over with."
***It was a hard conversation with her mom, but look at her - Ali did it all on her own... no tears involved, too.
STAI LEGGENDO
The Bursting Heat (Book 2) ✓
Storie d'amoreAlice "Ali" Baker had it all. She had an amazing loving family, a big brother to follow everywhere, and a neighbor who made her heart burst from desire. See, Raphael Romero was all she ever wanted since she was in diapers, and that's not even an exa...
