No More Mistakes

Chapter 5

"Okay, don't get mad-" Tanya warned as she slowly backed away from the window and turned to Alice.

"What do you mean, don't get mad T?" Alice asked through gritted teeth as she fiercely stared her down.

"A nurse approached me in the hall and kept hassling me about you, and she said she'd contact social services because you're still a minor."

Alice's mouth gaped widely as her eyes widened in fury and fear. "You couldn't just give them my Mom's details?" Alice said angrily.

"No, I couldn't!" She snapped quickly before calming herself down. "Because, because nobody's seen your Mom in weeks." Tanya revealed in a panic. She regretted it the minute she spoke it but she had to tell Alice the truth somehow, the situation they were currently in couldn't have gotten any worse.

Alice's face dropped the minute those words came out of Tanya's mouth. She looked down at her feet as she felt like the wind had been knocked out of all her sails. She looked totally defeated, but did a good job at trying to mask it.

"Well, no surprise there. She's probably on another bender." Alice scoffed quietly with tears forming in her eyes. She had mixed feelings on her mother's disappearance, most of them having negative connotations while only a small part of her felt minor concern.

Her mother had her when she was in high school and she never knew her father. Her mother barely talked about him, so it just lead her to the conclusion that she was the result of a one night stand and never asked about him again.

Most of Alice's childhood consisted of lonely nights when her mother was at bar's getting hammered, and to top it off she'd always bring random men home, and sometimes they'd be more interested in her than her mother.

One afternoon, her mother's latest gentlemen friend got a little too handsy with her and she decided enough was enough and was couch surfing for a few weeks before moving in with Hal.

It was one of the main things that prompted her to move in with him and leave the Southside behind for good as all it brought was bad memories.

"Did she know you were pregnant?" Tanya asked her.

Alice scoffed before rolling her eyes in disapproval. "Yep. And she slapped me across the face when I told her." She revealed with a sniffle. "And then she proceeded to yell at me for giving her another mouth to feed. And then guess what she said right after?" Alice continued as tears began to fall down her face.

"What?"

"That I should just drop the kid and leave it on someone's doorstep because it's bound to be a failure just like me." Alice cried. Tanya gasped in disbelief, she knew Alice's mother was a hard case but hearing that was just too much.

They were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. They knew it was most likely Hal and they prepared for the upcoming storm that was about to occur.

He slowly stepped into the room, a fierce and scowling look on his face as he laid eyes on a frozen and clearly anxious Alice. It took him a second to spot Tanya. He looked her up and down before fixing his eyes on the serpent tattoo that sat in her wrist and immediately fell uncomfortable. He met her eyes with disgust.

"Problem?" Tanya rhetorically asked, as she smugly leaned her head to the side.

"I need to talk to my girlfriend, in private." Hal said angrily.

"I'm comfortable here, thank you." Tanya added slyly as she sat back in the leather chair by Alice's bed side, sensing his anger and wanting to piss him off further, she wasn't going to be scared by some Northsider.

Hal's jaw tightened as he tried to reign the bubbling anger in, but it eventually got the best of him. "Get out ,serpent scum!" Hal surprisingly roared as he began to approach her.

Tanya immediately sprang out of her seat, prepared to dominate him. "Make me you prick!" She snapped.

"STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU." Alice screamed before checking back on the baby. He seemed to be fine and managed to stay asleep through the commotion. "T, I'll be fine, just give us a moment." Alice said quietly.

Tanya turned back around in shock. "I'm not leaving you alone with him."

"Tanya please." Alice pleases as her voice went soft. "I'll be fine, just give us a minute." She assured her. She wasn't quite sure herself if she'd be fine but she needed to talk to Hal on her own.

Tanya grabbed her coat from the end of the bed and began to walk out, budging past Hal on the way. He angrily watched as she did and turned back to Alice the minute she shut the door.

She immediately regret leaving Alice alone with him. She had always suspected he was a piece of shit, but that little confrontation gave her all the confirmation she needed.

She needed to do something about this situation and help Alice the best way she could, so she proceeded to leave the hospital immediately to make a visit.

"Who was that?" He questioned, gesturing to the door she had just walked out of. "And why didn't you tell me you were here at the hospital? The nurse told my Mom you've been here for hours."

"First of all she's a friend and second of all-" She continued before Hal interrupted her.

"You know what? It doesn't even matter." He protested before grabbing her purse and coat. "Mom's already handled everything, and Sister Woodstock is coming by tomorrow. The hospital agreed to erase any records of this and we can finally leave it all behind us." Hal continued.

"No. I don't think so." Alice said sternly.

He paused, slowly shifting his block head in her direction as he narrowed his eyes at her statement. Was he hearing right? "What are you talking about, Alice?!"

"You heard what I said." She reiterated fiercely, stunned at the sudden boldness from her. "I should've never listened to you."

"Alice I-"

"I'm not giving him away. I'm not, I just can't." She stated sadly. He's my son, and I love him so much already. So no, I'm not giving him away to be raised by complete strangers. And I don't care what you think about it. You can live with it or not but at the end of the day, this is my choice to make." She finished proudly, pointing directly at her chest to emphasise that this was her decision and nobody else's.

He was silent for a minute and Alice glared at him, not sure what he was about to do, confused almost, until he took her by surprise, slamming his fists onto the bed railings and frightening Alice immediately.

He ran his hands down his red fury filled face, taking a deep breath as he did.

"You've just given birth. Your minds all over the place right now, you don't know what you're saying. Heck you're probably still on whatever drugs the doctors gave you." He laughed, with and heir of creepiness added to his voice.

"And come tomorrow, Sister Woodstock from the Sister's of Quiet Mercy will be here, to handle the adoption discreetly." He continued with a slight eerily shift in his voice.

He slowly stepped towards her and she pulled her knees up to her chest clutching the blanket closer to her in fear. He was right next to her face and her eyes immediately met his.

"And everything, will go back to normal. Just the way it should be." He continued before moving a strand of her hair out of her face and running his finger along her cheek.

"I'll see you tomorrow Alice." He whispered before kissing her on the cheek, sensing how uncomfortable she was. She watched as he slowly walked out the room and the minute he left, she let out the breath she had been holding in. She had never truly been scared of him until that moment.