AnOther Alice: A Novel

Epilogue

(2 Weeks Later)

When the mint chocolate latte arrived, Alice thanked the waiter and watched as Leighton winced as she took a sip. She smiled at him, tilting her head to the side sweetly, and slid over to him the cup topped with white foam over a greenish liquid.

"If you're going to make that face," she said, "then you're going to have to at least try it before you judge it."

He shook his head. "No way, that'll be like eating toothpaste, and besides, my Viennese is here." The waiter returned with Leighton's drink, along with two slices of cherry cheesecake.

Alice looked in awe at what he'd ordered. "I pay my respects to your dentist. He's going to have a field day looking at all those cavities in your mouth."

That caused them both to laugh aloud—only now were they able to enjoy each other's company like this, without feeling like their lives were under threat, while on a normal date. Together. No guns. Eldritch-free. Zero anxiety.

Completely safe.

It was then that Leighton placed his hands on hers and looked into her eyes. There was something unsaid about the bonds people forged when faced with a crisis. The closeness they went into danger with, back then, was nothing compared to how inseparable they were now. Not that I'd want to experience this again. Even though I've gained friends for life now. Detective Kimura handled disposing of the creature's remains in such a way he stated...it will never surface again.

Gabriel was dropped from being a suspect, his life resumed at school, and he started painting again—the muse in his art bore a striking resemblance to Adelaide, and it was his way to cope. Kimura and McCullen would check on them from time to time. Xavier and Nadia started dating, and Jared and Kasper started developing an app together. Everything was changing for the better.

"Excuse me?"

The voice came from behind Alice, but felt like it was directed towards her. She turned around, and Leighton was watching as well. There was a person sitting with dark gloves on, holding up the menu that concealed their face. "Is your name Alice?"

Alice felt her stomach drop, and suddenly a familiar sense of dread began to kick in. Leighton looked equally as terrified, the glove-wearer folded down their menu to reveal—

"Gotcha."

Freaking Adrian.

"Mother—" Leighton pinched his brows.

Alice tried to contain herself, stopping her hands from reaching over and smacking her brother upside the head. She brought her hand to her face, calming herself. "That wasn't funny. You're such an asshole!"

Taking off his gloves, Adrian pulled over a chair and sat next to the couple. It was their second date, the first felt like a lifetime ago, three weeks after they'd torched the Otherling to dust, so her brother being here wasn't much of a mood killer.

It was better this way.