LOST

Chapter 1

February 20, 1 AM

Alice lies still. Deathly still.
No blankets. No pillow. Just the rock hard mattress. She can faintly hear her parents screaming outside her room. The fan above her spins slowly, tired after all these hours of providing cool air. Something crashes. Her mom screams.
Her eyes slide closed.
~~~
"So you've come back have you." He says with a voice full of sarcasm. "Thought you'd never make it."
A sharp pain jabs Alice's skull and she yelps in pain. His voice. So loud.
"How've you been Alice?" He smiled. Alice opens her tired eyes and stares blankly into his blue orbs. His iced blue eyes. They twinkle in the moonlight. The specks of dark blue casting his eyes into an ocean. An ocean of deep sadness.
"Alice?" He gently, ever so gently, grabs her hand and lifts her off of the grass. She stumbles, but gains balance.
"I'm okay. How bout you. Terrance." Her words come out in a snap. Her pain sliding over the words like water over stone. He looks at her, it's obvious he detected the lie within her words.
"I'm pretty good. Living in a dream gets pretty boring though." He smirks and Alive pushes him. "It's not my fault you're a figment of my imagination." He cocks his head. "Actually. Yes. It is." He laughs.
Two years ago, Alice had made this world. This world she could go to at night, or during the day to escape. To escape her father yelling at her. Her mother ignoring her daughters pain. Her peers bullying her.
Escape. That seemed to be a thing she did quite a lot lately.
"What should we do?" Terrance asks. Without a word, Alice turns. Used to her actions, Terrance follows her as she climbs the tree. Their tree. The tree where they spent countless nights staring at the always full moon. Waiting. Waiting for the moment Alice would have to go.
She leans against the trunk and Terrance places his hand atop hers.
They were basically polar opposites. In looks anyway. Alice, with white blonde hair, pale skin, grey eyes with blue specks, and a lean skinny body. Terrance, with midnight black hair, tan skin, brown eyes, and lean but muscled features.
Their personalities are much the same.
They are both quiet, unsociable. They both share the anger qualities, anxiety, and depression. He's the only reason Alice hasn't committed suicide yet.
Neither of them speak. They just stare out at the full moon. At the green treetops. The leaves and branches so thick the the ground seems to have disappeared.
Alice always wondered why her mind created this world. Her counselor says it's because she needs something to help cope. Cope with the anxiety. The cutting. The depression.
"Why aren't there any stars." Terrance asks. Mostly to himself, but Alice examines the sky. She never really noticed how the sky held only the moon. And this moon, was about 10 times larger then the one on earth. It took up a lot of the sky.
"Stars are irrelevant. Much like us." She knew it was a rhetorical question, but she couldn't help answering. Terrance glances at Alice. Her face is blank, her eyes glinting. Her hair a sheet of white.
"Irrelevancy. Hm." He mutters and turns back to the sky. Alice drops her gaze to her hand lying in her lap. Her left hand. She turns her wrist till her soft underside is exposed.
Terrance knows about the cutting. He knows everything.
The scars stand out largely against her pale skin. Some recent. Some ancient. She pulls her hand away from Terrance and traces the scars. Running horizontally all the way to her elbow. They are rough, countless, and evil. But she can't help doing that to her self.
Terrance watches her. As she traces the scars. And a tear, a small silver tear escapes Alice's eye. He immediately brushes it away, and Alice looks at him. Her eyes glisten with the tears. Terrance bites his tongue to keep from screaming in frustration. He can't do anything. He's so helpless.
She collapses into his arms and sobs. Sobs into his chest.
"I love you. I'll see you later." And she's back. Back to her life. Without Terrance.
She realizes she's hugging a pillow, tears soaking the case. And her mom is sitting next to her.
"Are you okay sweetie?" Bethany strokes her daughters hair with a worried look. Alice wipes the tears and plasters an ice cold look on her face.
"I'm fine mom. Do I have school?" Alice asks, hopeful. Bethany's eyes spark. "Today's a big day Alice. We are leaving." Bethany smiles widely and Alice sits up.
"What do you mean. Are we going on vacation?" Her mother wipes the excess tears. "No sweetie. We are moving. Away from your father. We're going to live with your grandma in Arizona." Of course, Bethany expects Alice to be happy. Her father abused her!
But Alice is emotionless. She knows her father will still have shared custody, and all because her mom is to scared of taking it to court.
"Cool. When are we leaving." Alice swings out of bed and opens her dresser.
"We are going to pack until 11. Then we will get lunch and head to Arizona." Alice nods. Before leaving the small room, Bethany, a 31 year old mom, hugs her daughter. And kisses her head of white.
"I love you sweetie. I'm doing this for us." Alice turns and hugs her mom back. She may not fully love her mother, but she still needs a mom.
Alice smiles as Bethany leaves her to pack.
As soon as she's gone, Alice drops the act.
Alice walks to the bathroom to get ready. She looks at herself. The broken sad girl. A shell of what used to live and breathe. Sad really.
She takes a hot shower. And dresses in dark skinny jeans, a grey long sleeved t. And her white converse. She straightens her waist length hair, and brushes her teeth.
After getting ready, Alice packs all her clothes. Her toothbrush. Her hairdryer. And her straightener.
"It's 10:30 sweetheart. Almost ready?" Alice confirms, and sits in her bed. Her room is bare. White walls. White sheets and blankets. Nothing but a small dresser and a desk to decorate besides the bed. No closet.
Fatigue washes over Alice. Her eyelids droop, and her shoulders slump. She fell asleep at 1.
I'll just sleep on the ride there. We live in North Dakota, so I'll have plenty of time to sleep.
Alice shook off the feeling and trudged around grabbing her few possessions. Her notebook. Her pencil pouch. Her brush, her sketchbook, her favorite book Red Queen, her camera, her phone, her earbuds, and her ring. The ring her mother gave her for her 10th birthday. It's meant for her middle left finger, it's silver(her favorite color). It's just three strings of silver plaiting together. Lined with small diamonds.
Alice stuffs everything into her black backpack. She pulls her ring over her finger and grabs her favorite hoodie. The large hoodie that her grandpa gave her. Before he died. She ties the arms around her waist.
"Ok Alice. Time to go!" Bethany appears in the doorway. Alice looks at the ground. A tear falls. Damn it.
"Oh sweetheart." Bethany pulls her only daughter into a hug. They are almost the same height, only Alice is an inch shorter. Alice lets few tears escape, but it warms her heart to be held with love. Even if that love is fake.
"Ok mom. Let's go." Alice grabs her bags, and together, they pile their stuff into the trunk of the car, and leave the farm behind. Alice turns to get one last look, but only sees rotten memories. She's leaving her father behind. And hopefully, she will start a new life in Arizona.