Just The Way You Like It - Under Construction

Chapter Forty-Seven

Chapter Forty-Seven

After falling asleep restlessly, Alice woke up with a start. Her body was frozen solid, an achy pain down her entire left side. She opened her eyes to pure whiteness, unable to see a thing. Alice sat up with a jolt, forcing her body to obey her commands even though it hurt to move. She found herself sitting smack dab in the middle of Tess' front yard, snow covering most of her body with two maybe three inches of its fluffy whiteness.

Alice brushed the snow out of her hair and off her arms and chest, trying to get as much of the cold, wetness off as possible, as her teeth began to chatter uncontrollably. Looking around, everything was ablaze with a fresh new coat of snow, and she almost didn't see her wheelchair lying a few feet away. She couldn't imagine how she had gotten there, and it scared Alice to death just thinking about the similarity between now and her attack a few weeks back.

Still, other that the aching, Alice felt pretty good, and she obviously wasn't bruised or broken anywhere. A faint sound made her turn her attention back to the house. Tess was screaming Alice's name, and Alice tried to call back to her. It took a few tries before her voice finally came out, as her lungs did not want to work that hard and be half frozen at the same time. “Tess, I'm here! I'm in the yard!” Seconds later, Tess bolted outside, searching desperately around for Alice's location. Alice lifted her hand up, waving gently until Tess spotted her movement and came rushing over. Still in her robe and hair curlers, Tess looked puzzled as she finally reached Alice.

“Dear, for Heaven's sake, what are you doing?”

“I don't know Tess, I just woke up out here.”

“Are you alright? You had me worried sick.”

“I think I'm okay. Just really cold.” Tess brushed off the wheelchair a bit before dragging it over and placing Alice in the seat. She ran Alice inside and turned into Nurse Tess as she checked Alice over for wounds. “I'm fine really, just achy is all.”

“You let me be the judge of your health, Alice.” Alice's teeth were still chattering, even after Tess took her to the bedroom and stripped her soaking wet clothes off. “We're going to have to take you in, Dear.”

“No! Please no, Tess. Not today, it's Christmas.” Alice pleaded with her, trying to physically show Tess that she was just fine. At first, Tess wouldn't budge, but finally, after enough pleas, she relented.

“Fine, but if you get pneumonia, don't blame me.” Tess helped Alice into the bath after she filled it with tepidly warm water. “Can't make it too hot or you'll burn.” Alice sat in the tub for a long time, until Tess finally pulled her out and wrapped her in blankets that she had warmed in the clothes dryer. After a nice warm cup of tea, Alice's teeth finally rested and Tess breathed out a sigh as she found her stethoscope and judged Alice fit to stay home. In the bath, Alice came to the conclusion that she had probably sleepwalked again, and now she was really worried that the next time she wouldn't be so lucky. Tess, shrugged her shoulders, promising that she would speak to Blake about it the next time they met.

Alice got cleaned up and dressed just in time, as her parents arrived for their last day in New Coven. Christmas morning with her mother and father was joyous and mournful all at the same time. Having them with her was the best Christmas present they could give Alice, but knowing they were going to fly back to California in the morning was gut wrenching. Her parents had spent their entire life-savings on searching for Alice after her disappearance, and a long visit was out of their financial ability. They had no choice but to go back home and return to work.

Everyone spent the morning eating breakfast, ripping open presents, chatting, laughing, crying, and hugging. It was as perfect as Alice could wish for, with the only exception being Blake's absence. Wallace joined the party in the afternoon, pulling Alice aside for a moment to apologize. “God Alice, I was an ass last night. Do you forgive me?”

“Yes, Wal, I forgive you.” Alice said it, if only to keep her Christmas a happy one. She hadn't yet thought about forgiveness with Wallace, and decided to play it safe and let his little slip-up slide. Forgive and forget, right? It was Christmas after all.

Alice's parents and Wallace said their goodbyes to Tess, Hank, and Alice that night, leaving the three of alone for the first time since that morning. Tess excused herself for a moment, rushing into her bedroom for a few minutes. She came back out with her purse, and dug around before pulling out a small wrapped present. Tess stuck it out in Alice's direction, and Alice tentatively took it from her hands. It was a small rectangular box wrapped with silver paper. A tiny silver bow was placed neatly in one corner. “Tess, please. You've already done so much for me, I couldn't possibly accept another gift.”

“It's not from me, Dear. Blake gave it to me last night after you left the party. He said he wanted to give it to you in person, but you were otherwise obligated.” Alice saw Tess eye the gift she held in her now shaking hands, curiosity over taking Tess' politeness.

“If you will excuse me. I don't feel very well right now. I think I'm going to lay down for a bit. Thank you for this Tess. And tell Blake thank you for me too.” Alice placed the package on her lap, and turned her wheels as fast as she could down the hall and into her bedroom. Alice really felt fine, other than nerves. But, she wanted to be alone while she opened Blake's gift.

Alice slowly tore the wrapping, letting her fingers run down the paper as she ripped. Inside was her note pad, the one she had thrown into the trash. Alice bit her lower lip, terrified now that Blake had read what was written inside before wrapping it up. Her mouth went dry as she lifted the cover, trying to find some piece of evidence of Blake's prying eyes. Silently, Alice begged that he had left it alone. While her stay at Blake's home had been short, she had filled almost the entirety of this pad with wild thoughts and her own private remarks about her stay with him.

The pages seemed untouched as she flipped through them, only now noticing her childish handwriting. Her 'I’s' were all dotted with hearts, a habit she had yet to grow out of from her younger years of life. And, she had decorated each page with hearts and small doodles within the margins. Still mortified at the thought of Blake seeing those things, Alice finally made it to the last pages. As she turned to her last entry, her finger caught something hard, hidden behind the page she was now on.

Nervously, Alice turned the pages again, finding the source of her fears. Held down by two pieces of tape, Alice's bracelet was stuck neatly onto the first blank page. The next page should have been blank too, but now it was covered with words that were not made by her own hand. The script was neat, tidy, and clean. Easy to read, except for the pangs of sheer terror that were now making it impossible for Alice to see clearly.

She let her head fall back and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, forcing herself to calm down and relax. Her breathing steadied and she felt some semblance of control as she lifted her head again and read the words.

To my dearest Alice, Merry Christmas. Please forgive me, I couldn't help myself. I'm deeply sorry for the way things have turned out, and if I could do it again, we would be together in each other's arms right now. You are my sun, my moon, my everything. Please trust that our future is bright. I just need some time to sort a few things out. I never should have tried to change you, or make you change yourself, because you are perfect just the way you are. The bracelet was a present, and it belongs to you. With all my love, Blake P.S. Talk to Dr. Tunstall about working on your penmanship, I know I was drunk when I read it, but your handwriting stinks.

Alice couldn't help but smile as she pulled her bracelet off of the page and placed it back around her wrist. For the last week, Alice had caught herself several times, reaching down to feel it's cool metal around her wrist, only to find it missing. Having it back was like having part of Blake back, and it filled her heart with joy as she reread his letter.

So he had read it after all, at least his only comment had been about her ability to write. Alice would talk to Dr. Tunstall on Monday and get to work on making her letters more legible, if only because Blake wanted her to. Alice tucked her note pad underneath the pillow on her bed, and returned to the living-room with Tess and Hank. Tess noted Alice's bracelet was back on her wrist with nothing more than a knowing glance.

They spent the rest of the night watching Christmas movies and sucking on candy canes before calling it an early night and going to bed. Alice stayed up most of the night, working on her letters, and wondering if she should send Blake a return message.