Chapter Four- For Better or for Worse
The dark haired man crossed his eyes and poked out his tongue at the woman sitting opposite him.
Alice grinned playfully back, at her husband, after making sure his parents weren’t watching her. They too sat opposite Alice as the emotionally reserved, family ate dinner. Though they were further down the table, from Jason, Alice still looked slightly pathetic sitting all by herself, on one side, of an incredibly long dining table. It seemed a bit strange to her, having a table of that length when the Whilts didn’t really seem like the sort of folk who would entertain much.
The childish man raised an eyebrow at his wife and stabbed at his steak with his fork. Alice knew she and her husband were acting immaturely. But, things had been going so well since they went swimming in the lake 4 days ago. Acting like children made things feel less complicated. The atmosphere wasn’t so heavy and life didn’t seem so suffocating.
'The blonde haired woman looked down at her plate.
Poisoned.
Poisoned.
Poisoned....
Alice furrowed her brow. Aware she was most likely being, utterly ridiculous, the young woman went over the memory in her head once more.
* * *
“I told him to do it tonight.” Elnora droned.
The middle aged man had his back to the door. His response was to muffled to make out.
“Of course she will” Elnora snapped in response.
The grey haired woman’s husband mumbled something to do with ‘letting things be’.
A floor board creaked under Alice’s foot as she leant closer to the door in an effort to hear her in-laws more clearly.
“Did you hear that?” the woman spat shrilly, her eyes widening as she flared her nostrils angrily.
The couple craned their necks to see out the window. Fabian turned towards the door. But by that time, Alice was long gone.
* * *
“Alice?”
“Alice!”
Alice looked up from her plate, to the owner of the irritatingly high pitched voice.
“Mhmm?”
Elnora frowned condescendingly at the beautiful woman sitting on the other side of the table. She considered the lady’s lime green eyes and thick golden curls. Her skin was glowing with a very light tan and her complexion had no imperfections whatsoever. Though she only stood as high as the very tip of Elnora’s chin, (Elnora being of average height for her age and gender) , Alice seemed a lovely addition to the family and a suitable wife for the Whilt’s heir, when it came to appearances.
Pity
For although Alice could be beautiful when she tamed her wild curls, Elnora couldn’t ignore the facts. The girl lacked wealth in her family and nobility in her blood. Her parents were of average intelligence and could not have been expected to educate Alice to the standard achieved by Elnora and her husband.
Alice sat awkwardly, not daring to move under the judging glare of her mother-in-law. She waited for the thin, grey haired woman addressing her to say something insulting. The wary, young woman watched as Elnora looked her up and down, studying Alice’s features, as though she was making careful notes inside her head.
Finally the snake-like lady clenched her jaw and narrowed her dull, grey eyes.
“Is there something wrong with your food?” she inquired in a nasally voice.
The surprised young woman’s eyes snapped back to her plate. Realizing that she hadn’t so much as unwrapped her knife and fork from the napkin that held them, Alice fumbled for the right words.
“Oh i er...” she trailed off.
Across the table Jason widened his eyes at his wife as she struggled to find a believable excuse for being so... rude?
“I-I’m just not that...hungry...?”
Elnora pursed her lips and turned to her husband. She raised her eyebrows at him triumphantly and relished the pleasure of finding another reason to judge Alice.
A heavy, almost suffocating silence filled the room as the four people went silent, not sure what to say.
Finally Alice built up the courage to escape the tense atmosphere.
“May i be excused?” she asked as politely as she could.
There was an awkward pause as Alice leant forward slightly to push back her chair before anyone answered her. The young woman’s gaze flicked from Fabian to Elnora.
Finally, Elnora gave a curt nod and continued eating, and Alice avoided her husband’s eye as she proceeded from the room.
* * * *
Alice tip-toed silently down the stairs and crept down the hall. When the blonde-haired woman reached the door to the kitchen she allowed herself to draw in a sharp breath. Was she even allowed in the east wing?
The door made a painfully loud creak as it gave way to the short blonde that had pushed it. Alice waited for her yellow green eyes to adjust to the darkness.
Outside, silver stars and a crescent moon studded the sky and the sleeping silence of night was accompanied only, by a soft ambience of nocturnal wildlife and a breeze that rustled playfully, through the woods.
Alice skulked, cat-like, past the bench. Her hand settled on it’s cool marble surface as she strained her eyes to locate the fridge in the dark.
Finally, the woman spotted a large, two doored, steel fridge across the room.
Alice slunk inaudibly across the dark wood floor. She held her breath as she opened the door, afraid even the slightest sound would wake up her parents in law who had hopefully, remained deep in slumber on the other side of the mansion.
The light from the fridge forced Alice to look away as her eyes became accustomed to the sudden luminosity.
Alice had to clamp a hand tightly over her mouth to stop herself from letting out a piercing scream as a dark figure emerged from behind a curtain.
A faint whimper was the only muffled sound that managed to escape from between her fingers.
“Alice?” an uncertain voice hissed.
Alice gulped back her fear and ignored the lump in her throat. She realized that her back was pressed so firmly against the fridge that the handle was most likely beginning to bruise her skin. Timidly, Alice straightened herself and tried to sound confident. Like she was the sort of girl you didn’t want to mess with.
“He-Hello?”
Good one Alice, i’ll bet he’s really scared now.
The man’s frame quickly became more visible as he stepped out of the shadows and flicked on the light switch.
“C-CALEB!” Alice shouted accidentally allowing her ‘ex’ to register the excitement she had to see him.
“Shhhhh!” he spat back at her, annoyed.
Alice couldn’t help but look taken aback. Caleb had been so angry last time they saw each other. It had been like witnessing a side of him Alice never knew existed.
“What are you doing here?” she said in a low tone to make up for her previous shout.
“I- I came to see you!” Caleb said with no emotion on his face.
Alice cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes at him.
Caleb remained where he was, but from where Alice stood, he looked almost...worried...
“Come to throw something else at me?” the blonde, snapped.
Caleb’s hazel eyes widened for a second, as though he was unsure of what to do. Relaxing again, he ran a hand casually through his almond brown hair.
“No... Look i’m sorry...about that...” he looked around the room, obviously avoiding Alice’s eye.
Alice raised one hand to her shoulder. Her fingers ran gently over the cut as she remembered, with a pang of sadness, the rock hitting her.
“Well, what do you want then?” Alice said in a firm voice, unwilling to back down into submission.
“I wanted to tell you that.. that i “ Caleb looked lost for words for a second. “That i love you!”
Alice’s eyelids drooped as she heard his words. She didn’t have time for this. Why was he making it so hard for her?
“We’re over Caleb” Alice whispered, begging her voice not to falter. “I’m.. i’m married now. Forever.”
“But i still love you.” Caleb said quickly.
Alice ignored his words. He sure didn’t sound like he loved her. He had told her a hundred times before all this but now, she wasn’t sure if he still meant it.
“It doesn’t matter how we feel” Alice stated. “We’re not in control of this!”
“We can find a way loophole!”
“We tried that already!” Alice felt herself getting angry. Caleb just wasn’t listening to her.
“I’ll find a way.” Caleb huffed. “You’re meant to be with me. Not him”
Alice sighed. Her life seemed to have a mind of it’s own. Nothing had been going her way for a while. Maybe this was just the way it was supposed to be...
“I don’t know who i’m meant to be with anymore.” she said said finally. And the tears started again.