Hi, my name is Alice Roberts. I have an older brother named Ethan, and my parents are named Catherine and Luke. I like dancing, the color purple, and Ke$ha. My grades are nothing spectacular. I'm not exactly one of the cool kids, and I only have two friends. Pathetic, I know, but people don't really interest me. I spend most of my time hanging out with my friend Cole at my house. We're almost inseparable which is why it's so surprising that I'm out here without him, but he'll be along shortly. He'd said he had to something first. At least I think that's what he said. My head has been kinda fuzzy lately.
At this particular moment, I'm looking out at the rushing River of my hometown (Pinchwill, Texas, in case you were wondering). The cool wind is blowing through my long, loose brown hair. It had always been much too curly for me to do anything with. I'm so absorbed by the peacefulness of it all that I don't even hear the car pulling up behind me. It does register when a door slams and I hear chattering on a police scanner.
I look over my shoulder and see officers Jin and Ling walking towards me with Ling in the lead (she always had a leader quality). The two of them take slow careful steps, like they were approaching a wild animal that might attack them or run, and I know why. I'm not that stupid.
"Hello, Alice," Ling greets calmly. "We're here to help you."
I shake my head then shift my stance. I don't really need any help, I think to myself.
"Okay! Okay," she says while she holds her hands up, standing completely still. She probably thought I was moving away from her. She squats down slowly then says calmly, "Can we just talk to you, Honey?"
I nod my answer.
A tiny sigh relief escapes her before she speaks again. "Why are you here, Alice? Can you tell me that?"
I look back at the river. "I think," I begin as I look up at the sky. "I think I'm waiting for someone."
"Who are you waiting for?" she asks as she inches closer.
"My friend," I answer. "Colton."
She pauses looking grim, like she knows something I don't, something bad. "Why don't you come down from there, and we can get you some help."
Help, I repeat to myself. She means from a therapist. She probably thinks I'm depressed or confused which is not an unprecedented concern considering the circumstances. Most 17-year-old girls standing on the edge of the bridge at 1 o'clock in the morning wearing pajamas aren't exactly looking for the local Dairy Queen.
I shake my head. "He'll be here in a minute. I should wait here for him."
"I don't think that's a good idea, honey. Just—just come down from there."
I shook my head again and shifted my stance, but this time I lost my footing and I slipped.
"Alice!" Ling screamed as I fell backwards into the nothing. The air whipped around me as I plummeted into the icy currents below that hit me like wall.
That Morning
I opened my eyes to see Colton staring at me, and I screamed. He flinched away from me and groaned. "Geez, Alice. You got some lungs on you."
"Why are you watching me sleep, you psycho?!"
He smiled at me. "You're just so pretty when you sleep."
I rolled my eyes. "Creep."
He hugged me. "You know you love me."
"Alice what's wrong?" Ethan said as he skidded to a halt outside my bedroom door after throwing it open. "I heard you scream."
I waved him off. "Nothings wrong. Colton just scared the crap out of me."
He stared at me funny then shook his head in annoyance before ambling back towards his room, muttering under his breath as he went. "My door," I called after him.
"Close it yourself!"
Colton chuckled in amusement before smiling back at me. "He seams to be in a bad mood. How about we ditch him and spend the day together."
"I have school," I groaned as I drug myself out of bed.
"Ditch it," he said as if it was the obvious answer.
"Not happening."
"Why not?" He wrapped his arms around me in a warm hug as I picked out my clothes. "We can have a much more interesting day than you could ever have at that stuffy old place."
I rolled my eyes. "I responsibilities you know."
"What responsibilities? Who other than Tara would really care if you didn't show up? Your parents who leave you alone with your brother all the time?" He pet my head. "Stay with me today."
I stared into his pleading eyes and thought about telling him no, but I sighed and said: "Okay fine, puppy eyes. You win."
He pumped his fist into air. "Yes!"
I laughed then playfully shoved him. "Idiot."
After showering and getting dressed, I bolted for the door where Colton was waiting outside. "Where are you going?"
I turned to see my brother standing at the door of the kitchen with a suspicious gaze on his face. "School," I lied.
"Without your bag?" He snorted. "Sure you are. Where are you really going?"
"Out," I answered. "With Colton."
He paused, staring at me with that same strange expression. "With Colton. Right. I—uh—I don't think he's a very good influence, Alice. You should stop listening to him."
I sighed. "Who would really care if I went to school today, Ethan? Hm? Mom and Dad, who leave us alone for days at a time? Colton wants to hang out with me."
"Fine," he sighed, looking defeated. "If the two of you are thinking about doing something illegal, call me first, yeah?"
I nodded then stepped outside to Colton.
We spent the entire day together. We went walking in the park to feed the ducks then snuck into the movies. Colton threw popcorn at me when I didn't laugh at something he thought was freaking hilarious. We stopped for lunch at a place with a section outside. The waitress gave us funny looks when I ordered for Colton and myself. I guess she figured it should be the other way around. Halfway through our lunch, Officer Ling approached us. "Hello, Alice. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?"
I shrugged. "My brother already gave me the lecture, Miss, but I decided to spend the day with my friend Colton." I waved my hand in Colton's direction, and he raised his cup in greeting at her.
"Officer Ling," he said, smiling mischievously at her.
She glanced in his direction but ultimately ignored him and continued talking to me. "You should go to school, honey. It's better if you do."
I shook my head as she walked off. "If you say so."
Colton laughed then drank what was left of his drink.
Later that night I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. I begrudgingly took it off the nightstand and held it to my ear. "Hello? Alice?" Colton's voice squeezed through the receiver.
"Colton? What's wrong with your reception?" It was difficult to understand what he said next, or maybe I was too tired to hear him well, but I could have sworn I heard him say to meet him at the bridge. "Okay I'll meet you at the bridge." I hung up then slipped on my sneakers and bolted out the door.
That's how I came to be standing on the bridge at one in the morning in the perfect position to fall to my death. It wasn't the plan, but I just wanted to feel the wind while I waited for Colton. A bad decision in hindsight.
The water was cold and I couldn't breathe. That's all I remember before it all went black.
Ethan POV
"She's sustained multiple injuries," the doctor told me as I sat next to my sister in the hospital room. "She's lucky to be alive."
"Will she be alright?" I asked, as I stared into her sleeping face, willing her to open her eyes.
He shook his head. "It's too soon to tell. All we can do is wait."
I nodded. "Thank you."
"Do you need me to call your parents?" He asked.
"No, I'll do it."
He nodded and shuffled out of the room.
My gaze didn't leave my sister. Our parents were never there for us so they could wait while I sat alone with her. I'd called the police earlier that night telling them my sister had wandered off. They called back a few hours later to tell me she was at the hospital after falling off a bridge. They said that she had been waiting for her friend Colton and fell over the side. I wished with everything that I was that I could have gone back in time to prevent this, because I knew that I could. I was just so scared they'd take her away from me if they found out.
They know now, I told myself, and if she does survive, she's proven she's a danger to herself and they will take her away. "As long as you're safe, I'll endure the separation," I whispered to her. "Just come back to me, Alice. Please."
I'd known for a year that something was wrong. I was the only one who'd seen how she acted and what she did long enough to realize the truth. She'd talked about Colton a lot. Our parents thought that he was a school friend. Tara thought he was one of my friends that I'd bring home or something. I let them believe that, because I didn't want them to know the truth. I didn't want her to know the truth either. She seemed so happy with him, and I don't know how she'd react if she found out.
I'd told the doctor the truth, about him, about how she talked to and about someone who didn't exist. He said that she most likely had a mental disorder but that we should wait to see if she would wake up before running any tests.
"I'm so sorry, Alice," I whispered again. "Please come back to me."