Alice's Book Club (BWWM)

Life or Death

Alice

I was at the cash register at the 7/11 I'm so glad I didn't forget to bring my purse when I sped out the apartment. Finally, after waiting for the lady in front of me to be down counting her damn quarters, it was finally my turn I put the pregnancy test on the counter and waited for the teller to be done giving me my bag. Once I was done I rushed to the bathroom the attendant pointed to, not risking being found out at home. I was lucky that the bathroom was actually clean which is saying a lot for a 711. I hoped that the Slurpee I drank would kick in soon I was eager to learn if I was pregnant or not. Finally, after ten jumping jacks, I had to pee, I pulled the test out and held my breath as I peed, once I was done I looked at the indicator and saw that I was indeed pregnant. I couldn't settle on one emotion, I was happy to have a child with Jared and scared that I was putting another child in danger.

Jared

I had just arrived at the 7/11 where Alice's parked the car I looked around the store but did not see her. "Dammit" unfortunately she parked in a busier part of the city it's possible she parked here and went somewhere else. I looked around for her one more time before walking up to the cashier I showed the woman working a picture of Alice but she didn't recognize her. I walked out of the store and began to search at whatever store was still open and even managed to make it to a nearby park. The wind started to pick up and I was reminded of the reason you always wear a jacket in Philly during the fall. I prayed that Alice was okay the thought of losing her again killed me.

Alice

I exited the bathroom feeling giddy I searched for my phone in my purse but couldn't find it I must have left it at home. I sighed not letting my bad memory get me down I made my way to the car and headed home, all the while singing along with the radio. I finally reached home and searched the apartment for Jared but for some reason he was missing. "Dammit I can't catch a fucking break" I was a bit peeved that I was still unable to tell Jared that I was pregnant, I went to the bedroom to get my phone to call him when I heard the front door open. "Oh there you are, honey, I was about to call you," I said making my way to the living room only to see two burly men that were definitely not my husband. I looked at my purse lying on the couch and sprinted towards it hoping I could get to it before they got to me.

Jared

I had walked every store on this damn strip and saw no sign of Alice finally I decided to check the 7/11 once more thinking she may have come back. When I got there I saw the car was gone, "Maybe she went home" I said to myself I went to the car and sped home on the way I tried to call Alice phone but she didn't answer, a familiar fear reached my stomach and I hoped my gut was wrong.

Of course, when has my gut ever been wrong, I looked around the living room and saw obvious signs of a struggle and as I looked on the ground there were little trickles of Blood, not enough to be from a serious injury though. I looked around for Alice's phone and learned that it was also taken. For once things were looking up I went to the computer turned on the tracking for her phone and was immediately able to find where they were. Turns out all Paula did was cross the bridge into Jersey, apart of me wanted to speed over there but I knew that it would be stupid to go without a plan, after all, I had no idea how many accomplices Paula had or if any of them were armed. I hesitated for a moment wondering if it was best to rile Kyle up but knew that it had to be done. "Did you find her?' Kyle bypassed saying Hello "Yes, she is in a warehouse in Jersey" I replied "I'll be there in ten minutes" he hung up and I went to get ready this was not going to be easy but I'll be damned if I let Paula hurt Alice anymore.

Alice

I woke up with my head pounding, the first thing I noticed was that my hands were tied to some chair and I felt a draft coming from some unknown direction. I saw bright fluorescent lights and started to blink my eyes trying to adjust to my new surroundings. Once I could see everything I saw the 2 burly men that attacked me walking around some type of warehouse I was confused until I heard the cackle of the evil witch my son was kidnapped by. "So you're awake then?" Paula asked, walking towards my chair, she was even dressed like a villain wearing that tacky bright orange jumpsuit. "Where is my son?" I asked still feeling woozy "He is safe and sound far away from you" She smiled, If I weren't attached to this chair I would have wrung her neck without a second thought. "How could you do this to him?" I asked wondering if she had any love for her grandson " What are you talking about I'm going to give that boy everything he ever wanted" she sneered as if she had it all figured out "You're stealing a child away from his mother and father do you know how traumatic that must be for him" I tried to plead to her, seeing if she had a soul. "First of all you got a lot nerve talking about the trauma I wonder how traumatized he will be when he learns his stepdaddy killed his real one, Second of all don't you ever call that man the father of my grandchild" she slapped me.

"You really are an evil bitch, you're going to try to ruin my son just like you ruined yours" I laughed at her reaction "What did you say?" she glared at me "You ruined David, you weren't his mother you were his ATM." I smirked at her wide eyes. "I did everything for my son" she defended, "Yeah you did everything but love him you threw money at him whenever he got loud or needy" I replied just then I saw something move in the shadows of the warehouse, I knew it wasn't the goons that got to me since they were standing beside Paula glaring at me. Paula was going on and on about how I was wrong about David while I tried to see where the shadow was coming from. My attention to the wall sparked my guard's attention as well as they looked behind them. Luckily the shadow had disappeared. "Are you listening to me!?!" Paula raised her hand to hit me when we heard two gunshots go off and her guards collapsed. "Back away Paula" I was relieved to hear Charity's voice. Paula turned with a sneer on her face "I told them to kill you" She said, "Not for a lack of trying, but you don't put down a marine's daughter that easily." "Where is Bruce?" I asked again smiling at her shock. "I won't tell you" she went back to sneering at me. "Where is Bruce?" Charity cocked the gun to show  she meant business. "I won't let you corrupt Bruce like you did my son" she said with fear in her eyes "Paula please, I know you don't like me for reasons, but I think you know that David's corruption had nothing to do with me. In the few moments when David was kind to me, e spoke of you often and told me he never felt close to you. He said you always looked at him like some burden rather than your son. He told me how you were so bitter over his father you never took any time to get to know him. Honestly, that's why he acted out he was a stunted child looking for your approval and instead of taking five seconds to be a mom, you made a monster do you really want to do that to Bruce." I tried to reason with her, for a split second,I thought I got through. "Now please tell me where my son is?" I asked one more time "I won't tell you" She shook her head as tears fell down her face "You're right I failed with David, and now he's gone but I can make it up with Bruce. I have to make it up with him, he is all I have left of David now." She looked so Broken and I knew I had only one way out of this. "If you tell me where he is, I will let you visit him." I gave her a chance to walk away with her life and hoped she would take it. She looked around trying to make a decision "Paula, you don't tell me where Bruce is, and I will kill you and eventually find him. If you tell me where he is, I will let you be his grandmother and get to know him?" I persuaded her a little more, I tried to appeal to the humanity in her and I prayed she took it.