FOREVER

Lunch

Lunch

Needless to say, I didn't sleep for the rest of the night. I knew that if she had in fact been there, Alice was long since gone. But her presence was still there, lingering within my room. I remember staring straight ahead at where I thought I'd seen her for the longest time. For my own personal stalker moment, I even got out of bed and went over to the spot where I'd seen her and stood facing my bed. I felt...cold standing there. It was nice though, a refreshing kind of cold that must of have come from my window. The more I thought about that window the more I was sure it was closed by the time I went to bed. However, I shook it off, thinking that it was my paranoia getting the better of me. And yet there was a part of me that wanted me to be right...wanted to think that Alice had in fact crept through my window and was watching me as I slept. What a weirdo.

I don't remember how long I stood there barefoot on the carpet, listening for anything other than my quieted breaths, but it felt like forever. By the time I'd forced myself back to bed and actually fallen asleep, the cold light of the morning was already creeping through the bottom of my window. Instantly I wished that I'd just stayed up all night because I felt as if I were hung over. Not that I even knew that feeling, but I knew it felt like crap. And I felt like crap. No...worse than crap. I crawled out of bed and stood, stretching my back. Then I headed out the door into the bathroom. I could hear Charlie downstairs, rumbling around in the kitchen. Knowing there was nothing to eat I made a mental note to go to the store today. Mom had given me some money just in case I needed it before I could get a job. Speaking of job, I made another mental note to ask around the grocery store for help wanted. But in the meantime, it would be nice to surprise Charlie with a home cooked meal. It was then that I realized I hadn't even thanked him for the truck. Wanting to catch him before he left, I checked that my attire was dad-appropriate and ran down the stairs.

"Hey, Dad?" I called as I touched the first floor.

"Yeah, Bells?" I heard the scuff of a chair in the kitchen as he scooted back to search for me. My bare feet smacked the wooden floor as I headed through the walkway. Charlie was sitting at the breakfast nook with the Daily Forks paper splayed across the small table in front of him. I noticed his cup of coffee was empty and I grabbed it as I gave him a 'round the shoulders hug.

"Thanks for the truck, Dad. I love it," I said as I refilled his cup and handed it to him. He took it, though his eyes never left mine. My smile slowly began to fade as he studied me with his eyes. It wasn't until I shuffled my feet, which were sticking to the tile that he even moved. Then his face broke into a grin and he shook his head.

"You're welcome, Bells. Sorry for that it's just...you were never such an extrovert. But, it's been a while since I've last seen you so I should have expected some changes." He smiled again and tipped his cup to me as a thank you. Since I couldn't find an appropriate response, I mumbled something about getting ready for school and ran back up the stairs to the bathroom. Once there I took a good long look in the mirror. Why was I acting so extroversive? It sure as hell wasn't like me at all. Maybe this place would be good for me after all, so long as I'm not visited every night by something it, be it fear or physical.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I replayed last night in my mind. It was an eerie, paranoid feeling. While I thought it had been Alice, the more I thought about it in my more lucid state, the more irrational and...well...pathetic it sounded. It was painfully obvious I had scared the color out of that girl (literally) with my idiocy so why in the world would she be in my room in the middle of the night staring at me? Furthermore, why would anyone be in my room in the middle of the night staring at me? The answer was: No one was. I was just nuts. I shrugged and rolled my eyes at my reflection. Then I grimaced. I looked like hell. Apparently, staying up all night does not do wonders for any part of your body. Dark, puffy rings were formed around my brown eyes and my skin looked paler than normal, which was really saying something. My hair, which had been washed yesterday, looked greasy. A ponytail was a must for today. Sighing, I pulled my hair into a ponytail and applied deodorant before heading back to my room. I was too tired to worry about makeup. It didn't do that much anyway. I glanced out the window in my room and noted that there was a light cloud covering. I most likely wouldn't need a jacket today. So I slipped on a clean shirt, jeans and pulled on my shoes before I headed downstairs again.