Alice in Wonderland

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

My hands are shaking, but I shove them into my jacket so no one will see. I've been stalling long enough and I know I can't avoid the inevitable.

I leave the restroom, climbing the stairs from the basement as slowly as possible. I've managed to waste half of lunch in the bathroom, but I can't stay in there any longer. I just have to face this and get it over with before it eats me alive.

I lean against a set of lockers, deciding to wait five more minutes in hopes the bell finally does ring. The seconds tick like a clock inside my head and I think about texting Kyle, but decide against it. I don't want him to solve my problems for me.

I take three steps in the direction of the cafeteria and stop abruptly, trying to turn quickly on my feet, but it's too late. Tracy snaps her head in my direction and the girl she's with turns her nose up at me, her heels clicking as she walks away. Tracy maintains eye contact with me, daring me to make a run for it, but my feet feel glued to the ground. I wait as she erases the distance between us.

"Just the bitch I was looking for," Tracy grins, but I know now that it's fake. I'll just let her do her damage and block everything out. "I hear you're fucking my ex."

My eyes nearly bulge out of my head and I swallow hurriedly so I don't vomit up my breakfast. I don't know how to respond and she notices, a smirk playing on her lips. "I'm not mad."

I'm used to her lying to me, so I don't believe her at first. Clearly she's mad if she decided to target me again. "I just thought I owed you an apology. I really didn't mean to freak you out at the party. I just thought you needed a break from your parent's shit. Oh, speaking of!"

I definitely don't believe anything she says now, but she doesn't give me a chance to say anything or react because she keeps talking, the same smirk still plastered on her face. "I heard they finally got a date for the trial. I know they were getting charged for a few accounts of petty theft, but kidnapping? Unbelievable."

She must see my confused expression, or maybe she already knows I have no idea what she's talking about because she takes this as a sign to continue. "Didn't you know? They're not actually your parents. Your psycho mother stole you from the hospital she worked at when you were a newborn. They're being charged with your kidnapping, Lily."

She laughs to herself as my hands begin to shake harder and my heart pounds in my ears. I can barely hear what else she has to say because my brain is putting all the pieces of the puzzle together inside my head. "Or should I say Alice."

She takes a step closer and I realize that she has to wear heels to be the same height as me. She makes direct eye contact and I can smell her bubble gum because she's so close to my face. "Looks like you have something in common with them. Taking something that isn't yours."

She shoves my shoulder as she walks past me and I feel the familiar nauseous feeling in my stomach. I stumble to the trash can several feet in front of me and lean into it, my stomach squeezing the food that hasn't fully digested into the black bag. I spit and dry heave, wiping my mouth as my legs begin to shake so badly I fall to the floor. Tears are blurring my vision and I begin to sob as everything clicks into place.

My parents took me as a baby, hiding me away for seventeen years to protect themselves. But why did they take me? Why, after so many years, was it still not safe for me to be seen with them? Were they that paranoid of getting caught?

I think about the bare living room walls, no baby pictures of me, no signs of my existence. I think about the subtle signs, like I wasn't allowed to watch the news or be seen by the rare unplanned guest. I remember the cop in my room, saying my parents didn't have any kids on file. All the obvious signs begin to light up in my head as Tracy's words echo inside of me.