Chapter seven
I woke up with a stiff body from sleeping on the couch. It wasn't exactly luxury, but it was all I had right now and I was more than grateful to even have a place to sleep. Without running into Alice, I'm not sure where I'd be right now. Where would I have slept? What would I have ate? I had a little bit of money from Michael helping me out back in Australia, but it wasn't a lot. Maybe enough for a few nights at a hotel and a few meals at McDonald's.
My eyes fluttered open and the first thing I saw was Alice staring at me. My heart stopped for a moment, but then calmed down again once I realized it was only her. She was smiling at me and handed me a cup of coffee, or what I thought was coffee.
"Good morning!" She cried energetically. It seemed impossible to be as happy as she was in the morning.
I sat up from the couch and stretched my arms, exposing my naked upper body. "Morning," I replied, yawning and taking a sip of the warm drink. It burned going down, but it was soothing when it reached my stomach.
"Jesus, Luke!" Alice screamed, throwing a pile of clothes on me. "You're naked."
"Only half of me is naked," I told her. "You've never seen a naked guy before?"
She blushed. "I am not talking about this with you right now, oh my god."
I laughed and quickly put back on my Nirvana shirt I wore the previous day and threw the blanket off of me.
"Luke!" Alice snapped. "Pants!"
I chuckled when she covered her eyes with her hands with her perfectly painted red fingernails. To please her, I told her I was going to take a shower and then we could start the "fun" day she had planned out for us.
Alice's bathroom was painted a light blue color with a pattered rug and a few seashells here and there. I felt like I was at the beach, which wasn't really the best feeling for a bathroom I suppose. I turned the shower on and while the water was warming up, I stripped of my clothes.
Stepping into the shower, a feeling of relief instantly rushed through my body. I hadn't showered in a few days and it felt refreshing. The water fell down my body, soothing all the aches I had from sleeping on the couch. The last time I showered in a real shower alone was the day before I checked myself into the asylum. It was at my old house where my parents died, and I remembered it like it was yesterday. To me, showers were the place where I got most of my ideas for writing. It was a place where I could think freely and not worry about what was going on in the outside world.
I picked up the bottle of shampoo which happened to smell like coconut mango, whatever that was.
"Great," I said to myself, squeezing the gel into my hand and massaging my scalp. Just what I need, girly smelling shampoo.
I finished my shower and rinsed my body off of bubbles and draped a towel around my body, rubbing all the dampness from me. Reaching for the backpack I came with, I took out the razor I had packed and touched up my face, removing all the stubble. I looked through the bag and also found some hair jell and deodorant, which was very helpful.
I put back on my outfit from yesterday and sprayed a bit of cologne, just in case they had a weird smell to them. I would have to do some laundry soon. Actually, I would have to buy some new clothes too. And a house. And groceries. And everything else needed to start a life in a new city.
I hung up my towel on the rack and opened the bathroom door. Alice was standing there with a coat, a beanie, and some mittens in hand. She smiled at me and handed over the items, directing me to put them on.
"Are you always going to wait for me to wake up and to get out of the shower?" I teased, taking the clothes from her hand.
"You're like, my only friend," she said. "sorry, I'm excited."
We walked out of her apartment building and onto the streets. The time was almost ten in the morning, and it was as busy, if not busier, than when I got here yesterday. The air was crisp and cool and the ground was covered with a fresh layer of snow. I looked over at Alice who was smiling wide. Show flakes were gathering in her hair and her eye lashes. She looked cute.
"It's a Christmas miracle!" She joked, linking arms with me and starting to walk down the sidewalk.
I removed myself from her grasp. "This is too teenage girl for me."
She bit her lip and tried to hold back her giggle. "Sorry, I'm excited."
I smiled and followed her.
She entered a cafe that was on the corner of two streets. It was packed, but we still managed to grab a table. Alice ordered us two hot chocolates and a few pastries, which were delicious and filled my stomach which hasn't been full in a while. I didn't even eat the pizza last night, which was a shocker because pizza.
Alice and I chatted about eveything and we really got to know each other more. She told me about her family and growing up. She shared with me some story ideas she had and asked for my feedback, which I was happy to give her. I even told her a little bit about myself and my story ideas. She suggested I keep a journal to write down my ideas so I won't forget. I said that was a good idea.
We began to know each other and the next time I looked at the clock, it was nearly noon time. I knew Alice's favorite color, her favorite season, her favorite novel. I knew what her favorite movie to watch when she's sick was and I even knew the name of her first pet. Alice told me her dream man, dream date, her dream place to travel. We talked about authors and the asylum and what went on there. The sky came up, we talked about the future and what it could hold. We talked about everything and in the end of the few hours of endless talking, I felt like I knew her. Alice was easy to talk to and I felt like if I told her my secrets she would bring them to her grave.
"Wow," Alice said, smiling down at her hands.
"Wow," I repeated.
"Wow,"
"Wow,"
"Wow wow wow,"
"Wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow," I said, gasping for air.
Alice burst out laughing and placed some money on the table. "Let's go," she told me.
We walked for a few minutes. The cold was nipping at my nose and I was grateful that Alice gave me her brother's hat, gloves, and mittens to use. She seemed to be cold herself, so I pulled her body closer to mine and embraced her. It was only now that I noticed how short she was, seeing as if she only stood to my shoulder.
We walked in silence the rest of the way, my arm across her shoulders and hers around my waste. If someone saw us they would think we were a couple and for a second, I didn't mind.
"We're here" Alice exclaimed, untangling her arm from mine and running up a bit. "We're going ice skating!"
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A/N: this story is slowly losing reads so i'm going to try to update more. it's just that there is nowhere as many reads as neverland had which i guess makes sense but if i update more maybe that'll change?? or maybe a sequel is too much and one book was enough??
ANYWHORE,
Alice, huh?
comment pLEASE I love reading you comments :)
stay young,
sam
