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CHAPTER SIXTEEN sᴄᴇɴᴛ
I waited for Alice in the same place I'd last met her in the woods. I imagined myself waiting for her for hours, expecting her to not show up. But as I sat amongst the last of winter's dead leaves, a deep feeling of surety settled me. There was something about Alice that I found dependable. I knew she would come.
But even still, as she came to a stop from her running straight in front of me, I smiled softly, eyebrows raising.
"Can I say that I'm surprised you came?" I said.
She returned the smile, the edges of her lips twirling upwards. "Why wouldn't I?"
"It's a lot to ask," I said, looking away. "Especially with how I've... acted in the past."
I finally stood to my feet, meeting her halfway. She watched me move, her eyes concealed of any emotion, but holding my gaze.
"I want to say how sorry I am," I said.
But Alice shrugged me off, instead turning to walk. Her movements were effortlessly graceful, her shoes pointed for each stride, like a dancers strong step. She lead us away from the tree and deeper into the forest, weaving beneath the tall layers of trees and raindrops.
"I think we'll get along just fine," she said, tilting her head backward to see me. I stayed a step behind.
"And Edward?"
Her lips twitched, forming that same thinned line I'd seen the other day. Alice ignore the question, instead asking her own.
"What if they smell me on you? Or you on me?" she asked, suddenly worried.
I let myself smile faintly as some form of encouragement. "Camouflage, Alice. I don't have a particularly noticeable scent," I said. She didn't seem comforted. "What's the worst he could do?"
"You'd be surprised," she said.
Alice's pace increased until she was speed walking. Her arms stretched out, her eyes closing as her feet found her way forward, manoeuvring around the trees. Her hands gripped the bark of the trunk beside her, and Alice placed her weight onto it, twirling around until she was facing me again. The frown had been replaced with her usual saintly smile.
She was by my side now as we walked, not a single destination in mind. I liked it, the lack of aim. It felt natural, right.
"How did you know?" I eventually asked, dragging her gaze back to me from the treetops. "Edward said it was you who found out exactly what I am. How could you know?"
