Alice Avery
What's your biggest fear?
As a kid and now even as an adult, the question still circulates around in my head. When I was seven, I was afraid of the dark. When I was twelve, I was afraid of spiders. When I was seventeen, I was afraid of drowning. Now I'm twenty-two and the idea of those I care about getting hurt petrifies me to no extent. I thought I was invincible when I was young, it's funny how everything truly does change as you grow older. I figured it was just something your superiors planted in your head. I think I really do only have one fear in present time, everything else in life seems okay to me now. Even spiders and drowning. I wondered what my parents fears were, if they even had any, they were ruthless. A part of me strived to me like them in that sense, ruthless, heartless. I disgusted myself with the thought but I was still gravely convinced that it was far much better to be feared, rather than loved.
"Alice?"
"Alice!"
"What?" I burst a Theo as his hands wave dramatically in front of my face.
"You're falling into your daydreaming again." He tells me; way to point out the obvious.
"Sorry I was just thinking." It was a sunny Friday afternoon yet Theo and I were huddled in our apartment like hermits as we watched a reel of Jerry Springer episodes.
"Mandy's throwing a pool party, you down to go?" Theo asks while checking his phone.
"We've got nothing better to do," I say and stand to my feet. I grabbed a few things and threw them into my backpack. I slipped on my vans and we made our way to Mandy's place. It was packed once we got there, as per usual. Mandy was a popular gal.
"Yo Alice!" I hear Razzle's hyper voice over the music once we walk through the back gate. I met him at the small bar display and began pouring a drink. "We need to talk."
"Oh no, are you breaking up with me?" I pout sarcastically and he smiles.
"It's about the race between you in Trent."
My face dropped slightly, the tone he was talking in didn't sound promising. "What about it?"
He inhaled a sharp breath, "It's a lot hun, we'd need 8'000 people at the race, believe me I want this to happen, but I'm not sure anyone else does."
He wasn't wrong. Nobody would want a rematch, everyone wants Trent to keep his victory. It would be difficult to even gather just a few hundred. Even if we gathered that many people cops would flood the place before we stepped on the gas. Although, it wouldn't stop me from trying.
"Santa Monica."
Razzle's eyebrows screw at me, "What about Santa Monica?"
"What if I made some sort of impression, get people interested to come see Trent and I."
"It's not a bad place to start, what do you have in mind?" He asks.
"I'm gonna have to figure that out. I just- I need this, I need this race I'll figure it out"
"I know you will," Razzle nods at me. "But as much as I'd love to talk about Trent Lowe The Great, what's going on between you and Mr.Noir?"
"Have you got anything better to do in you life?"
"Not really no. The two of you are my only source of entertainment and excitement." He says with a loopy smile, "So? Fill me in!"
Razzle was always a guy who loved to gossip, he was like a teenage girl inside a 28 year old male body. "We just hung out." I shrug; minimal gossip.
"Did you just hang out or did you hang out if you know what I'm sayin?" Razzle raises his eyebrows up and down flirtiously and I let my eyes roll. "Alright c'mon give me something, was it a date?"
"You're kidding right? Ricky and I on a date? Did you smoke somethin' today?" I had never been on a date, I'd never taken such a great interest in someone to go through with that.
"Well what did you do then?" Razzle asks again. I usually half assed everything
when it came to gossip, I liked brief conversations.
"We went to wonderland."
I stepped away from Razzle who had confusion spread across his face, I'd leave the details up to his grand imagination. I strolled around Mandy's backyard for awhile as I took small swigs from my cup. Her place was enormous, Mandy was originally born in London where her parents own a shit ton of hotels. She's filthy rich.
I spotted Ricky from a far amongst a group of bikini wearing girls. Typical for him. A thin layer of sweat began to sweep across my forehead, as the weeks went on it began getting boiling hot in Vegas.
I claimed a lounge chair near the pool and stripped to my bathing suit from underneath my clothes. I let my hair down and perched my black sunglasses on the top of my head. I met Mandy in the pool and rested my arms on edge as she handed me my second drink.
"Glad you made it." Mandy smiles as we lean against the walls of the underground pool.
"You think I'd miss this," I admire my surroundings. "Look at all the eye candy."
"By eye candy you mean Ricky?" She gestures her head towards Ricky's direction. He stands near the edge of the pool and pulls his shirt off. The group of girls behind him squealed like 7th graders we just got told their crush likes them back. He dived in and when emerging from the water he pushed his wet hair back like he was in a cliché movie. He made his way over to us as Theo joined.
"You've got quite the audiences here," I say to Ricky and he looks behind him then turns back to me.
"You jealous Alice?"
I rolled my eyes and and shot back the rest of my drink; silly question.
"Alright lovebirds, try not to flirt for at least a minute." Mandy teases and Theo nods his head in agreement:
"Shut it," I splash a wave of water at her. After minutes of small talk, Mandy and Theo left for refills as Ricky and I stayed in the pool alone.
His wet body glistened under the sun and I absolutely, wholeheartedly hated the fact that I didn't want to look away from him. I noticed a chain hung around his neck that I hadn't ever recognized before. A small pendant hung at the bottom.
"I've never seen this before," I moved closer to him and held the pendant in my palm. A small bird was displayed on the chain, I recognized the orange and grey colours as a robin. "What's it for?"
"Mysteries Alice, mysteries," He plucks the pendant out of my hand and I raise my eyebrow.
"Am I playing my cards right?"
"I'm not sure yet."
Mandy and Theo came back to join with a handful of beers that we stole instantly. "I've been meaning to ask you, have you heard from Trent?" Mandy asks and I shake my head.
"No, not since we made the deal about the rematch."
"I'm against the bastard tomorrow night," Ricky chimes in with a groan.
"You nervous?" I question and he lets out a scoff before smiling.
"He's still on training wheels baby, don't worry 'bout me."
The party carried on and soon I sat there in silence listening to the various conversation topics. The music was cranked louder but my heart suddenly dropped to my feet, as I noticed the thin slit scars that were hidden underneath Ricky's tattoos.
Y/N
the bomb as been dropped
vote and comment!!
