Both have saved me. Alice thought. Both know I am the demon and still love me. I feel like Bella caught between her feelings for Jacob and Edward. But in that case Jacob and Edward were civilized unnatural beings, in my case two perfect men love untamed demonic Rave.
Alice had tried to call Derek as the sun went down but his phone was off. Then she sat on the couch waiting for something to happen. Mrs. Diane Paul or Diane now must have had her eyes on Alice; she had to be wandering around in close quarters waiting for Alice’s next kill.
Alice was determined to not sleep. She couldn’t let the demon get her while she was asleep. Sooner or later she had to face it. Etsy had said she might be able to control it, and she sat there like a zombie waiting for it.
It wasn’t after ten that Alice got the first signs of uneasiness. She laughed once and tried to stop. But a minute later she started chuckling louder and before she could think a black cloud started whirling around her. The last thing she fully remembered was that she ran outside on all fours.
“Please God let me get out of this mess,” Alice now prayed, trying to forget what she had done, before she curled back on her bed.
*****
The next morning Alice lay in bed. She was supposed to be excited, finally going back to Lance- but she wasn't. Derek had stolen her heart. "You don't deserve either of them," Alice muttered to herself.
That part was true. Both men loved her unconditionally, putting their lives on line for her. She had to go to Lance though, not only because Veronica told her he could help, but also because she couldn't betray him whether she remembered him or not. Maybe it would be better, as Anna and Derek could get back together again.
Alice slowly slipped out of bed and took out Lance's parcel from yesterday. She took out the neatly packed purple dress and wore it. Then she put on the dangling earrings and the antique bracelet, and the perfect size pumps wrapped in newspaper. It warmed her to see Lance had also included a lip gloss, eyeliner, perfume and a clutch. Alice smiled as she put her money inside it- for the first time she kept money inside a purse- it had nothing to do with the fact that she had no pockets. Alice looked at the strange lady in the mirror. She could not remember ever looking so pretty. It was an unusual feeling and look, but she was strangely fond of it, and it felt right somehow. She was going back to her life today, back to everything she ever wanted…her life! But she wasn’t sure how to take it anymore- this was not the way she wanted things to go- her being the demon and falling in love with Derek.
She went outside and found Derek already coming out of the kitchen, eating an apple. He stood there in his last night's jeans with no shirt. Alice tried to not think much about how hot he appeared. But he didn't hold back from expressing his thoughts.
“Wow,” he said, taking a small bite. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks.”
“So did Lan… Lance give that to you?”
Alice’s eyes widened in surprise, “How did you know?”
“I've seen you in pretty much everything you brought with you, and plus I had a look inside your closet remember?” he shrugged. “I certainly would have remembered that outfit. He's got good taste,” he said, taking another bite of the apple.
“I need to go...”
“Wait, have breakfast with me first,” he said fetching a box of cereal in one hand, milk carton in the other as he managed to hold the apple with his mouth.
Both of them took their seats at the dining table and ate.
“So?” Derek said.
“So?” Alice was unsure what to say.
“What have you thought of doing?” Derek's lack of concern, even hint of amusement irritated Alice slightly.
“I’m going back to Lance.” The finality of the statement hit hard on Alice.
“How can you decide so quickly? You have not met the guy yet.”
“He is the one for me.”
“Does that mean that you do not love me?” Derek said, a trace of sadness in his voice.
“I…” she got up. Thoughts, feelings, emotions and confusion ran through her head, it was too much to think about all at once. She wanted to run, to hide, to never think about it again, to never forget and stay here forever. “What you need to know is that I’m getting back with him. Then I need to figure out how to get rid of the...” she hesitated, "The demon…”
“I could help...” Derek offered.
“No!” The forcefulness of her reply rocked Derek back for a moment. Clearly, there would be no arguing this point. He thought for a moment, then continued as if there were nothing else to talk about.
“Okay.” He said, ignoring her now and getting another spoonful of cereal.
“Okay? That’s it?” Alice threw up her hands and stood up.
“Just know one thing Alice… No one can separate us. We love each other. Do you understand? ” he pushed the bowl away and slowly walked towards her until he got her cornered to the wall.
“Our love is star-crossed! Our love isn’t meant to be.” Alice blurted.
Derek’s face suddenly twisted into an angry mask that frightened Alice in a moment. “It is not!” he landed his fist an inch away from her ear. “Our love is anything but star-crossed!”
She remembered the last time he’d been shirtless before her. Now he looked a bit more handsome with the light stubble surfacing. All Alice wanted to do was to kiss him, one last time. But she knew if she would, she wouldn’t ever be able to leave.
“Just go back to your normal, amazing life,” Alice trembled. “Go back to where you belong.”
“You think the time we spent was nothing?” Derek was still angry.
“Let me go now.” Alice pleaded. She was not fearful of her life or safety with Derek, but this was already harder than it needed to be, and she was finding it difficult to maintain her resolve to leave.
“Do whatever you want,” he gave up. “Just know that you don’t need to go.”
Alice pushed him back and slid by him, picking up her jacket on the way out. She thought he would follow and come after her to talk, but he did not. She quickly started the Vespa that was parked right outside. She looked behind her, at the house. She expected Derek to be standing at the door or even at the window, but he just wasn’t there.
When she was about to reach the main street, she stopped, the tears in her eyes were blinding her. She cried all of her tears out. She fought against the awful pain growing inside her. She hugged a tree, wishing it was Derek. She hadn’t forgotten any moment she had spent with him. She loved him so much. This life was not real to her, but her feelings were.
Before she could reconsider her decision, Alice took out the address Lance had left for her. She didn’t know where the hotel was located. She didn’t ask Derek and she couldn’t meet Anna at the moment. Maybe she could try the bookstore, but Rashi would be quick to suspect that something was wrong, and that was the last thing she wanted. It all came down to Ron now.
Ron was working with a long line of customers at the store. He sped things up, when he sensed Alice was there to see him.
“Need help?” he asked as soon he was free.
“Yeah,” she scooted over to the counter and fished the paper from her purse. “I wanted to know how to get here,” she said, handing him the paper.
Ron grabbed a map from behind him and started guiding her. She could sense the two customers behind her growing impatient. In a couple of more minutes, as he was clearing her doubts, the guy behind her put down the bread and soda and stormed out. Ron looked oblivious to it, and a surge of gratefulness washed over Alice. He marked some Xs and handed the map to her. Alice stepped away from the spot, preventing the loss of the other customer.
“So you meeting Derek there?” he asked bagging the customer’s items.
“No. I broke up with him,” Alice said and instantly regretted it. Ron could take that as an invitation and Alice wasn’t in a pos
ition to go over things.
“I hate to say this, even more today because you look awesome, but Derek loves you a lot.” He said much to Alice’s surprise. “You might wanna consider your decision again.”
“Right, thanks for helping me out,” Alice genuinely smiled at him for the first time. “Bye. Take care.”
“You too,” he smiled back.
Instead of going to the hotel, she turned the Vespa around. If not for love, at least for all he had done for her, she had to offer Derek a proper goodbye. Before approaching the road to her home, from a distance she could see Cloud parked in front of Anna’s place.
He didn’t lose any time getting back to where he belonged, Alice thought with disappointment and a surge of jealousy. But she could not overlook the fact that as Derek returned to Anna, it lessened her guilt and made it easier to move on. The jealousy mixed with relief and only left her even more confused. She had only one course open to her now.
A star-crossed relationship is not meant to last, she thought.
*****
Alice swiped her card and entered the hotel room where she was supposed to meet Lance. The floor was full of heart shaped balloons. She carefully closed the door and made it to the center of the room, avoiding her heels stamping even one of the lovey things.
There were tables lined to the walls that held dozens of flower baskets. The bed was covered with chocolates, and teddy bears in between with hearts in their hands. To one side was a mirror, ‘I [heart]’ was written on the top of it and when Alice stood in front of it, she realized what he meant. Everything was so magical. There was a projector playing a picture slideshow.
There was a knock at the door. Lance had arrived she was sure. In a moments time she smoothened her dress and checked with her hair.
“Hello love,” she murmured to herself and shook her head. “Hey Lance, might be better.”
She had a very faint idea of how to greet him, but she had no idea it could be Derek.
“What are you doing here?” Alice asked. She had forgotten about Derek in the love wonderland, she was in, for a moment, but the love she had for him came up again. She couldn’t show it though, not now when everything was falling into place.
“Come inside,” she said in spite of herself when she really wanted to say- ‘Don’t stalk me again.’
He quietly nodded and stepped in. He didn’t express his surprise seeing the room’s setup, making Alice feel that all this was a mirage.
“So what do you think of what Lance has arranged for me?” Alice started when she was sure he wasn’t going to say anything.
“Do you like it?”
“It’s wonderful. He surely knows how to get a girl... Me, I mean.”
“Alice… I...”
“I’ll be fine with him. Don’t worry.”
He shook his head and tried to continue. Alice was afraid that he would be able to persuade her into going back with him, which she wanted to, but couldn’t now.
“Lance is with whom I belong.” Alice stated trying to assure him in the words as much as she could.
“I get that. I just need to fulfil the promises I made to you.”
“That I will meet Lance?” Alice recalled faintly of the day she was drunk.
“The other?”
“The song,” Alice looked sharply at him as he took out his phone.
A recording emerged from the phone. It was Alice’s voice.
“You were, you are, you shall always be,
My love, for eternity,
Moments with you I cherish the most,
I can’t imagine myself without you,
On my own, I can’t possibly do,
We’ll stay together like the sea and coast.
Whatever may come our way
Together we have to stay,
To our love let’s raise a toast.
I love you Lance!!!”
“This was made by you, Rave, and that is why Google didn’t know it,” Derek said, pocketing his phone while Alice simply stared at him in confusion.
“I hadn’t told you my name was Rave. How do you know?” Alice took a step back. “And who are… you?”
“I can explain.”
“Stay away.” Rave panicked.
“I am...” he took a step towards her.
“I said do not come any further. Who are you and what do you want?”
“I am Lance.” He stated flatly.
For a moment Alice’s whole world was lost. Her mouth hung open. Nothing made sense. Derek... Lance? Whoever he was, he still stood there expecting a reaction. Alice decided to give him one.
She slowly advanced closer to him. “You lied to me all this time?”
“I hardly ever lied to you. I just hid the truth.”
Hell, what difference does that make? Alice thought. It is equal to lying.
“You played with my feelings?”
“Alice, I can explain. I can explain everything,” he said. “It was a promise to your Mom.”
“What? She told you to cheat on me?”
“You need to hear me out. I did this because…” his words were cut short as Alice delivered a hard slap across his face.
“That is for what you did,” she said, going outside. She was through with the tricks, with the lies, with everyone holding her back from knowing the truth, like she was some little girl who would not be able to handle knowing who she was, what happened to her. Lance, Derek, Veronica, everyone. She was quite suddenly done with all of them.
CHAPTER 35
Anna was waiting out in her car. Derek had told her that he could handle it but she knew he wasn’t up to it. He didn’t even rehearse of what he was going to say too well. Alice would be angry for sure. Her eyes scanned every person walking in and out of the hotel for either Alice or Derek.
“Are you giving the necklace back,” Bell plunged the diamond necklace in front of Anna. Its sparkle bedazzled her for a moment and again brought her back to the moment Steph gave it to her. Steph had said that she wanted her to have it because she thought Anna was the one for Derek. And when Anna tried to return it this morning, Derek wanted her to keep it.
Bell shook the necklace and it reminded her that she needed to answer.
“No.”
“Why do you have to do anything with this matter?”
“Not your business, Bell.”
“This is boring,” she lowered and raised the window.
“I did not ask you to come with me.”
“I wanted to be sure that you don’t do anything stupid,” Bell continued doing it, not looking at her.
“Why the hell would you think that?”
She turned towards Anna with those stern light eyes of hers. “Because love is stupid. Duh!”
Anna sighed and looked back outside. She had missed Alice stepping out of the hotel, but she caught her storming away.
“Stay in the car,” she ordered Bell.
“Why don’t I come?” Bell asked.
“Just do what I say,” she snapped.
“Alice!” she called. “Alice. Hey, wait up.”
It was kind of hard for Anna to believe it was Alice. She looked very different from anytime Anna saw her. She looked beautiful, but her face was ruining it. Anger was fuming from her face and Anna suspected she didn’t even realize she was crying. But Alice’s look softened once she saw her.
“Anna,” she said surprised.
“Are you mad at Derek?”
“Mad? And don’t you know his name isn’t Derek?”
“Yeah I do. Actually Derek is his nickname.” Anna tried to not leave any gap between her sentences. “I too never knew his name was Lance until I studied with him in high school.”
“He cheated me, played with me... and you.”
“No, he didn’t and if you would give him a moment to explain you wouldn’t say that. Before you lost your memory you were a suicidal…”
“Suicidal?” Alice interrupted.
“Yes,” A
nna quickly continued, not giving her more time to talk until she completed what she wanted to say. Derek must’ve not rehearsed well, but Anna memorized the explanation well. “You were trying to kill yourself the night Derek saved you. The doctors said as you had already lost your memory, it was better you started a life void of any details of the past, before letting you in on everything. It was for your safety, your treatment. That was what he was trying to do.” Anna tried to gather breath to continue.
Alice stood there confused. “But you… you love him.”
“Yeah but his happiness is with you Alice. He loves you. He called me one day and sent your picture and said to take care of you. I tried, but you weren’t too comfortable with me. Then, when Derek recovered and was about to come here, he was scared that you would recognize him. I had sensed that you weren’t comfortable with complete stranger guys and had told him that if you didn’t recognize his pictures, to pose as my boyfriend when he got here,” she paused feeling guilty. “I knew that would work but still I partly said that because I felt I would have some time to spend with Derek. And his initial plan was to just make your world better- not refuel your love story- that got me more hopeful. But I got to say I’m happy for you two seriously.”
“But…”
Anna raised a finger. “Would you be happy if Lance wasn’t Derek?”
Alice kept quiet.
“Derek is a good person. Anyone could fall in love with him, even if he didn’t have money.” Anna stated. “Hope there is another one of him out there for me.”
“I…”
“…And another thing. He is more shaken up after Steph’s death. I guess you need to give him some time to clarify what questions you have.”
Alice blankly stood there, looking back at the hotel.
“What are you waiting for? Go already!” Anna sternly pointed to the entrance.
Anna made sure Alice was back inside before returning to the car. She smiled despite the fact she had lost her chance with Derek. Anna genuinely felt so happy after a long time of sadness and doubt- that she twirled and saw Bell keeping a keen watch from the window. Bell was gaping- certain that Anna lost her sanity.
The Grasp of Nighttide Page 25