Alice

Prologue

She placed her petite hand over my own, interlocking our fingers. She lightly rested her head on my slouching shoulders, her long blonde hair flowing down my arm.

Is this happening?

I stared, dumbfounded, at our connected hands. She was so warm, so soft. Her nails were short and a light rose pink.

Why, I thought, is her hand in mine?

I slowly traced the hand up to the owner, my eyes looking up her arm, to her neck and then her face. I stared into her beautiful blue eyes. They were bright blue, flecks of grey making them seem like the surface of a pool of water. A white ring around her pupil made it seem as though the cool, blue water of her iris's were lightly lapping onto a shore of pale grey around her pupils. They were so deep, so entrancing, I could stare into them forever. "Alice..." I breathed. I lifted up one of my hands and ran a tentative finger down her cheek, tracing a path I had seen so many of her tears make. "Are you real?" I asked quietly, my voice quivering as I tried to hold back tears. Alice's beautiful eyes became wet with tears, and a light smudge of black appeared under her eyes as she tried to blink them away, shaking her head. "No," she sobbed quietly.

My heart broke. She's not here... I thought. "You're not here..." I whispered, wrapping my arm around her shaking shoulders. "I- I'm not here... I'm s-sorry." I gently squeezed her arms. "Shhhhh," I cooed. "It's alright." Alice looked up at me, an all-too-familiar sadness in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

She lifted her head and pulled my head towards her. Her soft lips touched my own. I felt her forehead rest against mine, and her hot tears fell onto my cheeks.

Alice leaned back, a weak smile on her lips. "I wanted to do that one last time..." I nodded, barely smiling back. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "I know," I said. "I know."

And then I woke up.

I faintly aware of the fact that I was lying on the ground. When I say 'lying on the ground,' I actually mean that I was being pinned down by unknown hands while a harsh voice screamed. Oh, I thought, realizing what was making the animalistic noises. That's me.

"Calm down! You need to calm down. I don't want to have to sedate you," a voice said. I jerked open my eyes and stopped screaming and thrashing. My lungs burned, and I breathed in deeply. Sirens flashed silently in the distance. EMTs surrounded me, and a few policemen stood a couple feet back. "W-what? Where am I? What's going on?" My hands clenched, and I felt dirt and grass clump up beneath my hands. "Do you know Alice Lovecraft?" I heard her name echo through my head, and I nodded. Alice had been my... Well, my everything. She had been my best friend, and my girlfriend. She had been the light at the end of the tunnel, she had been my joy.

The EMT removed her hand from my arm, which she bad previously been restraining. "Sweetie, you're lying on her grave." I moved my head so that I stared at the upside down lettering of the slate of marble behind me. "Alice Lovecraft," it read. "1997-2014."

My eyes welled with tears. "Take me home!" I cried. "Take me away from here, take me home. Take me anywhere, just get me away. Or burry me! Burry me with her!" I began to mumble and cry, my words becoming incoherent. The EMTs reached out for me, but I lashed out. "Leave me alone!" Another EMT tried to calm me down. "Sweetie-" "NO!" I interrupted. "GO AWAY! DON'T TOUCH ME!" My voice shattered beneath my savage shrieks. My body jerked and shook, my arms and legs lashing out violently. "Get the sedative! Now!" Hands began to push me down, and I screamed louder. "NO! STOP! PLEASE!" I felt a cold, thin needle slide into my arm. A few moments later, fog began to float into my mind. "PLEASE! Please... Please..." I whispered, before blacking out.