Alice's Secret Obsession

Chapter Three: Questions

Silently rising from my seat, my head spins with my father's words. I gently place my plate in the sink and say to my mom, "Thank you, Mommy, for making us all dinner." 

Then my siblings all start repeating after me, which makes me smile in my head, but not on the outside. 

"You are all welcome!" My mom replies with a smile, despite how painful it is for her to smile -as she just got dental implants-. 

I pick up Ava and say, "I am going to go to bed now. I hope you all sleep well." 

My dad frowns and asks, "You don't want to play video games with us, Alice?" 

I breathe in slowly and calmly reply, "My back hurts, and I feel tired... That is why I want to go to bed with Ava." 

I was not lying, that is the truth, but I also want to be left alone. So I can think about my lady and Athena, but mostly my lady. I want to dream about her, and my head hurts. I don't want to admit that because I would then be told to take a few pills of Ibuprofen. I find it extremely difficult to swallow pills. 

My mom expresses in a slightly sad voice, "Alice, you should at least watch something on your TV. You know, to help yourself fall asleep." 

Charlotte, my sister, is eight years younger than me. She says in a saddened tone, "Awww! I wanted you to play with us..." 

Charlotte looks like a mini-me, with darker brown eyes that don't have any red glint, more rosy cheeks, and long, curly locks. 

Jose is my youngest brother, who is ten years younger than me. He shares my father's name. Jose says, "Goodnight, Alice!" 

Jose is my only sibling who looks like my mom, minus the freckles, and his hair is more copper. His eyes are grey but can change to blue, green, or hazel, and he has exceptionally long eyelashes! 

My last sibling is Michael. He looks like my dad's doppelganger but with my mom's pale skin. Michael is up to my dad's eyebrows. He declares, "Yeah, I am going to bed too. Kampa needs me!" Kampa starts clawing at Michael and Jose's bedroom door. 

Everyone laughs at how cute it is that Kampa is showing Mike he wants to sleep. 

Michael smiles as he says, "See? I have to go to bed!" 

Our parents nod in agreement. So Michael and I go to our bedrooms, carrying our dogs with us. 

When I walk into my bedroom with Ava, I set her down on my bed, and close my bedroom door. The world is silent. A sigh leaves my lips as I begin getting undressed. I pick up and put my lavender nightshirt on my bed, before taking off my shirt. As I reach for my nightshirt, I strangely hear the sound of giggling behind me. So I quickly pull it down over my head and turn around to see who just giggled. But there is no one there. 

I whisper to myself, "That is weird... Maybe I am being chased now~! Or maybe I am hearing things that are not there, again..." 

I flick the light switch off and gently get under my blankets, not wanting to disrupt Ava's sleep. While I lay on my bed, I wonder what I actually feel for Athena. "Do I love her? I have thought about romance with her and a few other non-fictional people-- But for one of those people, it is much more intense. I am not sure I can feel romantically for Athena... I would not want to ruin the only real friendship I have... But I have thought about dating her a few times... Hmm, I did promise Athena I would be her pretend girlfriend, and she is the one who will be using me. And she doesn't have any feelings for me." My heart aches for a few agonizing seconds, "Why is this bothering me so much!?"