Anybody But You

29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Vibe: Let Me Know by Angus & Julia Stone

Time seemed to stand still for Alice as she held her breath; the psychological terror washing rhythmic waves of pain and fear throughout her stiffened body.

In the middle of the walking street, surrounded by broken petals, she sat holding tight to Godric's finger. Somewhere in the far corners of her mind, Alice was aware just how absurd and crazy Godric must have thought of her—more than likely, the strangers walking by also had those same impressions. Regardless, the boy just sat still with her; his rough thumb creating soothing circles on the back of her hand as her thin fingers wrapped around his large index finger.

Eventually, as her throbbing heart slowed and she forced herself to breathe in controlled breaths, the hallucination of Godric's lethal rage faded away—revealing the kind and worried, soft-red eyes that she'd missed so much.

She had almost forgotten just how much she had once cared for the man with kind and honest eyes. It was practically painful as that old feeling flooded her chest.

Godric seemed to notice the change in her behaviour as he broke the silence first, "Are you alright?" He asked, his eyes genuinely concerned.

Nodding, she felt awkwardness threaten to creep in as she blushed. Looking down at their entangled hands, she gently continued the process of wrapping his injured palm. "Make sure to disinfect it when you get home, okay? Flowers are beautiful but can also be quite filthy by the soil and the special plant food sprayed onto them—I would hate for you to get an infection from such pretty things." Alice spoke, giving the blue cloth a tug to keep the knot snug and his opened wounds protected.

"... Thank you, miss." He replied after a minute, allowing her to keep her dignity rather than interrogate her weirdness.

Alice's lips pulled into a small relieved smile as she looked up at the considerate young man. He had already begun to build up, she noticed. Now at sixteen years old, his jawline had become more prominent and his shoulders had widened, swelling with muscle from all of his hard manual work. She could see the familiarities growing between him and Narcisse; the high cheekbones, the low brow, and straight nose. Even though their eyes were different colours, she could even see the slight similarity of the shapes.

It was weird how she had never noticed those smaller details before. But then again, who looked for similarities between their abuser and the person that felt like home to them?

Godric held a hand out to her as he stood first, helping her up to her feet. Brushing her pastel yellow dress off, she looked at the ruined flowers with a heavy heart. Exhaling she shook her head—so much for adding to her collection.

Although, Lucy would be pleased about the misfortune; her room was beginning to look like a garden and smell like a perfume boutique.

"I'm sorry about the flowers." Godric's cheeks turned red as he scratched the back of his head.

Chuckling, Alice sighed, "It was for the best." She said thinking about Lucy.

Bending down, Godric picked up a single rose that seemed to have survived the collision. Handing it to her with an exaggerated bow, he spoke with an amused smile on his naturally red lips, "At least take the strongest and luckiest one of them all. It went through a lot to get back to you."

Alice felt her face heat up as the blood rushed to her cheeks. Taking the undamaged red rose from his hand, she lifted it to her nose as she inhaled the sweet scent. Her sparkling blue eyes found his red ones as she giggled at his boyish charm.

"Call me Alice."

~*~*~

A.N.

My heart is NOT okay. Godric is so damn cute and I love him. This boy. *cry*

Thank you for reading :)