𝔾𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕞, ℂ𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝕃𝕚𝕖𝕤 | Ｅｄｗａｒｄ Ｎａｓｈｔｏｎ

Ｔｗｏ

7:30 A.M.                                                                                                                                                           Two

Alice tossed and turned, making sleep unbearable. She'd assumed the nightmares wouldn't continue after she left that "prestige" college, but she was wrong. Alice stood up from her bed, leaving her room to get a glass of water or anything that could distract her from sleeping. She heard her brother and Alfred arguing over something. The dispute ended as she walked past them, both of them gazing at her, in fear if she heard their conversation; she didn't. Bruce yet again vanished, and Alice wasn't surprised. Her brother seemed to enjoy disappearing like a ghost. Alfred tried his best for his presence to be ignored by the girl, and he was glad once she walked back to her room. Today is Halloween, a day Alice despised the most. It wasn't that she hated the day itself, but she hated how everyone got to be cheerful with their families. She still couldn't understand why no one attended her graduation, let alone accept her back home once she became a legalized adult. They were supposed to be her family, a family who would do anything for each other. But she never received that affection; she had an absent older brother who never once attempted to contact her. Alice regretted accepting to stay back at the manor, and she'd do anything to leave. Leave. Maybe that's what she needed. To leave.

The discussion of her moving out with her brother might not be the worse thing. He wasn't too pleased with her moving back, and maybe he'd be pleased if she left. Alice didn't want to be a Wayne anymore, well, she never felt like a Wayne at all. Her brother was a "true" Wayne. He lived in the manor, handled the Wayne business, and his name "Bruce Wayne" was plastered in every newspaper she ever held. But Alice? it was as if Thomas and Martha Wayne only had a son and not a daughter. She felt completely left out and forced to do things she never agreed to. Maybe living independently will be the key to her out of this horrid bloodline of a family. Alice only ever got to feel independent when she lived in her dorms in college, but still depended on her roommate to help keep the place tidy. It was late in the morning, and Alice got dressed to escape from his horrid home.

She sneaked her way out, past the gate, and into the streets of Gotham. She wasn't familiar with the city like she was with their home since she never left it as a kid. The most she saw of Gotham was the public library her mother would take her to. Their library at home was too cluttered for Alice, and she was more fond of the shabby-looking one. She hid her face with the hoodie her friend gifted her back at college, it was a shade of dark green. She wore shades similar to the ones her brother wore in the photos she saw of him. The shades reminded her of him, and so she was accustomed to wearing them frequently. She hoped her disappearance wasn't noticed by anyone back at home, but it wouldn't take long. She strolled through the busy streets, ignoring eye contact with everyone she passed. Finally,  she reached the run downed library and made her way inside. Everything was the same, the old wooden shelves and ruined book covers, the only thing that changed was the staff. 

She wasn't sure why she wanted to visit the library. Maybe because it reminded her of her mom, and not many things made her feel that way. She was certain it was that the library gave her comfort, and that's all she wanted. Alice walked through the aisles of shelves without ever touching a single book. But certain books caught her eye, such as the "Night Stalker " and the "Zodiac killer". She was more fond of novels that included twists and turns, or more importantly Riddles. Alice was intrigued by riddles after her brother taught them all to her as a kid, and she later practiced puzzles and riddles during her days in private school. It had been too long since she'd last read a riddle or poem and thought that the mysterious Zodiac killer book will soon intrigue her more than any other murderous book she's read in the past years. She checked out her books and walked outside. Her cheerful mood was once over when her brother was standing right in front of the library. 

"Alice, what the hell?? Do you know how long I've been looking for you?!"

Bruce grabbed onto her arm, pulling her towards the car. Alice's ears were hot, and she tried to hide the embarrassment she felt. All the anger and courage she thought she built up, vanished, and she couldn't argue with her brother. She sat beside him inside the car as Alfred drove them home. 

"Do you know how worried I was--" 

"Worried? Bruce I'm not a child anymore. I can make my own decisions!" 

"Decisions that can get you killed if you use your common sense, Alice, you can't freely just walk out onto the streets. This is Gotham, not your goddamn preppy college"

Bruce was pissed off, and Alice knew that. She didn't regret going to the library, the decision had already been done. But she felt guilty for making her brother worry.  She knew that her idea of leaving wouldn't be a good time to discuss. But again Alice didn't use her common sense and brought it up anyways. 

"I thought about leaving --leaving the manor I mean" 

"Leaving? you just returned. Why would you want to leave"

Alice picked at the skin peeling on her thumbs, thinking of excuses that she couldn't come up with. 

"I thought I wanted to return back home. But I was wrong. I think...I think it's a good idea--" 

"It's a Dumb idea. Never think about it again"

They reached their home, and Bruce didn't hesitate to get out of the car. Alice was angered, and frustrated. She was his little sister, but she wasn't little anymore; she was a semi full-grown adult which she had to remind herself. But most importantly she was tired of doing things she disagreed with. She was going to leave whether Bruce wanted her to or not. She just had to think of a way on how to.