Born To Fly

Nine - Losing Faith

Nine

(Joel)

  I stood at the window in the living room, Alice wasn't back...or at least I didn't hear her come in. I stood there and I felt terrible for what I did. I shouldn't have gone out with that girl, but I couldn't hang around Alice until she found herself someone, it would make it hard on both of us. I was trying to make things easier. I walked up the stairs, and I heard something hit the floor in Alice's room. I walked in and it was like a weight was lifted off my chest. She was fast asleep in her own bed. I walked over and picked up the tape recorder and put it on her desk. Her blonde hair was fanned out across the dark pillow case and I tightened my hand into a fist. I wanted to touch her, to wake her up gently, and just hold her, but there was no reason for me to do that. She rolled over and I noticed the brusing on her shoulder and jaw. I knelt beside the bed, and pushed her hair away from her neck. She had gotten into a fight, the brusies ran from her chin to the base of her shoulder blade. She looked exhausted, and like she was having a nightmare. She flew out of the bed seconds later, clipping my jaw with her shoulder, knocking me back on to the floor. I jubbed my jaw and she gasped for air.

"Alice?" She looked down at me and something reflected in her eyes, too fast for me to tell what it was.

"Oh Joel, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" I looked up at her and she held her hand out to me.

"No, you were mumbling in your sleep, I came into see what the problem was and you gave me the shoulder to the face." She winced.

"I'm sorry, we should get some ice on that." She stood and before her pj pants could fall over her leg, I noticed the marks going up her leg. What the hell happened to her? I stood and followed her downstairs. Her long hair covered most of the brusies but when it shifted away from her shoulder blade I could see the bite marks. On their way to being healed, but they looked nasty. And I got a feeling I hadn't seen the worst of it yet.

"Alice-" She looked over her shoulder at me and I grabbed her spinning her around pulling her hair away from her neck and the skin was raw, and brusied, seeing it hit me like her shoulder knocking me back.

"What happened?" She pushed me away and continued into the kitchen. She came back with an ice pack and pushed it into my chest. And the image of the marks on her flashed in my mind again. What did she fight? Those looked like serious bite marks, not like the small nicks she would get from fighting with the boys. She launched away from the house pretty fast after school, and I figured it was because of that kid at school, she went looking for a fight? Maybe so, but the only thing that would do that would be one of the rogue pack members and she isn't ready to take on one of those yet. I was afraid of the thought of fighting a rouge. They were a losely bound pack with no leader, and amazing fighting expererience. I heard her bedroom door shut, and I walked past it, holding the ice pack losely against my chin. I touched the wood of the door, and I wanted to push it open. To make her pain go away, but it wasn't my place. I walked into my room and I laid down on the bed, and I thought about her until I fell asleep.

(Alice)

I sat in the very corner of my room, pushing myself as small as I could in the space. I felt like I had been violated, and the look of disgust on his face was too much to bare. I put my hand over my mouth. Trying to make my sobs silent. I felt the warm tears glide down my face. I wasn't ready for this, I couldn't fight well enough to defend this pack, and I sure as hell wasn't wise enough not to make mistakes. I needed to go back to the way things were before I found out what kind of monster I was.

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I woke up, to my cell phone ringing, and I pulled my head up off the ground. I stretched my back and pushed my hair out of my face. I shivered slightly, and got up off the floor. I reached for my cell phone and flipped it open not looking at the number.

"Bailey-" I snapped my eyes open.

"Aunt?" I was really surprised and almost immediately pissed off. How dare she call me after leaving me to fend for myself in Alaska. I stood and I was going to hang up.

"Have you seen Lucas, he went missing...I was wondering if maybe-"

"Why would I see him? I am living in Alaska!" And I heard her sigh.

"I'm sorry for how I reacted-"

"Sorry? This is way past sorry, you left me in Alaska! To live on my own, who does that to a barely 18 years old person? I wasn't ready to take on doing the bills, or trying to cook. Do you understand how much stress I am under with trying to find a job, and going to school? No college for me!"

"Bailey, listen-- my son is missing."

"That's not my problem anymore." I hung up the phone and I sighed, it was mean for me to do that, but she was rude and very mean for leaving me here and telling me that I wasn't a part of her family anymore. This was in no way my fault. I walked downstairs and Joel was sitting in the living room and to my utter surprise Lucas was chilling next to him.

"I found him walking in the middle of the road this morning." I looked at him and he turned to give me a goofy smile. 

"Lucas what are you doing?" I was trying to be stern, but my attempt failed when I walked over to him and pulled him into my arms, and I felt like I had something of my family back. And I could feel Joel watching me.

"Come on, lets go call your mom."

"Aunt Willow?"

"What Alison?" I ground my teeth at her tone.

"I found Lucas this morning, he was walking up the street." And I could hear her drop the phone.

"Is he-"

"He's fine, just a little hungry and cold. Do you want me to bring him back, or are you going to come and get him?"

"I can't leave for for another few days....can he stay there?"

"I thought you didn't want me claws or my teeth anywhere near your family? What happened to that? Now you want me to play babysitter?"

"Alice, don't fight me on this one just do it."

"No, you don't get to talk to me like that anymore, I no longer respect you. You don't get to tell me what to do. You either come up and get him or I'm sending him home the way he came." I hung up and looked to Lucas who was eating ravolli's with Joel.And I rubbed my face. Joel looked at me and in that instant I felt old, and worn down enough to the point of collasping. I walked out of the kitchen and back up to my room. And then my eyes went to the attic. Remembering the piano up there. I pulled down the stairs, and usually when you walk into an attic at a normal house, it's the hottest place in the world, even in the winter. But here with so much cold outside, there really wasn't any reason for it to be hot. I sat down at the piano and the white keys looked back at me calling to me. I looked around and found a box labled Sheet Music Box # 1 I lifted open the lid and they were hand written songs, I pulled them out one at a time bein very gentle with the paper. It looked like someone had spent a lot of time with this thing. I looked at the signature on the bottom of the paper and they tumbled from my hands. I sat on my butt and just looked at the music.

"My mother's-" I mumbled, and I pulled myself up onto the bench and spread out the two sheets of music. And it sounded a lot like a lullaby. And I almost wasn't sure if I was playing it right at first. But the more I played it felt like my mother was with me. Like she had never left me in the first place and it felt good to feel warm on the inside, she was here for me. And I took comfort in that thought.