Short Stories

Mistakes

"I'm okay, you're okay, we're okay," He didn't believe himself, he knew he had lied to Alice more times than he could count, but this was by far the worst. Alice looked at him, her long, curly red hair swaying with every movement. Her mahogany brown eyes wide open and trusting. Her lips widening in a grateful smile. Her thin hands gripping his shoulders as she pulled him in for a hug. Her pale skin seemed almost transparent to him.

"Thank you Noah, but I know that's not the truth. You don't have to lie anymore." She sat down on the dusty floor. The sunlight flowed in through one small window, highlighting Alice's features perfectly. She was truly beautiful, at least to him.

"What do you mean, surely you wouldn't prefer the truth?"

"I would. Noah you know better than anyone else how I feel about lies," She sounded powerless.

"I don't think you can handle it Alice. I mean, I'm barely holding it together." He sat next to her.

"I'm stronger than you think, Noah."

"Well you can't handle this!"

"WHY DO YOU THINK I'M SUCH A CHILD?" Alice stood. She was mad now. He hated it when she was mad.

"Because, you act like one Alice," He was resentful. He resented the truth, he resented her, he resented the old house they were in.

"Whatever, if I'm just I child to you, I-I guess I have to go." A lone tear rolled down her cheek. He felt horrible. She didn't even know why they were here. She didn't understand why they were attacked, she was just trying to find her way in the world.

"Don't leave," He held back a sob "I-I," pause "I need you Alice." He put his head into his hands.

"Then tell me the truth," Her voice was broken, defeated. She sat back down across from him.

"I'm scared to tell you."

"How bad can it be?"

"Alice," pause " I don't even know how to begin telling you." He lifted his head out of his hands.

"Start at the beginning." It was matter of fact, she was always matter of fact. Thats one thing he loved about Alice.

"Well, that party "

"The one that Markcus threw?" She interrupted him.

"Yes. Well at that party I met a girl, and we did...some stuff, and we started dating," Noah said this with as little emotion as possible.

"Really? That's not like you Noah." She was as sarcastic as ever.

"Oh shut it, Well this girl she was into some bad stuff, and I sorta got dragged into it with her. I got arrested a few times when I was with her, and after a while, I realized that I was in a downwards spiral. I couldn't break up with her though because I felt like I loved her. I didn't." He spoke quickly, wanting to get this over with. Time was running out for him.

"So I kept dating her. We were together for three years. One day I guess I just finally got the guts to break it off. She didn't like that. She tried to kill me. I ran." He was getting quieter as he got to why they were here, in this dusty old house.

"I-I didn't know where to go. I'm so so sorry Alice, but your house was the one place I could think to go with this crazy chick chasing after me." He looked at her, pleading.

"So? There must be more to it than that Noah. You didn't just make me pick up everything and travel with you to the middle of Nebraska for nothing." Alice looked at him. He didn't answer her all he did was put his head in his hands.

"Right?" Frantically, the word almost not making it out of her mouth.

"Right. I'm sorry I'm just processing everything." His answer wasn't nearly as convincing as he thought, but Alice didn't speak.

" Well, I guess, I didn't think it through, she saw me with you, and she called her 'friends' to take you out." Alice opened her mouth as of to speak, but just sat there mouth agape.

"I got a text from her two days ago, telling me that, that if I didn't get back together with her, she would kill you." Noah let out a breath "I couldn't let that happen, so I tried to reason with her, and she sliced my arm, that where this came from." He gestured aimlessly to the gash on his upper arm "She than refused to bargain, she wouldn't even get back together with me after seeing that, I-I cared for you so much" He quieted as he got nearer to the end.

"Noah..." She didn't know what to say, she couldn't finish her sentence. He just looked at her, his eye's dark as the night sky circles showing endless nights without sleep.

"I'm sorry Alice, but yesterday as I was going to the store before we left, I saw her, and she was with many other people. She was surrounded by a gang, I'm pretty sure she was leading them." He took a shaky breath " When I got home you weren't there and I got scared. I realized we had to leave that day." He looked at her " Alice, they want to kill you, they want to kill me. If the car trip is anything to go by a little distance isn't going to stop them."

Alice looked outside, the car that they took was sitting in the blazing sun. Little bullet holes riddled the sides. A tire was flat, a side mirror missing, no glass in the windows.

" And, Alice?"

"Yes Noah?"

"You know how I said I got into some bad stuff with her?" He looked afraid.

"Yes?"

"Well, I made some enemies who are also coming after me, and I'm going into withdrawal" As if saying it quickly would soften the blow.

"WHAT? So there are those guys who are with that girl coming after us, your old enemies coming after us, you're going into withdrawal, our car won't work anymore, we have no weapons, and, oh this is the best part, we don't have any food or water." Alice counted on her fingers as she went. " I guess it could be worse, our families could be dead." She threw her hands up in the air.

"Well.." He hesitated, He wanted to avoid telling her this until she was more stable.

"What? Tell me" A demand.

"They targeted our families first Alice, I couldn't do anything, I'm so so sorry. I wanted to tell you when you were more stable." Barely even audible, he looked to the ground.

Silence. A shaky breath, Noah looked up. The smack resonated around the room, a red mark blossoming on his cheek.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME FIRST? 'WHEN I'M MORE STABLE'? OH MY GOD NOAH!" She was mad, rightfully so. "YOU STUPID, HEARTLESS, VAIN, SELFISH...." She dissolved into sobs.

"I'm sorry" Noah murmured. Outside something was making noise, the silence in the house only broken by Alice crying. The noise got louder, and it was, familiar.

"Alice, shut up" Noah sounded urgent.

"You're telling ME to shut up? YOU'RE THE ONE WHO" She was cut off when he placed his hand over her mouth.

"We have to leave, there's a car coming, and I dont wanna take the chance that it's them. Get your stuff, and see if they have and preserved food. I'm sorry but we can't fight now," Noah plucked up his courage and kissed her forehead "I love you Alice."

Alice stayed silent, tears running down her face, but whent to do what he said. Just as she was at the door to the kitchen she looked over her shoulder at him. Noah was trying to make it look like they had never been there, coving footprints and such. "I love you."

He didn't hear her. He never could.