Alice Cooper sat in her parked car all alone, she stared across the street at the two bedroom house she once called home. It had been years since she's even thought about driving down this particular street but for some reason she couldn't help herself today. Her travel mug was sitting in the cup holder beside he, she helped herself to another sip of the scorching hot liquid, and moved to restart her engine. Memories flooded her mind when she looked up. The house had looked completely different back then, it was once so run down that she thought the roof may collapse on her as she slept, the garden was no longer untidy, she admired the assortment of flowers and shrubbery that made the whole place look ten times better than it actually was. She turned the key in her ignition ready to leave when a teenage boy walked out in front of her car, she grumbled in annoyance as she waited for him to pass, her mind started to wander, thinking back to the summer between junior and senior year.
••
It was summertime when Alice first started to truly notice the weight she had gained during the colder months. She stood in the world's smallest bathroom, staring at herself in frustration. She poked and prodded at her body before cupping at her breasts, wondering why they were the only part of her body that refused to grow. A harsh knock on the door caused her to scamper to pick up her clothes. She hurriedly started pulling her shirt on over her head, stepping into her panties to make herself decent. "You fall in there or what?" Her father chuckled from the other side of the door. Alice stared at her reflection one last time, tucking her hair behind her ears before untucking it straight away. "Sorry! I'm finished!" She called back to him.
At age sixteen it wasn't uncommon for Alice to be laughed at or ridiculed for spending too much time in the family bathroom, she wasn't trying to take so long, it just happened and her father's taunts weren't going to make her half ass her personal hygiene. She wandered out of the bathroom, wet hair dripping over the back of her t'shirt. She walked past her father who was sitting in his old arm chair, staring directly at the television. She kept telling him he would ruin his eyes, but the stubborn ass wouldn't listen to her. She made it safely back into her bedroom. She kicked the door shut to drown out the sound of the television and to give herself more privacy. The humming coming from the television was blocked by the door but Alice could still hear it as she opened her laundry hamper, tossing her old clothes into it.
Her bedroom was only big enough to fit her bed and a small bookshelf. She was constantly reshuffling her books and magazines, the discarded ones lived under her bed with all of her other belongings. It wasn't the most organised system but compared to the rest of her house it was near perfect. She pulled out the latest edition of her favourite magazine, she had been waiting all week to read it and this was the first chance she's truly had to open it. Most girls she knew loved flipping through the pages just to look at the pictures, or to figure out which celebrity's photograph they wanted to cut out and make into a collage for their scrapbooks or bedroom walls. She liked that too, but she could spend hours reading through articles, only dreaming of some day writing her own.
When the television was finally switched off she closed her magazine and returned it to the place left in her shelf, her hair was still damp but she didn't mind as it was the only thing keeping her cool. After switching off her bedroom light she laid back against her pillow, too hot to bother climbing in under the sheets. Her eyes had only been closed for a short while before an excessive amount of tapping against her window woke her up. She drew the curtains opened with a yawn, almost falling backward once she saw what was staring back at her. A man in a black mask, she was about to scream out in fear when the masked intruder revealed himself and her fear turned into anger. "FP." She groaned out, pushing her window open so he could climb in. "Why do you have to be such an asshole?" She questioned, scooting over so he could sit by her on the mattress.
FP let out a laugh as he collapsed back against Alice's tiny bed. He threw his mask over into her lap, leaning back against his palms which were pressed face down on the mattress. "Admit it, it was fucking funny." He prompted, nudging her knee with his ankle. She was sitting with her legs tucked underneath her body to give him the most room.
Alice rolled her eyes at him. It absolutely was not funny for her, he had scared her half to death with that stunt. "I would have been laughing if my dad had come in here to find you doing that." She told him as she fell back against the wall, eyes moving to meet his for the first time. It was late but she had nothing better to do other than indulge the idiot who was sitting across from her. They'd known each other for a long time but it had only been a recent development where they had started hanging out together. FP wasn't someone she would usually spend time with, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why.
"And what would he say about me being in your room so late at night?" FP asked, nudging her again with his outstretched leg. He watched as Alice's face changed, he could have sworn she was blushing, but the moonlight didn't light up her face enough to tell.
"He'd call me a whore." She replied honestly. There was no point in coming up with some embellished answer, she knew for a fact that her father would say those exact words to her. He had done the same thing to her mother when she had cheated on him with his brother. Admittedly her mother was kind of a whore but that was beside the point. FP sitting on her bed didn't warrant such labels, but it wouldn't stop him if he had the chance.
"We're just sitting here having a nice conversation." FP said to her. He knew Alice was not a whore, he knew the girls around town who were labeled as such and she was far from it. He watched as she combed her fingers through her damp hair. It was a golden colour, reminded him of the sun. She met his eye and in turn started to roll hers.
"Why are you prancing about so late for?" She asked after a moment of silence was shared between them. She didn't know FP's current living situation, nobody ever did. He was a floater, slept on couch after couch never knowing which one he would end up on. She couldn't live like that, surviving on one rucksack was probably her worst nightmare. Although she couldn't fit much in her tiny bedroom, she tried her hardest to fit in everything she could possibly want or need.
FP scratched the back of his neck and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't have anywhere to sleep." He admitted to her. He wasn't telling Alice so she would offer him a place to sleep, he was telling her because he didn't like lying to her. She gave him a sympathetic look despite knowing he hated that. Before she could offer her own couch to him, he stopped her. "I'm not gonna make a whore outta you Ally Cat." He said as he flashed her a smile. Her father would probably kill him if he woke up to find that he had stayed the night, FP didn't care about that though because all he cared about was what he would do to Alice.
"You're lucky it's a warm night." She said kindly. If it were winter she might insist that he stayed, no matter the consequences that may follow that decision. She didn't like the idea of him wandering around all night trying to find somewhere safe to lay his head, but she couldn't change the situation for him.
FP simply nodded. He didn't care about the weather, he would find shelter regardless of the season, always had been quite resourceful. "I'll catch ya." He told her, jerking his head towards the window he had climbed in from not too long ago. At first Alice thought he wanted her to jump out and go with him, his words were confusing at first, but then she soon realised he was saying his goodbye. She reached over to give his arm a gentle squeeze, he offered her a smile in return before crouching by the window, jumping out in one swift movement. "See you around." He said to her quietly, pressing a finger up against his lips. He didn't want to wake her father, she didn't want that either. She stayed pressed against the glass watching him walk away until he was gone and she was just left staring at a timber fence.
••
As Betty's name appeared on her phone, Alice snapped out of her memories. She tapped on the new text message and sighed as she fell back into her current reality. She assured her daughter she was on the way to pick her up. She only needed a moment to collect her thoughts. That had been such a long time ago now, and she didn't know why it even mattered to her. The past was in the past, and she really didn't want to open old wounds. She drove back the way she came, leaving her memories behind.
Or so she thought.
