Alice's POV
I was sitting on the floor.
I could still hear her crying and protesting, but I had stuck to my opinion. It was the right thing to do.
I can never go back.
I felt numb inside. I couldn't feel the cold floor I was sitting on.
I couldn't feel anything.
I felt as dead as people now thought I was.
I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.
I was just sitting there.
I couldn't hear the footsteps behind me. Or the little shriek.
Fully unprepared, I screamed as a woman appeared in front of me. I couldn't help but stare at her. If I had taken a guess, I would have said that she was in her mid-thirties. Brown curls surrounded a softly shaped face with a lot of wrinkles around the eyes. From laughing probably. But there was something about her... that didn't really seem to fit. There was a sadness in her eyes. She hadn't been laughing in a long time.
I took a deep breath and forced a little smile. This woman wasn't dangerous.
"I'm sorry. You scared the shit out of me." The woman sat down beside me. "It's okay. You look like you have been through a lot. I'm Caitlyn. I found you in the woods yesterday, you were passed out." She looked at me and seemed... I don't know... caring. Worried.
"How are you?"
I just stared at her.
This woman didn't know me. Not even my name. And she still took me here, put me in a bed and worried about me. Never in my entire life (17 years is a lot... at least for me) had I met someone this open minded and kind. I wouldn't run away this time. Not from her. But I couldn't tell Caitlyn the truth either.
I wouldn't be a burden to her. She didn't deserve my problems.
"I'm fine.", I answered. She looked at me and sighed. "That's usually a lie. I can't force you to talk to me but could you at least tell me your name? I want you to know that you can trust me." The truth.
She wanted the truth.
There was a part of me that wanted to open up, but I knew what that would mean. She would try to bring me back home. I couldn't go back there.
" I'm Alina. Alina... ", my eyes landed on the floor, "... Carpet." Caitlyn smiled. "Okay Alina. That's a start. I won't bother to ask why you ran away from home because you won't tell me. That much I already know. Let's start with simple things, like... what's your favourite colour?" I giggled a bit. "Seriously?" "Yes. Mine is yellow. A sunflower yellow." "I have honestly never really thought about it. I like green. The colour of freedom.
I want to ask a question now." "Shoot.", Caitlyn said.
"Where are we?"
"We are in Rosefalls. This is the mansion of Professor Starling."
Rosefalls?
Oh my God.
I had been running almost two marathons? What the fuck?
Then I noticed something else.
"Wait- THE Professor Starling? The one who invented the internet? The grandfather of the two most famous kids in the world, Grayson and Tessa Starling?! That Professor?!?!" Caitlyn laughed. "Yeah, that's the one. Most people wouldn't recognise him. They take the internet for granted." "I googled him when I was eight because I wanted to thank him. I wrote a letter."
A mistake.
I knew it the moment the words came out of my mouth. The letter was written by Alice Johnson and not Alina Carpet. "Don't be disappointed if he doesn't remember that. He gets surprisingly quite many fan messages." Thank God. "My turn asking.", Caitlyn said. "What's your favourite animal?" I grinned. "Very original. Uhmmmm... probably the wolf." "What? Why?!" "It's fascinating how they work together. The pack comes first. Another plus is that everyone respects and fears them. That makes them powerful." "Huh. I honestly never heard that one before." "My turn again.", I said.
"Why did you take me here?"
She looked at me. "When I found you, you seemed so... fragile. I instinctly wanted to protect you. Those grey eyes of yours... they have seen many traumatic things."
We were silent for a few moments.
"Okay.", Caitlyn said then. "My question. What about your family? The way you described the wolves... You want a family like that. A pack. But what about your family? What about your father or your mother? Do you have any siblings?"
I closed my eyes.
Breathe Alice, breathe.
Don't think about her.
Don't think about him.
Focus!
I needed a story. Something Caitlyn would believe. "I'm an orphan."
Well, that wasn't that far from the truth. "I lived in the orphanage since I was four years old. I had a sister but she passed away recently." It felt good to tell her at least this part of the truth. "She is dead."
Saying those words out loud hit me. Hard. She is dead.
I finally realised what that meant.
A tear rolled down my cheek.
Caitlyn was hasitant for a second, then she wrapped her arms around me. She held me tight in a way that only my sister had held me in almost ten years. The tears were back.
And I knew that they wouldn't go away that quick.
I didn't know how much time had passed when I finally calmed down a bit. Out of nowhere Caitlyn began to speak again. "I know it's your turn but I have one last question.
Do you want to stay here?
You didn't deserve whatever happened to you and I won't send you back. So, do you want to stay?"
Wow. Just wow. I couldn't believe what I had just heared.
"I- I don't know what to say. I don't want to be a burden." "You could help me with taking care of the Professor. We would both benefit from this."
I smiled.
"In that case... I would love to."
A place to stay.
I couldn't wish for more.
Caitlyn stood up and gave me her hand to help me do the same.
"Okay. Great! And who knows? Maybe some day you will trust me enough to tell me your real name."
Authors note: At this point I would like to mention, that Professor Starling obviously isn't the inventor of the internet. That were Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf. Thanks guys.
