Alice & Oliver
First, it had been a small smile, cracking through the debris of her three month old scowl, and then it grew. From a smile, to a grin, to a wide beam that morphed into bubbles of laughter. She’d wandered away from the crowds, to a small wooded area near the stables; it was quiet, peaceful almost, so she’d lain down, toes digging into the dirt, blades of grass pricking the back of her bare freckled arms, warm and fresh and
alive. She stared up at the canopy of trees above, pricks of sunlight filtered through the leaves, hitting her in the face but not hurting. Even before she was turned, this wouldn’t be an ideal situation, by now she would’ve been an interesting shade of lobster, but not even that seemed to be happening. This place was turning out to be pretty amazing, the sort of place that invited you to leave your worries at the gate, something that Alice was happy to do.
She stretched, a slight yawn escaping her lips. Last night, curled up on a couch in the school’s foyer, head resting on Oliver’s shoulder, she’d struggled to sleep. She’d been tense, still clinging to the heightened levels of paranoia and stress that clung to every moment on the run. But now she was starting to relax, and although she was still stressed and paranoid, the effects were lessening, and the consequences of her recent lifestyle were starting to catch up, leaving her tires and sleepy.
However, just as she was about to drift of, she felt a buzz in the pocket of her skinny jeans. Somewhat frustrated, she awkwardly her small mobile from her pocket, obliged to answer because the only person she knew would be texting her was Oliver. Shielding the screen from the sun’s glare with her hand, she squinted to see the message-
Meet me in the cafeteria soon plz, it’s important
She frowned, what could that be about? Knowing Oliver, probably something small that he’d convince himself was vitally important, and meant they had to leave right now this second or she’d end up dead in a ditch. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t grateful, but it could be a bit annoying at times, especially when she was already expecting every bump in the night to be a horde of terrifying vampires ready to kill her. With a sigh, she texted back a quick reply,
Sure, but if you want us to leave already, I’m putting my foot down, I like it here :)
Oliver listened to his roommate’s phone call with a feeling of trepidation crawling through his gut. It was starting, before long, Alice would be as close to safe as she could get, and Oliver would be… it was worth it. He’d happily give his live to give her a better chance, in comparison, his servitude was nothing. Whilst Suleykaar was speaking on the phone, he wrote a short list of names and numbers as he’d been told. There weren’t many, just Alice and a couple of others he trusted unconditionally. He hesitated, glancing at the list again; did he really trust these people? The answer was probably no. He scribbled over the names, until the only one left was Alice’s.
After Suleykaar finished on the phone, he told Oliver to contact Alice, something he did easily. He was going to have to learn to do everything the man said, the second he did it, if he wanted Alice to stay safe. He needed this, regardless of what happened, and regardless of how strange this whole experience was going to be.
Alice texted him back quickly, “She says she’ll meet us there,” he said quietly, and then stood, ready to follow Suleykaar, ”and… thanks for this, I appreciate it”
