Hunting the Fairy Tale

Chapter 101 - Sunday: Breakfast

Willow

The window is big enough I could easily escape through it and run down to the gate and find the nearest bus stop to take a bus home, and nobody will even notice. It is completely doable. I have all my possessions with me in the bathroom. No problem at all.

Except that the towel Paisley gave me last night to protect Tanner's sheets and the track pants I slept in are now wet bundles in the shower because they had some streaks on them. I rinsed them and am struggling to wring out the bulk of the water.

I woke up in Tanner's bed this morning, and it took me all of five seconds to remember every harrowing detail of my escapades last night. All I want right now is to find a hole to crawl into. I thought people don't remember the stuff they get up to when they're high! This is a huge disappointment.

Taking a shower refreshed my body but not my mind. I'm dressed in my own clothes, and I've loosely braided my hair and tied it with a scrunchy from my bag, and I've even brushed my teeth, using some toothpaste, my finger and toilet paper. I am very civilized and organised on the surface.

There is no more reason for me to stay here in the bathroom, except for the wet material in my hands, but I can hear the others in the dining area near the front door and kitchen. They are laughing, talking, and being normal, and it is tying my stomach into uncomfortable knots. I've even heard Dex's voice a few times. 

All my victims are gathered together!

Nothing is normal; I can never face them again. I have one of two choices: I can spend the rest of my life here in their bathroom, or I can escape through the window and take the bus home. The latter seems to be the best option, as Tanner and Jake would want the use of their bathroom at some point.

"Alice," Paisley says on the other side of the door, bringing a flood of memories back from the many occasions I'd been in here last night. The mixture she'd given me to drink did flush the toxins from my body, which meant many visits to the toilet. "Are you alright? Do you need anything?"

She must absolutely hate me after my shameful behaviour with Asher. I know I hate myself. I cannot face her, and I cannot face Asher... I cannot face anybody!

"No, thank you," I finally manage, my voice sounding strangled in my own ears.

"Can I come in?" she asks, and I really don't want to open the door for her, but I owe her an apology, a decent one, not one just muttered through the closed door, so I bravely unlock the door and pull it open to let her in.

"Wow, you look pretty good for someone who was zonked out of her brackets last night."

"I am so sorry, Paisley," I rush to let the words trapped in my heart out in one stream. "I would never, ever hurt you on purpose, please believe me. I am so sorry; please don't hate me. Or hate me, if you want, that will be okay too; I have no right to tell you how to feel. I'm really-"

"You're sorry! I get it. Take a chill pill, Alice," Paisley snorts, taking the wringed-out towel and track pants, I'm still holding in my hands. "I'll throw these in the washing machine with the rest of our things in a bit," she says, dumping them in the washing hamper.

I've wrapped my used pads in layers of toilet paper and placed them in the little bag in the waste basket, as per Paisley's instructions from last night. Doing so felt awkward, knowing that this was Tanner and Jake's bathroom, and now the towel and pants I'd used were in the washing hamper too. All of this is bothering me too much.

"I want to take it home and wash it, and I'll take the bag from the garbage can as well."

"Are you still high?" Paisley asks, and when I just sigh, looking at her, feeling utterly miserable, she suddenly smiles, and to my surprise, she pulls me into a hug. "Hey, relax, okay? I know you didn't try to hurt me or anybody. I'm not hurt; it was quite entertaining. Besides, Asher can now say that I'm not the only girl he'd ever kissed, so I don't have to feel that he's just settling for me because he has no alternatives. I don't think any of the guys are feeling any desire to complain; if anything, you did them a favour."