Alice followed Isobel, noticing how out of sorts she seemed. She kept slowing down, sniffling. Alice was tempted to walk up to her and ask what was wrong.
But she couldn't. If her past was any indication, she knew she wouldn't be wanted.
Finally, Isobel arrived at the front door of her building and fumbled around for her key before ascending the many steps to the top floor. Opening her own door and slipping inside, she put her back against the wall and slid to the floor, finally allowing a few tears to slip out. Eddie ran over to her, barking happily and jumping up to lick her face, but she barely registered him.
Alice stopped dead when she saw it was an apaaremt. She sighed and set about circling the building for a fire escape or something. She finally found a thin ladder and started climbing.
(damn)
Eventually, Eddie gave up, made a small whimpering sound, and lay his head on her knees, which she'd drawn up to her chest. Isobel didn't bother to wipe the tears as they poured silently down her cheeks, her stomach twisting with a horrible feeling akin to sorrow and nausea.
She'd received a phone call while in class…. the news had not been good.
(AAAAAH THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME)
Alice got halfway up the building. Isobel was on the top floor. She examined the area for anything practical she could climb. There was an old tree towering over the roof that grew up to the top but… She'd have to jump.
(Hehehehe)
Isobel didn’t know how long she sat there, despair slowly caving in and giving way to numbness. She wasn’t sad. Wasn’t hurt. Didn’t feel loss. She was just numb, blessedly unfeeling.
She stood up shakily and went to grab a snack.
(not fair)
Alice examined the distance between the ladder and the trees. It wasn't too far but she hadn't done anything physical in a long long time. She didn't even know if her knees could take the landing if she did manage to jump that far. She bit her lip, keeping her mind lucid.
And jumped.
(Blows raspberry)
(Alice what are you doing my child)
Isobel pushed the drawer shut with much more force than she’d intended, jumping when it crashed closed. Eddie yelped in surprise, and she knelt down to stroke and comfort him. There was no feeling attached to the gesture, she was just a machine, moving through routines until some emotion returned. But she didn’t want it to return.
She missed the branch by a significant amount and free fell, eventually catching on a lower branch. She landed on her back with a resounding crack and an explosion of pain in her chest followed. A broken rib.
Gasping, she slowly sat up, arms wrapped around her chest. She gingerly moved each limb one by one to check for any other injuries : her right ankle was, at best, sprained. She cursed to herself and stood up on the branch.
And all her pain disappeared. She looked around and up, and almost fell off the branch in surprise. Jack was standing on top of the tree, sucking his thumb. Alice blinked a few times, hurt blossoming in her heart.
"My Jack," she breathed. "Don't move Jack, I'm coming," she said to herself, and started scaling the tree. As she was halfway up, one of the top branches cracked, and fell. Jack fell backwards and was suddenly hanging on for dear life from a thin branch loaded with dewy leaves. He didn't scream or cry, but stared down at Alice, unblinking. Alice stared back, confused. Shouldn't he be reacting one way or another?
The branch broke and Jack fell.
Alice was snapped out of her thoughts just in time to see his body hit the ground. She shoved a fist into her mouth to keep from screaming, sobbing and shaking uncontrollably. The pain from her injuries suddenly burst forth and she fell onto the branch, blinded by her tears.
She stayed seated for a good half hour. When she calmed herself enough to be able to see, only then did she noticed where she was.
On level with Isobel's kitchen window.
(Aww Alice is making me cry)
Isobel scooped dark chocolate ice cream into a bowl, feeling nothing. There was no sorrow, no heartache, not even anticipation for the sweet treat. She just….. didn’t know anymore.
She didn’t know.
On her sixth scoop, she stppped to grab a spoon and sat down at the kitchen table. One by one, tears began to roll down her cheeks, but she barely registered them. There was no sadness. Only emptiness.
Alice watched, heartbroken, as Isobel sat down with her bowl and immediately started crying. She didn't look sad or angry though, just… Blank. Like Jack.
Have I missed something?
Isobel barely realized that she was eating, didn’t notice her pounding headache or the way her hands shook when they held the spoon. All she could think about was that awful phone call, the hours she’d spent silently crying through classes until a professor finally told her to go to the washroom where she could sob in piece. And now there were no tears left. She was dried up.
I miss you..
(WHO DIED)
Alice shook her head, wondering what on earth could have made Isobel so terribly sad. She was tempted to jump through the window and comfort her, but decided against it. She needed to do something, help Isobel but there was nothing she could do.
(hehehehehehehehehe)
Finally, Isobel gave up on eating and pushed her chair back, slipping from the kitchen and into her living room. She passed Eddie, who looked up at her sadly and whined, but she didnèt hear him. Sitting down on the couch, she turned on the TV and started watching the news.
It was all about the shooting that had happened up in Montreal.
Isobel lasted about five seconds before her emotions rushed back and she broke down crying again.
(OH NO OH SHIT)
Alice watched the news from her tree branch, unable to make out the headline. All she kne was that Isobel was all of a sudden sobbing.
(hehehehehehehehe I love torturing characters.. and this isn't even close to the worst I can do.. the worst is yet to come… hehe)
(also I love how Isobel is sobbing in her living room and Alice is chilling in a tree)
The rush of emotions was too painful, the sorrow hurt, ached deep in her chest. Isobel choked out another sob, wiping at the tears painting pathways down her face, but it was like trying to swim up a waterfall with a plastic sand shovel. The tears just kept coming, too fast to stop, and she wanted them to stop so badly. She wanted to stop feeling again, to go back to being a hollow shell. It all hurt too much.
Eventually, Isobel grew angry at herself for sitting here, useless as two shits (turn around bend over I'll sHOW YOU WHERE MY SHOE FITS), and furiously wiped at her face again. She slid her phone off the coffee table and dialled her stepmother's number.
(Hamilton… A WORD)
(I actually don't know what I should get Alice to do. I think if Isobel leaves the kitchen I'll get Alice to come inside?)
Alice tried to lean in forward but any movement sent shooting pains up and down her body, so she forced herself to sit still and watch Isobel on the phone. If only she could hear her…
(lol)
(yeah sure!)
(and she has left the kitchen, I think she's in the TV room now)
"Hello?"
A pause. Neither of them dared to breathe. Then, her stepmother's voice rushed to fill the silence.
"Isobel? Is that you?"
"Yeah. I–" She had to choke back a sob. "I just– I was wondering when the funeral was?"
Her stepmother did not reply for a full five seconds. When she finally did, her voice was thick with emotion.
"We're trying to have it this Saturday– but Isobel– it's all the way up here, you should stay and concentrate on your studies."
Isobel walked out of the kitchen to a room just out of Alice's line of vision. She bit her lip, deliberating. Should she go inside? Legally, absolutely not. Intelligence-wise, even less. Instinctively?
Alice carefully stood on the branch, pressing down on her stomach to limit the pain. She pressed down on it to check if it was stable. It was bouncy but sturdy. A perfect mix. Alice bent down, and using the momentum from the bounce jumped onto Isobel's balcony. She landed with a quiet thud, wincing loudly from the impact.
Isobel heard a faint thump, but was too preoccupied by the rush of emotions.
"Elizabeth, it's their funeral. I'm not– I can't–" here she had to clench her jaw to hold back from dissolving into tears. "You can't expect me to miss that for– for–"
"I know, sweetheart–"
"Don't call me that."
"I know, Isobel, but– all I'm saying is that it's such a long drive, and you- well, you don't have a car."
"I'll take the train. A plane. Anything."
Her stepmother sighed.
(THEIR? Topaz, I swear, if you've killed a pair of twins I'm leaving this rp. XP)
Alice searched along the window frame for a lock or handle or something. She found a latch in the top left corner and, putting her hand on it to muffle the sound, flicked it open with a satisfying click.
(hehehehehehhehehhehehehehehehehehehhehehehehhehehehehehe)
(more than just a pair of twins……………… there's a baby and a father too…………)
"Isobel listen to me–"
"No. They're my family too– you can't expect me to stay away!" The tears were coming again, faster and faster.
"He raised me! You didn't come along until I was in my senior year of highschool! What are you going to do, keep my mother away from the funeral too? His original wife?"
Alice swung the window open. It creaked loudly and Alice stood still a minute in case Isobel came in. She suddenly heard shouting from the other room. Filled with insatiable curiosity, she dismissed all cautious thoughts and climbed into the house, carefully closing the window behind her. She walked towards Isobel's voice on tiptoe and ducked behind the door frame of what looked like the TV room.
Isobel's stepmother sucked in a breath.
"Watch your tone, young lady–"
"You watch your tone! He doesn't– he didn't belong to you! He had a family other than you and your stupid, discriminative parents! Guess what? He had a daughter that he didn't make with you! He had a wife before you! All of which loved him and his children with you very much!"
Alice tried to comprehend what was going on. She was probably talking to a stepmother since she was talking about first wives and daughters. She leaned forward to listen in.