Next to her, Jordan opened his mouth to speak, but she was no longer paying attention. A woman had just walked up the aisle– and for a split second, she'd looked almost exactly like Alice/ Isobel shook her head and looked away. Impossible.
Alice noticed a woman watching her walk down the Isle. Ignoring it, she settled into the train seat, leaning against the window. She'd have to find somewhere to take a shower in Montreal.
She sighed, hunched her shoulders and retreated into herself, digging deep into her mind for some source of non-existent comfort. All she could see were blurred faces, and all she could hear was distant noises. The movement of the train was juddering and unfamiliar, and Alice closed her eyes against it.
Finally, the train pulled into the station. Isobel bade Jordan goodbye and got off, locating a taxi.
The train came to a stop and Alice got off. She looked around for somewhere to go and spotted the petite woman who'd been near her in the train. Isobel was nowhere to be seen and this woman looked similar to her. Alice set off after her.
Isobel rubbed her tired eyes, dragging her suitcase behind her. She looked around for her stepmother, who was supposed to be picking her up, and didn’t see her anywhere. Figures.
The woman seemed to be looking around. Alice stopped walking until the woman's searching expression turned to one of exhaustion. Alice carefully approached.
Isobel kept looking around until a sigh of frustration escaped from her lips, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed her stepmother’s number.
The woman pulled out a phone— and Alice recognised the case. She gasped loudly as the street emptied, leaving only Isobel and her. The sky clouded over. Alice stumbled towards Isobel just stopping behind her. She grabbed Isobel from behind and dragged her towards the wall. "We have to move," she begged in a breathy voice.
Isobel whirled around, stumbling backwards as recognition struck her like a freight train. “Alice???”
"N- not now. Something's wrong, really. I don't-" She went still. A man was standing at the end of a street. He noticed her noticing and took off running.
"Wait," she whispered to herself. She looked Isobel in the eye, tucked the woman's hair behind her ear and sprinted after the man.
“Alice!” Almost dizzy, Isobel grabbed hold of her luggage and ran after, thoroughly confused by now. What?!
Alice swerved into an alleyway, breathing hard. She skid to a stop, falling forwards onto her knees. The alley was deserted. She stared at the brick wall ahead, going still. "Another one, then," she whispered through gritted teeth.
Isobel finally caught up, grabbing hold of Alice's shirtsleeve and yanking her up. "Alice." Her voice was firm, unyielding. "Explain. Now."
She froze up under Isobel's grip. "Hallucination," she said feebly, gesturing to the wall.
Isobel stilled momentarily, but was quickly moving again, pressing her fingers against her temples. "Alright– how long have these been going on? And why are you even here?"
Alice tilted her head to the side, avoiding Isobel's gaze. "They've been going on my whole life. No way to fix them, only to recognise them." She stopped there, giving no answer to the second question.
(ack sorry I thought I replied but apparentl I didn't, a common occurrence on this sight)
"Answer the other question, Alice," Isobel said through gritted teeth. "Then, I'm taking you to the hospital."
Alice stood and started backing away. "I'm here because there's nothing else for me to do. I have no job or anything."
“So you.. followed me all the way to Montreal.” Her tone was flat, face unreadable.
"To be fair, I wasn't specifically following you," she whispered tentatively.
"Then who?" Isobel asked, a conflicted expression passing over her face.
"Well." She desperately tried to think of a plausible excuse, but her mind was all over the place. "I wanted to leave. And remembered you were going to Montreal. So I got on a train to Montreal."
Isobel pulled away, massaging her temples. First she followed me home and climbed through my window.. now this?
Alice took advantage of Isobel's distraction to try and back out of sight, back away from the threat of a hospital.