Chapter Fourteen
Hospital
Alice

I didn't know how long I was out, but as I became more and more awake, I recognized Edward sitting at the side of my hospital bed, his cool hand holding mine tightly.

"Alice?" Edward perked up, a smile spreading across his face. "Are you in pain?" He asked and I shook my head no. "Can you breathe?" He asked and I nodded. "I was so scared Alice, when they called Carlisle to the hospital we had no idea it was because of you." He spoke worriedly. "Do you remember anything about the intruder?" He asked.

"Intruder?" I questioned him, my voice scratchy and hoarse from the previously removed breathing tube.

"Your father told the police that one of his past convicts broke in while you were home alone and attacked you. Your father got home just in time and fended him off before your neighbors came to help." He said.

"No." My voice cracked. "He did this."

"What?" Edward gasped shocked.

"He snapped, he did this." I teared up.

"I'm going to go get Carlisle." Edward spoke through his teeth, kissing my forehead lovingly, and leaving the room quickly.

"You look awful." Emmett said as he and Jasper entered my hospital room.

"Dude, you're not supposed to say that to people." Jasper chided him.

"Oh, right, sorry Alice. You're beat up pretty bad though, did you not see this coming?" Emmett asked.

"No." I shook my head. "If I had I wouldn't have gone home."

"We brought these for you, we know how much you like yellow." Jasper said, setting a bouquet of sunflowers on the cabinet in my hospital room.

"Thank you." I smiled softly.

"We promised Edward we would sit with you, incase your father came by." Emmett told me, taking a seat in the chair Edward had just been sitting in. "And we wanted to see you of course." He winked.

"Alice, why did you not tell anyone that your father was abusing you?" Jasper asked softly, standing behind Emmett's chair.

"For the same reason I hide everything else, I'm ashamed." I responded. "The one person who's supposed to care about me the most is so terrified of my gift that he punishes me for it."

"We could've helped you." Emmett said, suddenly sad.

"No, you couldn't have." I smiled softly at him. "Mark has influence, no one is ever going to believe he's capable of doing this, and I bet my visions that he's going to get away with this again."

"No he won't, he has all of us against him." Jasper shook his head.

"But he'll have the whole town behind him, telling him how much of a hero he is and how lucky I am to have him to protect me." I laughed and Jasper shot me a warning look.

"Well, we won't give up on this." Emmett spoke soundly.

"I wish you would. You don't need anymore attention then you already get, you don't need people watching and waiting for you to screw up." I sighed.

"Alice is right." Rosalie suddenly spoke from the doorway. "We already have too much attention due to our differences, if we add to that, we'll have to leave before the end of high school." She said softly as she sat across Emmets lap.

"Right, so let's just drop this, alright?" I asked the boys.

"Alright." Emmett grumbled.

"No, I'm not going to drop this. But I won't say anything against Mark." Jasper half-agreed with me.

"Thank you." I sighed in relief.

"Carlisle's making his rounds and then he'll come to see you." Edward said, coming into the room and sitting on the side of my bed opposite of everyone else. "I'm so sorry." He apologized, moving some of my hair out of my face.

"It's not your fault." I shook my head. "No one saw this coming, not even me."

"Alice, you died." He spoke grimly. "It took Carlisle two minuets to revive you, do you realize how serious this is?"

"I know I died, but I'm okay, I'll live." I sighed.

"Wait, you knew you died?" Emmett asked and I nodded. "How?"

"Alice, I'm so happy to see you're awake and talking!" Carlisle smiled, entering the room and coming to my side quickly.

"Me too." I giggled, causing pain to shoot through my chest.

"Any dizziness? Nausea? Extreme pain?" He asked and I shook my head no. "Good." He smiled. "We were all so worried."

"Alice knew that she was dead." Emmett told him and Carlisle's eyes went wide.

"How? Did you see anything?" Carlisle asked me hopefully.

I stared at the pattern on my blankets as I answered, "My mother."

"Your-" Rosalie took a deep shuddering breath. "Oh Alice, I'm so sorry, when-"

"A car crash, a month before you moved here." I answered, tears lining my eyes. "I saw it coming, I saw the man trying to run her off of the road, I screamed at her not to go, but my mother promised me that she would be fine and left anyway. All the while I was screaming and crying for her not to go." I sighed.

"You said that you saw a man trying to run her off the road?" Emmett asked.

"Yes, my father payed him to to do it." I admitted.

"Alice, are you absolutely sure? This is a serious accusation." Edward asked.

"Yes I'm sure!" I yelled and then quickly recovered my composure. "Have my visions ever been wrong? I saw Mark pay a man to kill my mother and then she ended up at the bottom of a lake." I muttered.

"Alice, we're so sorry for your loss." Rosalie sobbed.

"I can't change it, I could only see it, and that's why I'm so persistent about all of you trusting me on my visions, because they can literally mean life or death." I explained.

"We'll never doubt you again Alice." Carlisle promised me and everyone agreed.

In the week following my attack, I kept a close eye on Cynthia, suddenly feeling much more protective of her then my normal obsessive level. I couldn't let my father hurt her like he hurt me. He snapped and attacked me in a drunken rage, what's to stop him from doing the same to Cynthia.

He started getting very frustrated with me. Edward, Rosalie, and myself started playing a game of keep away with him. Edward would pick Cynthia and I up from school before my father got up from work and Rosalie happily kept Cynthia after school until late at night when Edward would help Cynthia and I sneak back into the house.

Cynthia thought that Rosalie was her best friend, which Rosalie happily accepted, and that Edward was just really protective over me after my stay in the hospital. She has no idea that our father was the reason for my injuries, she just accepted the cover story of an intruder attacking me.

My father got away with nearly killing me easily, all it took was a few burned police reports in our fireplace and a public conference where he basically had the townspeople praising his every word.

Edward tries to act like it doesn't bother him, solely for my benefit. When Jasper and Emmett get fired up about it, I just tune them out until Edward hushes them. Carlisle's the worst about it however. He sees himself as my protector, keeping my father from doing anymore damage to me, and it pains him and me both to no end knowing that he can't protect me forever.

I'd like to say that I'm perfectly fine. I'd like to say that I'm not in any pain and I'm sleeping peacefully and my life is the best it's ever been.

But I'd be lying.

In truth, my eyes are throbbing, my head aches painfully, and my ears are constantly ringing. My visions are tormenting me, never allowing me a clear picture as they warn me of some impending danger. Worse of all, I can't sleep or eat. Nightmares plague me and every time I even think about eating something I want to vomit. Everyone's worried, I even catch Rosalie's sad eyes directed at me every so often, and it's driving me crazy.

Maybe I do belong in an asylum.

"Alice? Are you alright?" Edward asked me softly, taking my hand in his as we sat on the couch in the Cullen living room together one afternoon.

"I'm fine." I smiled gently at him, pushing away my dark thoughts as much as possible.

"Are you ready to eat something Alice?" Carlisle asked hopefully and as bile built up in the back of my throat I shuddered painfully. "I'll take that as a no." He sighed.

"What is Mark doing this weekend?" Emmett asked.

"Same thing as always, clubs and illegal activities with Jessica." I sighed.

"You and Cynthia should stay here for the weekend, you need to spend some time alone and clear your head in a safe place." Carlisle offered and I nodded my head.

"Thank you, that sounds really nice." I smiled as much as I could.

I tried to ignore the look of concern and sadness on Carlisle's face, I really did, but seeing him hurting for me just makes me feel worse.

Edward pulled me against his side then, wrapping his arms around me, and I relaxed against him, instantly feeling more at peace.

"This won't last forever Alice." Edward promised me and I turned my head so I could look up at him.

"Thank you, I needed to hear that." I smiled as much as I could and buried myself into him again before I had see his pained expression.

That's how it was for a full month following my attack. I was in a constant depressive state, not really living but refusing to give up at the same time, I split my time between being in Edwards caring arms and laying in the Cullen's backyard watching clouds, trying desperately to regain my old bubbly self.

"Mind if I join you?" Jasper asked, like I knew he would, as I was cloud watching one day.

"Sure." I sighed and he laid out beside me, eyes glued to the sky like mine.

"Everyone hates seeing you like this." Jasper told me.

"I know." I sighed.

"We all just want our normal cheerful Alice back." He spoke, not really using any one emotion.

"She's not ever going to be the same." I sighed. "Death and life are two heavy subjects that she knows far too much about."

"We all know too much about those things Alice." Jasper sighed.

"You're all vampires though, I'm just a silly little human girl who belongs in an asylum."

"Don't say that." He spoke madly.

"It's the truth!" I screamed.

"No it's not!" He roared back at me, silencing me altogether. "You're stronger then this Alice! Get up and act like it!" He yelled as he stormed back into the house.

He's right. I am stronger then this.

I'm the girl that smiled and laughed while dealing with the funeral of my mother. I smiled happily as my entire life changed around me, even though I felt like I was dying on the inside. I'm the girl that smiles and laughs even as she's falling apart.

I need to start acting like it.