Something Sweeter - Alec Volturi

L. Alone

I woke up the next day alone.

I dragged myself out of bed and peered out of the bedroom window. The ground was covered with a thick layer of fresh snow.

It was the first snow of the year.

I continued around the house, checking for any sign of life, but I was greeted only by silence. I glanced out of the windows around the cottage, checking for footprints in the snow, but found none.

Everything was still where it was the night before. His clothes were in the dresser, his coat was still in the closet. Dirty dishes sat piled in the sink.

My eyes were puffy and my throat hurt from all of the crying. One crying jag had blended into the next, until I was finally able to fall into a restless slumber.

'Where was he?'

A part of me was still furious. The other part of me hoped we could talk again, so I could articulate my thoughts properly. I was ashamed of the screaming, and my unfiltered rage. What he did was truly evil, but I wished I'd taken some time to collect myself and think before expressing myself.

Mostly, I just wanted to see his face again.

The cottage felt uncomfortably big as I got ready for school. My movements were deliberate and slow. When I got in my car I looked over at the passenger seat expectantly. It was still empty.

He didn't show up at school that day.

By Chemistry, I'd begun to grow bitter. Who did he think he was, giving me the silent treatment? I tried to shrug it off. He'd come crawling back soon enough. I was sure of it.

He still hadn't returned when I arrived home. At that point, I was properly resentful. I childishly felt robbed of the last laugh. The anger in my heart began to fester.

One day passed. Then two. And three.

On Friday morning, I caved and tried calling his phone. My stomach dropped when I got a voice recording informing me that the number had been disconnected. The reality of my situation threatened to sink in.

That afternoon, Liam approached me with refreshingly good news in English.

"Did you hear?" he asked eagerly. "The fire department officially ruled the Williams' house fire as an accident."

"That's quite an accident," I said lamely.

"If that's what you really believe," Nate, a particularly condescending stoner said, turning in his seat to face us.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Liam asked.

"It's a real coincidence that those Swan twins dipped out of town the day after it happened," Nate said.

"You're so full of shit," Liam said angrily. He looked at me briefly with concern.

"What do you think, Violet? Since you knew them so intimately," Nate snorted.

"That's a great conspiracy theory. You should take that straight to the police," I said sarcastically, unmoved by his attempts to get under my skin.

"Whatever," Nate huffed before returning to bothering the students in front of him.

"Sorry about that. He's a total asshole," Liam said.

"It's fine. He doesn't bother me," I insisted.

"Where did Alec and Jane go?" he asked with deliberate nonchalance.

"They went down to LA to live with Bella," I said, focusing intently on keeping a straight face.

"Really? I thought you two were together," Liam pointed out.

"Yup," I said, chagrined.

"Are you still together?"

"I don't know. I'm not too optimistic about it," I forced myself to admit.

"Wow. Just like that?" Liam didn't mask his surprise.

"C'est la vie," I said with a hollow smile.

"I guess so," Liam frowned.

I called Alec again that night and got the same automated message. I swallowed my pride and called Jane's number, as well, but I received the same response. I called Alec again and again. Still nothing.

Stifling dread blended with the hot sting of rejection as I indignantly blocked both numbers. It was futile, but I hoped it would make me feel a little better. It didn't.

I'd already shed all of the tears my body had to offer, so I resorted to sinking into bed and staring at the ceiling, waiting listlessly for sleep.

He didn't even visit me in my dreams.

* * *

It wasn't long before I had to accept that Alec wasn't coming back.

It had been two weeks since the last time I'd seen him; I was halfway through yet another hellishly uneventful day at school when Liam leaned across the aisle in Spanish class and placed his hand on my shoulder. I flinched. I hadn't been paying attention and wasn't expecting it.

"Are you okay?" Liam asked, pulling his hand away.

"Huh?" My mind was completely muddled.

"I said, are you okay?"

"Oh. Um."

"You haven't been yourself lately. You just kinda look out of it," he said.

"I -- Things haven't been easy," I admitted, my lower lip trembling.

"I'm sorry about Alec," Liam said sympathetically. "It's super shitty that he up and left without warning you."

"It's just high school," I said with a watery smile. "I'll get over it. Eventually."

"If you need anything, you'll let me know, right?" he asked with concern.

"Yeah, I will," I nodded. "Thanks."

I drove back to the cottage slowly, unable to put off thinking about the reality of my situation any longer. Something about Liam's condolences felt like the final nail in the coffin. For better or for worse, Alec was out of my life.

"It is what it is," I muttered aloud as I cut the engine in front of the cottage.

Without Alec, I knew too much and I had no protection from vampire law. I hadn't forgotten that my days were still numbered. There was nothing I could do, except to continue getting out of bed each morning and keep moving. The little time I had left was bleak, but it was my own.