Alice opened her eyes and looked into the window from where she was sitting: the sun was out. "Moring already?" She was still tired from last night and somewhat shocked about the previous night's events. To her, it had only felt like seconds since her dad walked into the room.
Then, it came to her: she couldn't move with Maria on her left, John on her right, and Blyke behind her/on top of her. Somehow, that made her feel better, knowing that she was surrounded by people she loved and that they love her too.
She smiled as her eyes wandered around the room, only to see what looked like a picture on her dresser and a post-it note next to it. She couldn't make out what the note said from her bed, but she felt like she had a good guess of who it was a picture of.
Alice assumed that that was what her dad was talking about last night. She was in the middle of getting up before reminding herself: If I get up, they'll wake up, and I'm pretty sure they'd rather wake up on their own, especially Blyke. One thing after another and Alice found herself asleep again.
Alice opened her eyes and noticed something vibrating in her right pocket. On her, she still felt Blyke; however, John and Maria were gone. Alice glanced at the room, but she couldn't find them. The picture and the note were still in the same spot. With further inspection, she saw two notes next to what seemed to be the same photograph. She was puzzled: she could've sworn that one of those wasn't there before. At least, one of the two notes wasn't on her dresser next to the photograph while she was awake.
Alice sighed to herself. She remembered Blyke was on her, so she picked him up and steadily and carefully carried Blyke to his room. She kissed Blyke on the forehead, gave him Hammie to hold, and whispered, "Good night, munchkin." She then turned around and left the room. Once she was at the door, she turned her head around and saw Blyke peacefully sleeping. Seeing his calm made Alice feel cool and collected; she remembered her visions, but she pushed them away for now. Now was not the time.
Alice walked out of Blyke's room and gasped for air; while she was in there, she held her breath as to not wake Blyke up, except for when she spoke to him. She heard her dad downstairs doing what sounded like yelling at the television. She's told Mr. Boris not to yell at the people on the screen multiple times. She could even hear him now if she tried: "No! That's not your mom! Run, fool!" Nevertheless, he still does it out of force of habit.
But before she went down the stairs, she stopped herself. Her dad had stopped talking, and now it sounded like John talking and then Maria. She was confused: why were they all down there, and how did they wake up before Alice without her noticing? She slowly walked down the stairs, so she wouldn't be heard or seen. When she got down, she noticed that John, Maria, and her dad were all talking to each other, though it seemed more like a one-sided conversation.
She knew she shouldn't eavesdrop on a conversation, especially one that could've been her. Nonetheless, her curiosity got the better of her; as she got closer and closer to the ground, she could hear better but also be seen better. Being at the bottom was a risk she was willing to take.
"Yes, sir." John and Maria said.
"Good, so you understand. Oh, and Alice?"
"Yes?" Alice realized her mistake a second too late. "Wait!-"
"Now, I know I raised you better than to eavesdrop on other people's conversations. We were just talking about the new hole in the roof gutters. It looks nice, don't you think? Really adds to the decor of the place."
Alice was shocked: even with all of last night's "events," her dad was still able to crack a joke and show a smile. Her jaw was wide open when her dad walked over to her and hugged her tightly. It was awkward due to Alice being indecisive about whether to hug him back or not.
Mr. Boris let go and walked back to the couch. "What's wrong?"
Alice was suddenly brought back to earth after drowning in a sea of thought: "Wait, what?"
"You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Oh, sorry, I was just-"
"It's okay."
Alice was stumped and her face read "error."
"Hey, Alice!" John waved. He walked over to her looking refreshed and totally awake; Alice was slightly envious.
Maria waved to Alice and walked to her behind John. "Sup, Alice! How are you doing?"
"Just fine, why?" Alice somewhat struggled to get up and her eyes bags were showing. And instead of her usually happy face, she displayed a small frown.
"Umm, has anyone told you otherwise?" John winced. Once she was fully standing, her hair showed its true morning form: partially neat at the top and a bigger and bigger mess as you get to the bottom.
"In nicer words,-" Maria said as she elbowed John. "I think he means that you usually look, umm, better?"
"Was that supposed to be a question or a statement?" John sarcastically asked.
"Anyway, how'd you guys get down here?"
"You mean, besides the stairs? Alice, are you sure that you're okay? Because you really seem out of it." John worried. For all he knew, she could've had another vision while he and Maria were getting scolded downstairs.
"Ugh, I already said that I'm fine, okay?"
"Okay, sorry." John put his hands up in defense.
"Wait, so what happened down here?"
"Oh, nothing. Your dad just gave us another lecture."
"I heard that!" Mr. Boris shouted from the kitchen.
The group let out a few chuckles, then continued small talk. However, in the back of Alice's mind, the only thing she could think of was the photograph.