Introduction: With the poll vote falling in favour of ‘POV Switch’ here is the second Chapter. Follow Alice on her average and totally normal day. Well, it should have been one. A quick meeting starts a domino effect.
(Trigger Warnings Apply to this Chapter, Please skip to the end to see what they are if you do not wish to be spoiled)
Enjoy your choice and stay tuned for the last one.
Where The Sun Doesn’t Reach.
Part 2:The Beginning - Again
Alice Bowman’s day begins like it always does. Her alarm blares into the room at exactly 6:30 AM, and like every day, she slowly blinks her eyes open to glare at it. As if it is at fault for waking her up and not the responsibility of paying her bills on time that made her need to get up and go to work.
Well, glaring didn’t stop the alarm from disturbing her beauty sleep. Alice lets out a sleepy yawn and stretches an arm to turn off the clock sitting on her nightstand. There isn’t any use in pressing the snooze button anyways, once Alice is up, she is up for the day.
Giving one last stretch and a slight grumble, she rolls out of bed and stands up. A new day, a good day she decides with a nod to herself “Today’s gonna be a good day, an amazing day.” And with that pep talk, she’s ready for it.
With a skip in her step, she starts heading to the bathroom. Flipping the on switch, she opens the door and continues going in. There wasn’t a need to close the bathroom door, her curtains were always slightly open in the early morning. Even if they were wide open, with the angle it was located, no one would be able to see her. On top of that, leaving the bathroom door open meant no fogged-up mirror.
But first things first, her skincare routine. Can't have a good day without having good skin. And with that, Alice steps in front of the bathroom counter and reaches for her cleanser. A frown of confusion finds itself on her brow as she picks up the bottle. There was less in it than she expected. Oh well, she should probably start using less every day. She popped open the bottle cap and turned it upside down to squeeze it in her hands. Rubbing her palms together she brings them up to her face…
Alice’s whole morning routine goes by in the blink of an eye and she is once again racing around to not be late. Every day she wakes up on time and yet every day she finds herself rushing to get to work on time. Bolting out of the bathroom in just a towel, Alice hurries to put on her work uniform.
She takes a quick peek at the alarm before letting out a cuss, she really will miss her bus if she doesn’t leave in the next few minutes.
Alice goes to get her backpack in the corner and wiggles the straps on her shoulder. She really should fix her bed before she leaves, but that sounds like future Alice’s problem. Still, she feels bad, she’ll make sure to clean it before the day ends. With a last parting glance at the light-yellow matching duvet and sheet covered with white polka dots, Alice closes the bedroom door and speed walks her way toward the front door of her apartment and outside to the bus stop a few streets away.
The bus ride and the short walk to work goes as usual. Alice opens the front door of The Bean Place and Micah was already there putting new cups in the cup dispenser in preparation for the morning rush. He raises his head when he hears the bell ring when Alice walks in. A smile transforms his resting bitch face into an approachable one, as his eyes crinkle in the corners “Morning sleepyhead, your shirt is buttoned up wrong again. Almost late again?” he asked.
Alice quickly looked down at her shirt in a panic and let out an annoyed huff. “Oh, fuck you asshole.” she flips Micah off. “Well, you’re the loser that keeps falling for it aren't you?”. Micah smirks, not once stopping his task of pulling out a new pack of cups from the big box that is laying next to his feet. As much as he pissed her off sometimes, he knows her too well. The chances of her buttoning up her shirt in the wrong order is more likely than it isn’t. But still “Shut up.”
Alice and Micah look at each other for a few seconds before they both burst into giggles. Work was never boring when she’s paired up with him. Finally finishing with the cup dispenser, Micah gathers the leftover plastic packs and rolls them into a ball before throwing them into the box. Alice gives him a judging stare and Micah shrugs, his hands coming up to his chest in a ‘what can you do’ gesture. Taking a quick look in the box Alice copies his gesture, she sure wasn’t going to throw the plastic out now. Alice and Micah nodded at each other in understanding, it would be tomorrow morning’s team’s problem. Alice and Micah looked at each other before bursting into giggles again, “Okay okay, that's enough for today or we’ll be late for the morning rush. We have, “ Micah quickly takes a peek at the old grandfather clock hanging on the wall behind him “Thirty minutes to move the pastries to the front, restock the coffee bean, and move everything back in the shop.”
Alice nodded, at this point, Micah didn't even have to mention it anymore. They know what needs to be done, but some things never change. “I’ll start moving the chairs and table, you keep restocking.” Micah nodded and offered his fist to her for a bump “Let’s do this.”
The early morning went by without any issues, as it usually did. Alice is reminded again why she's thankful that she isn't working for a bigger coffee chain. The morning rush would be a killer. As always, the cafe is quieter around a little past seven with only the usual customers sitting and enjoying the comforting atmosphere. Be it the retired couple that always comes in to drink their beverages in the cafe before going on their morning walk to students who need a quiet place to study.
Customary as always, Sandy and Cassy, another couple that have been frequent guests to the cafe for the past few months just arrived in the cafe. Well, Alice can't see them from behind the huge coffee machine but Micah’s greeting gives it away “Morning ladies, two black coffees to go?”.
Even if she can’t see it, Alice can hear the smile in Cassy’s voice as she answers “Hiya Micah, make it just one medium latte for me and something else for Sandy. We're paying separately today.” That’s never happened before. She can just imagine that if she was the one manning the counter, she would be staring at them with wide eyes. She wonders what happened, they probably had a fight or something right? Micah, who possesses more professionalism in his left toe than she does in her whole body, doesn't even hesitate.
“Alrighty then let me just change that in the register. I just automatically added the normal order when I saw you.” Micah explains.
“Sure, no problem. I just want to try something new today and you know Sandy.” Cassy prattles on, but no, they do not know Sandy. Sandy barely talks and any information they have on her is what they hear from Cassy. The nights when Alice and Micah talked conspiracy theories about Sandy were something that would stay between them. the less said about the mafia boss theory the better. Not their best night that one.
“Your total is three fifty.” Micah gestures to the black card reader on the counter facing customers. Having already heard the order, Alice starts preparing Cassy’s drink.
The bell above the front door rings. “Good morning, sir, welcome to The Bean Place” Micah greets.
“Large black coffee for you Sandy?” Micah checks. Even distracted by making Cassy’s coffee as Alice is, she pauses for a moment to see if Sandy will say anything today. No dice. “That will be two fifty please.” Sandy must have just nodded. The times when Sandy spoke are few and far between.
The latte was almost done by the time both Cassy and Sandy walk up to the counter where Alice sets the first drink on the counter before starting on the next one. She gives Cassy a wave and a grin (who wiggles her fingers at her in return) before nodding to Sandy. Making the black coffee takes almost no time and Alice puts the two orders on the counter. “Thanks, hun.” and with a kiss blown in her direction by Cassy who grabs her cup to take a sip and lets out a sigh. Sandy took a sip and nodded to herself. Both ladies turn to walk to the door.
“Yes sir, what can I get you?” she hears Micah ask. In the meantime, Alice quickly cleans the steam nozzle. “A blond roast macchiato, with soymilk and one pump of vanilla and two pumps of caramel.” A pause, “Large too, thanks”. Well, this new customer seems slightly pretentious. Micah hates complicated orders, but Alice loves them. Gives her something to exercise her barista skills with, but the customer could do without that arrogant tone.
Micah calls out a “Goodbye, have a nice day.” With that Cassy and Sandra leave. The bell ringing signifying their leave.
Alice is already grabbing the soymilk from the mini fridge under the counter when Micah says: “Of course, sir, you can just wait at the end of the counter for your drink”. The customer must be taking their sweet time walking to where Alice is because she’s already almost finished with the order. Or she's just that good. Turning to face the customer, drink in hand Alice prepares to hand him his drink and customer smile in place “Here you go, sir.”
And she’s met with a horrified look. The man looks pale. As if he’s seen a ghost or his worst nightmare come to life. His hands start trembling and his eyes are almost as wide as saucers. He starts muttering under his breath. It mostly sounds like gibberish but Alice can pick up some words that sound like ‘not supposed’ and ‘this is all...’.
Alice feels concern well up inside her. She takes a step closer to the counter and asks “Sir, are you okay?” the man just keeps staring at her with the same horrified gaze before launching himself at her. His fingers dig into her shoulder hard enough that Alice knows she’ll have bruises later. The hot coffee spills on the counter as the man roughly pulls her at him, making her belly slam roughly against the surface. She was too shocked to make a noise.
The man starts yelling “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE” and “YOU ARE RUINING EVERYTHING” as he shakes her back and forth.
Her breath feels like it's stuck in her throat, her body feels as if all the heat has been leached away to the place where he’s holding her. She starts stuttering, the words ‘let me go’ can’t seem to find their way past her lips.
And suddenly Micah is there, grabbing the man’s hand to pry it off her arms. “Don't you fucking touch her!” he yells. His words cause a chain reaction and suddenly more people start making their way over to help. The man seems to remember that there are more people around them. He quickly lets go and books it to the entrance, somehow skirting around the burly arms of the older man trying to catch him.
Alice can feel herself shaking violently and the world goes slightly dark around the edges. Micah wraps his arm around her to comfort her. Her knees feel like they can't support her weight anymore and Micah must feel it too because he half leads half carries her around the counter to the closest table to plop her on the chair and then kneels in front of her.
“Hey, hey, look at me. Are you okay?” He asks as he takes Alice’s hands in his.
The world slowly comes back into focus as Alice looks into Micah's eyes. She slowly starts nodding before shaking her head no. And before she knows it, tears are streaming down her cheeks. “Uhm,” Alice tries to swallow despite the rock that now seems to be lodged in her throat “Can I go home please?”. The cafe is suddenly the last place she wants to be.
Hurried footsteps are suddenly coming in her direction and Alice feels herself tense up even if she can see in the corner of her eye that it is just the older man who comes in daily. He stops about a metre away from her, “You may want to report what happened here first young lady.”
Both Alice and Micah turn to look at him “I’m a former police officer and I highly suggest you either call the police right now or go down to the station to make an official report for this.” Micah is nodding along before the man even finishes his sentence. He starts getting up “I’ll call them right no-” Alice grabs his arm in a tight grip.
“No.” The former officer and Micah look at her like she’s insane. “I can’t do this today-” Alice swallows, “I just want to go home right now. Please.”
Micah squeezes her hands “Let me call the manager, I’ll tell them to send someone to cover our shifts and I’ll bring you home.” but Alice shakes her head “No Micah, you know you can’t skip out of shift. You need the money to-“ Alice’s gaze shifts to the ex-officer, “You need the money. I’ll be okay.” Micah’s lips part to protest.
“I can walk you back home, I’m sure my wife would kick my ass if I didn't.” The ex-officer offers.
“Thank you but I think I need to be alone right now. The trip will clear my head.”
The man frowns “You don’t know if he’s outside waiting for you. I'll walk you to your car or whatever.” Alice agrees, even if she doesn't know the man, he’s already a safer option than that crazy weirdo.
Alice stands up, her shaking was now barely noticeable. “I’ll call you when I get home okay?’ she assures Micah who went with her to get her bag in the backroom. And with one last constricting hug she lets go to walk in the cafe and meet the ex-officer by the door. The bell rings as they go outside.
“Thank you again for trying to step in.” The ex-officer nods, his gaze scanning the area and then turning to her “I get wanting to go somewhere you feel safe and deal with everything tomorrow, but I’ll make sure to stop by the station today and give them a heads up. Take my number in case you need a witness or anything.” taking her offered phone to add his number under the name of ‘Martin Gavin. And with that, they start their track to the bus stop, the ex-officer, Martin, never letting his gaze off the surrounding area.
The bus ride and the walk to her place were somehow the longest and shortest it’s ever been. Everything felt like an out-of-body experience. Alice Bowman didn't get attacked today, some poor other sod did. That didn’t make her feel any better honestly.
Taking her keys out of her bag she opens the front door. Immediately the feeling of wrongness in her stomach lessens and her shoulders which she hadn’t noticed climbing up to her ears, drop.
Alice carelessly chucks her bag next to the front door and starts heading to the bedroom. She takes her phone out of her pocket and messages Micah that she’s home and that she’s going to sleep. Going through the open bedroom door she flings her phone on the bed. The cream-coloured walls are her safe space but it feels wrong to be in here without taking a shower to wash off the icky feeling on her skin where the man touched her. She walks up to her window and closes the black-out curtains completely. Not leaving a small opening like she normally does.
Suddenly she can’t stand to be in her uniform. Alice hurriedly undresses, chucking the pieces of clothing without caring in what direction they go. She turns around and hurries to the bathroom and goes the stand under the shower head. Turning the water as hot as her skin could handle, she stands there for a moment, existing, and then... she breaks.
A while later after scrubbing her skin red, Alice gets out of the shower. She dries off and looks at herself in the mirror. Her eyes are swollen and red, but she feels better. The icky feeling is almost gone, she suspects that it’s going to take a few more hot water crying sessions for the feeling to disappear completely.
She grabs her towel and slowly dries herself up before hanging it back on the hook. Walking naked to her bedroom, she goes to her closet to get her favourite set of PJs and underwear. She put them on. Passing the messy desk –another task on her to-do list it is- she flops in her bed, back facing the room. Her arm reaches behind her and off the bed to wrap white polka doted blankets around her like a burrito.
Everything will be better when she wakes up.
. . .
. . .
. . .
Everything is not better when she wakes up.
Alice jolts out of bed with sweat dripping down her brow and her heart trying to beat its way out of her chest. The sound of her panting is the only noise in the room. Turning around in her bed with her blanket now halfway on the floor, she bleary eyes the clock. ‘ 00.21 AM’.
Something feels off.
It was probably due to her not being someone who ever wakes up in the middle of the night. Chucking the weirded-out feeling to that, Alice decided that right now tea was absolutely necessary. Wriggling free from the blanket wrapped around her ankles, she throws her feet off the side of the bed. Sitting up, she lets out a tiny yawn and stands up.
On bare feet, she pads into the bathroom to wash her face. Alice stands in front of the sink before turning on the faucet. She places her hands up and cups the water, she closes her eyes and brings it to her face. She rubs her hands up and down her face before letting out a sigh. She places her hands on the edge of the sink leaning her weight on it. The feeling of wrongness still hasn't left. Still in the same position, she opens her eyes and her breath stops. She's frozen. Behind her, looking into her eyes its the man from the coffee shop.
He's in her house.
