Chapter 20 – Alice
“What letter is that?” Alice asked, holding up one of Millie’s old colorful cards, which had actually belonged to herself in her childhood.
“B” Millie raised her finger excitedly.
“And what word starts with B?”
“Bee!” Millie looked for the bee figure among the various illustrations that were spread across the table, until she managed to help Alice put the two together.
“You are so smart!” Alice pulled her close, hugging her until Millie was laughing, trying to pull away “So, shall we draw the bee and try to write its name, like we did with the apple?” She sat her baby in her lap, reaching for the blank sheets of paper and the colored pencils that were also on the table “You’re getting so good at this…”
“Will I be able to play the alphabet game when school starts again?” Millie asked excitedly, causing Alice’s smile to almost disappear.
“Uh… Of course, honey. You are doing very well. I’m sure your new teachers in the kindergarden will be proud when they see that you’ve been practicing the alphabet at home.” Alice kissed her forehead once again, trying to swallow her worries while Millie went back to drawing. 1
She should do the right thing and explain to Millle that she probably wouldn’t return to the same daycare or even a kindergarden, but Alice just didn’t have the courage to do that right now. Not when they had already gone through so many changes and Alice still had no idea how she was going to get out of that prison that Massimo had created for them. Just this way, she could get a job that could pay the small daycare that Millicent had attended since she was one and a half years old.
Of course, now they were no longer at the Dawsey house, where she could never look to Kendra and Amber to take care of her baby. The Home daycare wasn’t the fanciest place or the most advanced teaching techniques, but Millie had always been treated well there and that was all that mattered. Even though that year she would finally be old enough to go to Kindergarten, Alice wanted to find a place that was as reliable and competent as that daycare. had been so far.
Too bad she had no idea how to get the money for it.
Maybe, if Alice could find a less impactful way to say that, Millie wouldn’t be so sad about not being able to see her friends again and understand that she would soon turn five, when Alice could enroll her in the kindergarden at a public school. But even… God, if she could just find a way to earn some money so that her baby wouldn’t have to give up one of her favorite places… 2
“Go fuck yourself!” A guttural scream rent the air near them, causing Millie to flinch in her arms, while the sound of glass being shattered followed, making it even clearer to Alice what was happening.
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Chapter 20 – Alice
“Please, Massimo…” Dr. Lewis shouted back “Just listen to me…”
“Do you think I want to just stay like this for the rest of my life…?” Even though Massimo seemed to be far away, his screams were ravenous enough to reverberate off the walls “The fucking truck wasn’t even that fast when it hit me! It can’t be irreversible!”
“Is Mr. Blanchi angry again?” Millie asked, curled up against Alice’s chest, startled by each
new screant
“He might be angry…” Alice shivered a little when something even bigger glass was broken upstairs “But that doesn’t justify him acting like an out–of–control monster. It’s okay to be sad or disappointed when something goes wrong or doesn’t go the way you want, but acting like that only makes people afraid. You see, honey?” She gently placed her hands on Millie’s ears, to muffle the sound a little “Being mean to people just because someone was mean to you is not acceptable.”
“Can’t you tell Mr. Bianchi that, mommy?” Millie asked, surprising her “He can have a movie night with us, if that makes him happy…”
For the third time, something was broken, but the scream that came with that sound made Alice’s skin crawl.
“Stop it, Massimo! You see? Now you have a new cut that will take time to heal just like your other wounds, because you aren’t taking your medicine like you should!” Dr. Lewis lamented Stop trying to destroy yourself! I already explained that the damage to your spine was too serious! Medicine doesn’t work miracles, but it’s a miracle that you’re alive now, so try to move on with what matters most: your life!”
“My life?” Massimo laughed, full of bitterness “What’s the point of being alive only to lose everything I fought for and be stuck in that wheelchair for the rest of my life?”
“Honey…” Alice let out the breath she had been holding, as her mind lost the battle with her heart over whether she should continue standing there or not “Why don’t you go outside and draw in the garden for a bit? Mommy will meet you in a minute so we can keep playing.”
“Are you going to try to make Mr. Bianchi happy?” Millie asked, almost as if she was worried. for Alice’s safety.
“I doubt I would be able to do that.” Alice smiled humorlessly, placing her baby on the floor.” But, don’t worry. I just want to talk to him and… Say the same thing I said to you. So, wait for mom and don’t go anywhere else, okay? I’ll be right back.”
“Good luck, mommy.” Millie said, holding Hoppy against her chest as Alice gave her one last kiss, only then turning so she could go up the stairs, the sound of the screams, loud again, guiding her to the same room in which she had found Massimo bleeding in his bed.
However, this time, besides her, Thea, Josiah and Joshua were huddled in front of the open door, their faces clearly worried, but also intimidated.
“Alice” Thea murmured as soon as she saw her there, alarmed “Please, dear, go away, I don’t think this is the appropriate time for you…”
“Massimo!” Dr. Lewis and what appeared to have been moved this time was some kind of furniture, which caused Thea’s family to freeze, but Alice’s first reflex was to walk past them and enter the room, her heart skipping several beats.
And what she found was the doctor standing near one of the walls, while Massimo was sitting on his bed, with the nightstand that should have been next to him now lying on the floor, with the drawers broken, as well as various medicines and dressing materials scattered everywhere.
“What are you doing here?” Massimo growled immediately, his shirt half open revealing the scars on his chest and the white of his eyes almost completely taken over by red.
“I came here to make sure you didn’t kill anyone she snapped, approaching Dr. Lewis “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“No. He never throws things at us.” The doctor replied, his face so haggard that he looked like he could faint from exhaustion at any moment “As always, he is only hurting himself.” He waved in Massimo’s direction, only then making Alice realize that there were drops of blood dripping from his hand, probably cut by one of the shards of glass scattered even over his bed. “What? Are you already wanting to find a new husband with my own doctor?” Massimo growled, causing Alice to roll her eyes.
“Shut up, accused and at least he had the decency to look embarrassed “Do you even have any idea that you are trying to stop a doctor from taking care of you, when there are so many families out there wanting to have that same opportunity, to save the lives of the ones they love? Do you think you are suffering now? Wait until all those unhealed wounds end up getting infected and you need to undergo some more intrusive surgeries than the ones on your spine!” Alice practically screamed, the sensation of seeing Massimo in that situation almost taking away her control “Now, stand still and let Dr. Lewis do his work. Come, let me see your hand and check if you will need stitches again. Did you bring materials for this, doctor…?”
Masef Your scandal for not being medicated is scaring my daughter.” She
“Stay away from me!” Massimo spat, furious “I don’t give a fuck if this shit is going to get infected or not! There must be a way to solve my problem, and if you’re not willing to find it, Jackson, then go fuck yourself!” he continued to attack, while pulling the wheelchair that was next to him, his injured hand staining everything with blood.
“You’re the one who’s creating problems for yourself, Massimo!” Alice growled, taking. another step closer to him “Stop acting like a child!”
“Stay away from me!” his hands pulled the chair closer to the bed, leaving it at a crooked angle as Massimo pushed himself off the bed “I don’t want any of you here! I may be stuck in this shit, but I still know how to take care of myself! I don’t need anyone to do this….!” “Massimo!” Alice was the first to scream when she realized that one of the wheels of the wheelchair was elevated due to the debris on the bedside table, almost creating a trap
“Be
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Chapter 20 – Alice
careful!”
Despite her scream, no one was able to stop Massimo from pushing himself out of bed, the chair tipping to the side as the weight of his body fell on it, the wooden piece of the bedside table immediately giving way under the wheel. Which sent Massimo straight to the ground, over the shards of glass and the splinters of wood meeting his skin.
