Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
“You must be [mad] or you wouldn’t have come here.”
—Cheshire Cat, Alice in Wonderland
Alice is waiting for me by the car.
She’s out of that ruined dress and now wearing a white T-shirt and sweatpants.
Her hair is damp and pulled away from her battered face in a low ponytail.
When she sees me weaving my way around the sea of cars parked in the driveway, she races toward me.
There’s a slight limp in her step that absolutely kills me.
Before she can run into my arms, I hold up my hands to stop her. “No, don’t touch me.” I gesture down at my bloody clothes. “I’m gross.”
“I don’t care,” she counters.
“Okay, but I do.”
She wrings her hands as she passes her worried gaze over me. “You okay?”
“Never better.”
“My father,” Ivory asks timidly, and her nervousness surprises me. “He’s okay, too?”
I shift my gaze to Ivory and give her a curt nod.
She usually exudes the same glacial, regal demeanor as Roman, but now, she’s just like the rest of us—trapped in this fucking mess her sister caused.
With a jerk of my head, I gesture behind us, at the maze.
“He’s hanging back with March.” Then, to Alice, “Come on, I’ll follow you to Folly House. ”
She glances over her shoulder at Tiger Lily, and for a split second that happens so quickly, if I weren’t watching her, I’d miss it, her shoulders sag in defeat.
Her grief, her pain, becomes a tangible entity that hangs heavy all around us.
But just as fast, it’s gone, and she straightens her spine before looking back at me.
“Sure,” she rasps. “There’s nothing left for me here. ”
Ivory jabs her thumb at the manor. “What do you want me to tell your mother?”
“Nothing,” Alice snaps. “Don’t tell her a damn thing. She knows I’m leaving.” At Ivory’s inquisitive frown, Alice is quick to add, “And she knows why.”
Ivory runs toward Alice to give her a quick hug before gripping her arms and shoving her away, holding her at arm’s distance. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Because Scarlett is my sister, and I should have seen this coming.” She glances guiltily at her feet. “I just…never expected her to take the evil twin thing…”
“It’s over,” Alice says with a finality that seems to come from the depths of her soul. “And none of this was your fault.”
Ivory dabs at the corner of her eyes, whispering, “Love you.”
“Love you, too.” Alice’s smile is sad, weary, and absolutely tears my heart to pieces. “Go home, sweetheart.”
But Ivory shakes her head. “I think I’m going to wait for my father.”
“He’ll be a while,” I tell her.
Roman and March won’t have the Tweedles come until after the party ends, and if I know them—and I do—they won’t leave until those brothers get here. They’ll stay, if for no other reason than to keep everyone out of the maze.
As Ivory walks back to the house, Alice says to her, “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
But Ivory doesn’t answer, just keeps walking. Once she’s inside, Alice places her trembling little hand in mine. “I’m sorry you got caught up in my mess.”
Her broken whisper fucking kills me. “Haven’t we always been in this together?”
“Not always,” she admits. “And I’m sorry for that, too.”
I lead her around to the passenger’s side of the car. “Doesn’t matter now—”
“But it does,” she interrupts. “I should never have pushed you away. Nor should I have left Wonderland.” Everything I need, everyone I love…
it’s been here all along. “And not telling you about Rook, that was just—” When I try to protest against these unnecessary apologies, she stops me.
“No, Maddox, please…” she pleads. “I need to say this out loud. I’m sorry for…
For trying…” She takes a deep breath as she squares her shoulders, as if summoning all of her strength.
“I’m sorry for trying to kill myself. I did it on purpose, and I’m sorry to you, but most of all, I’m sorry to myself. ”
And there it is.
What I’ve been waiting for. All this time, Alice needed to admit this truth. Not to me, but to herself. Now, she can finally let go of all that pain and actually live her life.
Her eyes are welled with unshed tears. “Thank you for never giving up on me.”
“Never,” I rasp. “I’d never let you fall alone.”
I’ll always be there to catch her.
“Take me home, Maddox, please.”
To Folly House…
…where she belongs.