BPOV

    Beep! Beep! Beep!  Ugh, I hated Mondays, with a burning passion. I groaned and turned off my alarm. God, who ever built that thing should be shot down, ripped to pieces, burned, and then have their ashes dumped into a puddle of acid. I squeezed my eyes shut and, slowly, uncurled from my ball. I can’t believe I’d actually slept like that.

    I groaned again, and reached blindly for an outfit from the closet-not even bothering to look at it. Let’s just say, it’s an Alice thing and leave it at that-then I walked to the bathroom and stepped into the shower. The second I stepped in the hot water started relaxing my muscles. I sighed, contented and leaned my forehead against the tile and just stood there.

    Today was going to be hard. It was just going to be, and no matter of preparing was going to stop that. No matter how much strawberry shampoo I use, it’s not going to relax me. So, the sooner I get this over with, the sooner I can come home and start hurting again.

    And with that, I turned off the shower, stepped out and got dressed.

    I looked in the mirror and laughed. Standing there was a woman, wearing a cute dark blue halter top and black slacks. She had red tints in her hair, that stood out even more with my restful sleep last night. Her skin was pale white, with a hint of shadows under her eyes. And, like I’d thought so long ago, if I were seen from a distance and if I were extraordinarily beautiful, I may pass for a vampire.

    And just like so long ago, the thought ripped the hole in my heart even wider.

    God, I wasn’t going to be able to do this. I wasn’t going to be able to stand through two hours of teaching them. No, not even that far. Two hours of seeing them. God, I really hoped Alice hadn’t said anything. I wouldn’t be able to stand it if they knew about my horrible marriage. I wouldn’t be able to stand it if they pitied me. That was the last thing I wanted. The only thing I really hated more than Jacob, was pity.