Broken Promises / / A Falice Story

Chapter 31

Alice felt like passing out when she heard the question Betty asked. "Home, we'll, we'll talk home." Alice mumbled. She was driven home by FP while everyone else walked, just like that morning.

"Why haven't you told them? About Charles?" FP asked and Alice shrugged her shoulders. One word said and she knew she'd burst in tears. "Just as I promised to be calm, you promised we wouldn't keep any more secrets. It didn't mean just between us, though I believe you haven't kept that promise either."

"What?" Alice turned to look at him. She was offended by his words, she couldn't say they weren't true, but the reason she lied was to protect everyone else.

"Sneaking out, running, these past two weeks while you've been with Sierra. You slept over one night, Sierra said she didn't have you there overnight once." FP had been hiding the fact that he knew that for a while. He didn't want to seem an idiot for buying it and he didn't want to interrogate Alice, but the idea of where she was had been bothering him ever since he found out. "Where were you?"

"Out." Alice shrugged her shoulders. But FP wasn't pleased with just that and he made it clear. "Now you want to own me or what?"

"You're exaggerating!" FP said almost immediately, he had never wanted that. Alice was her own person, she could do whatever she wanted, but he wanted it to be the truth.

"I'm exaggerating? I'm-"

"Yes, you are!" FP cut her off, speaking louder than usually. Alice looked away from him. She was done listening to him.

"I went to Mom's grave." Alice whispered under her breath so quietly FP didn't understand her.

"What?" FP asked, more gently this time.

"I went to Mom's grave." She said again and FP hit the breaks and stopped on the side of the road.

"Alone? At night? I could've-"

"Don't." Alice shook her head. "Take me home, just do that. No more talking, no more anything." She whispered. She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, showing FP she was done for the moment. Images of the terrifying moments she spent there crept their way through her mind, but she kept her eyes closed.

As soon as FP parked the car she opened her eyes and sighed. "What am I gonna do?" She asked FP. She was mad at him for what he had done to Hal there. She couldn't say Hal didn't deserve it, but if it weren't for Sierra FP could've been locked up for the assault.

"What do you mean?" FP asked carefully. After the news of her visiting her mother's grave he didn't know how to talk to her. He hadn't known for a while.

"Have you told Jughead about Charles? Or Gladys?" Alice asked and FP told her he had mentioned it to Jughead, but it was right when he found out and asked him to keep it a secret because he didn't think Alice would want it out in the open. "Well I haven't told the girls."

"It's your life Alice." FP pointed out. He noticed how her chest began to go up and down faster, he didn't know whether her breathing increased because she was going to have a panic attack or she was upset with him because of his remark.

"Everything I say or do reflects on them in one way or another. For almost two months I haven't been a mother to them." Alice let out a bitter chuckle. "I helped them just as much as my mother has that night. Sounds about right."

"Don't say that." FP took her hand in his. He was defeated. He was there for her to talk, a shoulder to cry on, he was everything she could've wanted and needed but it wasn't enough. Alice wasn't herself and FP began to wonder if she'll ever be herself again. "You're a good mom Alice."

"I'm barely a person? How can I be a good mom?" Alice tried to move her hand away and FP held onto it a bit more tightly. "FP..." She cocked her head to the side.

"Don't." FP slightly shook his head. If she let go it wasn't just simply not holding his hand, it was much more than that. FP wasn't ready to give up on on Alice, but she had given up on herself that morning.

"It's over." Alice moved her hand away from FP's. He wanted to keep it in place, to not let her go, but it only would've hurt her and him, not only physically. "Why would you even want us to keep going?"

"How many nights have we spent promising each other that we'll grow old together?" FP asked Alice with tears in his eyes.

"Don't cry please." As soon as one tear rolled down his cheek Alice reached for his face and wiped it away, but that only allowed FP to fall apart.

"It's your fault!" Alice told herself as she hugged FP tightly. She needed to get better, she needed to do something that would've made a big difference, but she had no idea what it was and how to do it. But it had to be life changing for her and it had to get her closer to normality, to her normality. "It's ok baby."