I'm never gonna give up on you.

12. It doesn't matter now

FP woke up earlier than usual. He didn't want to bump into Alice and also didn't sleep well. They hadn't talked at all after Jake drove her home and it was strange for him not to tell her goodnight. He got used to her complaining about everything, but she has been awfully quiet ever since she returned on Elm Street.

He was getting ready for work when he heard someone knocking at the basement door. Actually, it was the door to his room now, but he hasn't got used to calling it like that it yet.

He didn't answer, but the door opened quietly anyway. He was sure that it's Jughead who just got home from a sleepover at Veronica's, so he rolled his eyes while searching through some documents on the desk.

"FP?" Alice whispered entering the room. He closed his eyes for a while when she called his name. He didn't expect her to come into his bedroom at 4:30 in the morning.

She was still wearing her pink pajamas and he could see that she hadn't slept well too. He didn't have any clue what could she want from him, but he wasn't in the mood to talk.

"I don't have time now Alice. I'm going to work." FP looked up from the papers lying all over his desk. She annoyed him a little bit when she chuckled wickedly.

"Bullshit. Even though you are lying to me I assume that you are looking for this." She reached out to give him a briefcase. He opened it and found all of the documents he had been searching for. Alice rolled her eyes playfully while seeing his soft grin.

"Thank you. I have to do something before work." He glanced at his watched and started to pack quicker. Yeah, it was bullshit and he knew he can't avoid her like this forever, but at least he tried.

"Have fun with your new girl." Alice murmured to herself, but FP must have heard she was saying something because he slowed down a little bit and looked straight into her eyes raising his eyebrow.

"Have a nice day." She said and her heart was beating faster when FP passed running upstairs. He was still using the same cologne she used to like when they were secretly dating. She could recognize his scent everywhere.

Alice heard the door slammed and sat down on FP's bed. Her palm was rested on a t-shirt in which he was sleeping. She softly stroked the cotton with her thumb and lift the material close to her chest. She wanted to smell his cologne once again.

She couldn't stand all of the thoughts in her head so she put his t-shirt back on the bed. While looking around and seeing the huge mess in all of his documents, Alice decided to clean his bedroom. She didn't want to go to sleep anyway and at least she could get herself busy for a while.

***

Charles was sitting at Pop's waiting for his mother who was nearly 15 minutes late. He was getting more impatient in every minute. He looked up from his second cup of tea and saw her walking towards him with a grin on face.

"I know I'm late, but Jake came without a call and we ate breakfast together," Alice smirked to herself while waiting for her son to hug her. Surprisingly, Charles just nodded and bypassed her while ordering a coffee for her.

What was wrong with her son? The fact that he had to wait for her wasn't a serious reason to be mad at her. She was searching through her memories from the last few days to find out why is he acting so strangely.

"I want to talk about Jake and what I saw yesterday," Charles said calmly bringing Alice her coffee. He was confused a little bit to talk with his mother about her romance. She didn't say anything, just waited for him to start talking.

"I don't like the way he is playing with you." He confessed softly because he didn't want to annoy her too much. She rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. It was obvious for her, that he was talking about Jake trying to squeeze her ass.

"Charles, I'm old enough to decide who will touch me. Let's skip this conversation. This is not your business." Alice said calmly. She didn't want to fight with him, but she was right.

It wasn't his business as long as he hadn't seen his father suffering because of it. They were sitting in awkward silence for a couple of minutes. Both of them wanted to say something but they weren't sure how to start the conversation again.

"What happened after you came back on Elm Street?" he had no idea if it was worth to ask her about him right now, but he didn't care anymore. He knew his parents must have had another fight or serious talk about their romance.

When he had brought Alice home nearly a few weeks ago he had been convinced that she would want to try to rebuild her relationship with FP. They used to be close and he knew about it.

It wasn't easy for Alice to answer to Charles's question. She didn't want to open old wounds. Yes, she considered giving FP another chance, but he ruined everything in a way like they always did.

"Well, I had to think about what I will do next if there is any possibility of 'us'. After a long walk, I decided to go to FP and tell him that I would want to try to rebuild our relationship, but then I saw him holding in his arms a young woman." Alice confessed before taking another sip of her coffee.

Charles was trying to process her words and piece them together. He had no idea who might be that girl. Something about it didn't make sense to him. Charles knew, that FP has been in love with Alice his whole life and hadn't considered being in a relationship with anyone else.

"But it doesn't matter now." Alice wanted to believe in her own words but for some reason, she couldn't. Even though she was dating Jake now, FP was still in her mind, but she was too afraid to be hurt again.

***

Charles went back to work after he dropped Alice home. She went into the kitchen and saw a letter addressed to her. She grabbed her and went into the living room to sit down on the couch. She took a deep sigh and opened a white envelope.

Dear Mom!

The doctors didn't let me call you, but instead of it, they asked me to write a short letter. I know it took me a while to process our last talk and realize that you were right. I'm so sorry. I was still under Edgar's influence when you came to me, but I promise that I'll fight with my weaknesses. I've never meant to make you cry because of my words. I want you to know that if you love FP and he makes you happy, you shouldn't give up on him. Nothing can bring Jason back to me and I know how bad it hurt to lose the love of your life so if you can be with someone who means the world to you, don't let him go.

Take care of yourself, I love you

Polly

Tears were streaming down Alice's face. She was glad that Polly is doing better and She was reading the letter from her again and again. Maybe not the entire letter but the words 'so if you can be with someone who means the world to you, don't let him go.'. What should she do now?