I'm never gonna give up on you.

27. You haven't changed at all

It was Saturday morning when Alice yawned quietly and opened her eyes. Rolling to the other side of the bed she noticed that FP was missing. It was strange to wake up without him by her side, especially at the weekend.

Concerned about his absence for unknown reasons, she got up, putting her robe on she went out of their bedroom. Once she walked downstairs, Alice saw him sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee and a newspaper in his hands. It wouldn't be weird if he wasn't dressed in his sheriff uniform.

"Are you kidding me, Jones? What happened this time?" She asked crossing her arms and rolling her eyes sassily. She hated when he had to go to work when he should be taking rest and spending time with his family, or in that case, especially with Alice.

"I'm sorry, Al, but I have to go to work. Charles called me and said that he needs our help with one case." FP said watching her shrugging her shoulders. He knew that expression too well and it was obvious for him that she was mad.

To be honest, it wasn't strange, that she was mad. He had promised her that they will spend some time together before Jughead and Betty will be back from Spain and he needed to do something else, every time they tried to talk or work in the garden.

"Come here." He whispered reaching for Alice's hand. She rolled her eyes again and came closer to him. He lied on the couch with his legs wide opened and she positioned herself between them letting her head rest on his shoulder when he wrapped his left arm around her waist.

FP placed a sweet peck on the top of her head and gently stroked her messy curls. She could stay cuddled into his chest forever. Unfortunately, they had only a few minutes more before he would leave for the next couple of hours.

"I will make it up to you, I promise." He assured her hugging her even tighter to show her how much he regrets going to work instead of spending more time with her.

"And how will you make it up to me, hmm?" Alice teased him while lifting herself to face him. She bit her bottom lip playfully smirking at him, knowing it would turn him on even more.

"Do you really want to know?" FP teased back running his hands down her body to pull her closer to his body. She nodded and grab his beard into her hands while letting their lips crush into a passionate kiss.

Their tongues were dancing with each other fighting for dominance. Alice's hands were softly stroking his beard while he was trying to brush her blonde curls away from her pretty face.

He moaned into her lips and reached to pull her robe off of her shoulders, but once she noticed what he is about to do, she broke their kiss leaving him confused.

"Don't start something you can't finish. You are already late." She said rolling her eyes. She was laughing once he realized that he should be on his way to the sheriff station right now and almost jumped out of the couch.

"Shit my battery is out. Nevermind. I must go." FP said while looking at his phone. It was nothing new, because lately, his phone was out of battery most of the time, especially when he needed it the most. He kissed Alice's cheek and stormed out of the house.

Alice smirked to herself once he closed the door behind his back. As much as she enjoyed distracting him it was annoying to see him so messed up and distant sometimes.

She went back upstairs to complete her morning routine before going to the garden. Ever since FP and Charles had finished the patio, she loved spending as much time outside as she could.

Once Alice was fully dressed in some old shorts and FP's t-shirt, she tied her wet hair into a high ponytail and rushed downstairs. She was just about to make herself some coffee and breakfast when the phone rang. She was highly surprised when she saw that JB is calling her.

"Umm... good morning. Is my dad with you? He didn't answer my calls." Jellybean said quietly. By hearing her voice cracking, Alice could tell, that something was wrong with her.

"Hi, JB. His battery was out before he went to work. Tell me what's going on and we will figure something out." Alice tried to sound calm, but deep in her heart she was terrified. JB was talking only with FP lately and the fact that she called her must've been provoked by something serious.

"Actually... can you pick me up, please?" Jellybean asked shyly afraid of her reaction. Alice's heart broke once she heard her crying silently and without hesitation, she made a quick decision to drove her back home.

"Alright, I will be there as fast as I could." There was no time to hold a grudge or talking about JB's behavior. Even though she didn't tell Alice precisely what's going on, she had a feeling something must've happened between the girl and Gladys.

Jellybean thanked her and hang up quickly. Alice changed her clothes into jeans and picked a blouse from her closet as fast as she could. With her hair still damp, she grabbed everything she needed. She closed the front door and got into her car, turned the engine on, and left Elm Street.

***

Alice parked her car in front of the "Jones Yard" and came closer to the gate. She tried to call JB, but she didn't pick up the phone. She couldn't do anything more, just wait till she will show up.

"Can I help you?" The familiar voice asked Alice as she was leaning on the main entrance. She rolled her eyes and sighed while turning around on her high heels to face the woman.

"What the hell are you doing here, Cooper?" Gladys scoffed with her eyes wide open as she saw who the woman was. They had never liked each other and seeing her enemy in front of her yard wasn't something she could expect.

"It's Smith now. I'm here to take Jellybean home." Alice answered sassily crossing arms on her chest. Gladys was just about to respond but Jellybean showed up right on time with her backpack already packed.

Alice's eyes grew wider as she saw a girl's left hand wrapped in a bandage that was red from blood. She glanced at JB and opened her mouth to ask what happened, but the teenager shook her head to let her know, she didn't want to talk about it right now.

"Jellybean, why are you going back to Riverdale so early? It was nice to spend some time together, wasn't it?" Gladys reached for Jellybean's hand forcing her to look straight into her eyes. She didn't want her daughter to leave her, not yet.

"Yeah, it was. But you haven't changed at all." JB said releasing her right hand from Gladys's grasp. The teenager looked at Alice with her eyes filled with tears and walked towards the truck.

"Can you give me a hug at least?" Gladys asked opening her arms thinking that JB would want to cuddle with her just for a while. She was wrong. Jellybean glanced at her mother for the last time and she gets into the car closing the door once she positioned herself on the passenger seat.

"You've already taken my husband and now you want to take my kids away from me. How dare you?" Alice came closer to the woman as she heard her sassy words. She knew that Gladys had never deserved to be FP's wife and the mother of his children.

"You did it to yourself, Gladys. You forced them to hate you." Alice whispered looking straight into her teary eyes. A few drops ran down Gladys's cheeks and she wiped them away immediately not wanting to show her enemy how weak she was as far as her kids were concerned.

"I've never wanted to replace their mother, but it means something if they choose me over you," Alice confessed right before she turned to walk towards her car to drove them back home as she had promised to JB.

"You may fuck with him, but I'm still his wife and the mother to my children. I will fight for my family." Gladys said louder as emotions ran high and she couldn't refrain herself from making a sassy comment about their romance.

Instead of fighting with Gladys, Alice closed the door and reached for a seatbelt. She turned the engine on and drove away from the 'Jones yard' leaving the brunette woman all alone in the middle of the street.