The Art Of Us

25 • We Can Be Scared Together

The fire sea of flames was hurting his eyes, and the smoke quickly filled his lungs, making it impossible to breathe. His sight was clouded, taking away his last sense that could help him escape.

He wasn't going to make it, he could feel that in the way his body was about to give up. Maybe it was supposed to end like this. Life had never created an easy path for him, not even if it seemed like he had it all. No amount of money could save him now.

The flames were aggressive and high, slowly closing him in. He wanted an escape, but there wasn't any.

FP felt the sweat streaming down his face, a mixture of his anxiety and the heat. He was all alone, just like he had always been. And just like that, he would die alone, surrounded by fire, smoke and the internal pain of knowing he didn't fight hard enough.

When he squinted his eyes, he could make out the sillouhette of his ex-wife. She was smirking devilishly. She enjoyed watching him die. And even with the flames coming close, almost burning his skin, nothing hurt as much as seeing the enjoyment on her face.

All FP needed was a miracle, someone to save him. But who would possible come and rescue him? Who actually cared?

But then the flames suddenly backed off, as if someone was controlling them. The heat became a little less intense, and there seemed to be more air.

Coming closer, was a young teenage boy. He extended his hand.

"Are you okay, Dad?"

FP shot up in an instant, trying to catch his breath. It took him a while to realize where he was. For a second he thought he was in New York, but when his eyes adjusted to the dark, he realized that he was in Riverdale, next to Alice.

"FP? What is going on?" Alice asked sleepily, when his sudden movement had woken him up.

"Nothing, go back to bed." He said, avoiding her eyes. He wanted to lay down again, but Alice took his arm into her hand.

"Hey, you're sweating. What happened?" She stroke her hand over his forehead, feeling how warm be was. Something was definitely off.

"Just a nightmare. It's okay." He said absentmindedly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Alice asked softly, seeing the look on his face. This didn't seem like a regular nightmare.

FP looked at her and hesitated for a second. He was so used to keeping everything to himself, that having a partner that you could tell everything too felt so strangely new.

"It was about Gladys..." He confessed, feeling his cheeks blush.

"I am just trying to wrap my head around what happened. It seemed I took my time fully understanding what she tried to do."

He sighed quietly, as he leant against the headboard. Alice looked at him, giving him all the time he needed to tell what he had dreamed about.

"I was married to her for ten years, Alice. It may not have always been the way a happy marriage should be, but that she would go this far is beyond me."

"You must really hate someone to try to take their life. I never realized she felt that way about me." FP looked at his hands, trying his hardest not to cry. He thought it hadn't affected him that much. Turned out, it did.

"I may not have loved her, but I cared about her. I thought she felt the same, but..." He looked at Alice, as he was unable to finish his sentence.

Caring about someone was complicated, especially in a relationship that was toxic from the start. He didn't know why, but he did care. He cared too much for someone who didn't think twice about taking his life.