Broken Promises

Expelled

*Present Day*

Alice stood in the kitchen, chopping up some vegetables for lunch. She sighed, praying that her migraine would go away, cursing the pills that she took which did not work. Eventually, she stopped, putting the supplies and food away, promising herself that she'd finish later.

She laid down on the couch with a cold wet cloth over her eyes and forehead, attempting to take a nap. Soon, the front door opened and her son and daughter walked in with smiles on their faces. Betty's soon vanished when she saw her mother, remembering that morning.

"Oh, hey, kids." She strained to say, pulling the cloth off her face. "How'd it go?"

"I passed." Betty said as if it were no big deal.

"I knew you would." Alice struggled to smile through her pain. "Did you drive home?"

"Yupp." Betty held up Chic's keys to prove it.

"Congratulations, baby!" She slowly stood, giving Betty a hug that she did not genuinely receive back. "I was gonna make lunch, but I have a massive headache right now, so I'm gonna try to rest and hopefully I'll feel better in a couple hours."

"Mr. Jones didn't stay to make you lunch in bed?" Elizabeth asked with a hint of attitude as she headed into the kitchen.

"No. He...he had to work today." Alice said, sitting back down on the sofa, touching the cloth to her forehead.

"So what is that all about, huh?" Betty asked, looking in the fridge for something to snack on. "You and FP?"

"Betty, honey....I really can't have this conversation right now, okay? My head is really killing me." Her mother spoke quietly.

"Do you want me to make you some tea?" Chic asked, looking down at her with empathy.

"Oh, sweetie. You don't have to." Mrs. Cooper leaned her head back to rest on the back of the couch.

"I will." Her son took off his jacket and headed to the kitchen.

"My boyfriend's dad?" Betty whispered loud enough for the other two to hear.

"Listen, I know we have a lot to talk about. But not right now." Alice's voice continued to grow softer and softer. "And Chic, there's something I need to tell you, too." Her voice began to trail off and it ended with a soft hum as she finally fell asleep.

Chic pulled one of the blankets off the other sofa and placed it on his mother before returning to the kitchen to make Betty and himself a sandwich. 

After they finished eating, he set the tea kettle on the stove for Alice.

"Why are you so nice to her all of a sudden?" Betty asked quietly, looking to the living room to make sure her mother still slept. "It wasn't too long ago that you hated her for giving you up and now you're making her tea and covering her in a blanket?"

"Betty, there's something you need to understand about Mrs. Cooper. Even I understand it and I've only lived here for about a month. She's the type of person that will do whatever it takes to make sure the people she loves KNOW that they are loved. Sure, she's a bit cold hearted towards strangers, but when it comes to her family, she's super protective. I've noticed that in the short time I've been here. And if anyone crosses her family, she finds it hard to forgive them."

"Yeah, I get that." Betty responded. "But sometimes her actions are very questionable."

"Whose aren't?" Chic responded. "Didn't you just help me clean up a dead body? Didn't you just tell me that you kissed another guy and lied to your boyfriend about it? Aren't you hiding webcamming from your mother? Why? Because you don't want anyone to get hurt. It's the same with her. She's just doing what she thinks will savor the hurt from getting to you."