Chic left for work and FP and Alice sat at the bottom of the staircase near the kitchen. Alice sighed beside him. "Ugh! I'm so relieved he didn't flip out." FP let out a small chuckle as he grabbed her hand and fiddled with it in his own.
"Can I ask you something?" He wondered as he looked to her on his left.
"What?" She hated when people started conversations like that. Her heart pounded in nervous anticipation.
"Do you realize the way you talk to him?" His heart pounded, hoping he wouldn't upset her.
"What do you mean?" She asked cluelessly.
"Your voice." He pointed out. "It went up like five octaves the moment he stepped in the room. Last night I thought it was just because you were embarrassed he walked in on us cuddling, but you did again this morning."
"Did I?"
"Yeah...I just..." He looked down at the floor beneath them and sighed. "It's almost like you talk to him like he's a baby." He watched her look away from him as she thought about it. "It's okay. I'm just making sure you're aware." He kissed the top of her head before continuing to play with her hand.
"I didn't even realize..." She began, but she stopped mid sentence, feeling something as she fiddled with FP's hand as well. "You-" She looked down at his left hand in hers. She retracted her head a bit, looking into his eyes beside her. She couldn't believe she didn't notice it last night. "You're still wearing yours." She pointed out his wedding ring. FP sighed. "Why are you-" She stopped, moving over a bit before standing up, looking down at him on the last two steps. "You're still married, aren't you?" Her heart began to pound out of rhythm with anything else.
"Alice...Gladys hasn't sent the signed papers back yet." He rested his elbows on his knees for a moment as he looked up at her. Alice began to pace in her little area in front of the stairs. "It's okay. Soon she'll send them and we'll figure it out from there." He watched her internally panicking. "Alice...Alice." He stood up, grabbing ahold of her hands as she refused to look him in the eye.
"No, no." She shook her head. "FP...you don't understand. What we did last night. That should not have happened." She pulled away from him, finally looking up into his eyes with teary ones. "You have to go."
"Ali, I-"
"No!" She pointed at him, more tears welling up. "Don't call me that." She let out one broken sob. "You have to go..." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "...before he finds out."
"Before who finds out?" FP asked, more than confused all of a sudden.
"The Black Hood, FP!"
"Alice...the Black Hood is dead." He moved in closer to her again, holding her shoulders this time.
"FP..." She began. "I haven't spoken to anyone about this." She continued to whisper as if paranoid someone could hear them. "But I don't think they caught the right one."
"What?" FP stepped back, letting his arms fall to his sides.
"Come on...don't tell me you didn't have your own suspicions about the janitor." She blinked quickly as her tears eventually disappeared and she stopped herself from crying. "None of it really added up." It was silent for a moment as she watched him think to himself about everything. "FP...." She whispered again. "What we did was a sin. We committed adultery. For all we know...the real Black Hood could have seen your truck out there last night and this morning and he's plotting his next murder....You or me."
"Alice...calm down...we don't even know if that's true." He tried stepping in closer to her again and she backed away, avoiding his touch, though she longed for it.
