When Alice returned home from work that evening, she couldn't help but oddly feel a weight that had been lifted from her shoulders. Talking to Hal about her suspicions about Chic helped her feel a bit more at ease. She no longer felt that she were paranoid nor that she was a bad mother. Hal had explained to her that it was natural for her to feel protective of Betty and that being concerned was not a paranoid thing, but a normal thing. Especially with a serial killer on the loose while you've been living with, basically, a stranger in your house.
It'd been a long time since Alice found comfort in sharing things with Hal, but this was one thing she couldn't tell anyone else. If she tried to talk to FP about it, he'd probably ridicule her for thinking something so horrible of their son and it might cause a big fight. She didn't have the stamina to fight with him nor did she want to put any stress on the baby. If she brought it up to Betty...she'd probably do the "Betty-Cooper-Thing" about it and go all Inspector Clouseau on the situation. Alice didn't want her to keep putting herself in danger with investigations like this. And if she brought it up to anyone else, well....they'd probably just go straight to the police and everything would be ruined. Not only for Chic, but for Betty and Alice as well...seeing that they had covered up a murder together that he had committed.
It was too much. It was all too much to keep inside. So telling Hal seemed to be the best option, considering he didn't think so highly of Chic anyway, so it wouldn't really ruin his views on the boy. Not to mention...Hal's stance in The Register had truly had a positive impact on their whole career and with his skill in investigating things...it'd be nice to have another set of eyes to help Alice on her lookout for Chic's odd potential "Black-Hood-Like" behavior.
With a sigh of relief, Alice weakly smiled at her house from the driver's seat of her car before she finally climbed out. She made her way up to the porch of her house and put the key in the door, unlocking it and heading inside. She was relieved to know that Chic and Betty had actually obeyed her wishes and kept the doors locked even if they WERE home. Alice stepped inside and shut the door, locking its dead bolts in place before she set the keys on the little table to the left of the front door. "Chic? Betty?" She called out with a smile. "I'm home!" She waited for a response as she set her purse down beside her keys. "What does everyone want for dinner?" She asked, happily heading for the kitchen. "I was thinking that we cou-" She stopped walking immediately. "Hello?" A nervous shake was hidden in the back of her throat as she slowly took another step forward, feeling a bitter darkness in the air as she moved closer and closer to the kitchen.
As she stepped passed the stairs, her left hand reached up to hold the wall as if it were a crutch. Her right hand fell to hold her stomach as she felt the butterflies flutter around her growing baby. Only one more step to go before she made it to where she heard the sound of a harsh breath. The moment she turned the corner to face the refrigerator, right there, below her feet, she saw her. Her youngest daughter, out cold on the kitchen floor. Alice fell to her knees at once. "Betty!?" She lightly pat her on the face in an attempt to wake her. "Betty!" She shouted, watching her daughter's chest rise and fall.
Relieved that Betty was still breathing, Alice still let the anger and confusion overrule her. "What happened?" She hissed, looking over to Chic who was heavily breathing himself. He stood on the other side of the dining room table, his body vibrating with what Alice couldn't differentiate from as fear or rage. "What happened?!" She shouted, rather unexpectedly, as she stood. Her eyes filled with tears as she took a few steps into the dining area to confront him up close. His eyebrows furrowed, his head fell. He squinted his eyes, staring at the floor, with exasperation. A hand reached up to touch his hair before he let it fall to his side once more, clenching both his hands into tight fists. His feet grew anxious and he shifted his weight upon both of them, quickly rocking from side to side. His arms stiffened and soon, he began to pace back and forth in his little area behind the head of the table. "Chic!" Alice yelled at him, stepping a bit closer, but being wary to not get too close. "What did you do?" She asked slowly and loudly. "I'm not buying into that childish act of terror anymore, Charles. Tell me what happened or I'm afraid I can't let you stay here any-"
"It wasn't me!" He finally shouted through gritted teeth. He stopped pacing for a moment to look at her, but he stomped his right foot, unable to keep still. "It wasn't me." He said, a bit more calmly with a hint of sadness in his tone. Alice rolled her eyes. "It was HIM!" He said in a whisper. "The Black Hood." A single tear rolled down his face and he quickly wiped it away.
"The...The Black Hood was here?" Alice asked in a panic. "Why didn't you call me? Or better yet, why didn't you call the police?"
Her son shook his head like a toddler as he stared at the floor beneath him. "No time."
"No time? How long ago did this happen?" Alice pried.
"He JUST left." Chic responded as he bit one of his nails.
"What do you mean, 'he just left?'"
"He was here and he talked to Betty and when I tried to do something, he grabbed her to stop me. Then when we heard your car in the driveway, he banged her head against the fridge and ran out that door." He pointed at one of the white double doors beside the dining room table, leading into the backyard. "Then you came in and I...I didn't know what to do. And now Betty....Poor, poor Betty."
Alice opened her mouth, about to call bullshit when she heard the sound of Betty's pained groan behind her. Biting her lower lip, Alice turned around to tend to her daughter, slowly helping her to her feet. "Wh...What happened?" The sixteen year old wondered with a hand on her head.
"You don't remember?" Alice asked with a panic deep within her chest.
"N...No?" Betty looked a bit confused as Alice let go of her arm finally and she wobbled. Her mother quickly took hold of her once more to stabilize her.
"What's the last thing you remember?" The former Mrs. Cooper wondered.
"I remember Juggy dropped me off...I came inside..." She shook her head and cleared her throat. "I don't know. It's all a bit of a blur."
"Sweetie, just try." Alice asked desperately, hoping Chic's story could be confirmed by someone else.
"I don't know. I just remember that I was arguing with Chic and then..." She paused...thinking as hard as possible, but all she could see or hear in her memory was static. "And then I woke up here."
"Come here." Alice pulled Betty in for a tight hug as she gazed over at Chic, still looking terrified in his little corner. "It's okay...you must've slipped or fainted or something. When Chic heard your fall, he came running to find you on the floor." She gently rubbed her youngest's head as she held her, still keeping an eye on her son across from her. "Come on. Let's get you into bed with an ice pack for that bump you're gonna have." She turned with Betty, leading her toward the staircase. "Stay right here for a second, honey." She let Betty lean an arm against the railing as she turned back to walk toward Chic again. Inches from him, she whispered with a threatening tone. "You stay right there, Chic Jones! I will be down here to talk about what really happened."
She gave him one last glare and returned to her daughter's side, guiding her up the stairs while Chic watched from his lonely corner.
A/N: Hey, guys! I'm thinking the next chapter might be the last one (depending on how long it is). Don't worry, I have other Falice fics to come. And I'm super excited for them. I might not begin them right away though so I can take a small break to write other things I'm working on, but I promise, I will not be gone long. Thanks so much for sticking with me and supporting what I do! It truly means so so so so much! I love you all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you'll enjoy the next one (or two). Leave comments, please! MWAH!
