Recreating History, Repairing Mistakes

Part 23

She sleeps incredibly crappy that nightand not even the fact that she had just proven her boyfriend'sinnocence in the murder of a teenage boy had done anything to changethat. She can't get the image of Clifford Blossom shooting his ownson out of her head, followed by FP cleaning up the mess. It's worseseeing that, than him just confessing to murder without visual proof,but the thing that has her up most of the night is the realizationthat she still doesn't care. Of course, she will still have thatconversation with him in which she will ask him what the hell he hadbeen thinking, but even clear evidence of his involvement won't makeher turn her back on the man she's been in love with for the lasttwenty-two years.

She spends a lot of time justifying itto herself, because she's not the same Alice she used to be when theywere teenagers. Even with her going back to the Southside, she'schanged a lot during the last two decades and she's not the girlanymore that was proud of being in trouble every chance she gets.She's not following him into stupid situations anymore and standbeside him wearing a proud smirk when they get caught. She's olderand wiser now, and she cares about what other people think of her.And still, she's staying with a criminal with no intention of lettinghim go.

And then she realizes two things. Firstand foremost, she doesn't need to justify any of her actions toanyone. Ever. It's just like Betty had said when she had been afraidof Polly's reaction – it's her life and whatever she decides to dowith it, the others will just have to live with that.

Second, it's crap. She has not changedfrom the troublesome Southside girl madly in love with her boyfriendall that much in the last twenty years. And she had known thatbefore; she'd felt it when she'd done the serpent dance and put onher leather jacket, when she'd been making out with him in a booth atPop's not caring that the rest of Riverdale would see them. She'dfelt it when she'd moved in with him without a second thought orhesitation. And she'd * known * without a doubt when she told him shewon't leave him even if he was a murderer.

She gets up in the middle of the night,sleep nowhere in sight, and gets her laptop from the living-area.Jughead is asleep in his bedroom and, as much as she hates to admitit, she has no idea if Betty is here or not. The girl had gone homefrom the police station, Hal and Polly had been leaving messages allday asking when she'll be home, and though Betty had promised tospend the night after seeing her father, Alice doesn't know if sheever showed up.

She takes a short look into the boy'sbedroom, just to be sure. There are no phone calls or text messagesfrom Hal that indicate Betty isn't were she is supposed to be, butAlice is just plainly not sure * where * this is right now. Openingthe door, she sees the two teenagers curled up together under thecovers and she's so glad to not be alone in the trailer right now,that she even lets slide that one of them is supposed to sleep on themattress next to the bed. She leaves them to it, happy that at leastsomeone here is able to get some sleep and closes the door behind hersilently again. She debates staying out in the living room, but thelight and her typing might wake the kids and that's the last thingshe wants right now. So she grabs her laptop from the end table,fills a glass of water from the tap in the kitchen and goes back intothe bedroom as silently as possible.

Alice might not work at a newspaperanymore, or at her own for that matter, and she actually likes herwaitress job, but she is still a journalist at heart. And with allthe drama they and the town had been through in the last few days,she has more than enough to write an article on. She hasn't talked toher husband since the day FP had gotten arrested, but strangelyenough, the arrest had put them on more even footing than their lastconversations had, and she thinks, that even if he might still not beinterested in actually being friends, he might let her publish herarticle in the Register. And if not, she'll find another way to getit out – not the High School Paper because what she intends towrite is nothing she wants her daughter and Jughead to get in troubleover.