Falice 2

Southside Serpents V2

"It's not just that," FP ran his hands across his face. "I just can't sleep."

Fred was silent for a moment. He carefully spoke up. "Is this about Alice?" He didn't want to overstep by asking but he also thought it would help if he had someone to talk to. It took FP a couple of seconds to decide to confess but he nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know if I can."

"She was my best friend too. It's hard for me too."

FP picked at the pancake with a fork. "I'd do anything to have her back. I want Charlie to have her too. He's too young for this to have happened. It's all my fault." He dropped the fork onto his plate and covered his face.

"It was not," Fred couldn't let him blame himself. "There was nothing you could have done to prevent it. It was out of your hands."

"That's not true. I'm supposed to protect her and our son. And I failed. Why her? She deserved the world not to be taken out of it." He shoved the plate away from himself. "If I had been with her it wouldn't have happened."

"You had no idea those Ghoulies were raiding the Wyrm."

"But I was there," FP grimaced. "I could have done something." He softly said. "Anything."

"You didn't know she had walked in looking for you."

FP had gone home after his shift at the diner. He walked into the double wide and looked around. There were a couple of bottles on the coffee table.

FP's mother came out of the bedroom. "Was he here?" He asked her. She didn't have to answer that. He knew the answer.

He furiously tossed his hat onto the counter as he loosened his bow tie. "I said I didn't want him anywhere near him."

FP walked to the bedroom to check on the baby. He was staring up at his mobile before he noticed FP. FP put a hand over his tiny chest. The boy grabbed onto his thumb. It made him smile.

FP felt his mother's presence in the room. "Why did you let him in?"

"He was looking for you."

"Yeah well I was working to provide for my son unlike him," FP scoffed. "If he was trying so hard to find me he wouldn't have sat down with a six pack."

"He's your father, FP."

"A terrible one," FP turned around to look at her. "What kind of father beats on his own son, huh? I wouldn't even think about doing that to Charles." He fumed. "If he did as much as touch a single hair on his tiny head I'll-"

"FP, listen to me, baby. He didn't even see him." She tried to calm him down. "Charlie was asleep. He took his usual nap so he wouldn't be fussy when Alice gets here. Did she tell you when she would be here?"

"She'll be here after her meeting at the Blue and Gold. There was a writing competition she entered. When she wins she'll get $500 and her work published in the paper."

"Don't you mean if she wins?"

"Nope," FP proudly smiled. His mother loved how smitten he was with her.