"Are you ready, Alice?"
Edgar's twinkling eyes urged her to make that final step and enter the room she's heard so much about. Doors stood tall against the wall and on the very top there was a sign that read Praespero. From what Alice remembered from her language related subjects it was a Latin word for "hope", and right now, it's exactly what she needed.
Alice heard the door close behind her, apparently, she was on her own now. The room was big enough for two, but a third person would sure make a crowd. It was dark and her big, blue eyes needed some time getting used to the blackness surrounding her. She looked up. Alice was mesmerized by how tall the ceiling was, it looked majestic.
"Anyone here?" she whispered, not afraid, but still very caseous. What is so special about a storage room?
She looked around and tried to figure out where that warm breeze was coming from, it was so soothing, like it was there to reassure her that everything is going to be alright.
And that's when she saw it. The curtain. Big red curtain that went all the way up to the ceiling, what could possibly be there? She didn't want to wait any longer so she took a leap and snatched the curtain open. Of all the things Alice expected, this was something she never imagined possible...
Mom
Alice never thought that she would see her son.
Giving him up was the hardest thing she had to do in her life, it's not like she had any say in the matter. Seems like becoming a Northsider to raise her kid in better conditions seemed like a good theoretical idea, she just seemed to have found the wrong guy to make it reality.
Hal only cared about his career and of course, status. It was bad enough he was dating a Southsider, imagine having a child at 18, not to mention it wasn't even his, not that he was ever going to find out anyways.
"I don't care Alice; I am not about to ruin my future just because you forgot to take the damn pill"
She froze. Her heart started beating faster, stomach fluttering and throat formed a lump. Her entire body was in a pre-heart attack state and when she imagined meeting her son one day, this was definitely not what she had in mind. He is dead.
"Mom, would you at least take a look at me?"
His voice was deep, one of a man rather than a boy and it made sense, he was 23 now. Charles looked so real, like she could almost touch him, and so she did.
Alice outstretched her arm frightfully. She didn't quite know what scared her more, her arm going through the air or actually reaching his shoulder.
She was shaking.
"Do you believe now?" her son spoke, and as she looked into his eyes for the first time since the night, she held him, Alice knew, her baby boy was very much alive and standing across from her.
Tears filled her eyes and if the shaking were any worse, she would've had an epi attack right there, but she didn't. Instead, Alice moved even closer to her son and without missing a beat she engulfed him in the strongest hug she could at the moment.
She cried into his white shirt and held for dear life, afraid that if she let go, he would once again be nothing more but a shadow of a life she could've had.
"I thought you were dead" she managed to blurt out without choking on her tears. Oh, she was a mess and no one could blame her, the son she thought was dead, felt so good to hold in her arms.
Charles was stiff. He didn't know how to react or what to say exactly from now one. Thinking his entrance through and not figuring out what next to do or say left him panicking as to what to do next.
Should he hug her back? Probably not.
"I wanted you to think that"
He wasn't lying about that. After learning who his mother was and that she was looking for him, Charles figured out he needed time, he needed to get away and think about what he wanted to do, so he begged his roommate Chic to take the fall just a little while and pretend to be the real son Alice had lost so many years ago.
Charles never missed out on anything. His childhood was regular, no fancy schools and dinner receptions and that was alright with him. He always enjoyed the streets more anyways.
Charles had incredible luck throughout his life.
His foster parents took good care of him until he decided it was time to get a place on his own, it was a sucky neighborhood, but Chic was a good friend, and though into some dangerous stuff, his heart was pure. Living with him was quite an adventure.
Charles had no idea that his little plan was going to have such severe consequences for his friend, and he felt guilty.
Charles sat across from her now, fully clad in white. His broad chest gave away long hours at the gym and his facial features only proved that he was FP's son. Alice couldn't stop staring. The room labeled "hope" was somewhere in a different hall right now and the two were at the Farm's lounge.
It was time for the dreaded talk, one where both mother and son have calmed from the initial meeting and now both wondered... how do you catch up with someone you've seen 23 years ago?
"I" Alice began "I don't know where to start" she awkwardly smiled, trying to break the tention, but failed miserably. This is not how she imagined meeting Charles.
"How about you start telling me the story of how you abandoned me?"
There was no malice in his voice, Charles was just genuinely curious, for 23 years he wondered why and now he had the opportunity to sit across from his real mother and he was going to use it well.
"As hard as it is for you to believe right now, there was nothing more I wanted in my life than to keep you, raise you and see you grow into the man you are now." she wiped a tear who sneaked its way down her cheek.
"There wasn't a day in my life where I didn't regret giving you up. I know it's messed up, but whenever I held your sisters as babies, I'd imagine holding you. I was so wrong Charles, but by the time I realized it, it was too late."
She went on to tell him the story of realizing she was pregnant, the Midnight Club, Hal, everything. Who would've thought it would only take her half a day to tell the life story of Alice Smith?
She probably just didn't want to bother him with details when she failed to mention FP once or twice, or how until recently the two were having a fling.
She herself wasn't sure what happened there so why would Charles be able to understand, not that it mattered anymore, it was over.
"You could've given up the wealth, the life promised to you by Hal and yet, you didn't"
Charles's eyes became just a shade darker. Saying you didn't want to give up your son, but had to so you can have a better life is not a great way to great said son.
"You could've told my father, maybe he would've understood, took care of me, raised me"
He raised his voice only enough for Alice to hear the pent-up anger starting to get out and she couldn't blame him, but Alice would be damned if she would let him think FP was a better option at the time.
"He was in no position. He was a drunk, a ladies man in the worst possible way. At the time, he just wanted to sleep around and run around the Southside with his bike"
Charles laughed, he seemed to be his father's son in more ways than one.
"You just described me now" he smiled before abruptly stopping, a thought popped into his head and before thinking twice Charles blurted it out "Do you think I can meet him?"
