Page 78 of The Only One Left

“Why wouldn’t I be sure?”

Archie leaned against me on the divan, our shoulders touching. “You know exactly why.”

“It’s a tricky situation,” I said. “But we have a plan.”

We didn’t yet, but I couldn’t tell that to Archie. I knew it would only make him more concerned. He had always seen himself as my protector. Even when we were younger and he was just a runaway given a job in the kitchen out of pity. I think that’s what drew us to each other. We were two lonely souls in need of someone to care for.

“I wish you had told me you were sweet on him,” Archie said.

“Why?”

“Because I would have tried to stop you.”

“Stop pretending like I’m the only one in a tricky situation,” I said. “I know what you’ve been up to.”

“It’s not the same,” Archie said, and indeed it wasn’t. The only situation more scandalous than mine was Archie’s.

“I knew what I was getting myself into when I met him,” I said, when in truth I had no idea how deeply I’d fall in love with Ricky and how quickly it would happen.

“That’s one thing. Having a baby is another.” Archie reached for the camera he’d just purchased. An extravagance I knew he couldn’t easily afford. Buying it required months of saving. “I know of someone who can help, if you decide you don’t want to have it. A doctor.”

“Who told you this?”

“One of the maids. She went to him when she got pregnant. She couldn’t keep it because the father--”

Archie stopped himself, too kind to speak aloud the truth we both knew.

“Was my father,” I said. “I know.”

I’d heard Berniece talking about it in the kitchen one morning when she thought none of the High and Mighty Hopes was around.That’s what she called us. The High and Mighty Hopes, always spoken with a derisive snort. She mentioned that one of the new maids had been ruined by my father, forced to get rid of the baby and then kicked out of Hope’s End.

That was the previous year, and based on the compromising position I’d caught him in on my birthday, my father hadn’t learned his lesson. Although no one said as much, I knew it was one of the reasons my mother kept to her own bed. She and my father barely spoke, let alone saw each other.

It made me sad to see them so miserable with each other. My sister, however, merely pretended nothing was wrong. I knew it was pretend because it was impossible to miss the tension strung like trip wire throughout the entire mansion.

“I won’t end up like my parents,” I said. “I’ll make sure of it. I love him, Arch. I really do.”

“Well, I wish you didn’t.”

I wasn’t hurt by Archie’s words. I knew he didn’t say them to be cruel. It was simply his way. He had a gentle soul and told things the way he saw them, unlike most everyone else at Hope’s End.

“If things were different, you know I’d have chosen you,” I said.

“I know,” he replied. “But they are different. With me and with him. People like us and people like you and your sister--we’re not meant to mingle. Society won’t allow it. The longer you let this thing go on, the worse it’ll be when it inevitably ends.”

I sat up, adamant. “It won’t end.”

Archie raised his hands in surrender. “I believe you. But whatever happens, good or bad, know that I’ll be with you the entire time.”

“Thank you,” I said.

He raised the camera, prompting a sigh from me. The last thing I wanted at that moment was to have my picture taken. Even though Ricky told me I was beautiful every time he saw me, I didn’t feel beautiful. Into the sixth month of my pregnancy, I feltbloated and restless. I couldn’t even muster a proper pose for Archie, although he didn’t seem to mind.

“Perfect,” he said as I cradled my swollen stomach.

The shutter clicked, and Archie joined me on the divan. I leaned my head against his shoulder, as I had done a hundred times in the past few years. He was so big, so solid. I knew he would always be there for me, no matter what.

“Just to make it clear,” Archie added out of the blue. “If he--or anyone--ever hurts you or makes you unhappy, I won’t hesitate to kill them.”

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