Page 53 of Terms Of Un-Endearment
I follow his gaze to the two totally jacked bros standing uncomfortably close to a nervous-looking woman. Their face tattoos hint that they might be prison-swole rather than gym-swole.
“Yeah, I think I’ve seen them before.”
“Well, then you’re not getting on that bus this morning. Maybe not ever, if it’s up to me.” The light changes, and Archie presses the gas.
“Archie! I’m fine on the bus—it's a block behind us,” I protest as the bus stop grows further away.
“Not with those guys, you’re not. They’re fresh outta lock-up, and the other tossers waiting there don’t look much better.” Archie sits up taller, as though he might intimidate them from half a mile away.
And every conflicting emotion I’ve been wrestling this morning returns with a vengeance.
I let out a short laugh. “They’re just regular people, Archie. You’ve been traveling by private jet and luxury van for too long. Everyone looks like an ex-con when you’re surrounded by billionaires who can buy anything—including perfect bodies, hair, and teeth.”
Archie scoffs. “I don’t surround myself with people like that.”
“Okay, multi-millionaires, then. My mistake,” I tease.
“You’re one to talk. All your mates were regular blokes at the fancy design college my dad paid for?” He shoots back with a smirk.
I jolt, caught off guard. “Ipaid for that fancy design college. Malcolm didn’t give me a dime.”
Archie looks directly at me. “What about that college savings account he set up for you?”
“He’d only let me have access to it if I got a degree in business administration so I could take over for Sybil when she retires. I didn’t want to do that.” I shrug. What happened next should be obvious since he’s seen it play out with Frankie.
“But he paid for your expenses. He didn’t cut you off.” His insistence surprises me.
I shake my head. “He did. Malcolm hasn’t given me a dime since I went to Parsons.”
A car behind us honks, and Archie presses the gas. A silence falls between us until we’re close to Valente.
He pulls into the drive and stops in front of the building before turning to me. “I’m sorry he did that to you.”
“It’s not your fault. It was good Malcolm cut me off. I learned to take care of myself—or, at least—fill out student loan applications.” I scamper back to the safety of sarcasm. That’s familiar territory. This apologetic, concerned Archie makes me dizzy.
He doesn’t laugh. “I don’t want to be that way.”
“What way?”
“My dad. I don’t want money to be the thing I love most.”
The worry and honesty in his voice threatens to wipe away my resolve to keep my distance from Archie. To stay away from common ground. To keep from getting to know him better. That’s the safest thing to do.
If Archie isn’t the mini-Malcolm I’ve painted him to be, I’ll want to forgive him. I’ll want to believe he’s a better man than he was a boy. Worse, I’ll have to admit I want to know the man he’s become better.
And then I’ll have to steel myself for the inevitable goodbye when all of this is over.
As much as I’d finally like to get to know Archie…I can’t.
Chapter 18
Archie
Dad lied to me.
He’s told me more than once that he’s still paying Piper’s expenses. She’s made no secret about her not being a big fan of Dad anymore, which makes sense if what she said about Dad is true. And I don’t know why it wouldn’t be. She has nothing to gain by lying.
Dad, on the other hand, does. I reckon he assumed telling me he gave Piper money would reignite my old jealousies, so I wouldn’t hesitate kicking her out of the house. As hard as it is for me to admit, I’ve given Dad the benefit of the doubt too often when he’s intentionally led me to believe something that’s not true.
