Page 47 of Rules, Roses, and Rivals
Eighteen
ARCHIE
They came in like they were already halfway broken.
Frankie walked between Bubba and Coop, and none of them spoke. She looked like she was trying not to shrink under the weight of all their silence, which was almost funny considering she was the center of everything right now. Usually, Frankie moved with this confidence—head up, smart mouth ready. But today, she looked… wrong. Off. Like she knew the wolves were circling and didn’t quite know where to run.
I caught the mark on her neck the second she stepped near the table. So did Bubba, though he didn’t say a word. His eyes just hardened and slid away.
Coop tried to play normal, but his shoulders were stiff. How his hand twitched like he wanted to reach for her and didn’t.
And then there was Jake.
He sat on the edge of the table with the boxes of donuts at his side, but there was nothing warm in him. No smile, no smug little nod. Just flat, controlled nothingness. Which, for Jake? Might as well be rage.
Frankie saw him and stopped cold. Her expression wavered—just for a second—but enough that I felt it in my gut.
He didn’t say a word to her.
Didn’t offer a donut. Didn’t crack open the box with the fritters. Didn’t even look up.
She said his name, soft and unsure. He still didn’t speak.
Then she did something I didn’t expect.
She just… walked away. She didn’t ask anyone to follow her. She didn’t even look back.
I watched her go, and something about it made me furious.
She hadn’t done this alone. Whatever mess she was in,theywere in it too. And yet they all stood there, acting like she’d blown up the house while they just watched from the sidewalk.
Coop sighed and dropped into a chair. Bubba grabbed a donut without asking. Jake stared straight ahead like he was alone in the damn room.
“So,” I said, not bothering to hide the edge in my voice. “We gonna pretend this is normal?”
No one answered.
Jake took a long drink from the coffee I knew wasn’t his usual order. He was off, too. Everyone was.
“What happened?” I asked, leveling it at Jake.
He didn’t look at me.
“Jake.”
He blinked once. “Go to hell.”
The silence that followed that? Thick enough to chew.
“Excuse me?” I rose before I even decided to.
Jake finally met my eyes. His jaw ticked. “You heard me.”
It would’ve taken one more word. One more push. We were that close. Fists clenched, blood up, tension radiating off both of us. Coop moved like he might intervene, but I didn’t need him. I could handle Jake just fine. Hell, Iwantedto.
But Bubba stepped in first, throwing himself between us. “Okay, no one’s fighting in front of the donuts,” he said without looking at either of us.
“You’re really not gonna tell me what happened?” I asked, still staring Jake down.
