Page 14 of Archer
“She found out I’m a part of the club,” I said. “I know that had something to do with it.”
“Her dad didn’t tell her before she left her with you?” Evelyn asked, and I shrugged my shoulders.
I folded my arms. “Apparently not.”
“That poor girl must have been terrified…” Evelyn said, and I shook my head.
“That poor girl is a spoiled brat, that’s what it is. Crow had it right.” I turned to Tank and Evelyn, clasping my hands and widening my eyes, mustering all my desperation. “Please, help me. I made a mistake, come on. Take her off my hands. You two have a basement, you won’t even notice she’s there.”
That time, it was Tank and Evelyn who cracked into laughter, clutching their sides in their seats as I scowled.
“It’s been two days and you’re already backing out,” Tank said, still laughing.
“We knew you had commitment problems, Archer,” Evelyn said with a smile spread on her lips, “but come on.”
“Fine, yes, I get it. I failed,” I said. “Will you help me?”
Both of them exchanged looks before saying in unison, “No.”
“This is your responsibility, kiddo,” Tank said.
“You’re gonna have to find a way to make it work,” she said.
Annoyed by my forced accountability, I turned to my left. “Crow?”
Again, he laughed. My misfortunes brought him more joy than I’d seen him have in years.
“Ugh, useless. You’re all useless.” I knocked my forehead on the table three times. “This is hopeless.” I stood from my chair and headed toward the door. “I’m finding Ron.”
“You’re joking,” Tank said but I was out the door before I could respond, shoving my keys in the motor of my bike. It rumbled underneath me, and I cruised to my favorite bakery. The sky was dark and grey that day, a thunderstorm brewing in the dark clouds above me. Annoyed thoughts ran through my mind as I weaved through traffic.
Why did Rose think she’s so great, anyway? Aside from being hot, all she had was an entitled, shitty attitude. I pitied whatever man had to deal with her. What a miserable hag.
I pulled into the parking lot of Ron’s bakery and was relieved to see the “open” sign was still lit up. Unsure of where his house was located, I would have been screwed if it was closed. The next time I walked through my front door, I was going to tell Rose to pack her bags and hit the road. I wouldn’t return until I had someone to pawn her off to.
As I opened the door to the empty bakery the bell chimed and I called, “Ron?”
Footsteps scurried from the back and soon an even more exhausted and frantic Ron appeared. When he saw it was me, his face became pale. “Archer? What’s the matter? What’s happened? Is Rose okay?”
“Relax, yes, yes,” I said with my hands held up. “She’s…” Looking up at the corner ceiling for the right choice of words. “Fine, I guess.”
“Then what’s the matter?” he asked. “Why are you here?”
“Listen, Ron,” I said, hiding masking the guilt caused by Ron’s weary eyes with a firm assertiveness. “I’m sorry, but this isn’t working out.”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“I can’t look after her anymore.”
Ron’s jaw dropped, looking deflated. “What?”
“She’s miserable there, I’m miserable there,” I said. “I can’t keep her. You need to take her back.”
“N-no, that’s impossible!”
“I wish I could,” I said, my discomfort overruling everything. “But she hates me. I can’t live with that kind of abuse in my own house.”
“Archer, please.” Ron fell to his knees and clasped his hands together, making the guilt in my stomach grow into a tidal wave. “I’ll give you anything. Please, she has nowhere else to go.”
