Page 51 of Archer
“What did he offer you, Archer?”
“What’d he give you, huh? You obviously got something out of the deal, seeing as you weren’t getting me.” I threw my fingers to my chest before clenching them into fists by my sides. “So, what’d you get? What did you take from my poor, terrified father?”
“Rose… please.” He came rushing to me, looking truly scared, and grabbed my face in my hands. Stroking the top of my hair while shaking his head, he said, “I’m so different. We’re doing so good, Rose, please. We’re happy. You’re happy.”
“Archer. Tell me.”
I still didn’t want him to tell me.
But I knew that if I didn’t, I wouldn’t see him the same way, anyway. I’d go insane with mistrust, wondering what happened. The damage had been done.
Archer looked broken, like a piece of soul was sucked from him and had a look of disgust stamped on his face. But the disgust appeared to be directed at himself, rather than at anything else.
“He offered me… um, shares in your bakery. Five percent.”
Fuck.
I clamped my mouth shut and dropped my face to the ground, squeezing my eyelids shut. That hurt way more than I expected. My blood boiled, but it didn’t feel like I was angry, just… so… hurt.
“Rose…”
It took another minute until I could open my eyes and face him. When I did, he looked devastated and apologetic, but I couldn’t trust it anymore.
“My dad…” I looked down again and swallowed. “My dad is so poor, that he’s probably gonna get murdered because he owes money.” Again, I swallowed, this time my throat feeling hot. “And you… you offered to help him for free. Then you go back… and… take his money!”
After I spelled it all out, I gawked at him while shaking my head in disbelief. Barely over a whisper, I asked, “How could you?”
“I… I don’t know,” he said. “Rose, I’ve changed so much. I’ll cancel the deal. Please. I was mad. Pathetic, even. You’re right. I was pissed off because a girl I liked hurt my ego. I was so stupid. Please, can we j-just talk about it. Let me make this right.”
“I need to be alone,” I said coldly and unexpectedly, that phrase seeming to trigger him.
“No. Stop that.” He said and put his hands on my shoulders, squeezing firmly but not roughly. “Stop running away from me all the time. Every time things get weird, or heavy, or whatever, you just run and hide. I’m here. Let’s talk. People fight and they talk.”
“Yeah, they do, Archer,” I snapped, and I could tell he instantly regretted his choice of words. “They fight and they talk. They don’t… corner people’s dads into giving them shares in his only source of income! What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I’m… I’ve…” His mouth gaped a few times before he shook his head and hung his neck. “I’m an idiot, Rose. I’m sorry.”
My heart ached, the words not making me feel any better. Pivoting to the door, he trudged to the door and grabbed the handle, looking at me as he opened it. “I’m going to go out.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and tilted my neck downward. “Okay. Thanks.”
He was about to leave the bedroom, but peeked his head back in and asked, “Can we talk… when I get back?”
“I don’t know, Archer.” I was too hurt and confused to make that decision. He nodded and was about to turn to leave again, but paused to say, “Your, uh, I saw your bra under the bed.”
“Thanks,” I said, looking down at my nipples as the door closed. Tears welled in my eyes as I wandered to grab my bra. Deciding it felt like a good time to sit in the shower and cry, as soon as Archer left, that’s exactly what I did.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Archer
I ran out of my apartment building, not even waiting for the elevator. I just needed to get the fuck out. My heart was pounding so much it hurt, or maybe it ached because I ruined everything. Running to the back of my building to my bike, I wondered where I’d even ride to. Anywhere but where Rose was would be fine.
“Fuck,” I said loudly in the vacant night. Then I turned the corner to the lit-up parking lot, I walked to the stall I rented to leave my bile. Pulling out my keys, I was about to straddle the bike when I heard a noise.
I froze and looked in the direction. Coming from the side opposite the door I walked through, I heard a rock roll by, as if someone kicked it. Waiting to see if someone showed themselves, I narrowed my eyes and slowly stepped closer to the noise. For some reason, I felt nervous, like someone was watching me. Once I reached the corner, I was almost too afraid to look. Taking a deep breath, I peered around the brick wall and sighed with relief when no one was there.
“Must have been a rat.” With that, I turned back to my bike. With the keys in the ignition and my knuckles gripping the throttle, I kicked off into the night. It was cool, for an Arizona summer night, but I liked it. My body felt so overheated, between the fighting, and the sex, and the… whatever the fuck that was at the end.
