A Thousand Little Promises

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Archer Winters! I swear on everything that's holy if you drop those shoes into the river I will find a way to kill you slowly and painfully!" I yelled at Archer as he swung my Nike High-tops over the edge of the gurgling river.

"You shouldn't tempted and teased me like that this morning" he said simply.

I shot him a flat look. I had teased him but nothing I did deserved a punishment this harsh.

"They're new!" I whined, crossing my arms.

His gaze flickered down to my chest briefly before he lazily drew it back up to my face.

"Sorry baby" He released the shoes and I ran forward, bending over the railing to see my shoes hit the water.

"ARCHER!" I yelled, racing down the steps and running along the river side, in hopes of catching my shoes.

"I'm telling you. Leaving a man hot and wanting is not okay. At all. Especially not during a school break."

I swung a branch I found on the grassy river bed out over the water, the very tip of it grazing the red basketball shoes.

I groaned as they slipped off and kept drifting with the current.

I tried again further down the river and very carefully lifted them out of the water by the laces.

I breathed out a sigh of relief, tipping them over to drain out the water, before hugging them close to my chest.

I turned around and flipped Archer off, "I'm getting you back for this!"

*

We visited Raven again on Wednesday. The clinic was silent just like the first time we'd come.

We pushed open the door to find her already looking at us.

"I told her we were coming" Archer said with a smile on his face as she went up to her and kissed her cheek.

He pulled up a chair beside her wheelchair and leaned his elbows on the table. I was about to leave the two for a bit when Raven looked up at me and smiled, her eyes sparkling. She waved with her arm and let out a happy squeal.

Archer opened his arms for and I slipped onto his lap.

"She's a real bully Raven" Archer started.

I scoffed, turning around to sock him in the stomach.

We took her out again to the same bench we'd gone to last time, taking a blanket with us this time for Raven.

Archer talked most of the time, his hand clasped firmly around mine, while he used the other to gesticulate through the air.

I looked up when I heard a car engine rev up on the country road close to where we sat.

I squinted through the sunlight, watching the car pass by the fence. I felt the blood rush to my head when I recognised Sanchez behind the wheel, a malicious smile on her make-up caked face.

I grasped Archer's hand tighter and pointed to disappearing car.

"That was Natalie" I said, rubbing my forehead.

Archer's head snapped up, his eyes narrowing at the road, still whirling with dust.

I saw a muscle in his cheek twitch as he took a deep breath and turned back to his sister.

*

Archer is related to a retard

I ripped the paper off the wall with enough force to pull some of the paint off as well.