Not If I Save You First

twenty-seven | blackhat hacking

As Commander's little bitch, I'd assume that he's miserable without her.

I couldn't listen to the banter any longer. I glanced around and saw that Archer was the only person not in the room. Our apartment is locked tighter than a bank vault, so there were only so many places that Archer could be hiding.

I went to the kitchen and saw him vice-gripping the kitchen sink. "You'll crack the sink if you keep squeezing that hard," I said, not meaning to scare him as much as I did. Archer looked at me with tears in his eyes and a devastating amount of vulnerability. "What's going on?"

"Juliet ... I think I know who she is," Archer sighed.

"Tell me," I said, prying the answer from Archer's brain. He opened his mouth, before snapping it shut like a Venus flytrap. He's hesitant to tell me his thoughts. "Archer." I moved closer to him, brushing my fingers against his wrist. "Tell me who you think she is."

"My sister," Archer whispered. "Leila."

Cautiously, I grabbed Archer by his wrist and pulled him out of the kitchen. Everyone in the living room was distracted with giving Little Dean the 'your father is a bastard, don't listen to a word he says' speech, so they didn't notice us slipping past them.

I led him to my bedroom and shut the door. I leaned against my door, trying to wrap my brain around his idea. My breathing was shallow and desperate. How could I not know any of this? 

Frantic movements helped me to keep my brain organized. Rubbing my palms together, tapping my foot on the ground, and attempting to take sharp intakes of breath.

"Okay ... Okay," I said, taking a deep breath. "Before we loop everyone in, I need you to tell me why you think that this mystery bitch is your sister."

Archer nodded, thinking before he spoke. He needed to articulate his answer before speaking. If he didn't give me a perfect answer, then I can't bring this information to Grayson.

"When he was talking about being in love, he said 'take it from someone who fell in love with the daughter of my friends.' My parents and your parents were his only friends," Archer explained. His explanation sounds utterly ridiculous in terms of a theory. I need proof. "My sister traveled all her life. She's been traveling since she was a teenager. He called her a nomad."

"What exactly can you tell me about your sister?" I asked.

Other than the dreadful fact that I had no idea she existed. This is impossible. Grayson and I went through all the files and documents about the Hawthorne's ... Maya Hawthorne gave birth once. Once! A baby boy on October 31st. That's Archer. I know for a fact that Maya Hawthorne didn't give birth to any more children prior to or after Archer's birth.

"Not a lot," Archer sighed. "I barely know anything about her."

"Archer ... I need you to be absolutely sure," I said, trying to say this is a way that doesn't sound harsh. I'm generally a rude and agitated person, but Archer isn't making this conversation easy. "Are you sure that you have a sister named Leila?"

Archer's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. He huffed before turning on his heel and leaning against my bedroom wall. He tapped his fist against the wall, without punching my wall.

Taking a second to compose himself, he turned around to face me. "Of course I'm sure! Do you think I'm stupid enough to not know that I have a sister?"

"A minute ago you said that you don't know anything about her," I said. I took a step towards Archer and went past him to my desk. I picked up a stack of files. "I don't know if I can say anything to surprise you anymore," I said, dropping the stacks in his hands. "But I've been researching and hacking into the lives of your parents for months. There's nothing that I don't know about them and according to these files, your mother only gave birth once."