• ARCHER •
Ally stands in the doorway of the front door of Amalia's house as I walk outside carefully, over to my car. I pull Alexandra's bag out, as well as mine. We slept in my car last night; my mother has gone back to how she used to be.
I frown at the thought. There was no way I was taking Ally back to my fathers house, so my car was the only choice. She's small enough to be able to lay in the back seats, and I started applying for jobs yesterday. I need to be able to pay to support my little sister somehow.
At least tonight, when it's especially cold, we'll be able to stay with Amalia. I don't have the money really to be keeping the heating on right now.
I lock my car and walk back into the house, sighing. It's five o'clock.
Amalia said Alexandra could stay in her room, so I'm sleeping in one of their many guest bedrooms. That's where I take my little sister, and I grab out a pair of pyjamas and her favourite unicorn stuffed animal and pass it all to her.
"Can I go back to Amalia now? We were watching a movie!"
I get the feeling Amalia is upset with me; she hasn't spoken to me much ever since we returned from the park. But I haven't heard her say a lot to anybody, so perhaps she's just shaken about everything that happened at the park.
I hope she isn't mad at me.
I could handle when she didn't like me. I even got through her being mad at me long enough before I came to confront her. But her being mad at me? Knowing that I did something wrong to upset her?
I think I'd fucking die.
That's why I follow Alexandra out of the room and into Amalia's. She's laying on top of her duvet, and Ally runs to join her, jumping onto the mattress, making Amalia smile.
"Hey." I say.
Amalia snaps her head over to me. "Hi."
"How are you feeling?" I ask her.
"You sound like my brothers." She mumbles.
I frown. "I like you in a different way than your brothers do."
As Ally settles under the covers beside her, Amalia's eyebrows rise in surprise. My little sister snuggles right into her, and the way she wraps an arm around Ally makes me love her even more, because she likes Alexandra, and she and I are a package deal.
Amalia glances at Alexandra before returning those green eyes to me. "You wanna watch the movie with us?"
"Sure." I reply, a smile grazing my lips. I walk over to them, climbing over the duvet beside my little sister. I look at her over Ally's head, but she doesn't return my gaze, focusing hers on the laptop that's playing a movie.
• AMALIA •
I walk downstairs to get drinks. Archer offered to, but my legs hurt and I want to try stretch them.
It's six o'clock. My father is in the kitchen when I walk into it, making dinner. He smiles at me. "Hi, baby."
"Hey." I say quietly, grabbing a glass and filling it up with orange juice for Ally. I grab two Pepsi max's, one for me and one for Archer, even though he said he wasn't thirsty.
"Are Mason, Elijah and Xander still here?" I ask.
"Yeah, so's Louise and Jenna."
"Oh, yeah." I mumble. I wait a few seconds before asking, "what did you talk to Archer about?"
"Nothing important." He says.
I furrow my eyebrows but don't say anything else.
"Are you guys gonna eat upstairs?" My dad asks me.
"Yeah, if that's okay."
He smiles. "It's fine, sweetheart." He says softly. "You need anything else?"
I shake my head. He kisses my cheek, leaning over to me as he mixes something in the pan before I leave the kitchen, returning to my bedroom. I pass Ally her juice and Archer his Pepsi max. He frowns. "You didn't have to get me anything."
I shrug. "Might as well have. Yours is all gone."
"Amalia, do you like Archie?" Ally asks.
"Stop, Ally." Archer rolls his eyes.
"Because Archie likes you. He has you dancing as his Lock Screen."
"Alexandra."
A blush heats my cheeks as I turn to Archer. "Do you?"
"No." He says quickly.
"Show your phone, Archie!" Ally eggs on.
She snatches Archie's phone from his lap and giggles as she moves it away from his reach. She turns it on and shows me.
My blush spreads until I'm sure my entire face is red. Not only did he take pictures of me while I was dancing, but he put one as his lock screen.
I look over Alexandra's head at him, my eyes clouding with tears.
"I'll let you two talk." Ally says, wiggling her eyebrows and forcing a laugh out of me. She climbs over her older brothers legs, then walks out of the room.
• MASON •
I look over at the little girl who walks into the living room. She grins at me, and I smile back politely. Ally, her name is, and she's Archers little sister. They're staying here tonight, just like we all have to because of the icy roads.
"Hi!" Alexandra exclaims, drawing all of the attention in the room. She walks over and plops down beside Louise, who smiles at her.
"Hey!"
"Guess what I know!" Alexandra exclaims.
"What?" Louise asks.
Jenna tilts her head. "What do you know?"
She points at Xander. "Your sister likes my brother."
My eyebrows raise in surprise. Xander narrows his eyes slightly. "Is that right?"
"Mhmm." Alexandra responds. "They're in love."
"Are they?" Elijah asks.
"Yes." She replies, nodding. "He thinks she's pretty."
Jenna grins.
"Did he tell you that?" Louise asks. Alexandra nods. "Aw, that's so sweet!"
"I'm gonna be a bridesmaid at their wedding!" Alexandra exclaims.
"Amalia isn't allowed to get married until she's thirty." I say.
Alexandra frowns. "That's a long time away. Archer will be sad." She pulls her legs up so they're crossed and looks at Jenna and I. "Are you two married?"
"No." Jenna says, glaring at me.
I smile. "Nope. She gets on my nerves a lot."
She swats my arm, and I laugh. "I'm joking."
She rolls her eyes, and I can't help but smile as I think of the ring hidden in one of my drawers. I've wanted to make Jenna my wife ever since I met her a year ago, but I want the moment to be perfect. I want everything to be perfect. I want her to think back on it when we're older and smile. I want her to tell everyone we meet how I did it, and how she had to say yes.
Because she will say yes. I know Jenna like I know the back of my hand, and I know that she loves me just as much as I love her.
"Maybe Amalia will let you be a bridesmaid, Maiden."
Xander laughs.
"It's Mason." I mutter.
"Oops!" She leans back on a pillow as Jenna smiles, amused. "Hey, Mason?"
"Yeah?" I say.
"Do you know me and Archie are living in a car?"
I snap my head up to her. Everyone turns to look at her. Concern blooms in my chest. They're living in a car?
My eyes meet with both of my brothers.
Louise is the one to talk, though. "Why are you living in your car?"
"My mummy is sad again." She frowns. "She cries at night, and it makes me cry too. I don't like when she's upset."
"Why is your mum upset?" Louise asks softly.
"Because my daddy is with a whore."
Xander chokes on the drink he brings up to his mouth as my lips tilt up.
"That's what mummy calls her." Alexandra defends herself. "She said they ruined our lives." She looks up at Louise. "Do you think my life is ruined?"
"No, honey, not at all." My brothers girlfriend says. "Why don't you go live with your dad?"
"He threw a glass and it shattered everywhere, so Archer took me away."
I clench my fists.
"Does your dad get angry?" Elijah asks her softly.
Alexandra nods, her eyes watering. "He said Archie was selfish. But he isn't selfish. Archie is the best brother. Then he took me to live with mummy, but now she's always upset again. Archer was crying when we had to leave, but he said he was fine. I don't think he was fine, though. He was shouting, begging mummy to get out of bed. But she wouldn't. I think she was crying too."
Jenna turns to me, her eyes sparking with tears.
"I don't wanna go to my dad. He doesn't talk to me a lot, and his whore is annoying. I wish we lived in a place like this. You're all v-very nice."
My expression softens. I look at Elijah, and he seems to be thinking the same thing as me because he nods. "Why don't I go check to see if dinner's almost ready?" I suggest.
I stand and walk out, to the kitchen where my father is. "Hey, Mase." He says. "It's almost done—what's wrong?"
I recall it all to him, and by the end the dinner is forgotten and he's leaning on the counter, a sad and almost angry expression on his face. "They're living in the car?"
"That's what she said. And it makes sense now, how Archer had pyjamas for them both." I say.
He sighs. "I'll go try talk to him. Can you watch the food?"
"Yeah, sure."
• AMALIA •
I wait for a few moments until after Alexandra is gone before moving into her spot right beside Archer. With cloudy eyes, I grab his face and turn him to me, smashing my lips against his.
His eyebrows raise in surprise, but then his eyes shut and he returns the kiss, his tongue beginning to touch mine. He sets a hand on my waist as he brings me closer to him, and it travels around, then up my spine until he's cupping the back of my neck.
I groan into his mouth, bringing my hands up to his hair. I run my fingers through it, his soft brown hair brushing against them. He pulls me up so I'm straddling his lap again, and I can feel the blush heating my cheeks again, like they always do in his presence.
He has me as his lock screen. Maybe it's just a small thing, but it's a small thing that no one's ever done for me before. Frankie didn't even take a single picture of me or even look up from his phone as I was dancing. But Archer..
Archer did.
That thought has me bringing him as close as I can to me, wishing we were connected even more. He holds me to him, those muscles arms wrapped around me and making me feel so incredibly safe. Nothing can hurt me as long as he's here, hugging and kissing me and doing everything I could ever possibly want him to.
"Amalia—" He says.
I back away, my mind suddenly racing. Does he think this was a mistake? Does he not like me like that? Why the hell did I listen to a child on wether or not Archer likes me? For all I know, she could've just been teasing him.
"I'm sorry—"
"You don't have to apologise to me, ever. You know that." He says. He keeps me straddling him, his hand squeezing my waist comfortably. "Why sad you stop?"
"I thought you didn't want to." I whisper.
He laughs, but the sound lacks humour. "Of course I want to. It's all I've wanted for the past month, ever since I looked at you. I can never get you out of my head, Amalia. All I think about is you."
And then he's kissing me again. His lips connect with mine, and suddenly everything feels right.
"You're so beautiful." He whispers, wrapping my hand up in his. I lean down so I'm practically laying on top of him, then grab his face again, kissing him with so much eagerness it probably looks pathetic.
It's all I've wanted for the past month.
Now this will be all I'll ever dream of.