• AMALIA •
"Amalia." My father says as he walks into the living room. He's wearing one of his nice suits, and he looks very clean. Not that he's dirty normally or anything. He just looks like he put a lot of effort into the way—
I gasp.
"Are you going on a date?"
"What? No." He replies quickly. "I'm just going out. I'll be back soon."
"Where are you going?" I ask.
"Nowhere."
I grin. "Mhmm."
"Bye, baby." He says, leaning down to kiss my cheek.
"Bye. Have fun on your date."
"That's not where I'm going." He says as he walks out of the living room. A few moments later I hear the door open and close.
I climb off the couch and run upstairs, into Mason's room. He's staying the night again, and Jenna is beside him.
"Mason!"
"What?"
"Dad's going on a date!" I exclaim, jumping up and down.
"Yeah, I know."
I scowl, pausing. "He told you?"
"Mhm."
"He didn't tell me." I say, putting my hand on my hip and leaning to one side. I begin to move my feet, shuffling from side to side.
"Then how do you know?"
"I guessed." I reply. "Wait, why did he tell you and not me?"
"You get excited easily."
My jaw drops open. "No I don't!"
"You're literally dancing."
I pause, stopping my movement. "Whatever. Bye, Jenna."
I turn and leave. When I'm almost by my bedroom, Mason yells: "shut my door!"
I drag myself back over and slam it. I successfully return to my bedroom this time. I grab my phone off the nightstand and turn it on, clicking on Xander's contact.
He answers on the second ring. "Hey, Amalia—"
"Hi, bitch."
"What?"
"You heard. You better give Archer that job, or I'll fuck you up."
He laughs. "Is that right?"
"Righter than a correct answer." I mumble.
"Huh?"
"It doesn't matter!" I exclaim. "If you don't give Archer that job, I'll steal all the plates in your restaurant. And guess what? You can't serve food without plates!"
His chuckle fills the speaker again.
"You think I'm joking? Grayson and Cole taught me how to fight. I'll kick your ass."
He doesn't stop laughing. I frown.
"You laugh like a chicken. Give him the job or feel my wrath." I say.
I end the call.
There's a knock at the door then, but the person on the other side doesn't wait before coming in. Ally smiles at me, but she looks sad.
"Hey, you okay?" I ask.
She shakes her head.
My eyebrows crease in concern. "What's the matter?"
She closes the door and runs over to me, her bottom lip beginning to wobble as her eyes water. She jumps onto my lap, and I wrap my arms around her in a hug. "What's wrong, Ally?"
"My dad is a meanie!" She exclaims.
"What? What happened?"
"He picked me up from school." She whispers. "I told him I was supposed to go to Archer, but he picked me up and made me go. Then when we got to his home he made me go to sleep."
"What happened next? You can tell me."
She sniffles. I hold onto her tighter, almost protectively. "I woke up when A-Archer came to get me. He carried me out into the hall but then my dad was there. I pretended to be asleep because I was afraid.
"Then h-he said th—that it was our fault that my mum and him aren't together. And then h-he punched Archer. And then he ran out."
My eyes widen. "Oh, Ally." I whisper. She sobs against my shoulder.
"W-was if my f-fault?"
"No, of course it wasn't." I say. "It wasn't you or Archer. You're both great. Your dad is just a dick—a horrible person."
She wraps her arms around my neck. "I don't think Archer's very happy."
"Why don't I go talk to him and you can stay with Petal and look after her for me?" I suggest.
She nods, wiping a tear off her face. She climbs off my lap and over to Petal as I stand, making my way out of my room and toward Archers. I knock on the door, only entering when I gain his permission.
"Hi." I say.
He smiles at me. "Hey."
I close the door and walk over to him. I sit next to him on the bed. "Ally—she told me what happened."
Now that I know to look for it, I can see the bruising by his eye. I frown when he furrows his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"She said what happened with your dad. She was upset." I explain.
His jaw hardens. "It's fine."
"It's not fine." I whisper softly. Am I saying the wrong things? I don't know how to help him. Do I tell my dad and ask him to do something? But Archer hasn't asked me to, and I don't want him to think I'm overstepping a boundary. "You can talk to me."
He shakes his head. "It's fine, Amalia."
I shuffle over to him again, then climb onto his lap so I'm straddling him. I wrap my arms around him in a hug, and his strong arms immediately lock around my waist.
He rests his forehead on my shoulder. I start playing with his hair, and neither of us talk for a while until he looks up at me. His eyes are clouded with tears. One falls down his cheek, so I lean over and kiss it away.
"Your dad seems like a dick." I say.
His lips tilt up a little. "He is."
"My dad has already started to organise some help for your mother." I whisper. "Hopefully she'll get better soon. You know she loves you, right?"
He nods.
I smile and kiss his cheek. There isn't another tear there, I just think that he needs it.
"Is your eye okay? It's bruising."
"It's fine." He says.
"Are you sure? I'm not a nurse or anything—well, obviously." I laugh. "I'm sixteen. I'm not old enough. I didn't even pick health and social care for a-levels, or even GCSE—"
"Amalia," he says, voice filled with amusement. "I'm fine."
"Okay." I say. "Oo! Wanna see what I learnt today?"
"Sure." He replies.
I climb off his lap and motion for him to stand up too. He does. In one swift motion I grab his hand, go on my tippy toes to wrap it around his neck and turn him around, pushing him onto the bed. He falls, his arm pinned behind his back, and I smirk to myself.
"Fucking. Bam." I say as I lean on him.
I let him go, and he turns to me with wide eyes. "How did you learn that?"
"Grayson and Cole taught me. They've been putting me in headlocks and throwing me over their crusty shoulders all day. It's so annoying. I'm gonna use their moves against them one day and kick both their asses. At the same time. Blindfolded and with my hands tied behind my back."
He laughs and sits down. I sit beside him.
I turn to him. "Do you want me to see if my dad can help with your dad?"
"No, it's okay. Your family has already helped me enough." He says.
"But what if he takes Alexandra again?"
He doesn't have a response for that. He looks down at the floor, eyebrows furrowed a little bit. "I don't know. I'll get her again?"
"Archer." I say. "Do you want me to see if my dad can help?" I ask again.
Slowly, he nods. "Yes please."
I smile. "Okay. I will."
"Do you want to stay in here again?" He asks nervously.
My smile widens as I nod. "Yes. I think Alexandra is staying in her own room tonight, too."
"Are you coming to school tomorrow?" He asks me.
"That's the plan." I say.
"Okay." He replies. "Me too."
My phone begins to ring then. I answer it, seeing Cole's name flash across the screen. I put it up to my ear. "Hey, Cole—"
"Amalia." He sounds like he's been crying. Why does he sound like he's been crying?
"Yeah?" I reply.
"Dad was in a car accident. We're at the hospital. Can you get here, or does someone need to come get you?"
My eyes widen as my hand begins to tremble. Tears fill my eyes, and I think I hear Archer say my name before my phone drops out of my hand.
•
Somehow, Archer gets me into his car. Somehow, he gets me to the hospital. Somehow, I get out. Somehow, Archer leads me up to the third floor. Somehow, I walk over to my brothers and grandparents. Somehow, I end up collapsing into my grandfathers arms and breaking down.
He sits me on his lap like he used to when I was little and holds me to him tightly. Rocking me back and forth, he presses kisses into my hair and assures me it'll be alright.
"Shh, baby." He whispers, rubbing his strong hand up and down my back. "It's okay." He adds.
I shake my head, my whole body trembling. "Wh—what's going on with—with him?"
"They're taking real good care of him, honey."
"Is he g-gonna be okay?"
"I'm sure he'll be fine, baby." My grandad whispers.
An alarm begins to go off then, and doctors and nurses flood down the hallway and into my dads room. My eyes widen as I stand up, trying to peek through the window, but my brothers are already looking through it. I push past them, but as I'm about to look through the glass Xander steps in my way.
"What—what are you doing? Move."
"Go sit back down, Amalia." My older brother says, his voice cracking.
"No!" I exclaim. I shove him to the side. I audibly gasp when I see what's inside the hospital room.
They're pumping electricity into my dad. The heart rate monitor is very dull, and there's an oxygen mask over his face. I turn to my grandad as more tears flood out of my eyes.
I shouldn't have looked.
My grandad walks over to me and wraps me up in another hug, pressing my head against his chest so I'm not able to look again.
"He—he's gonna die, isn't he?" I say, looking up at him. "M-my dad is gonna d-die."
"Don't say that, baby. You know your dad's gonna fight to stay for all of you." He says.
I walk over to the chairs and bring my knees up to my chest, exhaling one small breath after another. I see Archer advance toward me from the corner of my eye, Ally behind him. I didn't know they were still here. I assumed they left, though I didn't really think about it. All I can think about right now is my dad.
He sits in the chair next to me and wraps his arms around my shoulders. I lean my head onto his chest and curl up. He lets me use him as a pillow as the sounds of hospitals and alarms buzz around me. I clench my eyes tightly shut to block it out, but it's still there.
My dad was in a car accident.
He's in the hospital.
No one knows if he'll be okay.
My dad can't leave me. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have him in my life. He's my best friend. He always helps me and he was one of the first people who showed me what it was like to really be loved.
I suddenly think of every moment we've had and wonder if I took it all for granted. What was the last thing I said to him?
Have fun on your date!
That's not where I'm going.
I sob.
Archer continues to hold me as memories of my dad flash through my mind: him holding me every time I'm upset, him braiding my hair most mornings before school in year eight, him making a homemade meal most nights. Did I ever thank him for everything he's done for me? What if I never get the chance to tell him how much he means to me and how much I love him more than anything in the world?
What if I never get to talk to him again?