this chapter is dedicated to uwannabeme123 and her blue balls <3
• AMALIA •
I wake up in an empty bed. I roll over, rubbing my eyes. It's a mistake, because my head starts hurting, so much so that I groan into my pillow. I make myself sit up, then look around. Where did Archer go?
"Archer!" I shout.
There's no response. I look out my window, finding that it's completely dark. I climb out of my bed, groaning from the pain in my stiff limbs. I walk out my room, down the hallway and to the bottom of the stairs.
No one is here.
"Dad?" I whisper. "Dad?"
"Amalia."
I spin around. Relief pours into me like an opened dam when I see Archer there. He furrows his eyebrows and reaches out for me, wordlessly pulling me into a hug. I lean into him, exhaling a heavy, slow breath.
"Where did you go?" I ask. "I woke up and you weren't there."
"Ally made me take her back to get some of her things." He tells me. "I didn't want to wake you up." He looks down at me. I glance away, but he puts his fingers under my chin and tilts my head up, making me meet his eyes again. "Sorry."
"It's okay." I whisper.
He smiles. Then he leans forwards and kisses my forehead. "You hungry?"
"A little." I admit. I'm surprised he can't hear my stomach rumbling.
"Okay." He replies. "I'll make you something."
"No, it's fine." I assure him. "I can."
He tilts his head, giving me a certain look that makes me sigh. I nod. "Okay. Could I just have some toast, please?"
He smiles. "Sure." His hand goes down to mine and he intertwines our fingers. He pulls me into the kitchen and guides me to sit on the counter. "How about pasta instead?"
"Okay." I whisper.
He nods and grabs some out of the cupboard. He boils water and then pours it into the pan with the pasta. He puts it on a boil before beginning to make a sauce.
"I didn't know you knew how to cook."
"I can only cook a few things. I wanna learn, though."
"Maybe you could ask Xander to teach you. I think he would." I say.
His shoulders stiffen. He looks up at me and pastes a smile on his face. "Yeah. Maybe." He walks over to the sink and begins washing the dishes. I shuffle down the counter, next to him, beside the sink.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"Nothing." He assures me as I grab a towel and begin drying each dish that he washes. Lightly, I kick his leg with my foot. He looks at me.
"Did Xander say anything to you?"
"No." He says.
I tilt my head. "Archer."
He lets out a small laugh. "I'm being honest, don't worry." He whispers. He finishes washing the dishes and I dry the last one before he leans on the counter beside me.
He moves a piece of hair from my face.
"Do you wanna stay in my room?" I ask. I feel like a teenager again, sneaking around at night and staying in one another's rooms.
"Sure." He says. He smiles. We keep talking until the food is done, then continue our conversation until I'm finished. He washes my dish before I can, then leads me up the stairs.
We go into my bedroom, and he guides me to lay in the bed before sitting beside me. His heavy arm wraps around my shoulders and I shuffle closer to him.
"I guess our date will have to be postponed." He says, smirking a little as he looks down at me.
I roll my eyes but smile. "I don't think my dad will want me to go anywhere for a little bit."
"Your dad, or you?"
I look away. I let out a small, shaky sigh.
"Fuck, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant.. if you're worried, you can talk to me about it."
"What if you hadn't taken Enzo with you?" I whisper. "He would've been there with me and he could've gotten hurt. Frankie could've taken him and I wouldn't have been able to do anything about it because I'm weak."
"You're not weak."
"I am." I whisper.
"You've just been in a car accident and could barely walk as it is." He reminds me. He searches my face and lets out a soft sigh. "Why did you lie and tell me your dad was coming? I could've stayed with you."
"I just wanted some time alone. Everyone had been coddling me too much and it made me feel like a baby." I whisper, embarrassed as the words leave my mouth because a few hours alone wasn't worth being beaten up. "I know, it was stupid. Especially while I knew Frankie was on the loose."
He leans back and I lean my head on his shoulder again. Within a few moments I fall asleep.
•
The next morning I wake up to the sound of a loud bang. My eyes fly open and I shoot up into a sitting position, furrowing my eyebrows when I see Mason standing beside my bed, banging two pot lids together.
"What are you doing?" I ask as Archer groans from beside me, his arm slipping from where it's wrapped around my waist.
"You have five seconds to get out of my sisters bed." Mason tells him.
"Mason!"
He bangs the pots again. Archer leaves, and I look up at him.
"The Hell is wrong with you?" I shout.
"You looked rather cosy for two people planning to get a divorce!" He replies.
"God, you're so nosy! Get out!" I go to stand, but he bangs the pots again. "Put those down!"
"Don't even think about getting out that bed." He warns.
"I'm an adult. I can do what I want. And I have to see my son."
"I'll go get him for you." He says. "Dad already made him some breakfast. Stay. Here."
He leaves, taking his pot lids with him. I sigh heavily and grab my phone from the bedside table. I find a message from our family group chat waiting for me there.
ELIJAH:
ELIJAH: Hannah went a bit overboard on the flowers.
My eyes water. Elijah visits the grave of his late wife at least three times a week with Hannah. He met Jasmine Doherty two years before she died. They fell in love quickly and got married when they found out she was pregnant with Hannah. Everything was amazing until she died in childbirth, leaving Elijah heartbroken and alone with a newborn daughter to take care of.
ME: I think it's beautiful.
I look over at the door when it opens. Mason walks in, my son in his arms. He sets him on the end of the bed and Enzo immediately crawls over to me, wrapping his little arms around my neck.
"Mama!" He exclaims excitedly.
I smile. "Hi, honey. How did you sleep?"
"Great!" He replies.
My smile widens.
"Come play, mama." He picks my hand up and giggles.
"Your mum needs to stay in bed because she's not well." Mason says. "Why don't we go play?"
"Mama play."
"We can play, honey. Why don't you go get your favourite toys and bring them in?" I suggest.
He nods quickly. I smile. Mason takes him out and returns a few minutes later with a bunch of Enzo's toys.
"I'll make you breakfast." Mason says.
"I'm not—" I cut myself off with a sigh as he leaves the room. I return my full attention to my son and sit up, smiling as he begins to play with his Toy Story figures.
"Mama, take." He says, holding Buzz Lightyear out to me. I take it from him and we play for about an hour. I take a small break when Mason brings me up breakfast, but I get right back at it.
"Mama." He drops his toys and crawls around the bundle of them between us, plopping himself down on my lap. He leans back on me, and I plant a kiss in his blonde hair. "Mama." He whines.
"What's wrong?" I ask softly.
He grabs my arm and wraps it around himself. I smile and wrap the other one around him, pulling him closer to me. I furrow my eyebrows, concern filtering into me when he begins to cry.
"Enzo." I whisper, "baby, what's the matter?"
"Mama." He chokes out. "Stay here. I stay here with you, mama."
"Okay. You can stay here. You can always stay with me."
He sobs again. I run my hands through his short hair before rubbing his little back. "Mama."
"Hm?"
"TV, mama." He whispers.
I smile. "Okay, honey." I turn the TV on. "What should we watch?"
"Doggy show."
I nod and put Paw Patrol on for him. He claps his hands and my lips tilt upwards at the corners. I lean back and he stays seated on my lap, his eyes following the screen. He giggles at something and my smile widens into a grin as I ruffle his hair.
•
Later that day, Silas, her husband Ramiro and their son Saint come for dinner. I'm still in my room, trapped here by Mason and my father when she knocks.
"Come in!"
She walks inside and I smile. "Hey." I say softly, my throat beginning to ache.
"Hi." She replies, stepping inside. Ramiro comes in after her, and for a moment I wonder where their son is until I remember the fact he and Enzo are obsessed with each other, and my son probably already has his cousin wrapped up with LEGO.
Ramiro holds a bouquet of roses up and my heart swells. My lips tilt up at the corners as he passes them to me. "You didn't have to do that." I say.
"Silas told me you have a liking for flowers. I hope roses are okay."
"They're perfect, thank you." I say. I'll put them in a vase later. For now, I set them beside me on the bed after smelling them.
Ramiro smiles back at me. I look between him and Silas before saying, "you know roses can live up to ten years? But some can live up to, like, fifty. Isn't that so—"
Silas cuts me off when she rounds the bed and wraps me up in a hug. I pause before easing into her, hugging her back with a slight furrow marring my brow.
"You always find a way to scare the hell out of me don't you?" She whispers softly.
"I'm okay." I respond.
I can literally feel her rolling her eyes. "That's totally believable." She says, running her hand through my hair. She pulls back and, with a small smile on her face I'm not sure she's aware she's wearing, says, "let's eat."
• ARCHER •
After I'm kicked out of Amalia's room, I decide to take Alexandra shopping for new things for school with the hope of getting her more excited for it. We're about to walk into a shop when she tells me she wants to eat first, so we turn around into a McDonalds instead. She gets nuggets, and I sit on my phone as she eats, texting Amalia.
AMALIA:
I smile.
AMALIA: I promised him we'd all play with his LEGO's later. Is that okay?
ME: Of course it is.
ME: Do you want me to get you anything while I'm out?
AMALIA: No thanks.
AMALIA: And that isn't code for please buy me another diamond necklace.
AMALIA: Clearly there was some confusion last time.
My lips tilt upwards into a smirk.
ME: Hmmm okay.
AMALIA: [rolling eyes emoji x3]
AMALIA: Have to go now. I'll see you later.
ME: Okay, bye.
When I set my phone down, I'm still smiling.