© 2015 by Nique Joaquin. All rights reserved.
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Archer's apartment is a mess. There's broken pieces of glass on the floor, papers litter the place, and there are glasses with foul smelling liquor everywhere.
"Archer, what happened?" I ask, worried.
"It's... I don't want to talk about it yet... Sorry." He says in a weak voice as he runs a hand through his hair.
"...Okay." I say as I make my way past the trashed floor. "Is your bedroom clean?" I asked.
"It... should be. I haven't been in there unless it was to change." He says and I sigh.
"You don't even look like you've had a clean shower. Come." I say as I take his arm and lead him up the stairs to his room.
His room is clean and the bed looks so creaseless that I worry about where he's been and what's caused it.
"Shower. Now." I scold and Archer chuckles softly.
"I don't really feel like it-"
"Shut up and shower," I say. "Otherwise, I'm going to go home. I am not spending the night here with you like this."
"You're spending the night?" He asks.
"It's 11, Archer. Why did I even come here if I was just going to go home?" I asked rhetorically. "Now go shower. I'm gonna go steal a shirt from you for the night." I say and Archer nods.
"Okay." He says and I sigh as I watch him make his way to the bathroom. I quietly make my way to his walk-in closet and pull open a drawer to grab a shirt.
I slip into a plain white shirt, glad that I decided to wear leggings today. I folded my clothes and set them aside, just as I was going to leave, I noticed that Archer's phone was somehow set up on a tripod by the counter along with my bracelet... I arched a brow. I quickly went by the door to listen in on the shower. It was still running and I immediately closed the door to the closet and sighed in relief when I realized that Archer's phone... doesn't have a passcode.
I check on his camera roll and find a long video- and I mean long. It's around an hour long.
I press play and put it on full volume.
Archer is standing in front of a mirror and sighing.
"Okay, okay... Shít. Umm... okay." He says nervously before clearing his throat and looking at the mirror.
"Hey... Darcy... I am so... sorry for... crap. That sounds bad." Archer runs a hand through his hair before shaking his head and starting over.
"Darcy. I called you because I wanted to say that I was sorry for trying to... Damn it." He says, before putting both his hands on the edge of the counter.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come across as an ässhole. I was just trying to get some... transparency.... Crap. Seriously Arch? Transparency?" He hisses at himself.
I watch as Archer frustratedly looks around on the counter. He picks up the bracelet and groans.
"Damn it. I got this. Come on..." He mutters to himself.
"Hey Darce... I am so sorry about what I did. I didn't mean any of it. I didn't mean to look like I didn't trust you. That... wasn't how it was supposed to come out... I... I said things that I didn't want to because I was angry. You were avoiding me like the plague and... shít... I... I thought I was right. I thought that you were one of those people I warned you about. The type that used people for... advantages.
I am so sorry that I had you investigated. I'm... not even sure what brought it on. I think it's the fact that Keaton and I have been talking. It's nothing for you to really worry about- it's just that, he's my brother, and I have to listen to him too. I didn't mean for it to... affect me so far. I talked to Keaton after you called in about staying over at Clara's. He... I know I can't blame him but... we just started to put all our doubts together... and then all of a sudden I was drinking. And all of a sudden, I had the urge to confront you about it but... you weren't home and you were with Lawrence. And I thought that you were... that you were gonna use me...
I... I can't explain it very well. I just... sometimes I can feel myself sink into this terrible feeling. I hate that I'm doing this and yet I can't help doubting people- and... it's not just you. I doubt Lawrence, I doubt my friends... damn I doubt everyone. Money changes things, you know? Anyways... I should stop... rambling. I doubt you'll ever even-"
The door swings open and I jump.
"Jesus Christ, Archer, knock!" I scream. I also turn a shade of red... Archer is wearing a single towel around his waist. Boys.
"It's my house. Why do I have to knock?" He says with a chuckle before his eyes widen. "...Is... that... my... phone?" He asks.
"Uh... no?" I say, in a stupid attempt to save my soul. "I totally was not watching this practice vid you were filming." I mutter in a string of words.
"Give it back, Darcy." He says as a warning. I see a mischievous look pass his eyes as well as a hint of red tinge his cheeks.
"Smooth talking there, Mr. A. Love the whole stuttering thing." I tease and Archer immediately lunges for me. I dodge him and squeal as I run around a large counter. "Archer, get dressed!" I scream.
"Not until you give that back." He warns and I roll my eyes. He is on the other side of the counter and the door is right behind me, I glance at it and Archer narrows his eyes at me. "Don't. Even. Think. About. It." He says and I stick my tongue out at him as I run for the door.
I'm barely even a foot out when I'm grabbed and I fall down onto the floor, phone in hand, and... Archer pinning my arms down in nothing but a towel.
"Phone. Now. Darce." He says and I roll my eyes.
"Get off of me you oaf."
"Phone."
"Uh, why don't you just grab it?" I ask. "Kind of underneath superman here." I say, trying not to look anywhere other than Archer's face. He smirks.
"I like us like this." He says as he puts his face closer to mine.
"I like you clothed, thank you very much." I say and he smirks.
"I hope that changes."
"Oh shut the fùck up." I say as I squirm underneath him. "Get off me, this floor is cold." I whine.
"I like my view." He says and I roll my eyes.
"This is not how I like mine." I say and Archer rolls his eyes.
"Hm." He hums before lowering himself down onto me. His face ends up right at the crook of my neck and I shiver when I feel his breath there.
I gasp when I feel his lips there.
"Archer what the-"
"Sshhh..." Archer says as he places a finger on my lips and very quickly kisses his way up from my neck to my jaw. "I'm sorry..." He whispers.
"I get it. I sort of watched the video." I say, rolling my eyes, and he smirks but continues to kiss his way around my face until he finally gets to my lips.
"Guessing we'll talk later?" He asks and I sigh.
"You know we're talking later." I say and he smirks as he swoops down to capture my lips with his. He immediately pulls away and I groan as I push against his chest.
"Up we go." I mutter and Archer chuckles as gets off of me. I sit up and Archer holds his hand out. "What?" I ask. He arches a brow and I groan.
"Fiiiine." I whine as I hand the phone over to him.
"Great. I'll delete that video and we can talk after I get dressed." He says and I pout by nod my head as we both get up and he disappears into his closet.
I sigh as I make my way over to the bed and sit down. A thousand scenarios run through my head. As well as a thousand questions. For example, what the hell happened to his apartment? My phone buzzes in my pocket and I quickly grab it. It was a message from Xavier- a long one at that. I read through it quickly and sighed... Not exactly what I was going for... but close enough. I thought to myself.
"Alright. Let's talk." Archer's voice says, pulling me out of my thoughts. I nod my head as he sits beside me.
"Okay, let's start with my question. Why did you have Xavier investigate me and my financial records?" I asked. Archer sighed and ran a hand through his damp hair.
"I just wanted to make sure you were who you said you were... I told you that I had issues. The world I live in is hard, and I wanted to make sure that you weren't someone who would use me." Archer explains, I take a deep breath. It's not really hard to understand, he'd already told me this before- in the form of 'I don't wanna meet you yet because my world sucks' notes from back when he labeled himself Mr. A.
"Okay... I'm trying to be open-minded here." I say with a sigh. "It's a bit hard for me to deal with trust issues Archer. You're not the only one with them." I explain.
"I get that- and I'm sorry if I ruined your trust. I didn't mean to come off that way. I just- You know what? Here." He says as he stands up and pulls out the drawer of the bedside table closest to him. He takes out a manila envelope sealed in thick plastic and hands it to me. "This, is a compilation of all the data I asked for... I... I haven't opened them. They're sealed shut. I... I didn't want to upset you anymore than I already have." He says, carefully selecting his words.
I look at the sealed plastic and play with the corners. I sighed to myself as I tore the plastic open. The manila envelope was still sealed as well, and I slipped my long fingernails through a gap and tore it open as well.
"You don't have to-" Archer begins, but I stop him with my hand on his.
"We have to," I say, "If we want to put this behind us, I want to make sure everything is crystal clear between us. No more trust issues on this- on money, myself, my family, no more. Okay, Archer? Any problem you have with me, you talk to me about." I say, a harsh edge in my tone of voice.
"Okay." He says simply, nodding as he replies.
The first document was my mother's background and family finances.
"My mother has nothing to really worry about. She has one last payment to make before her debt to the bank is paid. She's getting re-married soon, she's happy, and I know her new husband, Gavin, will make her happy too." I say with a shrug, Archer smiles.
"I'm sure he will." He comments and I nod.
The next one was a quick file on me.
"Well, this is easy. I'm an all-around student that's got above-average grades-ish and loves being a busy-body. I have interests in the make-up business- although I have hopes in law. I have a bit of an issue with my dad- but we're... okay- since I barely talk to him." I say, slowly decreasing the tone of my voice, Archer nods and I swallow a dry lump in my throat as I move on to the next document.
I sigh and I feel Archer move closer to me.
"Okay... so... this here is my dad." I say as I flip to my dad's resume photo. He was a chubby man with a kind smile.
"I could tell you all about the paper things like his salary and stuff. But I'll tell you why I'm not... close to him." I say and Archer looks at me and I give him a sad smile. "In fifth grade, mom found out he was having an affair... with a guy. That was when the fights began. It got better after but... that was the first time he actually tried to hit me- and I had no idea why he wanted to either. It didn't happen again.
My mom confronted him that same year and it sort of died down... It popped back up late in 6th grade and I almost cried when they started shouting at each other at home too. All of a sudden... dad was no longer making enough money to really 'provide'. We were only lucky the school paid for most of our bills- other than bank bills of course. My mom found out he was having another affair again... She cried just about every night. I remember both of them being missing sometimes." I say sadly, pausing to stop the water that had started to well up in my eyes. Archer pats my back and rubs it in slow motions, calming me down.
"Again... my mom confronted him. They fought- they stopped, and all of a sudden, while I was away, I came back to a quiet household. The whole thing had died down again- but there was no turning back. Mom slept in my room with me and dad was alone. The money problems never stopped. He started blaming my mom for broken objects, missing items, and eventually started backstabbing her.
But my mom and I held through it. At the beginning of 9th grade, my dad became distant. To the point that he only talked to us to give us commands- like clean the house, cook dinner, set the table... Then he would put comments. 'You're too fúcking lazy', 'Why can't you be useful and work?'... All that stuff." I say, gulping down the other lump forming in my throat.
"Well... to just put this short... my dad slowly but surely destroyed my mom's reputation with his family. Then he tried to destroy her reputation with me. My dad was... and... is still a money-obsessed guy. He has what he wants now... he makes a living for himself, spends all his money on himself... all that stuff. I never want to go back to him- and I don't mean that lightly. I can't ever really just look at him as a loving father- I just remember that he is capable of so much... pain. Pain for his family for something a small as money." I say with a sigh.
"So... that's that." I conclude and Archer sighs as he wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me close.
"I'm sorry." Archer says as he reaches for my hands... which are shaking. I let out a weak laugh.
"You know? Those words have never even left my dad's mouth unless it was sarcastic..." I say as the tears well up in my eyes again. "And it's stupid and annoying and fills me with so much anger that I feel it eat me up sometimes. My time here in New York has helped me change that- I barely ever had the time to let my anger consume me. But to be put in a situation where I can't be trusted just brings it all back." I say as I lean into Archer.
"I'm really sorry, Darcy." He says as he hugs me now, kissing the top of my head. I let him say soft apologies mixed in with reassuring words, it was something that I had needed ever since I was a kid, just to have someone be strong for me.
Because to be honest, no one can hold the whole world up by themselves... And my world has collapsed so many times that I'm too tired to put it all back together. So I left pieces behind, my father, the memories, the pain...
But I guess it was about time I sucked it up and put it back together.
Archer stays by me and comforts me for what seemed like hours but was only really an hour or so. After that, Archer kneels in front of me and stares right into my eyes.
"I promise, to never do something that betrays your trust again, okay? I'm not perfect, but I'll sure as hell try to avoid hurting you again, okay?" He says and I nod my head.
"I promise the same... So... I need to tell you what I made Xavier do." I say and Archer's eyes widen in surprise but he nods anyways. "When I saw him and he told me about what you were gonna do... I told him to talk with Gerald about a few things... I put my own holds on my contract by reducing certain benefits- so I rendered most of the credit cards and cash void until I made my decision... I wanted all of the cards void... but, your dad is a hard one to argue with- Xavier's updated me via text- about it and I was going to sign it tomorrow..."
"You don't have to do that." Archer says and I shake my head.
"I want to do it. I don't need the cash, Archer." I say as I hold my hands out to cup his face. "It's cheesy, I know. But all I want is who you are, I could care less if I got cash or not." I say with a shrug.
"I'm just hoping you feel the same way." I add and Archer smirks at me.
"Of course I do." He says with a smile as he kisses the inside of my left palm.
"Huh, then, Mr. A... I want you to tell me why the hell your apartment looks like it's been trashed." I say and Archer sighs.
"Can we talk about it in the morning? It's almost 1..." He whines and I roll my eyes.
"No way, I spilled my beans, you spill yours." I demand.
"Okay, okay... I have... extreme breakdowns sometimes. I thought I was over it- but I was just thinking about how much I'd fùcked up and... one moment I was sitting down and the next thing I knew, the room was spinning, my hands we shaking, and I was throwing things and breaking things out of frustration..." Archer says.
"Archer..."
"I know. It's a problem..." He says as he lets go of my hands to run a hand through his hair. "I'm visiting my psychiatrist tomorrow... Haven't seen that guy in a while." He says and I pull him to me so that his face is right in front of me.
"I'm sorry as well." I say and before he even opens his mouth to protest, I place a feather-light kiss on his lips.
"Tease." Archer says and I roll my eyes as he lowers me down onto the bed, kissing my lips and my neck several times before rolling to my left side.
"Are we okay now?" I asked, feeling my eyelids start to fall down.
"Yeah. We're okay- I'll make sure we're never not okay." Archer says and I give a weak laugh.
"Ha ha... Sure... thing..." I say as I drift off to sleep with Archer's arms around me and my arms around him.