Chapter 37
Chapter
Thirty-Seven
ARCHIE
T he room was silent, but it was a silence so loud it was deafening.
Frankie's words hung in the air like a challenge, a dare, and a plea all rolled into one.
Tension radiated off each of my friends, and they had to be wrestling with the same thoughts I was.
How do we make this work? How could we not screw this up?
I looked at Frankie, and for a moment, I saw the vulnerability in her eyes. She wasn’t just asking us to take her to Homecoming. She was asking us to be okay with sharing her. It was a big ask.
While none of us expected this, here we were. I couldn’t help but feel a strange mix of excitement and trepidation. Agreeing to share her now didn’t mean a permanent state. It was a door that I’d leaned on for years finally opening.
"Frankie," I said, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside me. "You know we'd do anything for you, right?"
She nodded, a small, almost hesitant movement.
"Then let's figure this out," I continued. "Together. Because if you want to go to Homecoming with all of us, then that's what we'll do. But we need to be clear about what that means."
I glanced at Jake, Bubba, and Coop, each of them nodding in agreement. They were on board, but I could see the questions in their eyes. They were wondering, just like I was, how we did make this work without hurting each other or Frankie.
Jake, though, he looked away, a flicker of something—resentment? jealousy?—crossing his face. I couldn’t blame him. He’d made his bed at the party and gotten himself tossed. It wasn’t going to be easy on him.
Oh well.
"Okay," Frankie said, her voice a little stronger now. "So, what does that mean? How do we do this?"
I leaned back in my chair, trying to gather my thoughts. "It means we need to talk. Really talk. About what we want, what we're willing to do, and what we're not. It means we need to be honest with each other, even if it's hard."
Jake cleared his throat, his voice tight. "I agree. We need to lay everything on the table. No secrets, no hidden agendas. If we're going to do this, we do it right."
Bubba nodded, his expression serious. "And we need to respect each other. Frankie, you need to know that you're in control here. If at any point you want to stop, we stop. No questions asked."
Coop grinned, but there was a hint of nervousness in his eyes. "I'm in. Let's make this work. But Frankie, you need to be sure. This isn't something we can take lightly."
Frankie took a deep breath, her eyes scanning each of our faces. "I'm sure. I want this. I want to go to Homecoming with all of you. But I also want to make sure we're all on the same page. No one gets hurt, and no one feels like they're being left out."
I reached across the table and took her hand, gave it a gentle squeeze. "We're all in this together. We'll figure it out, Frankie. But we need to be patient and open with each other. This isn't going to be easy, but nothing worth having ever is."
Jake shifted in his seat, his jaw tight. "You sure about this, Frankie? Because once we start down this path, there's no turning back."
Frankie met his gaze, her expression steady. "I'm sure, Jake. But I need to know that you're sure too. This isn't just about me; it's about all of us."
I bit back the advice to tell Jake to shut up and take the offer. She was letting him back in, he’d be an idiot to turn it down. Still, I kept that to myself. If he cut himself out, one less person to worry about.
At the same time, I didn’t want Frankie hurt by that rejection.
Jake held her gaze for a long moment before nodding, but the tension in his shoulders kept them rigid. He wasn’t fully on board, and that was going to be a problem.
Bubba spoke up, his voice calm but firm. "We'll make it work, Jake. We just need to communicate and be honest with each other. No one said this would be easy, but we can do it."
Coop chimed in, his grin widening. "Hey, think of all the fun we'll have planning this thing. It's going to be epic!"
Frankie smiled, a small, tentative curve of her lips, and it was like the sun coming out after a storm. "Thank you. All of you. I know this is a lot to ask, but I couldn't imagine doing it with anyone else."
And there it was—the trust, the hope, and the promise of something new and exciting.
We're standing on the edge of something unknown, and it was both thrilling and terrifying.
But as I looked around the table at my friends and the girl who has captured all our hearts, I understood the reality that we had to be ready to take this leap.
"Let's do this," I said, my voice filled with determination. "Together."
Jake leaned forward, his elbows on the table, and fixed Frankie with a serious look. "Frankie, what about Frenchy? Does this mean you're done with him?"
Frankie's eyebrows shot up, and she looked taken aback. "Mathieu? Why are you bringing him up now?"
Jake's expression is tight, almost defensive. "I just want to know where I stand. If we're all in this together, does that mean we're all exclusive now? Or are we still seeing other people?"
The room went quiet again, the tension ratcheting up another notch. Valid question or not, I wanted to slug Jake. Uncertainty crept back into Frankie’s eyes as she considered her response. That it took her time to answer was an answer.
"I... I don't know, Jake," she admitted, her voice soft. "I haven't really thought that far ahead. I just know that I want to go to Homecoming with all of you, and I want us to figure out how to make that work."
"Maybe we should take this one step at a time.” Bubba took the reasonable route. “We can figure out the Homecoming thing first, and then see where we all stand after that."
Coop nodded in agreement. "Yeah, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We've got enough on our plates with Homecoming. We can cross that bridge when we come to it."
"Fine. But I want to know where I stand. If I'm in or out." Jake wasn’t convinced but he didn’t push the issue.
Frankie reached across the table and took Jake's hand, giving it a squeeze. "You're in, Jake. We're all in this together. But we need to be patient and work through this as a group. Okay?"
He nodded but the hesitation was still there in his eyes. This wasn’t going to be easy, and Jake's reluctance was just the first of many hurdles we’d have to overcome. But for now, we were all in, and that was what mattered.
If Jake kicked himself out the door later?
Well, his loss.
Archie: Alright, let's hash this out. Frankie wants to go to Homecoming with all of us. Thoughts?
Jake: I don't know, man. It's a lot to take in. And what about Frenchy? Is Frankie done with him?
Coop : She answered that. We need to trust her.
Bubba: I think we need to respect Frankie's decision. If she wants to go with all of us, then that's what we do. No questions asked.
Coop: I'm down for whatever Frankie wants. But Jake's right, we need to know where we stand with other people.
Archie: I agree. We need to have an honest conversation about exclusivity. But for now, let's focus on making Homecoming work. We can figure out the rest later.
Jake: I just don't want to get my hopes up and then have her pull away again. You know?
Bubba: I get that, Jake. But we can't let our fears hold us back. Frankie's being brave by putting herself out there like this. We owe it to her to meet her at least halfway.
Coop: Exactly. And think about it—going to Homecoming with Frankie and the rest of us? That's gonna be epic.
Archie: Coop's right. She wants Homecoming. We need to make this count, because if we fuck this up, I don’t know how many more chances she’ll give us.
Jake: She’s already giving me another chance.
Bubba: Yes, she is. We have to be on the same page. We need to communicate and be honest with each other. No one said this would be easy, but we can do it.
Coop: And hey, think of all the fun we'll have planning this thing. It's gonna be legendary!
Archie: Remember, no pressure on Frankie. She's in control, and we respect that.
Jake: Got it. Let's make this work.
Archie: I’ll take care of the limo…
The house was quiet, the kind of quiet that settled in after a storm.
I was still in the living room, the soft glow of the lamp casting long shadows across the floor.
I didn’t usually bother to linger down here.
I had my own rooms and a whole wing of the house.
But Jeremy was out for the evening and I was flipping through photos from the locked file on my phone.
So many pictures and moments spent with Frankie.
The weight of the evening's conversation with her and the guys still hung heavy in the air.
The tension that echoed after the involved the awareness of having to rely on the guys to not fuck anything up, while at the same time—a part of me kind of hoped they would.
I was in this for the long haul. I was playing to win.
So if they screwed their chances, I would do everything to make sure she kept me as the ally, the one she wanted—the one who would always be there for her.
The front door opened, and in walked Edward, my father.
He was a tall man, my mirror image in so many ways, with a presence that commands attention.
There was a coldness in his eyes, a distance that had become all too familiar.
When his gaze landed on me, a flicker of something—guilt, maybe?
—appeared in his eyes. Yet it was gone before I could fully register what it meant.
"Edward," I say, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside me. I refused to call him "Dad." Not anymore. Not after everything.
He nodded, his expression unreadable. "Archie. How was your evening?"
I shrugged, not wanting to get into it. "Fine. Just hanging out with the guys."
Edward set his briefcase down on the entry table then crossed into the room, his footsteps echoing slightly on the hardwood floor. He didn’t pause until he reached the wet bar where he poured himself a drink. "And Frankie? How is she?"
I tensed at the mention of her name, a protective instinct surging through me. Frankie was off-limits in this house, a safe haven from the toxic dynamics that rule here. "She's good," I said, my voice tighter than I intended. "Why do you ask?"
Edward paused, then turned. His eyes met mine for a long moment. "No reason. Just making conversation."
Lie.
It never changed. He always lied.
This new one just hung in the air between us, thick and heavy. He was banging Frankie’s mother without a thought for how that might affect her. I clenched my jaw, pushing down the anger that threatened to boil over.
"Well, if that's all, I'm going to head upstairs," I said, standing. "I've got some stuff to take care of."
Edward nodded, a small, almost imperceptible movement. "Sure thing, son. Goodnight."
Not flinching at his use of “son” had taken me time to perfect.
I barely even noticed it now. I turned and walked away, each step taking me further from the tension in the room.
At the top of the stairs, I glance back down.
Edward stood by the window, his back to me, his shoulders slumped slightly.
For a moment, he seemed almost defeated, a far cry from the powerful, commanding figure he usually presents.
I shook my head, pushing the thought away. I can't afford to feel sorry for him, not when he was the one causing all this pain. Not when Frankie could get caught in the crossfire.
Before I could turn to head deeper down the hall to my wing, the front door opened again. This time, it was my mother, Muriel. Her heels clicked sharply on the floor, a staccato rhythm that matched the tension in her voice as she called out to Edward.
"Edward, we need to talk," she said, her tone sharp, demanding. I hadn’t realized she was due back. Not like either of them ever read me into their schedules. At this point? I would rather stay out of it. No way this wasn’t planned. They avoided each other with almost surgical precision.
Edward’s response was muffled, inaudible. I could only imagine the storm that was about to break, the emotional shrapnel that would fly in every direction. In the middle of it all, Frankie, blissfully unaware of the storm brewing around her.
I needed to protect Frankie, to keep her safe from all of this. Whatever it took, I’d make sure she didn’t get hurt. Even if it meant continuing to keep secrets, even if it meant lying. She deserved better than this, better than them.
She probably deserved a hell of a lot better than me, but I was selfish. I refused to let go.
With a final glance down the stairs, I headed to my room, the weight of the evening settling heavily on my shoulders. As I closed the door behind me, I glanced down at the picture of her on my phone and made a promise.
No matter what happened, no matter how bad it got, I’d be there for Frankie. I’d be her rock, her safe harbor in the storm. And together, we’d weather whatever came our way.
With or without the others.
They were my friends, but she’d always been my forever.