Chapter 14 – Betsy #2
“Yeah,” he chuckles, running his hand through his hair.
“Do you want to do my bra now, or wait a minute?” I ask.
He looks to the ceiling and groans. “It’s fine.
Just fuck,” he mutters, stumbling over his words.
It’s funny to see him stumbling over his words for a change.
I can’t contain the bubble of laughter that breaks free.
His gaze snaps to me. “Are you laughing at me, little gremlin?” He smirks, heat and amusement dancing in his eyes.
“I might be.” I chuckle.
“Turn around and let me help you get this fucking bra on. Jesus, I never thought I’d be saying those words,” he jokes.
I laugh. “Don’t worry about the bra; I will just wear a T-shirt. It will be easier,” I say as I point to the oversized tank he’s got out, thankful that he’s chosen that, as it’s another boiling day.
He grabs the tank and helps me put it on.
I feel the back of his knuckles brush along my skin as he pulls the top down. I turn around to face him. “Thank you.” I smile, my eyes flickering down to his crotch and seeing he’s still pitching a tent. “I will, um, leave you to get dressed. I can put your clothes in the dryer for you,” I suggest.
“Leave them; I will do it,” he says sharply.
I wince slightly and move around him to my dressing table and remove my contact lenses.
I left them in for far too long, and with the shampoo, my eyes need a rest. I remove them, blinking rapidly, and grab my glasses, putting them on.
I turn to face Archer watching me. “Overextended contacts and shampoo don’t go well,” I joke.
He doesn’t laugh. “Okay, well, I’m going to go downstairs.
Erm, feel free to have a shower. Borrow a T-shirt.
I’m sorry I don’t have any pants that will fit you,” I ramble on as I walk past him, feeling him watching my every movement.
I stop in the doorway and look over my shoulder at him.
“I will make us a coffee,” I state softly before walking down the stairs, leaving him clearly very aroused and half-naked in my bedroom.
Mor and Eden would have pounced on him by now.
I walk into the kitchen and see our plates still out, so I start cleaning up, scraping the plates and loading them into the dishwasher before I get us some fresh mugs from the cupboard. I reach up with my good arm to get the mugs.
“Fuck me,” Archer groans, making me jump and nearly drop the mug.
“What the hell?!” I snap.
He walks in, still wearing the towel around his waist, but thankfully, he’s no longer standing to attention.
He snatches the mug from my hand and places it on the counter.
“It’s just taken me nearly ten fucking minutes to get my dick to go soft, and then I walk in to find you like that,” he says angrily.
I frown, getting pissed off and annoyed at his tone. “Like fucking what?” I counter.
He groans. “Don’t start getting fiery with me now, or I will fuck you on that dining table.”
I blink up at him in shock, looking from him to the table. “I, I have no clue what you are on about.”
He scoffs a cynical laugh. “Your innocence is both seductive and fucking infuriating.”
I ignore the word ‘seductive’ and glare at him. “Infuriating?”
His lips twitch. “Why is it you bypass the word ‘seductive’ but focus on the fact I called you infuriating?” He takes a step closer to me, so I have to tilt my head back to look up at him.
“Are you just that na?ve to realise how fucking attractive you are, or is it because you are fighting what you feel for me?”
“Pffft. Yeah, right.” I snort. He moves closer, his body practically pressed against mine.
Holy shit, is this really happening? Am I about to admit to him and to myself that I kind of like him?
He leans in closer, his eyes searching mine, waiting for me to say stop or push him away.
Just as I think I can do this, music comes on the radio that I hadn’t even realised was on.
Elvis’s I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You comes on.
My palms become clammy, and my heart starts beating erratically as the music takes me back there to that night, causing those memories to flash in my mind.
“Gremlin?” Archer asks in a concerned voice, but I can barely hear him over the sound of my beating heart and my breathing quickening.
The memory has won. It’s escaped that box I usually keep locked up tight.
It’s out, and it is causing me to spiral into a panic attack.
My vision blurs, and as I close my eyes, it is all that I can see.
I’m there, fighting them, pleading with them to stop.
I fight and fight, but I can’t, no matter how much I try.
They won’t stop. Please make them stop. The pain, their laughter, the noises, the smell of blood, my blood. .. The smell of them.
“Get off me, get off me!” I scream. Everything is now spinning, and nausea rolls up from my stomach. “I can’t, I can’t,” I gasp.
“Here, I’ve got you,” I hear Archer say, feeling him guide me to the sink, where I empty my stomach.
“I can’t breathe. Turn it off. Turn it off,” I plead, gasping between sobs.
I feel him shift, and the sound of the radio crashing against the wall is followed by nothing but silence. That song is now gone.
Archer picks me up in his arms, cradling me to his chest. “I’ve got you.
I’ve got you. You’re with me. You’re with me.
Safe. You’re safe,” he repeats, over and over.
His voice soothes me slowly as I cling to him, to his scent and to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
Tears stream down my cheeks, my body still trembling.
“Slow and steady breaths,” he whispers calmly as I feel him sit us down, still cradling me.
His hand strokes my hair while his other is wrapped around me tight.
As my mind clears, those memories go back into the locked box in the back of my mind, and my breathing slowly evens out.
I move to sit up and pull away, but Archer doesn’t allow it.
He clamps his arm around me and keeps me pressed to him.
“I will kill him,” he murmurs, his voice sounding raw with emotion.
I blink. “Them,” I croak.
“What?” he asks.
I push myself to sit up, and this time he allows it. I look into his pained eyes. “Them. Not him. Them,” I whisper, telling someone other than my therapist for the first time in my life.
His jaw grinds so tight, I’m surprised it doesn’t break. “I’m sorry. Fuck. I’m so fucking sorry,” he rasps. “So fucking sorry.” He pulls me back to him, just holding me.
I relax into him, finding a comfort I’ve never felt before. I have always had the support from Mor and Eden, of course I have, but I’ve never told them. I’ve always just dealt with it on my own.
Faced it on my own.