Chapter Nineteen
Naomi
W hile River goes over the information they have about the drug ring, I observe Aaliyah and Archer. Archer’s attention doesn’t veer from Aaliyah often, but when it does, it’s to give me a soft smile.
I know he loves me, even if it’s different from how he loves Aaliyah. His love for her is tainted by the past and his desperation to have her. I can even understand why. She’s done nothing but impress me since I’ve met her. It doesn’t hurt that she’s gorgeous.
I knew going into the relationship with Archer I’d be sharing his heart. It didn’t bother me then, and it doesn’t bother me now. What bothers me is that we might be setting ourselves up for heartache. Archer seems so sure that she still cares for him, and I’ve even seen a glimpse of that myself. But it’s so wrapped up in the hurt of what he did to her.
What if she can’t forgive him for that? What if when she finally allows him to explain, she still can’t forgive him? What if all the work we’re doing to make ourselves a part of her life, a part of the group, is all for nothing? I don’t know if Archer can deal with the rejection.
What will become of him then? What will become of me?
My mind runs over the possible outcomes over and over—more of them ending badly than not.
I just can’t stand the not knowing.
Which is why I decide I’m going to have to have a conversation with Aaliyah, woman to woman. I see my chance once she and Hayes finish putting the groceries away and pounce. She doesn’t want to have the conversation but agrees to it anyway.
No one can blame me for watching her ass sway from side to side as she leads me up the stairs. She lost her robe at some point in time and has been driving us all crazy in her teeny tiny pajamas.
She leads me to the door to the right of the stairs, and I realize just how small her house is. I think the two-bedroom cabin we’re renting has more square footage than her house.
Aaliyah sits behind her desk, leaving me to sit in the armchair across from it. I take a moment to glance around her office, which is mostly bare, before turning back to her. “If you have as much money as I think you have, then why do you live in such a small home?”
“I don’t have a need for anything bigger.” She shrugs. “It’s just me and Kira, so the most important thing was making sure she had room outside, which this place has in abundance. But I don’t think that’s what you wanted to talk about, is it?”
“Straight to the point. Can’t blame you for that.” I take a deep breath before meeting her eyes. “I need to know if Archer and I have a chance with you. Well, more to the point, can you forgive Archer and move on from the past? I need to know so I can make a plan if you can’t. I don’t know how he’ll take it, and… I just need to know.”
Aaliyah seems to sink into herself as she stares back at me. “I don’t know what you want me to say. Things are more than a little overwhelming for me at the moment. Out of nowhere, I have six people pushing themselves into my life and demanding more of me than I know how to give.
“No. That’s not right. No one is demanding anything yet, but the time will come. I don’t know how to have a relationship with one person, let alone six. Archer is the only real relationship I’ve ever had, and we know how that ended.” She shakes her head, turning so she can stare out the window. “I’ve never let anyone get close to me the way I did Archer. What he did destroyed me. I don’t even know what I want.”
“Do you mind if I tell you how Archer and I met?”
She frowns as she glances at me as if she’s not sure what that has to do with the conversation we’re having, “Sure.”
“The underworld is massive. It’s filled with demons of all shapes and sizes, but I guess you’d know that. We don’t always get along with other types of demons, and that’s why they’re separated into different kingdoms. But there’s one kingdom that is ruled by a council of multiple types of demons and not by a monarchy. This is where those of us who have been banished from our homes or who leave on their own tend to congregate.
“All demons, no matter their origins, are welcome there. That’s where I found Archer. I’d been there for years, I can’t even tell you how many. I wasn’t living an especially exciting life, but it was mine. The day Archer arrived, everyone knew about it. We’d all heard what he’d done and how he’d been punished for his crimes against a demigod.
“He was so broken the first time I saw him, though he didn’t see me. All he could focus on was getting as drunk as he could. They didn’t bother cutting him off because his money was as good as everyone else’s. Night after night, he returned and drank himself into a stupor before returning home. The cycle went on for a long time, and I just watched him. There was just something about his pain that called to me. I was afraid to approach him, but I wanted to more than anything.”
Remembering Archer like that still hurts me. He was nothing but a shell of the man I know and love.
“One day, I finally got the courage to approach him. Up close, he didn’t seem nearly as scary, but that could be because he was drunker than a skunk. His words slurred as he told me I stood no chance with him and to leave him alone. He ruined everything he touched. It took me a long time of just sitting beside him day after day for him to speak to me. He was lost and depressed. He didn’t see any reason to continue living, but he couldn’t get up the nerve to just kill himself.”
I hesitate as I meet her eyes once more. “He’ll never admit it, but he came really close on more than one occasion. I’m not sure when things changed between us, but I fell for him hard. It was a lot slower for him, but we had all the time in the world since he couldn’t leave the underworld for a thousand years. It was actually my idea that we come looking for you when his time was up.”
“Really? Why would you want to do that?”
Laughing, I lean back in my chair. “Because you’ll always be in his heart. He’ll never stop loving you.”
“Then why did he do what he did?” she practically yells before shaking her head. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t take it out on you.”
“I can understand your anger, but I won’t tell you his story. If you want to know what happened, then you’ll have to talk to him. All he wants to do is tell you. He’s tried on more than one occasion, but you’ve shut him down time and time again.” I sigh. “Do you really want to know what happened? Or do you want to hold onto your anger?”
Aaliyah is back to looking out the window as she sighs. “I don’t know. I don’t like being this angry, but what he did to me hurt. It’s not easy to unravel that trauma from all of that. I think I want to know.”
“Then you know what you have to do,” I tell her quietly, and she nods.
Her eyes find mine once more. She doesn’t say anything right away, and I’m okay with that. She knows what I need to know, and I can’t rush her decision. Because she’s the only one who can make it.
“I don’t know if I can forgive Archer or give him another chance. As much as I like you, Naomi, your fate is tied to his. I can’t make any guarantees.” She pushes to her feet. “But I will hear him out. I don’t know when I’ll be ready for that, but it’ll be soon. Right now, we have a lot of other things to focus on. I just need you to understand I don’t know how I’ll feel once I’ve spoken to him.”
“I understand, darling. All I’m asking for is a chance.”
She nods. “That I can offer you.”