Chapter 24
ARCHIE
‘That was amazing,’ Denver signs when the show ends. He’s breathless and lit up like I haven’t seen him in so long, and it brings a calm to me I hadn’t realized I needed until I saw him relax tonight.
I press a palm to his cheek and draw him in for a long, slow, lingering kiss. ‘I want to see you on the stage again.’
‘You will,’ he promises.
‘You are beautiful up there,’ I tell him.
His mouth settles into something soft, his eyes a little wide. I wonder if, although he knew I had seen him perform, he didn’t understand just how obsessed I am with every bit of him.
‘Soon.’ His mouth makes a small O with the sign, and although I’m not meeting his eyes right now, I know his are locked on me. I want to take him backstage where his little vanity set is and fuck him over his chair, but I know I can’t do that.
My family is here. Nico is here. My father is lurking around somewhere, probably talking to the strange Frenchman at the bar still. They’re here for protection, but they’re also here for support because they accepted that I claimed Denver as mine, and that means something to me.
This outing was to soothe Denver’s nerves, and it worked, but we do have work to get done, and I know my father isn’t going to let us slack off for long.
‘What should we do now?’ Denver asks. ‘Go home?’
‘Home is for losers.’ Nico slides between us, signing loudly with big, sweeping gestures. ‘What else can we do?’
Denver bites his lip, then looks at me. ‘Leaf invited us over for wine. His brother brought over a new blend.’
I know I should say no. Denver still has a lot of healing to do, and if I don’t rein in Nico, he’ll probably go a little too far. But Denver looks eager, and Nico looks like he needs a distraction—and a bored Nico is never a good idea.
‘Wait here,’ I tell them both. Nico drapes himself over Denver, signing sloppily with one hand, and it warms me that my best friend has embraced him and that Denver isn’t shying away from his enthusiasm.
Nico has been told too often that he’s too much. He doesn’t talk about the pain, but though the scars are invisible, they are so close to the surface of his skin. And I hate that he hurts.
I want him to feel love. To be loved as I am. As Denver now is.
Shoving that thought away, I find my father at the bar, leaning on one elbow. He’s alone now, but his gaze is fixated on the older man at the far end, who still looks mortified by the drink accident.
“Are you trying to upset him?” I ask.
“Who?” His brow furrows in confusion.
I jut my chin toward the Frenchman. “Him. You’re staring at him.”
My father blinks at me, then shakes his head. “No.” He gives me a slow up-and-down look, then immediately changes the subject. “You seem happy.”
I can’t tell if that’s a question or a statement, but I nod anyway because it’s the truth. “Yes. Now that Denver is mine.”
“Does he want to be yours?” He says it with that same tone he’s always used with me—the slightly patronizing tone, as though I don’t understand boundaries.
He thinks I’m still the young, uncontrolled, confused child who didn’t know how to function in the world around me. He thinks that just because I don’t follow social cues, I don’t know how they work.
And it hurts.
“It’s not like that. Denver and I are leaving.” I turn, trying to hide my frustration, but he catches my wrist and pulls me back before letting go.
“Archie.” Over the music and through my earplugs, I can hear the pleading in his tone, and that is so unlike him. “I’m sorry.”
I don’t know what to do with those words. He’d never spoken them to us as children and rarely does now. I swallow heavily and turn back, but I don’t look at his face.
His hands twist together almost nervously, and it’s making me uneasy. This is not the father I grew up with. The ruthless, often heartless man who did love us but shaped us into who we are without apology or regret.
“I can tell he loves you,” he says after a long beat.
“And that you love him. And…and I am sorry for making everything so complicated. For making it harder for you. Your mother loved me for exactly who I was, but I didn’t take into consideration how hard it would be for you boys to find that in the world. ”
I look up at him, studying his face, and it’s strange to find such sincere honesty there. He has never lied to us, but he was rarely ever kind. “I understand how all of this works,” I tell him. “I know that we’re all different, but I’m the strangest one of them all—”
He holds up his hand. “Archie, no.”
“Yes. I—” My words start to fail me, and I sigh. I want to sign to him everything I’m feeling, but this is a Deaf night, which means everyone will be able to eavesdrop, and that’s not safe. ‘Later. Please.’
He gives me a single nod. ‘I’ll go collect everyone else and drive us home.’
Leaf’s is a short walk from the house, so I agree, then push away from the bar to collect my beloved and my best friend. My little rabbit looks tired but also desperate not to be home yet, so I gather him close to me, then let Nico take my hand as we head outside to finish the night.
It’s cold out, and Denver shivers as he presses against me while we head toward the car as my dad finds my brothers.
It’s much quieter now, and that’s the only reason I hear it.
It’s the sound of someone watching. Someone trying to take measured steps and careful breaths.
Someone debating whether they can get the upper hand against all of us.
I freeze, then clear my throat. “Don’t. Not tonight.”
Denver doesn’t hear me, but Nico does. He shoots me a confused look, and while it is unfair that Denver doesn’t know I’m speaking to the fucker watching him, right now, I’m not going to tell him.
I will not burst the fragile bubble of confidence and happiness he’s managed to keep for himself tonight.
And when I tell him the truth, I will be ready to beg for forgiveness down on my knees.
Milo insists he has plans, and I’m pretty sure that means he’s going to harass or possibly kidnap the vet he’s currently obsessed with.
He’s not even being subtle about it. Percy bows out early, and my dad decides to do some research on Denver’s stalker, which leaves Denver, Nico, and me to walk down the road to Leaf’s.
The pathway is impossibly dark, but there are lights once we hit Leaf’s driveway. We’re making our way up the path when Nico suddenly jumps into the air and scuttles behind me.
“What the fuck is that!”
Denver tenses, but I hold him tight because I see exactly what scared Nico. “Michael,” I say and sign where Denver can see my hands.
Denver bursts into laughter and shakes his head. ‘Fucking groundhog.’
I like him. He’s chaotic and strange and doesn’t behave like an animal should. Letting Denver go, I approach the little garden beds where he’s been helping himself, and I see the little baby-carrying bag lying against the side.
Picking it up, I slip it over my shoulders, strap it in, then kneel down and make a come-here motion with my fingers to the shadows. Behind me, I hear Nico breathing heavily and the faint sound of Denver’s vocalizations as he signs.
A moment passes, then two. Just before I’m ready to give up, Michael appears with half a zucchini in his mouth. He approaches carefully, and I hold the opening wide, crouching low to the ground.
It takes a while, but eventually, he walks up and crawls inside and allows me to zip him close to my chest. He makes a strange little chittering sound, then begins to chew on the remaining squash as I stand up and turn toward my lover and my friend.
“Are you fucking serious?” Nico demands aloud. “What is even happening right now?”
Denver, who’s watching his mouth, bursts into laughter and waves his hand to get Nico’s attention. ‘Don’t ask.’
‘I won’t,’ Nico says and stays several steps away from me as we approach the door.
Denver hits the buzzer, and beyond the curtains, I see lights flicker a few times. It takes a moment, but eventually, Leaf opens the door, sees who I’m wearing, and gives a loud groan.
“Oh, come on! I just planted those.” His hands move with his words like a habit, and then he opens his arms and pulls Denver in for a hug. ‘How are you?’ He freezes when his eyes catch on the glitter both Denver and Nico seem to be wearing now. ‘Good night out?’
Denver smiles. ‘Better than before. But a lot has happened since we were here.’
Leaf looks intrigued. ‘Great. Come inside and tell me everything.’ Then he beckons us inside, taking a single pause to look at Nico before he closes the door behind us.
Michael eventually demands to be let out, so I take him to the door and set him free outside.
It was nice having him warm against my chest as he ate Leaf’s zucchini.
He’s quiet for a huge rodent, and while he might be a terror to Leaf, he’s calm with me.
He lets me pet him until he’s ready to be released, and I miss him as I sit back down beside Denver, who’s sipping on wine and giggling.
I like hearing him laugh. I like seeing him smile.
It makes me want him all over again.
But I have to wait. Thorne handed me a file folder the moment I sat down, and when I opened it, I saw a stack of papers detailing Denver’s first stalker case.
While Denver was relaying all of the events since we were last here, I scanned through it, my blood pressure rising until I felt like putting my head through a wall.
A lot of it is the same information that I found at Denver’s place, but there are more details, like where this fucking Byron guy is from, and his last known address, and all of the files they found on his computer.
It’s a lot to process, and it’s hard to keep my rage in check. Luckily, Nico notices and takes it from me, tucking it into his bag so we can give it to my father later.
He must have known I was about to have a meltdown, and I love him for knowing how to defuse it before I completely fall apart. The wine he gives me after helps, though I’m not sure I should be buzzed right now.