Chapter 26 #2
No warning. No discussion. Just a cheerful text from my mother that morning letting me know Edward had insisted it be looked over “for safety,” followed by a promise that it would be returned better than new.
I hadn’t argued—mostly because I didn’t have the energy—but the loss of that small, stubborn piece of independence had lodged under my skin anyway.
Archie hadn’t commented when I told him. He’d just taken the keys, opened the passenger door for me, and said, “I’ve got you,” like it was the most natural thing in the world.
That, somehow, made it worse and better all at once.
My phone stayed tucked in my apron pocket, but I could feel it there—like a pulse.
It buzzed during my break.
Group chat: The Idiots? (Archie, Jake, Bubba, Coop… and me)—I’d renamed it two days earlier and really liked it.
Jake:
so just to be clear
Jake:
Frankie ditches school = iconic
Jake:
me ditching school = “irresponsible”
Bubba:
u ditching school = u would get arrested somehow
Coop:
facts
Me:
I skipped responsibly
Jake:
haha
A smile tugged at my mouth. Even here, even now, they were just… them. No sharp edges. No tension leaking through the screen.
Then another buzz came in. Not the group chat.
Archie.
Archie:
Hey. You busy?
My stomach flipped—not fear exactly, but awareness.
Me:
On break. What’s up?
There was a pause. Long enough that I stared at the screen like I could will the typing bubble into existence.
Then:
Archie:
I got confirmation.
My breath hitched.
Me:
Confirmation how?
Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Reappeared.
Archie:
The lab has everything. Samples processed.
Archie:
Results are expected tomorrow afternoon.
Tomorrow.
A whole word that suddenly felt enormous.
I leaned back against the brick wall outside the café, cool air brushing my flushed skin. “Okay,” I whispered to no one.
Me:
Thank you for telling me.
Archie:
Of course.
Archie:
I wanted you to hear it from me.
That mattered more than he probably realized.
Me:
I’m at work until close.
Archie:
I know. I’ll pick you up after if you want.
Archie:
Or not. Your call.
I stared at that last line.
Choice.
Always choice with him.
Me:
Pick me up?
The reply came immediately.
Archie:
Always.
I exhaled slowly, tucking my phone away just as my break timer buzzed.
Back inside, the noise swallowed me again. The shake machine hummed. Someone laughed. A cup clinked against a saucer.
Tomorrow loomed.
But tonight—I still had hours of normal left.
And somehow, that made all the difference.
Archie picked me up after my shift like he said he would.
The ride back was quiet in a way that was comfortable instead of strained. The streetlights ticked by in a slow, steady rhythm. Neither of us talked about tomorrow. We didn’t need to. It sat between us anyway—unavoidable, heavy, waiting.
When we pulled into the garage, Archie shut off the engine and slid out even as the outer door closed. He circled the Ferrari and was at my door before I’d finished processing we were home. When he opened the door for me, I climbed out and smiled.
“Thank you,” I said softly. For the ride. For the steadiness. For not trying to manage me.
He turned toward me. “Always.”
The word settled deep.
I leaned in first this time.
The kiss was unhurried but intense, like neither of us was pretending this was accidental anymore. His hand came to my waist, solid and grounding, and I curled my fingers into the front of his shirt, holding on instead of holding back.
Then—
The garage door rattled open.
Light spilled in.
“What the hell is this?”
Edward’s voice was sharp. Not startled. Not confused.
Angry.
We broke apart, but Archie didn’t step away.
He stepped forward.
Not aggressively—just enough to place himself slightly in front of me, his body a quiet line drawn in the concrete space between us and Edward.
Eddie stood just inside the garage, keys clenched in his hand, disbelief written starkly across his face. His gaze flicked from Archie to me and back again, jaw tightening.
“No,” he said flatly. “Absolutely not.”
I felt my spine straighten behind Archie.
“This is not appropriate,” Eddie continued, voice rising now, controlled but edged with fury. “Not now. Not ever. This cannot continue.”
Archie didn’t flinch.
“You don’t get to decide that,” he said evenly.
Eddie’s eyes flashed. “I am your father.”
“Right, when it suits you. But it’s not about that. It’s about the fact, Frankie is not yours. Not your child. Not your anything,” Archie shot back without hesitation. “She’s mine and she always has been.”
The air felt tight enough to snap.
“I’m trying to protect everyone involved,” Eddie snapped. “You think this is responsible? With everything that’s at stake?”
Archie’s shoulders squared. “What’s at stake is her autonomy.”
I stepped forward then, placing a hand lightly against Archie’s back—not pulling him away, just grounding him. Claiming my space too.
“This is my choice,” I said, my voice steady despite the heat crawling up my neck. Having Archie just declare it so damn clearly emboldened me. I was not letting him face Eddie alone. “You don’t have to like it. But you don’t get to forbid it.”
Eddie stared at me like he was seeing me clearly for the first time—and didn’t like what he found.
“This is a mistake,” he said. “One that could hurt all of us.”
“Maybe,” I said quietly. “But it’s still ours to make.”
Silence fell hard and heavy.
Finally, Eddie exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “This is unacceptable,” he said, already turning away. “We will discuss this later.” Then he just walked out, the garage door slamming shut behind him with finality.
The quiet afterward rang in my ears.
Archie stayed exactly where he was for a moment longer, breathing slow and controlled, before turning back to me.
“You okay?” he asked, immediately softer.
I nodded. “Yeah. Are you?”
A muscle jumped in his jaw. “I am now.”
I let out a shaky breath and laughed under it. “Well. That escalated.”
He huffed once, a humorless sound. “He doesn’t get to scare you.”
“I’m not scared,” I said. And realized it was true. “Not of him.”
His gaze softened then, just slightly. “Tomorrow,” he said.
“Tomorrow,” I agreed.
And even with the truth looming closer than ever, I knew one thing with absolute certainty. Neither of us was backing down.
The night passed in fragments.
Sleep came in fits and starts—half-dreams where I was running down endless hallways, doors opening and closing, faces blurring together. Every time I surfaced, my phone sat dark and silent on the nightstand, its presence loud even without a sound.
Morning didn’t help. Neither did breakfast.
School definitely didn’t. Time seemed to stretch and contract at random, first period lasting forever and second passing in a blink.
Archie stayed close without hovering. Coop cracked jokes.
Jake pretended not to watch me. Bubba asked if I’d eaten and didn’t comment when I said yes even though we both knew that was a lie.
The only other one in the know right now was Rachel, but the guys seemed to sense something was up. Archie and I hadn’t told them. Maybe admitting it to them would make it too real. Rachel squeezed my hand once between classes. No words. Just pressure.
By early afternoon, my nerves were shot.
I was in the library when my phone vibrated.
Once.
I froze.
Archie’s name lit up the screen.
Archie:
Results just came in.
My heart dropped so hard I thought I might actually hear it hit the floor.
Me:
Are you—
Three dots appeared.
Stopped.
Appeared again.
Archie:
I’m coming to you.
I swallowed, fingers tightening around the phone.
Me:
Okay.
I didn’t pack my bag. Didn’t tell anyone where I was going. I just stood, legs shaky, and waited.
Whatever was on the other side of this—truth, relief, fallout—it was finally done waiting for me.
And I wasn’t sure if I was ready.
But I was going to find out.