Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
The House
“Call me later,” Poet said as she dropped me off at the house. “And fill me in.”
“I will. Thanks for the ride.” I closed the car door and then jogged up the porch steps. Before I could even get my keys out to open the front door, it flew open.
Archer grasped my hand and all but hauled me inside.
“Where is she?” I demanded, not bothering to take off my shoes or coat. “Is she hurt? Sick? Does she need stitches? Is there blood?”
Cold terror washed down my spine.
“She’s fine,” Archer said. “Physically, anyway.”
His words permeated my fear, and I met his gaze.
“Say that again?” I repeated.
“Do you think I would’ve called you in a panic and told you to come to the house if she was seriously injured? We’d be at the hospital.”
I smacked his chest. “I made Poet break the speed limit to get here!”
He blinked. “Poet actually sped?”
“Archer,” I groaned and tried to pull my hand away when I realized I was still touching him.
But he quickly covered my hand with his.
His touch zinged through me.
“You can’t call me and panic unless there’s something to really panic over,” I explained, feeling my heart kick up for a different reason all together.
He was stroking the back of my hand in a soothing, tender gesture.
“I’ll be better about it next time,” he promised. “But I really do need you.”
Need you.
It was his battle cry to my heart.
“What happened?” I asked, finally tugging my hand free so I could unzip my coat.
“Everything was fine. We were laughing and doing her class project. She was asking me a bunch of questions about my side of the family and then suddenly she got up, grabbed Mildred and ran off to her room.”
“Did you go after her?” I held onto the wall while I worked off a shoe.
“Did I go—of course I went after her! I knocked on her door and asked her what I’d said to make her upset, but she told me to go away. So, I went away.”
He ran his fingers through his hair, mussing it.
I wished I’d been the one to muss it.
“So, will you go find out what insensitive man thing I said and be my ambassador?”
I couldn’t stop myself from patting his cheek. “Sure thing, Archie.”
He quickly turned his head and kissed my palm.
I swallowed.
Dangerous territory.
I jogged up the stairs. When I was standing outside of Lenni’s room, I heard the faintest sound of music coming from behind her closed door.
I knocked. When there was no reply, I knocked again and called out, “I come in peace!”
A moment later, she yelled back, “Enter!”
I turned the knob and opened the door. Lenni was sitting on her bed, back against the wall instead of the headboard. Mildred was in her lap.
Music I didn’t recognize streamed on an old tablet connected to a Bluetooth speaker that rested on her nightstand.
I closed the door behind me and then went to the tablet and picked it up.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Changing the music. This is not the best for sitting and feeling. Whatever it is.” I looked at her. “Trust me?”
She nodded.
After a few swipes, Simon & Garfunkel’s “Sound of Silence” filtered through the room.
Lenni’s brows slashed together as she listened, but then they eventually smoothed out.
“Good, right?” I asked with a wink.
She sighed. “Good.”
I took the spot on the bed next to her.
“How was candle making?” she asked, turning her head to peer at me.
“Fun,” I admitted. “Thanks for watching Mildred.”
“She’s fun to watch.” She lifted the dog off her lap and brought her to her face. She burrowed her nose in Mildred’s neck and took a few deep breaths.
“You want to tell me what happened?” I asked, my tone soft. “Your dad called me in a blind panic when he couldn’t get you to talk to him.”
“It’s stupid.”
“I doubt that. Feelings are never stupid. How we handle them . . . well, that’s another story entirely.”
“I don’t think I handle mine well,” she admitted.
“Can I tell you a secret?” I leaned closer and bumped her shoulder with mine. “Neither do I.”
“Really?”
“Really.” I smiled at her. “Sometimes it feels like my emotions are too big and my body is too small, and I just can’t contain them. Yes, even my long, tall body feels small sometimes.”
She smiled, but it wavered.
I swayed back and forth to the music, not pushing Lenni to talk before she was ready. Finally, she said, “We were doing the family tree . . .”
I nodded.
“And I was telling him about my grandmother—my mom’s mom.
How I didn’t get to know her. And how my grandfather was gone before I was even born.
” Her breath shuddered. “And when I asked about my other grandparents, he told me they already died, and I got sad. And then I got mad because I don’t have any grandparents.
And I don’t have a mom. I just don’t have anyone. ”
She collapsed into tears and buried her head against Mildred who licked her cheek, which only made Lenni cry harder.
I felt my own eyes prickle, but I forced myself to hold it together.
Lenni cried with her whole body. Her shoulders shook—the sadness of her grief was an endless well inside of her. I was sure the force of it would break her apart. But eventually, her tears abated. She lifted her head and swiped at her cheeks.
“I didn’t used to cry this much,” she muttered.
“You should talk to Salem about that,” I said with a sympathetic laugh. “She was never a crier, but now that she’s pregnant she cries all the time. Kinda freaks me out.”
Lenni giggled.
“You feel lighter?” I asked.
She nodded.
“You want to go tell Archer that you’re not mad at him?”
“Okay.” She licked her lips. “My head hurts.”
“Yeah, I bet.”
I couldn’t stop myself from tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She leaned against me and let out another quivering breath.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s go make some tea.”
“Do I have to finish my project today?”
“Nope.”
She let out a sigh of relief. She untangled her legs and gently set Mildred on the floor. The dog trotted toward the door with Lenni following right behind her.
The two of them left the room—I was slower to get up. I turned off the music and then headed downstairs.
Lenni was sitting next to Archer on the couch when I came into the living room. She was muttering to him, and I couldn’t hear what she said. I went to the stove and lifted the tea kettle. It was nearly empty, so I filled it.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Archer held out his arm. Lenni looked at it for a moment and then inched up next to him for a hug.
I looked up at the ceiling, trying to stem the flow of my own tears.
“No more work today,” Archer informed us.
“Good,” I said. “Time to couch rot.”
“Couch rot,” Archer repeated. “What’s that?”
Lenni and I both stared at him in shock.
“You’re kidding, right?” I asked.
“It’s where you change into your pajamas and don’t move for hours,” Lenni informed him.
“Okay, but what do we do?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I said. “That’s the whole point.”
He rubbed his jaw as he pondered.
“When was the last time you had a day where you did nothing?” I asked.
“I don’t have days like that,” he said.
I looked at Lenni and raised my brows. “Should we teach him the ways?”
“Yes.” Lenni got up off the couch and pointed to his bedroom. “Go change into your jammies.”
Archer stood slowly. “So, what does this mean as far as baked goods go? It would seem that couch rotting and junk food go hand in hand.”
“You’re not wrong,” I said, looking forlornly at the door. “But I don’t want to trek back outside for snacks.”
“I’ll hit up Sweet Teeth before they close,” he said. “Put in your orders now.”
“Tell Gracie our plan,” I suggested. “And let her pick. She has a knack for it.”
“Aye, aye, captain.” Archer grinned and it was completely adorable and boyish. “What are we watching?”
“I think Lenni should decide,” I said.
Her brow furrowed for a moment and then smoothed out. She smiled. “How about a Lord of the Rings marathon?”
Archer made a face. “Hobbits? Seriously?”
She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a sassy look. “We could watch Disney movies instead.”
He sighed like a man who knew he was beaten. “Hobbits, it is.”
He pulled on his boots and grabbed his coat and was out the door with a muttered fucking Frodo.
The tea kettle began to whistle, and I moved it off the burner.
“Would you really have made him watch Disney movies?” I asked.
“Nah. Princess movies are too pink and girly.”
“I like pink.”
“You do?” She paused for a moment. “I guess pink isn’t so bad.”
“You’re allowed to change what you like, you know. Pink. Dresses. Going by your full name.”
She looked at me and stated, “Pink’s okay. And so are dresses every now and then. But if you start calling me Lenora, I’m going to eat the sour cream donut that Archer brings you.”
“How do you know he’s bringing me that kind of donut?” I asked in amusement.
“Because we weren’t just talking about my family tree while we were doing the project. We talked about you too.”
My heart began to beat a frantic staccato. “Why?”
She shrugged. “Archer was curious about you. And so he asked me some stuff.”
“Like what?”
“Favorite donut, favorite color, how you take your coffee. He’s never around in the morning when you’re drinking it. Now are we gonna stand here talking or are we going to get into our jammies and get the movie ready?”