23. Archer #3
A squeal cuts through the air, and when my head whips to the side, I find Macie laughing through her tears as she holds her daughter’s bare stomach. “I’m way too young and hot for this to be happening right now, but my goodness, I couldn’t be more excited.”
My mom laughs, reaching out gently, running her palm over Allie’s stomach. “Have you felt them moving yet?”
“Sometimes. I’m pretty sure,” Allie says. “But I mostly gaslight myself into thinking it’s indigestion.”
The girls laugh together, and for the first time today, it’s as if the hazed tension is beginning to clear, light and hope shrouding us all in its place.
Until my brother murmurs, “Please don’t hate me for this.” I realize it’s the first time he’s spoken, and when the six of us look in his direction, he’s still at the base of the stairs, face etched in melancholy. “I have to ask this question. I have to.”
His gaze is fixed on Allie.
“You got pregnant in July, but you also had a different boyfriend then.” He bites his lip, shaking his head—a rare seriousness floats over his features, and he winces like the thoughts literally pain him.
“I love you so much, Allie, and I don’t ask this with any judgment, but he’s my brother.
” Zander nods toward me. “So, I have to protect him too. Is there… Is there any chance that it isn’t—”
“Stop.” The growl that rips from my throat is animalistic and predatory. “Don’t even fucking finish that sentence.”
I refuse to even entertain the thought. I refuse to believe that Allie would ever put me in a position like that—mostly because I couldn’t think of anything that would obliterate me more.
His eyes shudder with guilt. “Arch, I—”
“No, it’s okay,” Allie whispers, her voice a ghost of its musical self.
“I… I understand.” I look at her, and all that light and hope present on her pretty face just moments ago is gone now, only desolation left behind.
“I am absolutely certain, and if I wasn’t, I never would have put any of you in this position.
” Her eyes flash to my parents. “But if it would make you more comfortable, I’m happy to take a paternity test.”
“No,” I say sternly.
“I believe you, Allie,” my mom says gently, hand gliding from her stomach to take her hand. “But sometimes our timing is just off, and maybe it would be safest—”
“If Allie says she’s sure, then she’s sure,” Dom says sternly.
“Hey, man. Nobody is saying she’s lying—” my dad begins.
The noise—the doubt—is too loud. Too hurtful.
The accusation my brother made whips around me at warped speed, suffocating and seizing me.
If there were any truth to this, I’d never recover from that.
And if I allow myself to believe Allie could lie about this, she and I would never come back from it.
I can’t let there be any question. I can’t even entertain it. I can’t fathom any other man fathering the baby inside her. It would kill me.
“Stop,” I plead to no one in particular, eyes fixed on my feet. “Just fucking stop. I don’t want to hear this, all right? I don’t…” I turn to Allie. “It wouldn’t matter, okay? It wouldn’t matter to me. I’m still here. I still want this. So… No test. No questions.”
She rears back, looking at me like she has no idea who I am. Blinking away the moisture glistening in her eyes, Allie shakes her head in disbelief.
The unspoken words are written all over her face. You don’t believe me, either.
My chin quivers with the emotion I’m biting back, the truth I know neither of us can bear brimming on the tip of my tongue. I don’t know if I can.
“Excuse me,” she whispers, maneuvering around our mothers.
“I have to pee.” But she doesn’t go to the bathroom, she walks to the front door, turning back to face us as she opens it.
“I’ve only ever been with Archer.” The sentence knocks the wind from me, nearly throwing me off my feet.
Her eyes pin me beneath a cool stare as she adds, “But I’ll prove it if needed. ”
Shame and shock slam into me, causing me to sway as I abruptly stand from the couch and move to go after her. A rough hand on my shoulder holds me in place.
“I’d like to go take care of my daughter right now,” Dom’s gruff voice falls against my ear, and all I can do is nod. I stand still as he moves past me, Macie following behind him.
She stops in the doorway, tossing a comfortless smile in our direction. “We’ll see you guys at dinner. It’ll be okay.”
I spin back to my brother, jaw tense and aching. He’s still watching the door, shoulders slumped, face in his hands, utter regret flashing in his dark gaze. My mom throws an arm around my shoulder as my dad watches me with a hand on his chin, sighing.
“Do not ever say something like that to her again.”
Z’s gaze flashes to mine, wide and apologetic. “Archer, I had to—”
“She is the mother of my child,” I snap. “That’s not up for debate. Do not ever question that.”
Before any of them have the chance to say a word, to attempt to calm me, I stalk out of the house, slamming the door behind me.