Page 101 of Your Side of the Offense

I collect myself when I hear footsteps and I put on a neutral face. Lucky for me, the tears dried up as soon as I exited his house so I'm not red in the face.

Harvey opens the door, and he frowns when he sees me. He quickly scans my body knowing something isn’t right. But I roll my eyes with a small smile.

"Hi, Harv."

"Why are you knocking?"

"It's not my house." I shrug and he moves and lets me in.

"Okay? Are you okay?" he asks from behind me.

"Yeah." My eyes connect with the one person I need. "Can I?" I ask Arch.

He rises immediately and comes to me.

"Hey, Caleb, Jaden, Matthew, Davon," I greet the other on the couches.

"Hey, Sunshine," Jaden says.

"Hey, Bumble," Caleb says and I smile at that, my heart thawing a little.

"Hey," the others say.

Caleb and Jaden give me a lingering look. But I turn my focus to Arch when he stands in front of me. I don't talk, just take his hand and lead him upstairs.

He doesn't say anything, following behind me. I push open his door and he closes it after us. Letting go of his hand, I unclasp my jeans. Archer stands right behind me; the tension rolling off him.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

Bending down, I pick up my pants. I don't know why but I don't know how to address this or talk about it. I just want to sleep, preferably in his arms. And I don't want to talk.

I walk to the closet, and he doesn't move, his gaze following. I fold my pants and pull out my shirt. I take one of his and pull it down, disturbing my hairstyle. A poor choice of hairstyle now that I think about it. If I had known, I would have just tied a high bun, not try to look cute-ish for a guy I'm going to dump. I am so fucking stupid. An idiot of never-seen-before levels.

Cheated on twice in a row. Is something wrong with me?

Turning, I find Archer still standing in the same place and his concern is palpable.

"I want to sleep," I say. "I need makeup wipes; do you have them by any chance?"

He walks to the cupboard with my cosmetics and pulls out a sealed pack.

"How do you always know what I need?" The question encompasses all the times he has done it. Not just physical needs but he is always there to cater to my emotional needs too. Like now how he hasn't pushed me for an answer even though he can clearly see something is wrong.

"Because I love you."

His answer only makes my chest tighten in pain. Logan told me he loved me too…

"Thanks." I reach to take the wipes he is holding out, but he puts them out of my reach.

"Talk to me, Peach. What happened?"

"I will talk, I promise. Right now, I just need you to hold me and remind me I am still loveable and be here for me. Please."

I see the hurt in his features. "Summer…"

"Don't," I whisper, shaking my head.

He holds back his questions and opens the wipes. Instead of giving them to me, he wipes my make up off himself. When he is satisfied he has all the makeup off, he throws the used tissues, and we get in bed after he changes to sleep shorts and no top. He holds me with gentle hands, my head resting on his heart.

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