Page 128 of A Little Complicated

Tearing my attention from the large tree in the front yard, I face Archer again.

“Lia,” he breathes out, his expression twisting with…fear? He reaches for me, but I shake my head.

“I’ve been doing something I need to tell you about,” I whisper.

His brows pull. “What did you do?”

“I…” I lick my lips.

Just say it, Lia.

“I’ve been hooking up with Maverick,” I finish, forcing myself to look at him. “It was after we broke up, but I’m not sure if the timeline really matters. I messed up, and…” My teeth dig into my bottom lip as I fight back tears. “I can only imagine how it must make you feel. I’m so sorry, Archer.”

A mask slides over his features almost instantly, hiding Archer’s emotions as he stares at me. The silence is stifling. The indifference hiding the hurt I know is hidden beneath it.

“Archer,” I start.

“You had sex with my brother?”

The words hurt, making it hard to breathe, but I don’t cower. I take the hit and wipe the moisture from my eyes. “Yes, I’ve been having sex with Maverick.” I move toward Archer, but he leans back, keeping the distance between us. My heels dig into the ground, and I nod my understanding. Of course, he doesn’t want me comforting him. I suck my cheeks between my teeth and bite hard. But the pain doesn’t ground me. It doesn’t ease the sharp ache in my chest or the white-hot guilt I’m drowning in. I did it. I ruined the one constant in my life. The one relationship I never wanted to tarnish. My friendship with the man in front of me.

“Archer, I’m… I’m so sorry.”

"You wanna know what I felt when I saw the video of you and Mav?” he interrupts numbly.

I shake my head, confusion flooding my already withered brain. “W-what are you talking about?”

“The video of you and Mav doing the ice plunge,” he clarifies. But he isn’t looking at me. He’s looking at his feet. His strong arms are folded over his chest as if closing himself off from the rest of the world. Fromme. “You were pissed at me for not acting jealous, remember?”

Acid floods my mouth, but I swallow it back. “I remember.”

“Do you wanna know what I really felt?”

“What?” I whisper.

“Fear.” His eyes slice to mine. “I felt fear, Ophelia. Fear that you'd be taken from me, or if I overreacted, I’d scare you away. I feared you were never mine to begin with. That you still belonged to your fucking Mystery Man, so why should I worry about my own flesh and blood when we had bigger obstacles to overcome than an innocent crush you’d been hiding for as long as I can remember?"

He knew about my crush on his brother? The realization acts like a hot poker, leaving me raw and burning.

“Archer…”

“Thank you for telling me.” The same numb indifference engulfs his words. Like I’ve announced two plus two is four, or the weather’s nice today. Like I didn’t just break his heart when I know I did.

I pull back, rubbing my hands up and down my bare arms. “That’s it?”

“What else do you want me to say?” He scrubs his hand over his tight jaw. “You did your due diligence. You broke up with me beforehand, so thanks for that, I guess.”

“You’re not going to yell at me? To—”

“I need you to go, Lia.” He looks down at his bare feet again and rocks back on his heels.

I step closer to him and touch his cheek. “Don’t be a gentleman about this. Don’t take the high road. Don’t let me off the hook because you’re my best friend. I deserve every vile thought and name you want to fling at me. And trust me, none of it can be worse than what I’ve been thinking since the moment I—”

“I don’t want to know.” His eyes close, and he leans into my touch. “And I don’t want to fling anything at you,” he rasps, circling my wrist and lowering my hand from his face.

“I’m sorry, Archer. I know how much I screwed up. How much this must hurt you. I still love you so much. You’re my best friend. My superhero. My—”

“You should go,” he repeats.

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