Page 168 of My Ruthless Neighbor

Archer: I’m almost done at work and will be at your place in about thirty minutes. And this time I am hoping you’ll answer your damn door.

I don’t reply. I have been ignoring his calls and messages since yesterday. When he knocked on my door last night, I didn’t open it.

He tried again this morning. He tried talking to me through the door but I ignored him by blasting the music in full volume. He got the hint because after fifteen minutes of knocking and asking me to open the door, he left.

I know this is not the way to handle situations like these. But then I was never good at letting people go.

When Damian, my other foster brother—whom Raleigh and I both saw as our protector and hero—was adopted, I was devastated.

Raleigh and Damian were the two pillars of my life. The pillars who never let me crumble. Damian always protected us from the bullies and taught us to fight back.

And when he left, I experienced the pain of losing someone all over again.

He promised to keep in touch. He vowed he would write to us and that he will come for us one day.

We never received any letters. Years went by and we realized that Damian lied. He was never going to come back for us. That incident taught me to never ever trust anyone. To never rely on anyone. And to never love anyone. Because people always leave at the end. Always.

That’s why I chose a lonely life. But my current circumstances are different.

Archer didn’t really leave. I am the one to take a step back. I am going to protect my heart from getting crushed.

How long would we keep this arrangement going? He’d get bored of me someday. And while I would never be ready to give him up, I have to. And it needs to happen now. I can’t continue sleeping with him and act as if everything is normal. Because nothing is normal about us anymore. Nothing is casual. And to do it, I’ll have to face him one last time.

By the time he’ll be here, I’ll be ready.

Fifteen minutes later, my doorbell rings. I frown. He’s early.

Goldie runs to the door and barks. Smiling, I pad over to him. He’s grown so much. In the past, he used to get scared whenever there was a knock on the door. Nowadays, he runs to the door before me and stands guard.

Archer has been training him and the results are incredible. I sigh. Why does my thoughts always revolve around him?

“My brave boy.” I bend to pet his head before reaching the knob. My fingers are trembling. I can’t stall it anymore. Time to rip the band-aid off.

With one long breath, I open the door and am pushed aside as two figures brush past me and enter my apartment.

Frowning, I turn to face them. “What are you two doing here?” I ask as Hannah bends down and picks up Goldie while Raleigh throws his weight on the couch.

“We’re here to pick you up,” Raleigh says as he tames his wild hair with his fingers.

“Pick me up?”

Hannah nuzzles Goldie and laughs when he licks her cheek. She looks at me, smiling. “Yep. We’re going out.”

“What?” I glance at Raleigh in confusion. “What are you guys talking about?”

“You are coming with us to Freddie’s house party.”

“Party?”

“Party on a weekday?”

“It’s Valentine’s Day.” Hannah sits beside Raleigh.

“Oh.”

“Yeah. So let’s go party. Everyone’s going to be there.” Raleigh says as he rubs Goldie’s head.

I had my suspicion but now it’s painfully clear that they know about me and Archer. And they are trying to cheer me up. They are here when they could spend this special day somewhere alone.

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