Page 53 of The Archer Brothers

Footsteps bound up the front porch steps. I place my beer on the table and smile at the memory of the first day I met Ryley. Everything could’ve been different but like I predicted, I was here to pick up the pieces when Evan died. It’s not how I wanted things to be with us, but I’ll take whatever I can get.

The front door opens and Ryley walks in. She’s laughing and looking behind her. She doesn’t know I’m here, reminding me that we need to talk about security and her being cautious when I’m not home. I see the top of EJ’s head, knowing instantly that someone is carrying him. He’s being held too high up for it to be Lois holding him.

They step in and all eyes are on me. My throat closes as we stand there, staring at each other. I blink, closing my eyes tightly and pray that when I open them again all I will see are Ryley and EJ standing before me.

When I open them my worst nightmare has come true. A ghost is holding my son – the boy I’ve raised. A man I buried years ago stands before me, having just been laughing with my fiancée a moment ago.

I look from him to Ryley and back. I don’t even want to think about what’s been going on or how the hell he ended up in our living room.

“Daddy!” EJ exclaims, and the only solace I feel right now is running toward me after being set down. I scoop him up and look at my dead brother as he eyes me with his newly found possession.

“How are you here?” I ask, clearly in shock.

“Ah, don’t act so surprised little brother. It’s not like you didn’t know I was alive.”

I didn’t.

I HAVEN’T SEEN MY brother in six years. We haven’t spoken or emailed. It’s not because we were angry at each other – although he might be now that I’m standing in front of him – it’s because I’ve been fighting against an enemy that may or may not be some type of cover up. Little did I know that I’d also be fighting to get my family back from the one person I trusted to keep them safe.

He stands here, holding my son in his arms as if nothing has happened. As if I’m the one who doesn’t belong here in my own home. The oneIbought with Ryley andwehad planned to fix up together. He’s said nothing to combat the accusation that I believe is true – he knew what was going on. Instead, he ignores me and doesn’t even seem shocked that I’ve miraculously “come back from the dead”.

Nate sets EJ down and kisses him on top of his head. “Go upstairs, EJ. I need to talk to Mommy about work stuff.”

“But what about yous tellin’ me about your trip?”

“I promise, I will,” Nate is soft and gentle with my son, his fingers linger on EJ’s cheek, and his eyes tell me that he loves my boy.

“Can you tell me later?”

“Yeah, I’ll be up.”

EJ hangs on every word Nate says and holds his hand up for a high-five when he passes by. “Later Eban.”

My own voice is caught in my throat. My son has just dismissed me because he believes his father is home. I am home, yet I don’t belong. My brother needs to say something. He needs to face me like a man. There’s a bond between brothers, twins especially, that is hard to sever. Our bond was strengthened when we joined the Navy together, when we became SEALs together. Nothing should come between us, but we both know Ryley and EJ will, and for good reason. Our mother and sister will divide the family because of all of this, taking unnecessary sides, sides that were created by Nate for his own benefit.

If something happened to me while on a mission, he should’ve found out what went wrong and why. SEALs are the elite of elite, the best of the best. We don’t turn our backs and pretend like everything is okay. We fight until the end. We protect our family.

We don’t covet.

When Nate and I were little, we fought, but never anything too serious - he would take a toy from me, or vice versa. I’m older by five minutes and I’ve never let him forget it. I matured faster, shaved first and had a girlfriend before he did. He studied harder, worked out longer and always stayed after practice to be better. With siblings there’s always competition, but with twins I think it’s worse.

The one thing I could always count on is that Nate would have my back, just as I would have his. People knew not to mess with the Archer twins because where there’s one, his brother isn’t far behind. We knew we could always count on each other. The same thing went with Ryley, who was my first serious girlfriend. Once I met her, everyone paled in comparison. Nate protected her like a sister… asister. So right now when I look at Nate living in my home, sleeping with my girl and raising my son, all I see is anger. He’s deceived me for years. I knew he liked her, but I never thought he’d do what he’s done.

It’s one thing to be a father figure to my son, hell I would’ve done the same thing, but I would’ve never crossed the line with his fiancée.

To me, that is unforgivable.

He needs to be a man and admit that he capitalized on my absence so he could take Ryley away from me. Part of me wishes our lives didn’t come to this because after being gone so long, all I want to do is sit back and enjoy my time home. That includes catching a game or two with my brother, who up until this past month was my best friend.

“So how’d it happen?” I ask, knowing that if he goes into details about how he and Ryley ended up together it’s going to make my stomach turn, but needing to hear it from him anyway.

Nate shakes his head and before I can say anything the soft touch of her hand is on my arm. “That’s an unfair question, Evan, and you know it.”

She’s right, but I’m giving neither of them the satisfaction of knowing I agree with her. The anger I felt for Ryley is back now that Nate is home. His posture and relaxed state tells me everything I believe to be true. He must have known and did nothing about it. He took advantage of a cover-up to pursue his own twisted fantasy and make it a reality.

“Do you have anything to say?”

Nate looks at me and his eyes drift down to where Ryley is touching my arm. She removes her hand and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that she did that for his benefit. I look at her, her eyes are downcast and she’s staring at the floor. I shake my head at the thought that everything we’ve worked for these past few weeks is now circling down the drain.

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