A Bad Boy's Gift

Chapter 13

My mind goes blank. All I can see are Archer's beautiful blue eyes. I can tell he heard what the woman said, the room is quiet, my phone is loud. 

His hand reaches out to hold my hand that's resting on the table. His skin is slightly rough, from lifting weights, but the warmth his hand offers contrasts perfectly.

"Miss Abbott?" I remember I've still got the phone to my ear.

"Yes?" My voice is so quiet.

"I am so sorry to tell you this over the phone, do you have any questions for me?" She asks. 

"Um, yes, I... I do. Um, do I need to come to bring them home?" I ask, more questions, I have more questions. "And... What happened?" I almost don't want to know the answer, but I have to know. I can't not know.

"So, we will sort everything out here. Including contacting people on your end to make them aware. We will arrange for them to be brought back to the UK for you. Then they will go to a funeral home and you will then discuss with the funeral home how you would like to proceed." I hear papers rustle on the other end of the line. 

"It was a boating accident. They were on an excursion, to see whales, and one swam under the boat but tipped it. Your mother and father fell out." That seems to be the end of her story because she doesn't continue.

"They can't swim." I state, "Why did no one pull them out of the water?" I seem to have found my voice, angry that no one helped my parents.

"They did, someone saved them both, but they had been under the water for too long, essentially they..." 

"Drowned." I finish her sentence for her. "My parents drowned." 

I look down to where my hand is being cocooned by Archer's, feeling thankful to not be alone right now.

"Do you need to tell me anything else or can I call you tomorrow?" I ask her, just wanting to climb into bed.

"It's okay, I'll speak to you tomorrow, we will have to speak quite a lot over the next few days to make arrangements, so, I'll leave you be tonight, get some rest. I'll speak to you tomorrow."

"Okay, thank you, goodbye." The phone goes silent, but it remains pressed to the side of my face.

Archer squeezes my hand. "Would you like me to take you home?" He half-smiles; a pity smile.

"My car." Is all I can say.

"I can bring it home later. I'll get Benjamin to grab me from yours once you're settled, then I'll bring your car back."

"Okay, just don't rag it." I look into his eyes and he smiles at me.

"Damn, I was hoping to take it around the track," Another squeeze, to tell me he was joking. I smile, not my happy smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"Shall we go?" I go to grab my purse out of my bag, but Archer stops me.

"You're not paying." He pulls his wallet out, "It's our first date, you can pay next time." He winks.

"You think there's going to be a 'next time'?" He can hear the joke in my voice.

He stands up and puts his hand out to help me up. His hand in mine again has a calming effect on me. I smile up at him, even with my heels on, he's still taller than me. 

He settles the bill with the waitress and then holds my hand as we walk down the stairs. I can feel the butterflies through my belly. It's a nice feeling.

When we get to his car, he opens the door to the passenger side, allowing me to get in. He's become a gentleman in the time since school. I'm going to be screwed.