A Bad Boy's Gift

Chapter 19

Sitting on my bed with a notepad and pen, I hang up the phone call.

Two weeks. That's how long it'll take for them to come home. What will be left of them? I need to stop picturing two dead bodies. 

I leave myself a note on my bedside table to ring the local funeral home on Monday. 

The bottle of wine I brought up with me is empty. But instead of going down to get another one, I sit on my bed thinking of what flowers they would prefer, whether they'd want to be cremated or buried.

I hear the doorbell ring and pull myself off of the bed. 

I get to the bottom of the stairs when I see it's not the pizza delivery guy at the door.

"Hey, are you okay?" I ask Archer as I gesture for him to step inside. 

"Yeah, I hope I'm not barging in, Molly is at her friend's house and I know you said Hudson has his friend over tonight, so thought you might like some company?" He smiles, "I brought gin." He pulls a bottle of my favourite gin from behind his back.

"I know exactly what to do with that." I turn and walk down the hallway into the kitchen. "Boys, have you finished your homework?" I say as I'm pulling the lemonade out of the fridge and the glasses out of the cupboard.

"Yeah," Hudson says, looking up he notices Archer. "Hey, Jack! I didn't know you were coming back tonight?" He raises an eyebrow in my direction, a slight smirk playing on his mouth.

"That's because I wasn't, I've come to surprise River." He blushes as he looks up at me. 

"We're going to go in the other room now, so let me know when the pizza arrives and I'll come and get mine," I tell Hudson and Alfie. "You can share with me if you want to?" I offer to Archer as we walk out of the kitchen into the snug room. 

I've brought the lemonade and the glasses and picked up a few ice cubes to put in the ice bucket we keep in the snug to save going back and forth into the kitchen. 

"Yeah that sounds great, I had a late lunch though so don't worry about feeding me, I've probably got more space for alcohol than food, to be honest." He perches himself on the edge of the sofa, watching me as I pour our drinks, putting the spare lemonade into the mini-fridge at the back of the room. 

I hand him a glass. "Cheers," I clink mine to his, smiling. "So what are we fancying to watch?" I click onto Netflix, trying to find something we will both enjoy, and opt for The Blind Side, it always makes me cry, which I think I need.

I grab the blankets, hand one to Archer, and pull mine over myself, taking a sip of my drink. 

After about half an hour, Hudson calls me.

"I'll be back in a second, sorry," I say as I un-snuggle myself from Archer's comfy arms. 

I walk out to the hallway, watching Hudson take the pizzas from the delivery guy. Hudson puts the pizzas on the table in the middle of the hallway so he can take the bottle of Coke from the man. "I'll get that Hud," I say, the delivery driver looks at me. 

"Wow, I'd like to take you to the back seat of my car." His eyes take in my form, I've got my Gymshark shorts on with my massive Playboy hoodie, so you can't see my shorts.

"What did you just say to my sister?" Hudson spins round, anger clearly evident in his voice, and showing in his body too.

"Hey, Hudson, go get Arch out the snug." I keep my eyes trained on the perv at the front door. 

"Do you really think it's appropriate to speak to a woman like that?" I say, walking towards the front door, slowly. 

Seconds later I see the man's eyes look behind me and widen.