𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙊𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣 (18+)

𝟏𝟗. 𝐢'𝐦 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐥

baby come on home
━━━━━━━━━━

'Cause I get down on my knees
Oh, I pray that love won't die
And if I always try to please
I don't know the reason why

━━━━━━━━━━

Archer's words lingered with me for the rest of the week. I couldn't get the thought out of my head. Why didn't he take me if he could? I sat at one of the tables at the usual diner, waiting for my order to come. It took all of my strength not to call him and ask for an explanation, as I went through my messages and my e-mails.

He had stopped texting me. I hadn't heard from him since Monday, and it had all been work-related. I missed him like I missed air, and it was difficult to walk past him as if we didn't know each other. Mr. White's lingering, tired eyes would still look at me, but he wouldn't dare to break the silence between us. I knew he thought he was respecting my decisions, but I wished he cared enough about me to break his own rules.

Friday was as lonely as I had anticipated, but at least I had Tina's farewell party and something else to look forward to. When Tina's departure was announced, Paul became extremely upset. He clearly didn't want her to leave, and he spent the entire week treating her as he should have done a long time ago. Was this what I would become? A "too late" kind of girl?

I swallowed as tears welled up in my eyes, trying to get back control of my emotions. Come on, Audrey. Looking in the mirror, I told myself. You're no longer a little girl with a crush. But I knew I was. He stopped us and took responsibility, and all I did was throw a tantrum and leave him because he wouldn't pick me.

"I'll be there in ten." These were my first words after picking up Tina's phone call.  

I took another look in the mirror. My long, dark red dress complemented my auburn hair curled up in a bun. Its heart-shaped neckline revealed just enough chest to be acceptable. A slit on the right side of the skirt exposed my pale, slim leg. Silky white gloves reached my elbows and covered my arms. I didn't wear much make-up, so my freckles were on full display. My serious expression was softened by a natural blush, but the red lipstick made me look a little sexy, even slightly mature for my age. I wished I looked good enough for this to be my revenge dress, but you could see through the sheer layer of foundation that I was tired and that my eyes were reddened from all the crying and the lack of sleep.

"Hey..." Tina's voice was light and comforting in some way. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Tina, of course I'm okay. Let's get wasted, it's your last week with us." I forced a smile, and she must have thought I was convincing because she stopped digging and started the car. We arrived at our destination in just ten minutes. Paul took care of everything, and he decided to rent a mansion just so Tina could be treated like a princess and feel like he was doing everything he could to get her. She kept ignoring him, so it wasn't working.

We got out of the car and met with Paul at the entrance. He led us through the party, which had everything: drinks, a pool, and a rooftop terrace with a view. It reminded me of the last time Mr. White got all over me on the balcony. Then I turned to my left and saw Archer and his father approaching us. I tried as hard as I could to keep a smile on my red lips and to focus all of my attention on the younger White.

"Hey." I greeted Archer. "Good evening, Mr. White."

"Wow, Audrey, you really dolled yourself up, huh?" Archer's compliment made me nervous because I could feel his father's gaze on me. "Are you trying to impress someone?"

This guy. I wanted to strangle him there and then. He knew what he was doing, and it worked because Mr. White cleared his throat and remained silent, as if awaiting my reply. "I'm not going to find a boyfriend if I always wear my dull suits, am I right?" I played along, smiling with amusement. I didn't care anymore.