"So that's the story you two are sticking with?" Archer crosses his arms as he leans back against the door, blocking the only exit.
Ellie and I look at each other, silently willing the other to stay strong and hold her ground.
"That's exactly what happened," I state zipping up my suitcase and dragging it onto the floor.
"Yeah. We would never lie to you, Archer," Ellie purrs, batting her eyelashes flirtatiously.
Archer frowns, looking back and forth between the two of us. "You expect me to believe that you both fell asleep in the library while studying for finals that both of you finished 2 days ago. And then your phones died, so you couldn't answer any of my phone calls, even though none of my calls went straight to voicemail; so your phones obviously weren't dead, but then your phones magically got charged to 100% in the 30 minutes it took me to get to your room."
Well, when he says it like that our story seems kind of ridiculous. We only really had about 10 minutes to come up with a cover story since we were so busy discussing what the hell happened before he was pounding on our door. Ellie grilled me for a full 20 minutes, trying to figure out if something sexual happened between me and Charlie and if we needed to go to Mrs. Halverson that lives on the first floor of the building to report it. Only after reassuring her that I was positive nothing happened a million times, and taking so much Tylenol I might overdose, did we even start to think about what we were going to tell Archer. This cover story sounded better when we were brainstorming ideas.
"Yeah that's exactly what happened." Ellie smiles, pushing her fluffy ponytail off of her shoulder.
Archer frowns deeper. "Doesn't the library close at 8?"
I try, and fail, to stop my eyes from widening. Shit I forgot about that.
"You can swipe into the library
24/7 during finals week," Ellie coolly replies, not as troubled by his question as I was. "Don't you remember?"
"But Mom said you guys were already done with your finals." Archer points out.
"We had a take-home final in Econ that was due this morning we both totally forgot about. We had to stay up all night to get it done in time." Ellie continues to supply answers.
I just stare at the ground and let her take control. Archer has always been able to tell when I'm lying, so I try to make myself as invisible as possible. The room is quiet for a few minutes. I look up to find Archer staring at me intently. His eyes bore into mine, hard and unwavering. I don't know how much longer I can hold on.
"I don't care what you were really doing last night as long as you both were safe," He says quietly, never breaking eye contact. "But you know you don't have to lie to me about it, right?"
I look back down at the carpet, kicking at my suitcase by my feet as I resist the temptation to tell him what really happened last night. Before I have the chance to spill my guts there is a knock at the door. Archer and I switch spots as he moves to sit on my bed and I go to open the door. I swing open the door and freeze, looking up into Charlie's crystal blue eyes.
"Shit!" I grunt slamming the door shut and pushing my body against it to make sure it stays closed. Charlie knocks again, calling my name from the other side of the door.
"Kaiydeen?" I hear in between the knocks. I stare at Ellie with my face full of panic as he continues to knock. "You never called me back after you left this morning so I just wanted to make sure you got back to your room safely."
How the fuck does he know where I live??
Ellie looks at me helplessly, for once unsure of how to make this situation better. You know what, this isn't so bad. He hasn't said anything about the party yet. He didn't even say where I left from. He could have been studying in the library with us. Our cover is still intact. The thumping finally stops. I tilt my ear toward the door, trying to hear the sound of receding footsteps. Instead, I listen to Charlie continue talking.
"I'm not exactly sure why you won't open the door. Maybe it has something to do with last night..."
Shit. Ellie and I both look over at Archer who is staring at me slightly confused.
"All I can really remember is downing a whole bunch shots and then following you back to campus trying to convince you to come back to my room. I guess it must have worked because when I woke up in the middle of the night you were sleeping next to me naked—"
Archer's eyes harden and he springs up from the bed, striding over to the door and shoving me out of the way. He flings it open and grabs Charlie by the collar of his shirt, his momentum carrying both of them into the hallway. Archer slams Charlie into the wall, lifting him slightly so he is closer to eye level.
Archer looms over Charlie, using all of his 6 feet 3 inches to intimidate him more. Charlie isn't actually that much shorter than my brother though, his eyes reaching Archer's nose without the extra lift.
"What the fuck did you do to my sister?" Archer snarls, glowering at Charlie.
Charlie gapes at the furious figure crushing him against the wall, unable to say anything.
"Archer don't! He didn't do anything!" Ellie and I both yell as we run into the hall, trying to separate the two of them before anyone comes out into the hallway to see what the commotion is. Archer doesn't budge, continuing to hold this poor boy against the wall.
Charlie looks down at me, his eyes burning with confusionand anger. "Why do all of the men in your life try to hurt me?"
A/N Sorry for the late post! To make up for my tardiness I will be posting two chapters tonight. Enjoy!
Much Love,
Naomi
YOU ARE READING
Loves Me Not
Teen Fiction"I may not remember much, but I do know that I had the best time with you last night." Charlie drops his hand from his mouth and lifts his head to stare into my eyes, pushing his hair back from his face at the same time. "And I know this is awkward...
