The Archer Boys

Chapter 2

The Archer house was so big I had resorted to searching the walls for a map. To my disappointment, there was no guide or maps of any kind on the beautifully decorated walls. I ended up walking aimlessly around for about 10 minutes, wandering from hallway to hallway. When I had set off to find the bathroom, I had apparently missed a turn because now I was in a completely different wing of the house. I turned a corner and relief overwhelmed me when I noticed the similar wallpaper of the hallway to the one outside of the study. From there, I was sure that I had found the bathroom and I had never felt such accomplishment in my life. Like the rest of the house, even the doors looked extravagant. My hand gripped the doorknob and gave it a light push.

Well, fuck. Of course, this would happen to me.

To my surprise, the room I had found was indeed not the bathroom. It was more like the game room. A nice flat screen tv was propped up onto the opposite wall. Sat across from the tv were Jace, Ryder, and Alec. The situation was even more awkward on my behalf because boys never thought it was necessary to wear shirts. I had hope that they wouldn't notice me but when I finally realized my mistake, they had realized my presence. 

"I"m sorry, this is definitely not the bathroom," I muttered, backing out of the door.

If I had thought I was getting off easy, then I would be horribly wrong. A hand clamped down onto the edge of the door, stopping it from closing any further. I would’ve at least given a try to closing the door and leaving but I was up against someone who was all muscles, someone I would not have a chance against.

"Come back here after you used the bathroom, wouldn't want you to get lost again now would we?" Jace asked, his height towering over mine.

"It's across the hall, if you're wondering," someone called behind from behind Jace.

I managed a nod before I shuffled my feet according to his directions. Jace's eyes were burning holes in my back and I couldn't be more motivated to hide myself in the bathroom. The knob felt like a metal or trophy. As gracefully as possible, I rushed into the safety of the marble floors and mirrored walls. If I wasn't so terrified I would be basking in the glory that was the interior of the bathroom like I had done to every other part of this brilliant house.

"Oh please, please, please, have something happen that would prevent me from going through that dinner," I whispered to my reflection in the mirror. 

The thought was merely hopeless, especially with my luck. When I took a good look at myself, I saw that my neat hair was ruffled and my cheeks tinted pink.

Blushing? Really? Could my teenage hormones not get so hyped?

I ran water down my face, avoiding my eyes to keep the makeup from running. Knots and tangles were nested in my hair, leaving me now choice but to pull it into a bun. 

"Okay, go in there and put on a brave face. They're just boys. Nothing is going to go wrong. Just eat like it was any other day," I said to myself.

Sure, I said the words aloud but that didn't mean I believed them because quite frankly, they were all lies. I could not eat like it was any other day and the Archer boys weren’t just boys. They were a clan that would eat me up alive. After cleaning up, I traced my steps back to the game room and held my breath to suppress the nerves within me.  I stepped into the room, slightly wrapping my hands in the fabric of my shirt.

"There she is," Alec smiled, "Come on, we're going to be late for dinner and mom hates it when we're late."

They all strolled out the door, leaving me to trail behind. In all honesty, I had no problem with walking behind them. I didn't even need their faces or toned stomachs to distract me, looking at their muscular backs was good enough.