“Where. Have you. Been?” I ask again.
“I was in Spain!” Archie throws his hands up and growls. “Fuck, you all know where I was, it was all over bloody social media,everyoneknew where I was and the only one who cared? Grandpa. Of course.”
“Save it,” I snap. “No one’s going to feel sorry for you. What were you doing in Spain?”
Archie huffs out a breath. “I was trying to build myself a life, a bloody name, something from outside of your fucking shadow!” He gestures to me sharply, and when his eyes meet mine, they’re filled with pain and anger. “I wanted something for me, just forme. Something that I built. Me, from the ground up. Something that no one else could lay claim to. Justme.”
“And how did that work out for you?”
Archie scoffs out a laugh. “You’re unbelievable. How can you be so callous towards me?”
“Callous?” I chuckle, shaking my head. “Callous is leaving your wife with nothing but a pile of red lingerie that doesn’t belong to her. Mia deserved that, did she?”
Archie’s face drops, and he quickly averts his gaze. “That… that was…”
“A mistake?” I take a deep breath. “Yes, I’m sure it was. Who was she?”
“You don’t know her.”
“I didn’t ask if I knew her, I asked who she was.”
He frowns at me and draws his shoulders up in a shrug. “What does it matter who she was? She’s gone now.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Well that was fast.”
“You’d know,” he mutters. “You go through women like you go through clean pants.”
I scoff out an incredulous laugh. “You’re really not going to tell me anything, are you? What you were doing in Spain, who this woman was, nothing. You expected to just come back here, offer no explanations, no apologies, and what? Slot back into your old life?”
“Oh my god,” he spits out, running a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, alright?”
“That’s not a fucking apology.”
He rounds on me, his blue eyes wide, fists balled at his sides like he’s considering smacking me in the face.
“What do you want from me?” He rages, veins bulging at his temples. “What the fuck do you want from me? I’m here, aren't I? What does it matter where I was?”
“Because you fucking abandoned your club and your wife and they deserve answers, Archie!” I stare him down, eye to eye with him. “You don’t get to just run away and avoid all the damage when you come back. That’s not how this works. That’s not how life works. You messed up,youmake it right. And that starts with explaining what the hell you were doing.”
“I was talking to a club in Spain, alright?” His expression shifts from anger to something akin to pain. “I… I fucking wanted to make my own way, and I knew that would never happen here. So I made connections, had some talks, and I thought La Liga would be the way.” He turns away from me, shoulder slumping.
I rub a hand through my beard. “I guess it didn’t work out then.”
“No, it bloody well didn’t.” He spins back to face me, jabbing an accusing finger in my direction. “Because no one will go up against you. Even there, they know who Dominic Graves is, and they’re not going to poach one of his players mid-season. No one will fucking touch me because of you!”
“No, not because of me!” I point right back at him. “Because they all know there are ways of doing things! Andthisis not how it’s done! You want out? You want to go La Liga, or Bundesliga, or fucking go kick rocks down a back alley in Nottingham, you can do that! I won’t stop you! But you see out your contracts andthenyou move on!”
Archie runs a hand over his mouth and shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter, I’d still be your son, still have you looming over me.”
“Oh for fuck’s sakes, Archie.” I rub the back of my neck and huff out a breath. “You’ve had opportunities other people could only dream of. You’ve never wanted for anything, not ever in your life.”
“What about a father?” He asks, shaking his head.
I huff out a laugh. “You know, I was just thinking about that the other day, when Mia told me about her family and her history. How fucking awful it was. And you know what it made me think of?” I raise my eyebrows, and Archie shrugs. “Taking you to McDonalds after training when you were a boy. I loved those evenings with you. You were never a sullen teenager, notlike I was. You were always funny and bright, and fucking hell you were a joy to be around. Those nights were the highlight of my week, even if your mum gave me a ticking off for buying you junk food.” Tears burn at the backs of my eyes as I gaze at my only son. “I loved being your dad. Even if I was fucking shit at it when you were little. I wanted to make up for it. I wanted to do right by you. And I’m sorry I didn’t.”
Archie sniffles and runs a hand over his face. “Doesn’t matter now.”
“Of course it does. It all matters now. Because what you do next matters to a lot of people.”
