“Ah, the big brother thing.”
Archer scratched his jaw, the raspy sound of his stubble against his fingers sending shockwaves of desire through me.
“Brooks is actually my cousin.”
“Really?”I frowned.“Wow.Poet never told me.”
Archer shrugged.“He’s my brother in all the ways that matter.We were raised as brothers.It wasn’t until we were older that we found out the truth.His biological mother was my biological father’s younger sister.She died during childbirth.And his biological father was already long gone.So, my parents took him in.Raised us together.Could’ve been worse for him, you know?”
He looked again at Lenni whose expression was soft in sleep.There was no battle, no fights warring in her dreams.
“I told her,” Archer said, gesturing with his chin in Lenni’s direction.“About Brooks being my cousin.That led into the discussion about our parents.”
I paused.“Lenni said they both passed away?”
“Yeah.”He sighed.“Dad died several years ago in a motorcycle accident.Mom died a few hours after Brooks got sentenced.Heart attack.”
“Oh God,” I murmured.
“Yeah.It was bad there for a while.”Archer paused.“Brooks still carries the guilt.He shouldn’t though.What he did for our club brother ...”
Even if Lenni hadn’t been asleep in the same room, I doubted Archer would’ve told me the story.I knew there was something deeper with Brooks.Poet had told me as much, but she never broke his confidence.
“Do you miss the club?”I asked when the silence grew too uncomfortable for me.
“No.The chapter we were part of was going down a bad path.”He looked at Lenni.“Besides, she wouldn’t be here now if I was still involved in the club.Wild, isn’t it?How one choice affects the rest of your life, and sometimes you don’t find out why until years later.”
I nodded.“I think about that a lot.”
“You do?”
“Sure.I mean, if Poet and I hadn’t been looking for roommates in New York, then we never would’ve met Salem and Hadley.And Poet wouldn’t be with Brooks, and I wouldn’t be here with you guys.”
We fell silent again, only this time it didn’t feel uncomfortable.It felt spacious, like we were giving unsaid things between us room to grow.
Mildred moved beneath the blanket until her head finally popped out.She pressed her snoot to Lenni’s neck, causing her to stir.
“Wet,” Lenni muttered.Her eyes cracked open, and she pulled Mildred onto her chest.Lenni yawned.“How long have I been asleep?”
“About twenty-five minutes,” Archer said.
“Did you stop the movie?”she asked.
“Yep.”
Lenni yawned again.“What time are we going to the Ridge tomorrow?”
I held in a smile.“The Ridge?”
“Yeah, that’s what it’s called, right?”she asked.“You call it that.Muddy calls it that.”
I looked at Archer.“Eight-ish.Does that work for you?”
“Hey, just tell me a time and a place,” he quipped.
Lenni got up off the couch and padded toward the stairs.“Good night.”
I scooped Mildred up and took her to the back door to let her out.
