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“Take her home?” Archie asked, and he had to be looking at Coop. “Unless you need to go somewhere else—is your mom…”
“I don’t know.”
“Bad meatloaf,” Coop said.
“Excuse me?” Archie grunted.
“That whole situation—we’re calling it bad meatloaf.” Coop grinned at me. “The really dry kind you get forced to eat because it’s all there is for dinner.”
Archie snorted, then pressed a kiss to the side of my head, almost nuzzling my hair. “You don’t ever have to have bad meatloaf. That’s an affront to the taste buds.”
His arm around me helped. The hug grounded me and kept me on my feet at the same time. Gradually, the panic ebbed and I could take deeper breaths.
“So…is there bad meatloaf at home?” He sounded like he couldn’t believe he was asking the question.
“I don’t know, the kitchen was clean and there were no dishes when I got home last night.”
“So 50-50.” Archie hummed.
“Hey, you can always come study at my place,” Coop offered. “I’d say go to the library, but it’s closed on Sundays.”
True enough.
“Well, if I know Muriel, she’s going to head up and sleep for the rest of the day soon. She always needs a good rest after she’s been away. We could sneak back up to my wing, and you guys can hide there.”
“You’re both sweet,” I admitted. “But I need to go home, I need to get this homework done, and I have to decide about Jake tonight.”
“What about him?” Archie asked, not mentioning my sweet comment.
“She’s got a date,” Coop supplied. “Just not sure about going yet.”
“You should,” Archie said slowly, and when I twisted to look at him, he loosened his hold but didn’t let me go completely. “Yeah, I know I can’t believe I’m saying it either. But going out would get you out of the house, and you know he cares.”
I knew they all cared.
“We all want to make this right.”
Coop had said the same thing.
“Time,” I told him quietly. “I think I need time.”
Archie nodded slowly. “Time we can do—but are we talking minutes? Hours? Days? Give me some frame of reference?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted except… “I want to forgive you. I want to forgive all of you.”
Relief punched through his expression, and he pressed his forehead to mine. “Thank fuck.”
I laughed, then brushed my fingers to his cheek. “I’m trying—but I need the time.”
“You take whatever you need, Frankie. Just—don’t disappear again. Please?”
Coop coughed once behind me, and Archie and I both glanced at him. He raised his eyebrows. “Same thing I asked. Just keep talking to us.”
“I promise to try—can that be enough for now?”
I looked from one to the other.
“Hell yes, that’s enough,” Archie said. “Do you mind if I kiss you?”
