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I’m startled. “Hetoldyou? Gah! Unbelievable!”
Marlow bursts out into laughter so loud that heads turn in our direction.
“I win!” He punches the air with a fist.
“Pardon me?”
“Ty and I had a bet.”
“Oh, you bet on me and Archer, you snake?”
“Chill. We did. But I mean, come on. You two were kinda obvious something was gonna happen. Either you’d kill each other or fuck. I don’t talk to Archer about you, but you”—he leans over, picks up a strand of my hair, and curls it around his finger with the most charming grin—“just gave yourself away, señorita.”
I swat his hand away, lean back in my chair, and cross my arms at my chest, sending him a glare. “Nicholas Perry Marlow, I really don’t like you right now.”
Marlow flashes me a smile. “Yeah, you do. You are not that sensitive. Well, not with me. Maybe with Mr. Chancellor.”
Asshole.
“Is he any good?”
God, if his laughter wasn’t so contagious, I would’ve choked him out. I purse my lips, shake my head, and scan the restaurant.
“I see you and Ty are all cozy again,” I say, trying to change the topic.
Now that the Berlin Wall is down, Marlow visits the Eastside every other day.
His expression softens at the mention. “It’s so nice after two years, yeah. Maddy took a boat with me there. We talked about them relocating and they agreed. Sort of.”
“Huh.”
“Listen, they didn’t have access to the mainland for two years. Some of them have surviving relatives. Some like Ty and Owen have a huge inheritance. So, yeah… They are moving west.”
“Wow…”
Marlow’s expression goes grim. “Listen, I know Archer has a bad reputation. After the Change, things weren’t pretty. We might’ve been cooped up in the prettiest place, but we were trying to cope, you know, and figure things out. Money doesn’t solve mental problems. We had a mourning streak. Then an angry streak. Then partied like crazy.Survival of the littest, we called it. We got over it. But Archer… He started partying on his own.”
“What does that mean?”
“He isolated himself from the rest. Locked himself up for days, got drunk and high. Then re-emerged and worked like a maniac for days without sleep.” For a moment, Marlow absently stares at his cocktail. “I think we all kinda bonded more for some time after the Change. Archer—he doesn’t know how to bond. Except for with Droga back in the day. So he just… started losing it, you know. He used to be different back at Deene…”
Marlow goes quiet again.
I wish I knew that old Archer, the one with a smile that’s happy, with cockiness that’s cheerful and not bitter.TheArcher who enjoyed life.
“But!” Marlow cheers to me with a drink. “Looks like Archer is back on track.” He winks at me like I know the secret.
“And the rest? Why won’t they leave?”
“Many of them—us—don’t work or work remotely. We have fat bank accounts.”
“You don’t go see family?”
“Most are not allowed. This is not a resort. It’s a restricted area. Some of our family members come. If they can get the clearance. The Attorney General. Senators. Those with their own private jets.”
“Why don’t you leave? Go to Australia?”
“Not now. I have a commitment to Archer. But in the future, when the world lockdown eases… Who knows.”
