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“I have to. I can’t leave her.” He sank into a chair, pressing his face into his hands. I stepped back, letting them all have their moment.
“Archer, you’ve given up your whole life. School, friends, moments with the band, relationships… you did all that for Mum and for us. We won’t let you do it anymore. You can’t put your life on hold because she might die. She might live. Any of us might die. Should we all pause our lives just in case?”
His brows pinched. “No, of course not. But it’s my job. When Dad left, it became my job.”
“And that was never fair, Arch. Let Soph and I help. Let us pick up the slack so you can have a life.”
“I—what if she died, and I wasn’t here?”
“She won’t know, Arch. She’ll remember the boy who gave up his childhood to look after her and her girls. You’ve done enough.”
My heart broke watching them. Two sisters who desperately wanted to take care of their brother and their mum, but his role as protector had been ingrained into him at such an early age that he had no idea how to let himself have a life outside of that.
I moved closer, crouching down in front of his bent legs. “Are you okay?” I whispered against the shell of his ear.
He didn’t say a word, shaking his head so slightly that only I’d notice.
“Can you hold on until your mum gets back?”
“Yes,” he whispered.
I wrapped my fingers around his wrists. “Good boy, then I will take you home and give you anything you need to feel better.”
“I need you.”
“Whatever you need, Arch.”
Chapter 10
Archer
Wegotbacktothe house in the early hours of the morning after dropping my sisters home. My head thumped, my body ached, and my mind raced. I couldn’t get my head around how Mum had found her way here or even walked on her injuries, and the doctor's words about this being the start of her decline echoed around my head. I had lost Mum years ago, but her physically being around had become enough… I’d take that over her not being here any day. I couldn’t imagine living in a world where she wasn’t there anymore.
I must have walked into the house in a daze, because I was now sitting on the sofa in the living room while Ionee handed me a glass of water.
“You’re in shock. Drink this.”
I took it, downing half of it before I handed it back.
“Better?” she asked, and all I could do was shrug in response. “She’s safe now. She came looking for you because she loves you, but she’s safe now.”
I rubbed my hand over my face. “I shouldn’t have left her. I should have stayed with her tonight.”
“And if I thought it would help you or her, I’d take you back there myself, but she’s going to rest Archer and you need to as well.”
I nodded, not sure what to say and too exhausted to think about it too hard.
“The front door… I need to get someone to fix the glass.”
“Pete’s taken care of it. Come on, let’s go get into bed. You want to shower first?”
I shook my head, letting Nee guide me up the stairs to my room, her hand pressed to the small of my back.
Once in the bedroom, she undressed me and helped me get into bed before she undressed and climbed in next to me. We didn’t speak; she didn’t coddle me or promise it would all be alright because we both knew it wouldn’t. Instead, she wrapped me in her arms, twisted her legs through mine, and held me, raking her fingers over my scalp until my body hummed.
“Better?” she whispered.
“Better, I just wish I could turn off my brain. I don’t think I’m ever going to fall asleep.”
