but Mom didn’t need to know all of the details, so I let her continue thinking whatever it was she wanted to.
I might’ve prepped for it like I was going on a date, too. Whoops. What can I say? I guess when it came to Archer, taking things slow just wasn’t an option. We had too much history, had gone through so many things together prior to today. Plus, I knew how good he was with that dick, so…yeah.
You’d think after that afternoon with Dante and Vaughn on Friday, my vagina would want to cool it for a bit, but nope. If you thought that, you’d think wrong.
Though I knew I shouldn’t, I wanted him. I wanted him so bad. Archer had been the focus of my anger, my rage, for so long after that party, along with his girlfriend and everyone who’d been there. I’d bottled up so many emotions, blamed him for everything when in reality it had been Brittany pulling the strings.
You know what they say about love and hate? It’s a very thin line, and I’d been straddling it this entire time with that one.
The only way Archer and I would ever know if there was something concrete between us, if what we felt could last or if it would fizzle out after the shiny newness wore off, was to try. Simple as that.
When my makeup was done and I thought I looked good, I headed out. Ollie was at work again—no shocker there—but Mom was home to see me out. Jacob sat in his car just outside, and though I tried to make a mad dash to the front door and slip out before my mom reached me, I failed. She was like a freaking ninja.
“Honey,” Mom spoke, stepping between the door and me. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, and she wore yoga pants that were a size too big. Or maybe she’d been losing weight working for Ollie, cleaning his entire house weekly from the floors to the ceilings. “Are you sure you want to go? I still don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Mom wouldn’t think it’s a good idea, even if I wasn’t being framed for murder. If she had her way, I’d never see any boys, ever. Maybe she thought I’d end up like her, pregnant from a guy who kept his true nature from me.
But that was the difference between her and I. She might not have realized the kind of person Dad was, but I knew exactly who my guys were. What they were capable of, what they’d do for me, I knew it all, and while I might’ve been uneasy about it at first, I wasn’t any longer.
“I know,” I said. “I’ll be fine, Mom.”
“I’ve heard that one before,” she remarked, frowning as she folded her arms over her chest. “Lots of times. And each time, somehow, something always happens. Oliver thinks I should let you make your own decisions, that you’re old enough to make your own mistakes and face the consequences, but I…I don’t know if I agree with him on that. You might be eighteen, but you’re still my baby.”
God, I was not ready for a super deep talk like this.
“Mom, I have to go. Jacob will be with me, anyways. Nothing will happen.”
“Jacob was with you at that party, and those two girls still ended up dead.”
“Yes,” I said, “but then he backed up my story. He was an alibi, Mom. At least the police aren’t trying to pin their murders on me—”
She sighed. “Oh, yes, thank heavens for that.” Mom could not have sounded more unimpressed if she’d tried.
Nothing I said would make her switch to my side, so I simply shrugged. “I don’t know what else to say, Mom, but I do have to go.” Before she could say anything else, I went to hug her and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. Something I didn’t often do, but it worked: she stayed quiet, and she let me move around her to the door.
The sun was out, and the weather was warm. For a nice spring day, I didn’t even need a jacket. I’d settled on a long-sleeved shirt and jeans, along with my studded ankle-high boots. My long hair was free, and the wind tousled it as I headed to Jacob’s car and got in.
Mr. Grumps did not look too happy, but I guess I called him Mr. Grumps for a reason. When he opened