people one by one, but I knew that Ollie wouldn’t appreciate a joke like that, and—perhaps more importantly—it wasn’t a joking matter. Archer’s mom was dead, and there was no bringing her back. He would be devastated for a long, long time.
Eventually, my mom returned with bags of takeout. She brought them into the kitchen and opened them up, divvying up everyone’s meals. Archer was still talking to Detective Wilde in the front living room, but that didn’t stop her from putting his fries and burger on a plate and bringing it to him.
When she came back into the kitchen, I hadn’t touched my food. How could any of us eat right now? It just wasn’t right. None of this was right.
I watched as my mom pulled Ollie aside. They went into the hall, whispering things so softly I couldn’t hear them. Honestly, I had no idea what they could be talking about, but I knew I’d never hear the end of it if I didn’t at least try to eat. Even though it was the last thing I wanted to do, I lifted my burger and took a bite.
It tasted…wrong. Or maybe that was just because nothing would taste right in this moment.
I was in the middle of nibbling at my fries when my mom and Ollie came back into the kitchen. My mom moved to my side, placing a gentle hand on my back as she said, “I spoke with Oliver. I don’t think that boy should be in this house alone, not after what happened here. As long as you have no objections, I think it would be best if he came with us.”
Okay, that made me nearly choke.
“You want Archer to live with us?” I blinked, glancing at Ollie. Ollie seemed fine with it, considering the fact that he knew everything that had happened between us. Surely having us living under one roof wasn’t a good idea.
But if he didn’t come with us, he’d have to stay here, where he’d have the constant reminder of what he’d come home to, not to mention the cleanup—I was pretty sure the police left the cleanup to the owners of the house. The only thing the coroners took was the body. That wasn’t something Archer should have to deal with, not now. Surely Ollie could handle overseeing that?
“For now,” Mom told me, studying me with emerald eyes that knew a bit too much. “I can’t imagine anyone being alone when they’ve gone through what he has. Still, no boys in your room, Jaz. I mean that. If I catch him trying to canoodle with you, I’ll—” Her colorful threat was drowned out by the fact that she’d said canoodle.
I mean, who the hell said that? Didn’t that word die decades ago?
“Mom,” I muttered, feeling the inexplicable need to crawl out of my own skin, “please stop talking.” Now was not the time to be the helicopter parent I knew she was. Now was…well, I wasn’t sure what now was the time for, but that was beside the point.
Archer was going to live with us.
That should be interesting.
It was a late night. Detective Wilde and Archer spoke for a long time, and by the time my mom and Ollie told him the plan, the sun had gone down. The world of night sat outside, the moon rising in the clear, cloudless sky. Archer didn’t exactly want to come live with us, but he also didn’t want to stay there, all alone.
Just like I’d thought, Ollie told him he’d handle the cleanup. Ollie had connections when it came to that sort of thing.
Ah, crap. No joking about that. This was serious. I needed to stop making comments like those, even if they were only in my head. Never knew when one might decide to slip out.
When the house was empty of all police, when we were the only ones left, Archer started to pack. A few bags, and he brought them downstairs one by one, a sullen expression on his face. I had the feeling it would be a long while until I saw those cute dimples again.
Ollie helped pack Archer’s car; he’d be taking it with us, following us to Ollie’s house. There were enough spare bedrooms in Ollie’s house for an entire football team, so it wasn’t like we’d be cramped on space. Hell, the man had a ballroom off the back of his house. Besides that one charity event, it sat untouched, and I couldn’t help but wonder