it was cold enough that he tugged his sweater tighter around him. The weather didn’t bother him much, though. It was nothing like the frosty Paris winters he’d spent on his terrace with his shitty little telescope, charting what few orbits he could see, making notes in his book, waiting for the streets to clear a bit so he could get to the lab.
He missed it like a physical ache right then, mostly because he was surrounded by hateful people who were slowly choking the life out of the few good ones they had among them, and he was powerless to stop it. It was probably one of the reasons he’d fled. He’d seen Rex’s far reaching aspirations and he knew what price he was willing to pay for them. Maybe he’d do some good in the world, but it would come at the cost of stripping down his dignity, privacy, and empathy.
Archer hadn’t been strong enough to watch it, so he buried himself in work and tried not to feel guilty that his passion took him so far from the one person who loved him most. He didn’t want to think about Julian as a second chance to do something right, because that wasn’t fair to Rex—especially because he wasn’t staying.
Glancing up, Archer watched a few of the stars, but just as he settled down into the sand, he heard voices rising above the crashing tide.
“…always do this. I didn’t ask for any of this, you know. I’m here. As a favor to you.” Archer recognized Fredric’s voice immediately, and his shoulders tensed.
“And just like always, you let them humiliate us…”
“He didn’t do anything wrong, Jacque.”
“And how the hell would you know? You couldn’t see it.”
Archer’s entire body stiffened, and then he heard the sound of a door slam, much like the one on their little cottage. He was on his feet before he was really aware of what he was doing, crossing over the small rolling dune until he found Fredric sitting on the back steps with bare feet in the sand. His shoulders tensed when he heard Archer’s approach, and he gripped the railing, prepared to stand up.
“It’s me, Ar…it’s Will,” he corrected at the last second.
Fredric’s body sagged back down. “Is Julian with you?”
“Shower,” Archer told him. “I heard the fight though. Um…”
Fredric let out a trembling breath, covering his face with his hand. “I apologize. I’m hoping I can talk Julian into leaving tomorrow morning. There’s no sense in going through all this for the sake of…hell, I can’t even say propriety, because that isn’t it.”
“Public humiliation?” Archer offered, because that was what it felt like. “Did he do something so bad people here feel like he deserves this?”
Fredric’s face lifted, then he stood and held out his arm. “Would you like to go for a walk?”
Archer did, only to avoid the potential of running into Julian’s mother only because he didn’t think he’d be able to hold back if she ran her mouth off about her son again. He let Fredric show him the proper way to guide without the dog there, then they headed back down to the wet sand where the water lapped gently at their feet. It was cold, but not cold enough to stop them as they moved further away from the house.
“Was he okay tonight?” Fredric asked after a long while.
Archer let out a small sigh. “Yes and no. He didn’t want to talk about it.”
“I was hoping that changed,” Fredric admitted, his hand tightening on Archer’s arm. “I know she convinced him that putting up a fuss would hurt me—and I tried to prove to him that I was stronger than a little bit of stress, but I put too much focus on getting my career back that I…I let things slide for too long.”
“I don’t think he blames you,” Archer offered, and Fredric let out a humorless laugh.
“I know he doesn’t, and that’s the problem. He should. I’m his father and I let him down in ways that no parent should.” He tugged Archer to a halt, then backed up a few steps so they were out of the path of the waves. “I know this week is personal for him. It’s not just about keeping the peace with his mother. I’m not sure how much he’s told you about Bryce.”
Archer hummed softly, turning his face up toward the sky. “He’s told me enough,” and that wasn’t a lie. Archer didn’t need the fine details to know