Chapter 36: : Chapter 36

“I’ll drive,” Ezra says as we walk out of the house. Archer frowns, but he throws my brother the keys to his car nonetheless.

“You love sleeping in the car,” I remind him. “Why would you want to drive?”

Ezra pauses with his hand on the door and glances over at me. “Just felt like it,” he says, his tone oddly frustrated. I roll my eyes as I get in the back seat, only for Ezra to scowl at me through the rearview mirror. “So you’ll argue endlessly to have the front seat when it’s Archer that’s driving, but not when I’m behind the wheel?”

I yank the seat belt and put it on, irritated. I’d been looking forward to sitting next to Archer on the drive back, and not only did Ezra throw a wrench in my plans, he’s also being annoying about it. “It’s his car!”

Archer just shakes his head and sighs as he sits down in my seat, adjusting the chair and messing up all my settings. He glances over his shoulder and throws me a sweet smile as Ezra pulls out of Mom and Dad’s driveway, but it doesn’t stop me from sulking. It’s silly, but I really enjoyed the way he held my hand on the drive here, and there was something so peaceful and intimate about chatting in hushed voices as the scenery passed us by. Instead, I sit back and listen to Ezra and Archer discuss sports scores and work.

“Can I have your phone?” I ask Archer eventually.

Archer nods and grabs it from his dashboard instantly, neither of us realizing the way Ezra looks at me in the mirror.

“It was locked,” he says, his tone cold. “You know the code to Archer’s phone?”

My gaze shoots up, surprised he’s noticed something so small. Sometimes I forget just how detail-oriented Ezra is. “He told me the code on the drive here,” I tell him, unsure why that’s something that matters at all.

Ezra glances at Archer and nods slowly before refocusing on the road, and I stare at my brother for a moment. He’s suspicious of us, and I didn’t realize it straightaway.

My mind is working in overdrive as I fiddle with the music, trying to work out what we could’ve done or said that made him act so odd. Was it the way we holed up in my bedroom at the party? We weren’t gone for long, and nothing about it should’ve been all that suspicious. It’s not uncommon for Archer to check in with me and chat for a while.

I bite my lip, my heart beating loudly as I navigate to Archer’s contacts and change my name in his phone, just to be sure. If Ezra truly is suspicious, we shouldn’t take any risks with the text messages we send each other. There’s every chance he’d glance over and read something he should never see, but that won’t matter as much if he doesn’t know it’s me.

I hesitate before replacing my name with the closest thing I can think of, settling on Sarah, since Archer often calls me Sera. Our eyes lock when I hand his phone back, and he shoots me a questioning look. I smile back at him, answering his silent question and letting him know everything is fine.

Serenity

changed my name in your phone because Ezra is acting a bit weird, and it doesn’t sit well with me

I watch him stare at his phone in confusion for a moment, before he smiles. From where I’m sitting, I can just about see his screen, and my eyes widen when he goes into his contact list and replaces the name Sarah with two emojis: a tulip and a heart. Something about it makes my stomach flutter, and I smile as he texts me back.

Archer

okay, darling

Archer

miss you next to me. Missed you in my bed last night too.

Serenity

I miss you too. It’s hard sitting here and not being able to reach for you.

He sighs, and Ezra turns his head, clearly trying to glance at Archer’s screen. Thankfully, Archer locks his phone and puts it away before distracting Ezra with random chatter about the next football game they said they’d watch together.

The journey passes uneventfully, but there’s a certain tension in the air that wasn’t there before. I can’t help but feel like Ezra knows there’s something going on between us, and I’m not sure where that leaves us.

This thing between Archer and me is supposed to end in a couple of weeks, and it wasn’t meant to affect anyone. If Ezra found out, their friendship would never be the same again, and I can’t be the cause of that.

“You okay?” Archer asks as he opens the car door for me, and I look up, surprised. I’ve been lost in thought for most of the journey, never even realizing we’d made it back home.

“Yeah,” I murmur, but he doesn’t look convinced. Archer glances me over as he grabs my weekend bag and throws it over his shoulder.

“I’ll take that,” Ezra says, taking it from him. “Appreciate the help, though.”

Archer looks as startled as I feel, something decidedly territorial crossing his face. I shake my head subtly, and he looks down for a moment, fixing his expression before we follow Ezra into the elevator.

We both know my brother well enough to realize he’s on edge, but if he knew about us, he’d just have said something. It’s likely that he’s suspicious but not sure, and we’re going to have to tread carefully.

“What the fuck?” Ezra murmurs as we approach his door to find water in front of it. His expression is murderous as he unlocks it, only to find his entire place flooded.

“What happened here?” Archer asks, pulling me out of the way. I place my hand on his back and peek past his arm as Ezra walks in, his shoes squeaking.

Archer turns to look at me, his gaze roaming over my face. “Stay here for a moment, darling,” he murmurs, his voice barely above a whisper. “Let me just see what’s going on.”

I nod, and he follows my brother in, only for the both of them to return mere minutes later, their expressions grim.

“Burst pipe,” Ezra says, reaching for his phone. “How the fuck did no one notice?”

Archer grimaces. “If I recall correctly, the unit below you is up for sale. It’s probably empty.” He glances at me, and then back at Ezra. “Just stay at mine until it’s fixed. It’ll be okay.”

Ezra looks reluctant, but he nods. His expression is grim as he begins to make several calls, and Archer leads me to his home, keying in his code—another variation of Tyra’s birthday.

“Take my bedroom,” he tells me. “It has its own bathroom. I’ll take the guest room, and Ezra can take the sofa. If need be, we can put a bed in my home office for Ezra tomorrow.”

“I can’t just take your bedroom, Archer. It’s fine. I’ll—”

“Don’t fight me on this,” he says, glancing over to the corner of his living room, where Ezra is calling his insurance company. “I want you in my bed, Serenity. You won’t sleep anywhere else.”