“Too bad I keep all my incriminating stuff in a storage locker.”
“So that’s what the weird little key is for. You’re busted now, Dr. Jones.” Speaking of Dr. Jones, my eyes go to the Indiana Jones hat I got for Archer as a joke. He has it on his dresser, and his room is too neat and tidy for it to have just been discarded there.
“Though really, I wasn’t bored yesterday. I hung out with Sam in the morning, and then I worked on building a laptop.”
“I thought you said you didn’t want to even think about work.”
“I don’t, and I didn’t. I’ve been working on this gaming PC for a while and haven’t had much time to devote to it lately. I used to build them all the time in my youth. It’s like my comfort food now since real food makes me vomit.”
“Building a computer is comfort food?”
“I told you I’m a nerd.”
“You really are,” he says with a smile and grabs his phone, turning it off silent. His on-call hours start soon. “I’m making breakfast. What do you want?”
“An omelet.”
“You’re still craving eggs?”
“Yeah. It’s so weird.”
Archer’s lips curve into a smile. “I think it’s pretty damn cool. You’re growing a person in there, and it’s making you crave things you normally don’t like. It was a little ball of cells and now it has a heartbeat and an influence over what you eat. You say you’re a nerd, but you haven’t heard me get excited about biology yet. I have a degree in biology if you didn’t know. I’m sure that turns you on.”
“It does. And since you love biology so much, you should give me a lesson.”
“I plan to at least one more time before you have to leave.” He kisses me and tells me to lay back down while he makes breakfast. I snuggle up under the covers, loving how the blankets smell like Archer’s cologne. I doze off, waking up only when Archer comes back into the bedroom. He’s carrying two plates of food, and it smells delicious.
I push myself up, fluffing the pillow behind my back. “I wonder if I’ll still like eggs when I’m not pregnant anymore.”
Archer hands me my plate. “I don’t know. I’d guess no, but it’ll be interesting to see.”
After breakfast, we shower, get dressed, and go downtown to see the monument circle. It’s ungodly hot and humid today, ending our walk along the canal early. We’re eating lunch when Archer gets a call from the hospital. We wrap things up quickly and go back to his apartment.
Sam has the day off again today but isn’t home at the moment. Archer gives me a kiss goodbye and hurries to work, promising to call as soon as he can. I put our leftovers from the restaurant in the fridge, and go back into Archer’s room, changing out of my dress and back into my booty shorts and a t-shirt from Archer’s closet.
Ready for a nap, I turn on the TV and snuggle in bed. My phone rings and I grumble when I remember I left it on the dresser and I have to get out of bed to answer it.
“Hey, Mom,” I say, flopping back onto the mattress.
“Hey, honey. How are you feeling?”
“Tired and nauseous, but overall good.”
“Are you able to take a nap?”
“Yeah, I’m in bed, actually.”
“Oh, good.” Mom’s been checking on me almost daily since we told her about the baby, and things are good between us. “Try and get as much rest as you can now. You’ll need it.”
“Good point. How’s Rufus?”
“The new meds seem to be helping. Poor old guy. What about Archer? Have you seen him recently?”
“Yeah, a few minutes ago. I’m at his house.”
“How has he been treating you?”
I don’t take it as an insult. I know she’s concerned and wants to make sure Archer is committed. “Like a princess. He’s been great, really, and is excited for the baby.”
“Is he there? I wanted to talk to you guys about the baby shower.”
“It’s way too early to talk about that, Mom.”
“Not plan it, just talk about it. You’re my baby and you’re having a baby. I’m not going to apologize for being excited.”
“I like that you’re excited now, and no, Archer isn’t here. He just got called in for surgery. He thinks he’ll be back in a few hours at least.”
We chat for a few more minutes before we hang up, and I don’t even bother finding something to watch. I roll over and fall asleep in minutes.
A loud pounding sound wakes me up with a start. I sit up, confused for a split second, and then remember I’m at Archer’s. I look at my phone; I’ve only been asleep for forty-five minutes.
Someone knocks on the front door again, hard, heavy, and desperate. I unlock my phone and call Archer, not expecting him to answer. He doesn’t, and I swing my legs over the bed, peering out into the hall. The door is locked. Archer made sure of it before he left.
A few seconds go by, and I think whoever was outside must have left. I let out a breath and prepare to go back to sleep. And then the person outside knocks again.
“Archer!” the man outside the door yells. “Are you in there?”
They know Archer?
“I know you’re in there, man!”
And they’re angry. What the hell?
The pounding on the door starts again, so loud I’m scared they’re going to bust through the door. Swallowing my pounding heart, I unlock my phone, thinking I might need to call the cops about this crazy guy.
“Look, Arch,” the guy says, voice muffled. “I’m sorry for all that shit I did before. Can we talk about it?”
I leave the bedroom, going through the small living room toward the front door. Should I open it? This guy seems to know Archer…Nope. No way I’m opening the door.
“Come on, Archer. Stop being such a fucking asshole.”
He kicks the door.
“And I’m calling the cops,” I whisper, hands starting to shake. I get my phone unlocked.
“Who the hell are you?” Sam’s voice is so welcome right now. “And what are you doi
ng here?” I hurry to the door and unlock it to let Sam in before that guy does something to him. But as soon as I throw back the deadbolt, the door is shoved open, and the doorknob hits me right in the stomach. I fall back, tripping over the entryway rug. I catch myself with my bad wrist, and pain shoots up my arm.
“Shit, Quinn,” Sam says, dropping his gym bag and going in after the guy who was pounding on the door.
“Archer,” he calls. “Are you here?”
Sam helps me to my feet and rounds on the guy, shoving him against the wall. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Where’s Archer?”
“I’m not telling you shit.”
The guy turns, eyes red and bugged out. He’s on something, and it scares me even more. My hands go to my stomach on their own accord, protecting this little life inside of me. I know it takes a lot to hurt a baby at this time, but getting whacked by the door hurt.
Bad.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” the guy says, twitching slightly. “Duke University,” he mumbles, reading the words on my shirt. “Archer went there.”
So this guy really does know Archer, or at least knows Archer went to med school at Duke for some reason. Then his eyes go to my hands clutching my stomach, and he tips his head.
“Who the fuck are you?” Sam demands, arms held out at his sides. “I’m calling the cops.”
“No need, I’m leaving. Sorry. I thought Archer lived here.”
“Why?” I rush out. “Why are you looking for him?”
The guy turns at me, giving me a blank stare for a few seconds. “Haven’t seen him in a while.” He sidesteps away from Sam, who’s pulling out his phone. “Tell Archer I was here.” He looks right into my eyes, and there’s something familiar about his brown eyes.
“I don’t know your name.”
“Robert,” he says with a twitch. “But everyone calls me Bobby.”
Stay tuned for the conclusion of Quinn and Archer’s story.
Only time will tell if everything Quinn and Archer fought to have will be lost. As Archer finds himself going to lengths he never imagined possible to protects what his, going to lengths he never thought he’d go … Will this be the end game?