Page 97 of Best Wrong Thing

“Then why were you out all night?” Molly asks.

He shifts in his chair, cups the mug in his hands, blows over the surface, and then puts it on the table. “We were talking.”

“The two of you?” Dad motions between us.

Archer nods.

Molly beams. “It’s so good you’re finally getting along.”

“About that?—”

“Your animosity towards Archer was always ridiculous, Jacob. I hope you’ve apologised for your ignorant behaviour. Maybe you’ll start being civil towards Molly too.”

Archer clenches his teeth.

I lift my chin and do my best to ignore Dad’s jibes. “There’s something I need to tell you.” I’m speaking to Dad and Molly, but I’m looking at Archer.

He gives me an imperceptible nod. “There’s something we need to tell you.”

“What?” Dad leans against the kitchen counter and sips his coffee.

“We love each other,” I reply.

“We want to be together,” Archer says.

Dad snorts. “Don’t be ridiculous. If this is some kind of joke, it’s not funny.”

I put my hand on Archer’s thigh. “It’s not a joke. We’ve been seeing each other for a while.”

Dad’s face flushes bright red from the chin up, like someone is filling a glass with blackcurrant juice. “You can’t be.”

“Why?” Archer asks.

“Because I’m married to your mother.”

“So?”

Dad glares at me. “You did this to get back at me, didn’t you? You thought it would be funny to sleep with your stepbrother as punishment for my relationship with Molly.”

I stand and rest my hands on the table, returning his angry stare. “No.”

“What are people going to say, Jacob?”

“Why would they say anything? Everyone knows we’ve only been stepbrothers for five minutes. We’re not related.”

“Is that really what you think?”

I want to say yes, but the words stick in my throat.

Dad laughs. “Don’t be so naive. No one is going to care how long you’ve been brothers. They only see that Molly and I are married, and they think you’re disgusting. Which you are.”

“We’re not. We’re not doing anything wrong,” Archer says.

“I’d expect naivety from someone of your age, but Jacob is more than old enough to know how the world works. He knows people judge. He knows people will talk about you.”

How dare he talk to Archer like that? The anger that’s been simmering inside me since I found out about his affair with Molly boils over.

I slam my hands against the table. “You didn’t give a damn what people would think when you had an affair, so why should I care now?”