Page 98 of Best Wrong Thing

Dad opens and closes his mouth a few times. “It’s not the same.”

“No. It’s not. You destroyed your marriage. You broke Mum’s heart. Archer and I aren’t hurting anyone.”

Dad gestures to Archer. “He’s using you, Archer. This is some pathetic attempt to get back at me.”

“No, it’s not.” Archer stands and holds my hand. “We didn’t know who each other was when we met.”

“When did you meet?” Molly asks.

“The day you and Dad told me you’d got married. I went out to get drunk,” I say.

“He wandered into the bar where I work. I thought he was cute, so I persuaded him there were other ways to destress.” Archer smiles at me and swings my arm.

“I didn’t know you had a son. How could I have slept with Archer out of spite?”

“And I didn’t even know you were married until the next day,” Archer says.

“But you carried onafteryou found out,” Dad yells.

“Not at first.” I fight to keep my voice calm.

“And you’ve been lying all this time,” Dad says.

“Like you can talk. How long did you lie to Mum? How many other women did you screw behind her back before Molly? You can’t expect me to be perfect when you’re far from it. Take a good long look in the mirror before you dare to judge me, Archer, or our relationship.”

“You need to break up.”

“No.”

“It would mean a lot to me if?—”

“No!” I scream at him. I’m not just saying no to this ridiculous request but also to the hundreds of times he’s said those words. The hundreds of times I’ve cowed down to him because I thought I had to. I won’t let him bully or manipulate me ever again.

Molly moves to the space between the table and the kitchen. She raises her hands, turning one palm to Archer and me and the other to Dad. “Tensions are running high right now. We should take a few moments to think before you say anything you can’t take back.”

Archer puts his hands on either side of my face and stares into my eyes. “Are you okay?”

My chin trembles. Tears prickle. “No.”

He pulls me to him, holding me tightly, and rubs my back. I breathe harshly against his shoulder. I don’t want to give Dad the satisfaction of seeing me cry because of him.

“Let’s go for a walk. Give Mum a chance to calm your dad down,” Archer says.

Will she be able to? Do I even want her to? At this point, I’m not sure I care anymore.

“If you leave together, don’t come back,” Dad snaps.

“I don’t think anyone should say anything else until you’ve all calmed down.” Molly crosses to Dad and puts her hand on his chest.

She smiles at Archer and me. “He didn’t mean it.”

“I—”

Molly slaps her hand over Dad’s mouth. “Having a bit of time apart is a good idea. Do you have your phones?”

Archer pats his pocket and nods.

“Good. I’ll message you. We’ll sit together later and have a calm conversation.”