Beside Him

Chapter 13// Judgemental

"Archie..." my breath hitched in my throat as I released his name in a whisper, feeling his soft lips on my pulse.

Christ.

"Back to Archie?" He mumbled, the vibrations causing me to slam my thighs together.

"P-please..." I whispered, my hands immediately running up to his soft- so f*****g soft- hair that smelled of pine trees and nature and- safety.

Oh god.

"Please what, princess?" He replied, his voice gruff and my eyes fluttered shut.

"P-Poppy."

Archer pulled away and looked at me, utterly confused.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in.

Then I open them again to reveal the mask of happy, funny, kind, Rivi.

I stored River away. She was never coming out again, not to Archer.

To Archie- always.

To Archer- Never.

"I told you so many times that my legs are always open for you, Archer. Why must you go scrambling like a f*****g panting desperate dog after other girls when you can just have me." I shrugged as he put me down, his face a mixture of disgust and confusion.

"No, seriously, River. What the f*ck are you on about?"

I sighed dramatically, my hand flying to my wrist to cup it- a nervous habit.

Archer's eyes zoned in on the action, snapping his eyes back to meet mine and tilting his head to the left- observing me.

"You're nervous." He stated and I blatantly looked away.

He leaned forward again, his nose touching the top of my head. "Do I make you nervous, River?"

Yes! God, yes!

"No." I muttered, my voice coming out pathetic and week. "You- you wish."

"Let me guess. Poppy Fitzberg- the girl who is known for having the biggest mouth in America trust me I would know-" I narrowed my eyes to which he smirked. "-told you that I left you last night for her. Am I right or am I right?"

I bit my lip and observed him with narrowed eyes. Then I looked away and that was all the answer he needed.

"Thought so." He said and I noticed the hint of anger in his voice. "The thing is though, River, I did do that. At exactly 1am last night, I left your house to go to hers."

My heart dropped as I forced moisture out of my eyes.

"But, and here's the big twist. But, the reason I went was for the exact opposite reason you think. I'm glad you think so highly of me gorgeous, I don't think anyone does at this point.

"The psycho has been bombarding my phone with texts and calls for the past month and a half, so the other day when I texted you, I thought I'd finally put her out of her misery. Thing is, that didn't happen. Instead the texts and calls increased. Last night, i did go to her house, and I told her that if she carried on, her daddy dearest would get delivered a lovely document saying his daughter has to stay a minimal mile away from me."

He leaned forward, pressing his lips to my forehead to calm the pain of his next words.

"Of all people, princess, I never expected you to be so f*****g judgemental."

• • • • • •

"Adelaide!" Pops yelled, taking me in his arms and I took a deep breath of his cigars scent.

"Hey Pops."I muttered wrapping my arms as far as they could go around him.

"So long, baby girl. A week? Two?" He muttered, his strong 'posh' British accent an exact replica of mine. "Me and your Lolly really missed you, baby."

I sighed and pulled myself closer to him. "I know. I'm sorry for over reacting. I'll go to the wedding."

I'd made up my mind yesterday, the guilt of what I'd done to Archer still eating me up alive.

2 weeks. It had been 2 weeks since we'd last talked and I was getting ants in my pants.

I'd never thought that after just one day together, I would miss Archer King so damn much.

Yet here I was.

"It's ok baby. I'm sure Lolly will be very happy to hear that."

"Oh she is." Lolly said, coming into the room with her arms wide open.

We had our greeting and soon enough, I was sat on the softest sofa, my head on the arm rest and my knees up to my chest.

"Lolly," I asked, looking at her as she sipped her tea and watched James Corden while I pulled the blanket up higher, covering my chin. "Have you seen Archer lately?"

I gulped as I awaited her answer. "Of course I have, love." She replied after a while and I frowned.

Oh so he's ignoring me and busting dates with my family?

"He's our neighbour."

My eyebrows shot up to my hairline watching Lolly look at me strangely. "N-neighbour?" My voice was high pitched.

"Yes, Of-course. He's been our neighbour since we first moved in, baby. How did you not know this until now?"

I opened my mouth and closed it again.

How exactly did I not know this before now?

"I don't have a clue." I whispered. "When-"

"Actually I'm sure his family is coming over today for dinner. Every week they do. Just once. You should join."

My mouth dried. "I'd love to."

• • • • • •

I was dressed in a brown a line buttoned down skirt that reached above my knee and a white cropped top, tucked into the skirt. And then, to preserve some sort of modesty before his parent's I'd put on a blue denim jacket on top of the outfit I'd had on since morning.

I left my hair out, twisting in an orangey brown bandanna into it to keep my little hairs away from my eyes.

Then after putting on some light lip gloss and my white vans, I walked out, my phone in hand.

No Harrison woman has ever worn jeans to dinner. You're damn lucky you're not in a ball gown.

I smiled as I remembered Lolly's words, walking down the steps with a small smile on my face.

I stopped in front of my grandparents and cringed/awwed at the sight.

Pops was on one knee, Lolly's hand in his as he kissed it, saying words of affection.

I caught the words 'angelic' 'mesmerising' and the sentence 'luckiest man alive' and I swear I nearly became a pool right there.

Nowadays, boys would have the girl on their lap, saying the words 'peng' 'my ting' and 'f*ck me'.

Charming.

"Oh, Adelaide." Lolly suddenly said, pulling her hand out of Pops's and blushing heavily, standing out against her pale complexion.

I smiled. "I swear you two are more lovey dovey than mum and dad." I said with a shake of my head. They shared a look, Pops smiling slightly at the blush on his wife's face.

"That's because we're actually in love." He said absently and both my and Lolly's head snapped in his direction.

"Huh?"

"Darren!"

The doorbell interrupted us, my head turning towards the large oak door as I awkwardly shuffled around, cupping my wrist in my hand.

"Go get it, Adelaide while your Pops and I have a little talk about what is appropriate and what is not."

I gulped and nodded shuffling over to the door.

Taking a deep breath in, I opened it.