by Laura Gray
“You know me,” Elie said with a shrug. Connie’s face became more serious as she drew closer to Ellie.
“I wanted to tell you something before,” Connie started. “Before we got into the car, I mean.”
Ellie tried to keep her face neutral. “Yeah, you did. What was it?”
“Well,” Connie took a deep breath. “It’s something that’s been going on for a while now, a few weeks I think. I haven’t told you yet, which is crazy, but it just kind of happened, and then it spiraled, and now there’s so much I haven’t told you even though I really wanted to—”
“Connie,” Ellie interrupted her, placing her palms on her shoulder. “I know something's going on between you and Arjun.”
Connie’s eyes widened. She stared at Ellie in stunned silence for a moment. “How?”
“I saw you guys making out in Flash the night I met Archer,” Ellie confessed. “And then last night, Archer and I saw you guys fighting in the lawn.”
“What? You saw that? How?” Connie asked. “That happened in the middle of the night.”
“Yeah, Archer and I got locked out on the balcony,” Ellie said. Connie raised a brow.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said. “You guys got locked out together again?”
“Yep,” Ellie said frankly. “Anyway, the point is, I know.”
Connie sighed, shaking her head with a small smile on her face. “Why didn’t you just tell me you knew?”
“I don't know,” Ellie said, watching random passersby thoughtfully. “I just thought if you hadn’t told me, there had to be a good reason for it.”
“Do you remember the day we moved in?” Connie asked with a wistful smile on her face. “You, Arjun and I?”
“Yeah, we moved in with one bean bag chair and a refrigerator,” Ellie remembered with a laugh. “We were such edgy kids.”
Connie chuckled. Ellie turned to her with a patient smile.
“So...what happened?” she asked her.
Connie told her everything. She told her about the first time she and Arjun had made out, almost two weeks ago. It had been on a random wine drinking binge they were doing in the living room that Ellie had decided to sit out of. The kiss they shared in Flash was their second one.
“It was amazing,” Connie admitted. “I really can’t describe it—I mean it’s Arjun—always wearing pajamas, eating cereal out-of-the-box Arjun. I had no idea that kissing him would be so...electric.”
“Whoa,” Ellie breathed. “So...what happened then?”
“Well, we hooked up that night,” Connie said. “And two more times after that. Everything was going well—we were having fun and it was too early for us to discuss anything. And then, ugh,” Connie raised her eyes to the ceiling. “Tyler messaged me saying he wanted to drop by while we were in Amsterdam.”
“Okay?” Ellie said unsurely. Tyler was Connie’s most significant ex-boyfriend. The two ended their relationship years ago, but met once or twice a year where they would grab a dinner date that inevitably ended with them hooking up.
“Well, I told Arjun that Tyler wanted to come over and he asked me if I was going to hook up with them when I see him. I didn’t want to lie to Arjun so I told him that I wasn't 100% sure. I asked him how he felt about it.”
Connie sighed. “At first he got really silent. He spent a long time thinking really hard about what he wanted and how he felt about this. Finally, he decided that he has feelings for me that won’t let him be comfortable with Tyler and I together. He didn’t lie either, which I appreciate.”
She looked sad. Ellie reached out and grabbed her hand. “Then?” she prodded her.
“Then, we wanted to discuss what kind of relationships we’re both looking for, but that somehow turned into a stupid argument,” Connie rolled her eyes. “He understood that I couldn’t commit to a relationship and he didn’t want anything less than that. I understood that it pained him to think of me with someone else but I couldn't make him false promises, you know...it’s Arjun.”
Connie wiped a few tears that leaked out of her eyes. “I can’t lose him. It’s just way too risky dating friends. I can’t lose what the three of us have together either. I didn’t want it to get weird. So I told him we should stop. He agreed with me and we decided to go back to being friends.”
Connie sniffed. Ellie watched her expression carefully.
“Are you happy with your decision?” Ellie asked her.
“It’s the right call,” Connie said, nodding to herself.
“That’s not what I asked,” Ellie said with a small smile.
“Okay, don't play your mind games on me, Wolfe,” Connie chided her. “We came to that decision for a reason.”
“I’m not playing mind games, I’m just asking you a simple question,” Ellie said pointedly.
“I’m fine with it,” Connie said with a shrug. “It’s just too soon for us to commit to each other. If it had been going on for a few months before the whole Tyler situation arose, it would have been fine. But two weeks? No. The best decision is for us to stay friends.”
“Why can’t you just tell Tyler to fuck off and meet you in New York?” Ellie asked her.
“Because it’s not about New York or Amsterdam, El,” Connie explained. “Now, it’s about whether Arjun and I want to be exclusive with each other. We could have gone another few weeks without discussing it, sure, but once the question came up, it was no longer about Tyler.”
“Wow,” Ellie breathed. “How do you feel?”
“Weird,” Connie said with a watery smile. “He wanted to take some space for a while and obviously I agreed, but I…I—”
“You miss him,” Ellie finished for her. Connie nodded weakly. “That’s okay, Con! You don't have to want to be with him in order to miss him. You guys are like best friends! After you and I, of course.”
Connie gave her a watery chuckle. “Thanks, El. It’s just that I couldn’t bear the idea of promising to be in a relationship with him only to ruin both that and our friendship because I didn’t think it through.”
“I get it, I get it,” Ellie chanted as she extended her arms in her direction. Connie stepped forward to place her head on Ellie’s shoulder and her arms around her waist, giving her a tight hug.
“Thanks, El,” she repeated as Ellie held her. “I wanted to tell you about all this but Arjun and I had decided to not involve you until we knew what we were.”
Archer was exactly right. “Don't worry about it,” Ellie said to her with care. “I didn’t tell you I knew either. I knew you’d get around to telling me when you were ready. I just wondered what took so long for you to be ready.”
“I don't either,” Connie said thoughtfully. “I’m not a secretive person, you know me. I just...I don't know—”
“Relax,” Ellie said to her, rubbing her back. Connie gave her an appreciative smile. “It’s okay.”
“Really?”
“Of course, silly!” Ellie chuckled. “Come on, let’s get these girls and go get something to eat.”
The twins led Ellie and Connie to a posh-looking restaurant called Tickets. The maitre d had already reserved a table for them on the terrace of the restaurant, from where they could see the stunning view of Barcelona’s skyline. They got settled in their seats with glee—they were all exhausted from the long day of walking behind them.
“We gotta order right now,” Ellie blurted, her stomach rumbling with hunger. “Where’s the menu?”
“There’s no menu. We pre-ordered the best meals here so we wouldn’t have to wait,” Regina said. “They should be here soon.”
“Thank god,” Ellie breathed. Beside her, Connie’s phone began to ring.
“That’s my mom, she’s been trying to reach me since last night,” Connie said, standing up. “Excuse me for a bit, ladies.”
The twins watched Connie leave with a pointed gaze. A tall, beautiful waitress approached their table with french fries and freshly baked bread of different kinds provided with dipping sauce.
“Yes,” Ellie growled, pulling the tray of bread towards her. “I’m going to eat you so hard.”
“Ellie,” Morgana said. “Now that your friend is away for a bit, it might be a good time for us to discuss something that Gina and I thought was necessary.”
“Which is?”
Regina leaned forwards, wrapping her hands together. “We just want to make sure that you’re not screwing with our brother’s head.”
Ellie straightened up, taken aback by their bluntness.
“A lot of women like to get close to Archer because of the money or our family name,” Morgana continued. “Generally, our brother never lets us meet the women he’s dating seriously. He parades endless bimbos before Regina and I so we’ll get tired and stop trying to interrogate them.”
“Fat chance,” Regina said with a laugh.
“Well...how can I convince you I’m not after your brother’s money? Do you have, like, a test?” Ellie asked unsurely, shifting in her seat.
Regina and Morgana laughed amongst each other. “We know you’re not after Archer’s money,” Regina said with a shake of her head. “We’re sure of it now that we’ve taken you shopping. We know how malicious freeloaders work, and we’d bet good money that you aren’t one of those.”
“Thanks guys,” Ellie said with a lazy grin, popping a fry into her mouth.
“But that’s not enough,” Morgana raised a finger. “We know why you don't like him, but we don't know why you do like him.”
“Huh?”
“Our brother can be really annoying, Ellie,” Regina said matter-of-factly. “We’ve lived with him for ten years and we’ve seen it all. He can be angry, rude, sarcastic, narcissistic and insulting all in one sentence and seem totally cool about it.”
“And he snores,” Ellie added sourly.
“That too,” Morgana agreed. “You’ve been together for six months now, you must know all this.”
“I do.”
“Then, why are you still here?” she asked Ellie. The sisters awaited her response with a surprising amount of intensity. Ellie set down her fork to give them a proper answer.
Why did I say yes? If Archer hadn’t been...Archer, would I have still agreed to this kind of a business deal? Ellie asked herself, his bright green eyes popping up in her mind. The money played a huge part, of course, but even before that, when I knew of none of it, there was just something about him…
“While he may appear rude and angry on the surface, Archer has depth that surprises me every day,” Ellie replied honestly. “He's complicated and caring and...I really enjoy being around him.”
Regina and Morgana seemed satisfied with her answer, since they had identical smiles on their faces.
“All I know is that I want to be around him every day,” Ellie improvised. “Except when he’s asleep ‘cause even light snoring really annoys me.”
Regina chuckled. “Well, we hope you love him because he seems utterly crazy about you.”
“Really?” Ellie asked with a bemused expression.
“Are you kidding?” Morgana asked her. “I have never seen him listen to someone the way he listens to you—do you remember last night, Gina? He was hanging on to her every word.”
He was? Ellie wondered, trying not to look too mystified.
“Totally!” Regina agreed fervently with her sister. “He looks at your with so much respect and awe.”
Respect and awe? Have they heard us bicker? Ellie shook her head and munched on some bread.
“It’s important to us that he’s happy,” Morgana said pointedly. “He’s a good person and he’s not as strong as he looks.”
“What do you mean?” Ellie asked.
“We’re not saying Archer was ever a happy-go-lucky person,” Regina started. “He was always...moody. Ever since Gordon disappeared though, he took a turn for the worse.”
“Wait, you call your dad Gordon?” Ellie asked.
The twins shrugged. “We don't remember him much at all,” Regina stated matter-of-factly. “We barely spent any time together. He got sick when we were very young—only three or four.”
“That’s awful,” Ellie said softly.
“It was worse for Archer,” Morgana said. “He was thirteen and he loved Gordon. He grew up knowing what our father was like when he was healthy and he held onto that memory for a long, long time. He used to visit him the most often, up until six years ago.”
“What happened six years ago?” Ellie asked.
“He hasn’t told you?” Regina asked in a hushed voice.
“No...he rarely ever talks about his dad.”
“Well, the family had put Gordon in a special home when we were six,” Morgana said. “Archer used to visit him all the time in the beginning, but over the years Gordon’s schizophrenia got a whole lot worse. Archer would come back from the visits looking really weird sometimes. Regina and I went to visit Gordon once, a few years before he disappeared, but he recognized none of us, not even Ma.”
“Then, one day, six years ago, Archer had gone to visit Gordon again and we were all at home, waiting for him. Suddenly, the phone rings and turns out it's Archer calling from the hospital. Gordon had stabbed him.”
“No!” Ellie gasped, leaning away from the table.
“Yes,” Morgana’s grey eyes were wide and fearful. “He hadn’t been stabbed just once—he’d been stabbed three times.” Archer’s scars on his lower abdomen flashed in Ellie’s mind. “We’ve asked him about it a bunch but he only ever says so much about the incident. All he’s told us is that Gordon forgot who he was and thought he was there to harm him. One line, that’s it, after which Archer always changes the subject.”
“He never went to see Gordon again after that,” Morgana finished.
“I don't think Ma would have let him, even if he wanted to,” Regina said shortly.
Ellie stared down at her plate, an uneasy, nauseous feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. She'd always sensed that Archer had been through dark times that looked darker still because she knew of his father’s illness. But she couldn’t have guessed at the final nail in the coffin, at the literal blood, sweat and tears it would have taken for Archer to finally say, enough.
“I can’t believe he’s been through that,” Ellie murmured.
“He’s a tough guy,” Regina said lovingly. “He needs someone tough in his life—his problems are not for the faint of heart.”
“No, they’re not,” Ellie said softly, thinking once more of the green-eyed man she'd run into on that lonely terrace. She tried to picture him the way she found him there—angry, sarcastic and irritated. But the image of him in her mind had already mutated. The depth in his eyes that she always thought she sensed seemed obvious now. Now that she pictured him on that terrace—chin held high in the air, brown, silken locks blowing around his emerald eyes—she realized she could always see it, hidden just behind the surface.
And now I know why.
Chapter 7
Game-plan
Niles drove them back to the chateau after they finished having dinner. Regina and Morgana suggested checking out a couple of more shops before they headed back but Ellie refused fervently. Thankfully, Connie was backing her position and didn’t want to walk to any more shops. The foursome made their way back to the mansion.
On the way back, Ellie received a text message from Archer.
Meeting in our room, 9’o'clock. Bring Connie and Arjun. Ellie frowned as she read the message, wondering what it was about.
By the time nine o’clock rolled by, Ellie had changed out of her tired clothes and slipped into the new pair of pajamas that the twins had bought her today. The material was soft and velvety, and their rich, dark green shade reminded Ellie of Archer’s beautiful eyes.
There was a knock on her bedroom door. Ellie looked up from her position on the bed. “Come in,” she called.
; “Hey, El,” Arjun said as he twisted the door open and stepped into the room.
“Hey, Arjun. How was golfing?”
“Boring.” Arjun turned a thumb down. “I’m never doing that to myself again.”
Ellie chuckled. “That bad, huh?”
“The old Bradford dude and his creepy son were only there to talk about this merger or that merger,” Arjun rolled his eyes. “And the game was mostly just us standing around. Maybe I didn’t get it, but I don't think I really want to.”
There was another knock on Ellie’s door. This time it was Connie’s red head that popped in through the door.
“Hi, El, can I come in?” she asked as she peeked in.
“Yeah, come in,” Ellie said, glancing at Arjun. Aside from a slight tightness in his eyes, Ellie saw him give no other reaction to Connie’s entrance.
“Hey,” Connie said to Arjun with a polite smile.
“Hey, yourself,” Arjun replied, returning her smile. The two stared at each other for a long moment while Ellie glanced between them rapidly, as though she were watching a tennis match.
The lock of the main door clicked and it swung open once more. Archer stood outside dressed in khakis and a navy polo.
“Hello,” he said coldly as he stepped in, his emerald green eyes staring at them with a guarded expression.
“Hi,” Ellie replied. “How was golfing?”
“Crap,” Archer replied, pulling out a cigarette from his pocket. He lit it up and sat down on the couch before them. “Uncle is too sore and old to play and doing anything with Bennet around is really irritating.”
“Agreed,” Arjun said darkly. “Your cousin’s got a whole golf club stuck up in his ass.”
“Try a baseball bat,” Archer replied, sharing a dark chuckle with Arjun.
“So, why exactly have you called this meeting?” Ellie asked Archer.
“Well, as you know, tomorrow is the day that we leave for Paris,” Archer stated, leaning forward to balance his forearms on his knees. “Tomorrow evening we will be joining my cousin and his wife for a really prissy party on their extremely prissy yacht with the prissiest of their friends.
“You guys know what that means,” Archer continued darkly. “Arjun, Ellie—you’ve experienced Bennet’s unpleasantness firsthand. You know that he’s going to try and undermine you guys every time you speak.”
