Adapted

Chapter 19

ADAPTED

All Rights Reserved

©️ Emrys Noah 2021

BETILLA

The next day, Mae was out of my hair. She went on a trip with Lance. It didn't really matter to me because Archer came over before she left. We were laying on my bed. His fingers were playing with my hair and I just stared at my ceiling. Surprisingly, the silence was comfortable. The TV was on. The sound of Teen Wolf on Netflix was dimmed and seemed in the distance. We were at peace. 

"Are there ghosts in your house?" Archer suddenly questioned. I saw up abruptly to look at him with a confused face. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Like you're in your room and the door suddenly closes." He clarified. I thought about it for a second. And replied, "Yeah. Before you came over this morning, I saw a shadow walking by, like, it was probably my imagination." He looked at me for a solid second before bursting out in laughter. "I said are there ghosts, not demons." He moved closer to me. I flipped him off.

"You're mean," I whine and he only chuckled. "My mom wants to have you over for dinner. But I don't think it's necessary. I'll tell her we have plans, don't worr-" I cut him off. "I want to meet your mom." He gave me a long look that made me question my words. "Can I?" I questioned. "No." He replied flatly. I turned away from him and muttered under my breath "What a reassuring presence you are." 

I didn't speak to him until he finally gave in. "Why do you want to meet my mom so bad?" I smiled at him and reached for his face to kiss his cheek. He pulled me to himself. "She was so nice to me the other day." He looked at me, all confused. "You've met?" It was my turn to give him a long look. "Who do you think gave me your departing letter dum dum?" I retorted and turned away. He seemed to notice I was getting upset. He pulled me back to him, "I'm sorry love." He whispered in my ear before tackling my neck with kisses which I loved. 

We decided to head to his house earlier than he planned to, courtesy of me. I was hungry so I forced Archer to get me McDonald's. We sat in the car in the parking lot, arguing about who was going in there to order. I definitely didn't want to go. I was dressed in one of Archer's hoodies and some sweat shorts but they were shorter than normal. To top it off, I paired it with my classic crocs. "You want food, so it's only right, you got to order it." He argued. I looked at him with a sad face. "Arch," I said softly and reached for his face. "Look at me, I'm dressed in your hoodie and shorts, which expose my toned legs by the way. So, you want me to go out there." I said pointing to the restaurant. "And let the whole world see this." I dragged his fingers along my leg, which left a trail of goosebumps. 

In the end, Archer got the food. He couldn't bear the thought of anyone seeing me like that. I used the situation to my advantage. "Took you long enough," I said when Archer got back in the car with my food in hand. I had busied myself with Instagram. He gave me a look that made me regret that sentence. I smiled sheepishly at him and took the food. I noticed he didn't get anything for himself. "You're not hungry?" I asked as he pulled out of the parking lot and headed to his house. He shook his head.

Change of scenery, I was in Archer's bedroom and I sat on his bed with my food in hand and I was completely focused on finishing the first episode of Stranger Things. Archer sat on his desk with his phone in hand. His desk was surprisingly messy. I kept on glancing between him at the TV. Archer seemed to notice that and he started staring at me. His gaze was long and hard. It made me flustered. I finally looked at him, "Why are you staring at me?" I asked. He laughed and said, "I shouldn't stare at you?" He retorted. I frowned and started to move towards him. 

I stood in front of him and he looked back at me, seemingly amused. I went to hit him and he dodged. Instead, his table lamp shattered with a loud noise. "That's expensive." He muttered as he stared at it. My hands were on my face and I groaned. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I'll replace it." He looked at me for a second before scowling at me. "Maybe, I'll piss gold tomorrow, you idiot!" He sneered at me. I frowned again and went back to sit on his bed.

We sat in an awkward silence this time. I stopped watching TV a long time ago. I decided to speak up. "I got a job, Archer." I paused to see his reaction. He just stared at me, I sighed. "My parents pulled some strings and I start tomorrow." He sat up straight. "Tomorrow?"  He asked. I nodded. I knew the questions that were rushing through his head. Why tell me now? Why do you need a job? When will we spend time together?

I reached for him and he came to meet me on the bed. "Archer, I have a schedule. We can meet up after I get off from work." He stayed quiet and just rested his head on my shoulder. I sighed as I rubbed his back. "I'm sorry," I whispered in his ear. The silence enveloped us again but this time it was comfortable. 

"Archer! I'm home." A feminine voice yelled. I was already dozing off. We had changed position and I was resting on his chest and he played with my hair. I was indeed very comfortable and I started to sleep when the voice interrupted. I heard Archer mutter curses under his breath as he moved to get up. I groaned in response. He sighed and kissed my forehead. "My mom's home Betty." My eyes widened. At that moment, she opened the door widely and took a step in. She was not expecting to see me in her son's room, on his bed, on his chest. I sat up immediately and went to meet her. "Hi, I'm Betilla," I said politely. She looked at me for a solid second, now I see where he got it from. She suddenly embraced me in a hug. "I know who you are, Archer wouldn't shut up about you." She said and laughed. 

"Ooh, back when he was still here?" I questioned, I was getting interested. She held my hand and walked me out of his room. I didn't miss Archer's grunt of protest. She told me all about how sad he was before he left for the U.K. I was aware but hearing it from his mom as well made me realise how much he loved me. I looked at him and saw him staring back at me. As if he knew, what I just realised. 

I looked at him and said, "Tell me what Archer was like as a child." He pleaded with his eyes for me to shut up. Archer's mom, Ariana and I prepared dinner and she filled me in on all the juicy details about Archer. It was time for dinner and we all sat at the dining table. His father had arrived a few minutes back and I am not going to lie, it was a bit awkward for both me and Archer. The dinner went by smoothly surprisingly, we all made conversation and I also managed to mention that I was starting a job the next day. Archer obviously didn't like that but he didn't say anything. His dad even told me more things about Archer that his mom didn't mention. Archer also managed to whisper something in my ear, "The more you talk about me with my parents as if I'm not sitting right next to you, the more I want to smack you." The questions stopped coming from me. 

Dinner had ended and Archer and I stayed in his room. "Don't you have a house?" He asked as I snuggled up to him. "Yes, I don't want to be alone," I replied quietly. "Can I stay with you tonight, Archer?" I asked and looked at him. "Well, you've made yourself comfortable." He replied coldly. I touched his face and his eyes closed. His body remained unmoving. I kissed him shortly and cuddled him closely.