reticent

21

• AMALIA •

I'm straightening Alexandra's long blonde hair when my phone starts to ring.

     "Can you check that for me?" I ask Archer.

     "Yeah, sure." He says, reaching onto the table and turning it upwards. "It's your dad."

     "Can you tell him I'll call him back?" I question.

     "Like, answer the call and tell him?" He asks.

     "Yeah." I say as I finish a strand of his little sisters hair. I run my fingers through it before moving onto the next one.

     "Okay." He says, voice tainted with nervousness. He answers it, and the ringing stops as he puts the device to his ear. "Hi, Mr Romano. It's Archer." He says. A smile blooms onto my face. "Oh, yeah, she's here. She just asked me to answer because she's straightening—yeah, yeah, you can talk to her. Hang on."

He puts the phone up to my ear, holding it there. "Hi dad." I say.

"Hi, baby. Are you guys okay?" He asks.

"Yeah, I'm just doing Alexandra's hair." I say.

"Who?" He questions.

"Archer's sister." I reply. "Are you on your way?"

"We're leaving in a minute." He says. "Do you want me to bring you anything?"

     "No, I'm okay." I reply.

     He's quiet for a moment before saying: "is anyone else coming that I don't know about?"

     I bite the inside of my cheek. "Frankie is." I say quietly. Beside me, I notice Archer stiffen. "But he's coming on his own."

     "Okay." My father says.

     Now that I think of it, Frankie hasn't talked to me all morning. Maybe he changed his mind. Though the thought of him not coming would make anyone else in any other situation upset, it fills me with a strange sort of relief.

     "I'll call you again when we're almost there." He says.

"Alright. Bye, I love you." I say.

"I love you too, sweetheart. Bye."

He ends the call. Archer sets my phone back on the desk, and he's about to say something when an ugly shadow appears from behind him.

"Kids aren't allowed in here." Jess says.

"Neither are dogs." I say as Archer opens his mouth. He closes it with a laugh.

She scowls. "Ally, you have to go back to the little kids room."

Alexandra frowns and turns to me. "You said I could stay with you and Archie."

"And you can. Ignore her." I say.

"Amalia." Jess says. I don't look at her. "You and Archer were getting pretty comfortable on the bus. I even saw you holding hands. Aren't you supposed to do that with your real boyfriend?"

"Aren't you supposed to wear a muzzle?" I ask.

Archer smiles, then turns around. "Scram, Jess. Amalia already kicked your ass once."

     I blush. I like how he's confident in me. How he believes in me. Because I will definitely hit her again.

     "Are you still mad at your dad? He'll be here, you know. You might wanna talk to him." Jess says.