• ARCHER •
I wake up.
"Archie!" Ally whispers excitedly. "A fairy came for us!"
She looks down at the box Amalia left. My lips tilt up. "It wasn't a fairy, Ally. It was our Amalia."
Her eyes widen wondrously.
"She's gonna save us." I whisper.
She smiles, holding onto me. "I know." She says.
•
James walks in.
"Hey, shit stain." I mumble. He turns to glare at me before setting two pot noodles by my side. "Early Christmas present?"
"Nathan told me to bring you it." He said. "One for you, and one for Alexandra."
Hearing her name, she peeks her head out from beneath the blanket. I wrap my arms around her, and she leans into me.
James turns around and walks out, locking the door behind him. I pick Alexandra's up, handing it to her, before grabbing my own.
She finishes quickly. I lean into the box and grab her a chocolate bar, and she smiles before unwrapping it and eating it.
"I'm tired again, Archie."
"Okay. You go to sleep."
She nods and snuggles into my chest. I kiss her forehead, and she drifts off.
I drift off, too.
• AMALIA •
"You know how to cook?" Nathan asks me.
For the past twenty minutes, I've been berating myself for not seeing the signs. I remember the day in the library, when Nathan spat the word boyfriend when referring to Frankie like it offended him. And when Archer told Frankie to get out of his seat in form, Nathan had been there. Most moments, Nathan had been there. He was there during Archer's football game, playing. He was there when I had to sit on Frankie's lap when we first met, driving.
"Amalia?"
"Sorry?"
"I asked if you knew how to cook."
"Oh." I whisper. "Yes. A little bit. My brother—"
"Tell me later." He mumbles. "You can make dinner, then. It can be practice for when we're older."
"What do you mean?"
"When you make us food when I come back from whatever job I have."
I plaster on a smile. Sexist prick. "Right."
"We're gonna watch TV. Shout us when you're done. Make some for yourself if there's enough supplies."
YOU ARE READING
reticent
Teen FictionAmalia Romano is sixteen years old now. Still a dancing prodigy, she lands herself a photoshoot for a magazine that'll help her get to where she wants to be. It seems like everything's going perfectly fine. Her grades are booming, she has a nic...
