Unintended Consequences

Chapter 34 - Archer's POV

Author's Note: Fair warning! This is a really long chapter. It got away from me and there wasn't anything I had the heart to cut. They won't usually be this long but thank you to anyone who gets through it all!
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    I laid in Charlotte's bed until seven in the morning, wide awake. I couldn't sleep knowing how upset she was, so I just held her. I could practically hear the wheels turning in her head as she breathed gently on my neck. She was pulling away. Not physically, but emotionally. I could feel her heart becoming more distant to mine.

    I knew if it came down to it, if her family couldn't find a way to accept us, that she would choose them. Who the fuck was I compared to her dad and brother? I would never blame her for putting her family first, but it killed me to imagine not having Charlotte in my life anymore.

    Guilt flooded my conscience as I remembered Ollie. Fuck, he was my brother and all I had focused on was whether or not I'd lose Charlotte. Oliver's treatment of Charlotte had really been my fault. I'd gotten so wrapped up in her, I'd let Ollie slip through the cracks.

    I slowly rolled on my side, supporting Charlotte's sleeping body so she'd slide gently onto the mattress. I stood from the bed and took a moment to look down on her. Fuck. I really needed to fix this. I could not lose this girl.

    When I got back to the football house James was already awake. He looked as sleep-deprived as I felt with large bags under his eyes and sallow cheeks.

    "Long night?" He sighed as I took my jacket off.

    "Yep. You too?" I asked.

    James nodded as he rubbed his eyes. "Oliver got pretty sick after you left. He's fine." He added quickly seeing my face. "But he was puking and shit for a while. I didn't want him to choke or anything so I stayed up."

    I didn't know how to thank James, but I was filled with gratitude for him. Once again I'd chosen Charlotte over Oliver, and without James, things could have been really bad. I cleared my throat as I punched him gently in the arm. "Good lookin' out Bro," was all I could manage.

    James' face morphed into a quizzical frown for a moment before he chuckled and shook his head. "Thanks, man."

    I went upstairs to take a shower and figure out how to fix the clusterfuck that had occurred yesterday. I needed to be proactive before Charlotte convinced herself it was easier to just end things with me. I let the hot water clear my mind as a plan began to unfold.

    Once I was out of the shower and dressed I headed in search of Oliver. I found him sprawled out on James' bed, still in his clothes from the night before. There was a bucket on the floor that I already knew I didn't want to look into. I silently sent another thank you to James for not putting Ollie in my bed.

    "Dude!" I rattled Oliver's arm to wake him up. He muffled a few random words before rolling over and ignoring me. I had a moment of levity as I realized the Avery siblings woke up in very similar ways.

    "Come on Ollie! Wake the fuck up." I shoved him a little harder.

Oliver slowly blinked his eyes open into a scowl. "What the fuck dude I'm so hungover."

"We need to talk about Charlotte." I walked to James' desk chair and dropped into it.

I watched silently as Oliver sat up in bed. I could see his expression change from confusion to reflection, and then settle on guilt.

"Fuck... I yelled at her didn't I?" Oliver scrubbed his hand over his face. "I can barely remember."

'Yeah, you did. You also basically told her you have resented her for a shit ton of time because she gets everything she wants. Which is bullshit by the way."