44. Daemon

I awake the next morning to hushed voices arguing at my bedroom door. My head is pounding, and when I spy the empty bottle of whiskey on my nightstand I understand why. Bits and pieces of last night come back to me, the game, the phone call, my father, but when I spy Archer and Josh in a heated discussion, I can’t help but feel confused. I push myself up and both of them freeze, turning to look at me in mixtures of wary and pity.

“What’s going on?” I ask, flicking my gaze across the two of them before settling on Archer, knowing that Josh has a better poker face than he does.

Again the two of them share a look, until Archer eventually sighs and takes a step toward me, as Josh eyes us both, his glare hardening when it hits Archer, before he says, “I’ll give you some privacy.”

I watch him leave in confusion before once again meeting Archer’s stare, as he moves to take a seat on the end of my bed. “I never told you this, but David is a lawyer,” he starts simply, and I’m not sure if it’s my hangover or the confusion, but I find myself missing the point of his stepfather’s occupation being announced to me, when I don’t respond he pushes on. “He’s a prosecutor, so it’s his job to put, and keep, people in prison.” As soon as the words leave his mouth I start connecting the dots, but Archer keeps going. “When you told me that your father was being given a parole hearing, I just couldn’t sit back and do nothing. The idea of him hurting you again,” he trails off, shaking his head, as if the thought is just too much to bear, and still I remain stunned into silence. “David has a lot of pull in his field of work, and the places he didn’t have pull, well, let’s just say money can make people do anything.”

My heart starts to race as I start to make sense of what he is saying, but still I need to hear him say it. “What did you do?” I ask desperately, fear and worry going to war inside of me at the thought of him getting caught up in this.

“Your father’s parole hearing has been cancelled, and a restraining order has been put in place to prevent him from contacting you in any way.” Words, simple words and yet still I start to panic, my breaths coming in quick pants, as he scoots across the bed and cups my face. “I will never let him hurt you again, baby, I promise.”

Something in his touch grounds me, and as I inhale deeply, I can’t help but ask, “You did that for me?” The question is laced in utter disbelief, but Archer only smiles, lighting up my whole fucking world.

“I’d do anything for you, Forbes, I thought after three years you’d have caught on to that fact by now,” he replies playfully, attempting to make a joke out of his feelings in a way that is just so him, and words are falling from my mouth before I can stop them.

“I love you,” I blurt, making his eyes widen in surprise, as I grab the back of his neck and bring his forehead to meet mine. “I love you so fucking much, I think I always have.”

His smile is soft this time. “I love you too, Daemon, and don’t worry, I always knew you were obsessed with me,” he winks with a smile, but my mouth is already on his, erasing the distance between us, until he is mine and I am his.

We kiss until I can’t breathe, until the pain in my head is forgotten, and the weight on my chest doesn’t feel as heavy as it normally does. I’m pulling him against me ready to show him what he means to me, when there is a brisk knock on my bedroom door.

“Fuck off!” Archer calls, making me smile, but not even a second later, Josh is pushing inside my room with a tense look on his face, making Archer groan out loud. “For fuck sake, Peters, didn’t you hear me say fuck off?” he snaps, pulling back a little and readjusting himself in his pants, but as my eyes meet Josh’s, I see worry in them.

“The police are at the door,” he announces, and though Archer curses again, his focus remains on me. “They said they need to talk to you.”

Feeling even more confused than when I woke, I tap Archer and he moves instantly, letting me up, as I reach for some sweats to put on over my shorts and tank. “Did they say why?” I ask, running through multiple scenarios in my head and my mind instantly lands on Jasper. Is he okay?

Josh shakes his head in response, turning to leave, and I move to follow him, but Archer grips my arm and holds me in place. “Silence is always the best policy, no matter what they say, keep your mouth shut, and if anything happens, I’ll call David.” His playfulness from before has disappeared completely, replaced only by his protective mode, and I nod, kissing him one more time, and sliding my hand into his.

“Let’s go.”

We walk downstairs hand in hand and when we reach the living room, I find an officer and a detective waiting for me, the latter of whom I recognize from when everything happened with my father and brother. Detective Myers was one of the first on the scene that night, she took my statement, and saw me through all the shit that followed.

“Daemon,” she greets me, that same no nonsense smile that I remember still firmly intact, and just the sight of her takes me back to that awful night four years ago.

“Detective Myers,” I nod, gesturing for her to take a seat, and she does, as the officer remains standing by the threshold. I see her look between Archer and Josh, who are standing firm at my back, and I wave a hand at them. “You can speak freely in front of them,” I tell her, and she nods, taking a deep breath.

“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but your father hung himself in prison last night, he was pronounced dead at 2:45 a.m. this morning.” She in fact does not look sorry at all, but the silence that follows is deafening, as her words take hold.

My father is dead.

He killed himself.

“He’s dead?” Archer repeats in question, and I feel his stare burning into my back, as detective Myers’ eyes flick to his in wonder, but she nods firmly.

“A guard found him in his cell and he was rushed to receive medical attention, but it was too late, he was already dead,” she tells us, returning her stare back to mine, but I remain frozen in shock.

He’s dead.

My father is dead.

I’m finally free.

Questions are fired back and forth from Archer and Josh, but I drown them out, sitting in disbelief, until Detective Myers rises back to her feet to leave. I follow her in silence, still in a state of shock, as she makes her way to the door. The police officer who accompanied her, leaves ahead of her and climbs back in their car, but Myers lingers.

“It’s okay to feel conflicted, Daemon,” she starts, clearly mistaking my silence for emotion. “We’re only human after all,” she adds, and I know she means well, that her training probably requires her to learn and regurgitate this kind of stuff, but her words are bullshit.

“My father wasn’t human, he was a monster, and I hope he rots in hell,” I tell her truthfully, finally finding my words, and her answering smile is resigned.

“Look after yourself, okay?” she replies with a nod, before turning on her heels and walking away.

When I make it back to the living room, Archer and Josh are still standing there, both of them staring at me, as if they expect me to explode. If I’m being honest I’m half expecting it myself, yet I feel nothing. No sadness, no grief, not even relief, I quite literally feel nothing, and for once my mind is completely silent.

Before either of them can say anything, the front door bursts back open, and in strolls Alexander Reign like he owns the place, with Nova not too far behind. “You can’t just fucking walk into people’s houses,” he scolds him, but Alexander ignores him, smiling widely at me.

“Of course I can, Daemon and I are friends now,” he replies nonchalantly, as Archer looks between us both in question, before settling on his friend.

“I thought you were out of town,” Archer says, not seeming concerned in any way with Reign’s trespassing.

“I came home early,” he replies, waving him off. “Why were the police here?” he asks, and Archer groans, as Josh’s stare hardens at his question.

“For fuck sake, Alexander,” Archer curses, but before he can even yell at his friend, I cut him off.

“My father killed himself,” I announce, and once again silence descends around us, as I drop back onto the sofa and inhale a deep breath.

Hallie appears at the bottom of the stairs having no doubt heard all the drama, as Archer takes a seat at my side, pulling my hand into his. I can feel all of their stares on me, varying from pity to worry, but unsurprisingly, it appears that doesn’t include my goalie.

“I thought we hated your father?” Reign asks, taking a seat across from me, looking between us all, and this time both Archer and Josh curse, but of course it doesn’t stop him. “He killed your brother, right?” he muses, and Josh whips around to glare at him in shock, as Hallie reaches his side looking completely mortified.

“How the fuck do you know that?” Archer spits in shock, and if I could currently feel anything, maybe Reign’s words might have hurt, or maybe even confused me, as to why he knows that, but still, I feel nothing.

He only shrugs in response. “My father ran background checks on the entire team when I got here,” he replies casually, and Archer stares at him in disbelief, but again Reign only ignores him, focusing on me. “Do you want a cup of tea, Daemon?”

“He just found out his father is dead, Alexander, he doesn’t want a cup of fucking tea,” Archer spits, but again I cut him off.

“Actually, a cup of tea would be good,” I reply honestly, and his answering smile is nothing short of smug, as he rises back to his feet and straightens his clothes.

“Seems I know your boyfriend better than you do,” he purrs at Archer, before turning on his heels and walking out.

“He’s fucking crazy,” Josh curses, staring after him like he’s some sort of mythical creature he’s never seen before.

“You get used to him,” Nova replies, causing Josh’s stare to cut to him, and it hardens completely.

“Like I got used to you?” he taunts back, his tone laced in sarcasm and hatred, but Nova just smirks.

“If your sister can get used to my dick, then you should be fine,” he tosses back with a wink, and Hallie hides a smile at the corner of her mouth.

“Nova, I swear to god,” Josh starts, stepping toward him, but Archer jumps to his feet.

“Will both of you shut the fuck up,” he shouts, silencing them both, before turning and dropping to his knees at my feet. “What do you need, baby, tell me and I’ll sort it for you,” he pleads, looking desperate to fix everything, and it’s only now that I realize he already has.

Despite my father’s death, he had already gone out of his way to seek out his stepfather’s help on my behalf. He not only foiled my father’s plans of getting out of prison, but he also ensured my safety from him. Something no one has ever done before, and for the first time since I met him, I finally truly understand the feeling he evokes inside of me. It was never hate, it was always the opposite. Archer Gray came along, and suddenly all my blackness felt a little more, well, Gray.

Ignoring everyone else in the room, I pull him in for a kiss, loving the way his body instantly responds, before I pull back and meet his stare. “I’ve got everything I need right here,” I tell him honestly, and his answering smile is enough to erase anything else.

We share another kiss, before he pulls away to call David and let him know what has happened, no doubt trying to contain any repercussions, and by the time he returns, Reign appears too. To no one's surprise, he brought his full pink tea set, quickly making himself at home in our kitchen, and making us all a cup of tea, whether we wanted one or not.

“Okay, what are we toasting to?” he asks, pointedly looking my way, and like the fucked up person I am, I toast to my father’s death, but what’s even better, is Archer toasts right along with me.

Who knew that my biggest rival would become my biggest supporter, and I couldn’t love him more.