“I have no idea,” Frankie admitted, and the open honesty filled me with pride. “But I’m not scared. We’re gonna have each other’s backs. Even when it gets hard.”
“What about you?” Erin asked, focusing on Archie. Yeah, if I were going to pick the most reticent one in the room. I’d have focused on him too.
Archie met her gaze evenly as he shrugged. “I’ll handle it. Whatever it is.”
Oh, hell. I tilted my head back to stare at the ceiling. Talk about waving the red flag at the psychologist.
Archie
“By you’ll handle it, you mean you’ll fix any problems encountered by anyone?”
The psychologist stared at me like she wanted to pry into my brain. Pleasant expression aside, I recognized a bulldog when I saw one. She’d been amazing for Frankie, and I was happy to be here for Frankie.
I was not planning on letting her pick me apart.
Frankie squeezed my hand though, and I bit back the automatic sharp retort. The woman wasn’t the enemy.
“I meant I’d handle it in as much as do what is needed when I can, and otherwise help or support if I can’t address the issue directly.” I could fix most issues. We had fixed most of the issues. Once we got Frankie far away from Maddy, that would help resolve one lingering issue. I wanted Frankie beyond Maddy’s reach.
“Do you feel that handling those issues are your responsibility?”
“I think taking care of Frankie is my responsibility,” I said, then added, “One we all share. We’re getting pretty good at balancing those needs with our own and looking after her at the same time.”
The stroke of her thumb along the side of my hand pulled my attention. Frankie studied me, but there was nothing but encouragement in her eyes.
“She looks after us too,” I admitted. “Probably does a much better job than we do.”
She only rolled her eyes a little before she crossed them, and I grinned.
“You’re making light of it,” Erin stated. “Do you always downplay your contributions?”
“I am well aware of my worth,” I countered. “Trust me. I know what I bring to the table.” That had never been one of my doubts. Being worthy of her? That was something else altogether. “But I take care of my family, and these guys are my family.”
“At the risk of seeming like I’m picking on you, Archie,” Erin continued, utterly unfazed by my cool stare. Impressive. Annoying, but impressive. “You and Frankie are the closest when it comes to family dynamics, not to mention the fact your parents were involved with each other…”
“I’m going to pause you there,” I said, raising a finger on my free hand. Agreeing to this session for Frankie was one thing. “Their toxic nightmare of a relationship has nothing to do with us, by our choice, not theirs.”
“Your anger at them, Frankie’s anger—the anger of your friends on your behalf—that is a part of your lives.”
Not for much longer. Edward offered a form of detente and seemed to have developed something of a conscience. I hadn’t decided whether I was interested in pursuing his offer or not. “I wouldn’t say anger, specifically,” I began.
“I would,” Jake stated flatly. “I’m pissed for both of you. Your parents are assholes. Well…not your dad, Frankie. I like Hank. So far so good, but the rest. Pfft.”
I didn’t smirk, because Coop gave Frankie a pained smile before he said, “Pretty much.”
Bubba shrugged. “But I don’t blame Frankie or Archie for their parents. If anything, we want to protect them.”
Okay, that was a tad on the humbling side.
“How can you protect them from their parents?”
“By being better than them,” Bubba said flatly.
“By sharing ours,” Jake offered.
“By just being there.” Of the three of them, Coop seemed the most certain.
“The difference,” I interjected before Erin could ask another question, “is I had support from other areas. I had my grandparents and I had Jeremy.” Frankie had fucking Maddy.
“I’ve had you guys,” Frankie reminded us, and if that didn’t shut up any other arguments, I didn’t know what would. “To be honest, I wouldn’t have gotten through this year without all of you. Not sane anyway.”
“Nah,” Jake said. “You’re incredible. There’s nothing you can’t do. We just like being a part of it.”
And that was it in a nutshell. “Still, there are things you shouldn’t have had to face. We like Hank so far, though I have my reservations. He seems good for you, and you seem to enjoy getting to know him. As long as he doesn’t do anything that hurts you, I’m good.”
“And if he does?” Erin asked, plunging the room into silence. I wasn’t the only one who stared at her. Jake’s and Bubba’s expressions had become set in stone, and though he still seemed laid back, I knew that look in Coop’s eyes.
“Rachel will probably get even for me, because she’d do it with a little less bloodshed.”
At Frankie’s utterly nonplussed response, laughter broke through the room, and Erin gave her a small smile.
“I know,” Frankie said. “We’ve discussed this. But sometimes, you have to laugh or you’ll cry. I like Hank. I like the fact I have siblings. Getting to know them is fascinating right now. Will it always be easy? No. Will moving to New York and starting college be easy? Maybe. But probably not. The five of us have figured out how to balance our relationship now. Will that change in New York? With college? With graduation? With finding our careers? Probably.”
“Then we just find our balance again,” Bubba said.
“Every time,” Jake added.
“We’re pretty good with the learning curves in this group,” Coop threw on top. “I mean, we used to screw the grade curve all the time, so between the five of us, we’ll figure
