Archer was up and out of his seat without a word a second after I'd finished speaking, jumping across the front counter to sprint to the kitchen.

Every single pair of eyes at the table were on me, each expression on their faces more worried than the next.

"Hadley," Victoria snapped. "What happened?"

"Uhm..." I trailed off, biting my lip.

I couldn't exactly say I knew what the protocol was for this situation. So I settled for not saying anything at all. But I must have not done a very good job at pretending that nothing was wrong, because Vittorio, Sophia, Karin, and Victoria all looked over at Regina's empty place at the table.

"I'll be right back," I blurted out before dashing my way behind the front counter to the kitchen.

I walked hesitantly towards the place where I'd seen Regina crouched on the floor earlier, crying into her hands, not wanting to mess the situation up even more. When I found Archer, he was bent down on the floor beside his mother, and he was gently gripping her face in his hands, speaking to her in a soft, soothing voice I'd never heard before.

"Mom, listen to me. Dad's not coming back. He's in prison. Chris is dead. Snap out of it."

He kept repeating those words over and over again, trying to calm Regina down, but it wasn't working. Regina was slumped against Archer, crying her heart out onto his shoulder, and I don't think I'd ever seen someone cry like that before.

It took me a moment to realize that traitor tears were streaking down my cheeks as I watched the heartbreaking display before me.

"What's going on?"

I quickly stepped out of the way as Vittorio marched into the kitchen, closely followed by Karin and Victoria.

"Archer, what happened?" Vittorio demanded of Archer, bending down beside him.

"I don't know," Archer said, his hazel eyes wide. "She hasn't had a flashback like this in years. Something must've set her off, but I can't think of what it could have been."

"Is she still taking her medication?" Karin asked, her hands at her face.

"No," Archer answered. "Her doctor figured that she'd be fine without it. I'm telling you, she hasn't had a flashback in at least two years."

"Come on," Vittorio sighed. "We need to get her upstairs."

Archer slid out of the way while Vittorio scooped Regina up into his arms and stood, making his way for the stairs that lead up to the apartment upstairs.

Karin immediately followed after her brother, Victoria close on her heels, and a moment later, they both disappeared out of sight.

I looked towards Archer, feeling more than helpless, hoping he was going to say at least something that would stop me from freaking out.

"Stay here," he finally said after a moment of tense silence. "With the kids."

"Archer, I can - "

"Just do it, Hadley."

There was something in Archer's voice that I didn't know how to describe. He sounded desperate, flustered, and just a little scared all together.

I gave a nod, staring at my shoes. "Okay."

I turned and left the kitchen before either of us had the chance to say anything else. I wasn't so sure if that would complicate things even more, if I saw a look like that on his face again.

I didn't think I'd ever seen that much pain before.

"Is everything okay?"

I took a seat at the table across from Sophia, resting my head in my hands, thankful that I had at least stopped crying for the time being.

The group of smaller kids didn't seem to think anything was wrong again, and the older kids - Carlo, Mia, and Lauren - had enough tact to distract them elsewhere over by the fireplace.

"I don't know," I muttered, taking a deep breath.

"Poor Regina," Sophia sighed, her eyes downcast. "And she was doing so well, too."

"What...what exactly is the matter?" I asked, choosing my words carefully. The last thing I needed was to upset the family when everything else had gone completely disastrous.

Sophia sighed again, picking dismally at the plate of half eaten food in front of her. I waited for her answer with baited breath, hoping everything wasn't as bad as they seemed to be right now.

"Regina has PTSD," Sophia said after a moment, looking up at me.

"That's post traumatic stress disorder, right?" I said for confirmation.

Sophia nodded. "And she has a pretty bad case of it, too. Did Archer tell you what happened with the family?"

I bit my lip, feeling my nerves rise. "Yes."

Sophia nodded again before continuing to speak. "Well, you can imagine how awful it was for the two of them after everything that happened. It certainly wasn't easy for Regina, especially since she was pregnant with the triplets at the time."

I fought back a shudder and another wave of tears that threatened to fall. "Right."

"Regina was diagnosed with PTSD a little while after the murder and a horrible case of depression, too," Sophia said, lowering her voice. "And after Patrick's trial, things got ten times worse. She used to have these dreadful flashbacks at random intervals during the day, you know, something that would remind her of everything that had happened, and it'd be like she was reliving the entire thing over again."

I gasped, my jaw dropping. "You mean s-she was there when it happened?"

Sophia sighed, looking upset. "Yes, she was. And so was Archer."

There was no point in trying to keep back my tears now, because after those words were out of Sophia's mouth, I was crying.

Archer was eleven when that had happened. How completely awful was that to experience when you were so young? Seeing your own father murdering another man?

No wonder Archer was the way he was.

"And now?" I asked shakily, trying to inconspicuously dab at my eyes.

"Well, I'm sure you've seen how Archer is now," Sophia continued, lowering her voice even more. "He does everything he possibly can for this family, but it sure as hell isn't easy for him with his MDD."

That one got me stumped.

"MDD?" I repeated slowly. "What is that?"

"Major depressive disorder," Sophia answered. "He's had it ever since he his dad was put in prison."

My God. That certainly made a ton of sense.

"But he seems so pissed off all of the time, not angry!" I pointed out, trying to be as quiet as possible.

"Apparently anger is a sign of depression," Sophia told me. "That's just the way Archer's takes form."

I slumped backwards in my chair, my mind spinning with all of the information I'd just been told.

Regina had post traumatic stress disorder, and Archer had major depressive disorder.

How could they both have such serious disorders like those and still continue on with their lives as if nothing was wrong?

I had no idea how any of this was possible. It made my heart hurt, more than I thought possible.

"But I hope that doesn't sway your opinion of Regina and Archer," Sophia added, sounding a little anxious.

"No!" I said quickly. "Not at all. They're amazing people. I just can't believe that happened to them."

Sophia nodded in agreement, brushing a strand of her dark hair over her ear. "I know. It's awful. But we deal with it the best we can."

No kidding. This was awful.

"Is there...anything I can do to help?" I asked Sophia after a few moments of silence.

Sophia gave me a curious look, as if she couldn't really figure out if I was being sincere or not. "Just stay with Archer."

I wasn't going to have a problem doing that.

Three hours later, it was nearing nine and I hadn't seen hide nor hair of Archer, Regina, or any of her siblings. My nerves hadn't settled any, I was still prone to bursting into tears at any second, and I was beyond exhausted. I could only imagine how everyone else was taking this.

Most of the little kids had already started dropping off to sleep in random corners of the coffee house. April and May were passed out on my lap on the couch, Georgiana and her sisters were curled up by the fireplace, and Portia was curled up in Mia's lap. June, for some odd reason, was passed out on a table.

Sophia, Ana, Marc, and John had long since left for the apartment upstairs, and I had no idea when they were going to be back.

I had no idea what was going to happen now. But I doubted I'd be leaving anytime soon.

"You think everything's okay?" Lauren asked after awhile, looking over at me.

I sighed, slouching back against the couch even more. "I can only hope so, Lauren."

Carlo and Mia both made noises of agreement. I wasn't so sure what good hoping was going to do in this situation.

"Hadley. Hadley, wake up."

I jerked awake with a start and stared around, looking for who'd woken me up. Karin was leaning over me with an apologetic smile on her face.

"Hi," I yawned, struggling to sit upright. "What's going on?"

I looked around for all of the young Incitti kids, but the coffee house was surprisingly bare of anyone but Karin and me. How I managed to sleep through everyone moving about the place without me noticing was a miracle.

"We're leaving," Karin said, looking sheepish. "I'm sorry everything turned out this way."

"No, don't," I said quickly, shaking my head. "It's alright. I had a lot of fun at dinner tonight."

Karin smiled again. "I'm glad, then. We'll all have to meet up together for dinner again, I hope."

"Of course," I agreed with a smile of my own. "That sounds amazing."

"D'you need us to give you a ride home?" Karin asked, glancing around. "It's already past ten right now."

I bit back an obscenity, slapping a hand to my forehead. Crap. I'd already missed my curfew, so it didn't hurt to stay out a little longer, did it?

"No, that's okay," I said. "Don't worry about it. I'll get a cab."

Karin's brows pinched together in concern. "Are you sure, Hadley?"

"Positive," I reassured her with a smile. "No problem. But, hey - where are April, May, and June?"

"John and Marc took them upstairs earlier," Karin said, grinning. "They're in bed right now."

"Oh," I said. "Okay."

I had no idea how I had managed to stay asleep with everyone waking up and moving around me.

"It was lovely meeting you," Karin said, reaching out to give me a friendly hug.

"You, too," I agreed, returning her hug.

I struggled my way up off the couch and followed Karin out to the back through the kitchen, where all of the family cars were lined up at the curb. From what I could tell in the dark lighting, all of the kids were buckled up in their respective seats, and most of them looked fast asleep.

I still couldn't resist leaning over and giving them all waves, of which I got a few in return. John and Marc waved goodbye from the front seats of their cars, calling out "Nice to meet you!" and "Hope to see you again sometime!"

I was surprised to find that I really hoped that I would see them all again. They really were nice people and I was thankful I had the chance to meet them. If I even knew what the rest of my family were like, I would definitely want them to be like the Incitti family.

I was having trouble figuring out why I would feel so at...home here. And I was having trouble figuring out if that was a bad thing or not.

"Take care of them, Hadley," Karin said suddenly, turning back to me, gripping my shoulder. "They need someone like you."

I stared at Karin in surprise, not having expected her to tell me something like that. "Okay," I said, taking a deep breath. "I will."

Karin gave me another hug and a smile before she clambered into one of the vans idling at the curb. Even though it was just the slightest bit cold out here, I stood on the sidewalk and waved until the three cars disappeared down the cramped alleyway that lead out into the street.

I sighed as I headed into the kitchen after shutting the back door behind me. In all honesty, I wanted to hang out here until I saw Archer again, at least to know that he was alright. Well, not so alright as much as if he was going to be okay.

I wasn't so sure what I was supposed to do now. It felt like if I stayed, I'd be intruiding on what was supposed to be family time, something private between the Morales family and no one else. I had no right to be apart of that at all.

I noticed all of the dishes stacked up on the countertops beside the two sinks as I made to leave the kitchen and scowled.

Sure, it was a weird thing to get distracted by, but I knew I was scheduled to work tomorrow - it was Black Friday, after all - and it would absolutely suck taking care of all of this mess in the kitchen early in the morning. I mean, at least all of the food was put away, right? It was just the dishes that were left behind.

Blowing out another heavy sigh, I pushed up my shirt sleeves and tied my hair up into a twist before setting about doing the dishes. A couple of the dishes were coated in grease, which stuck on hard, so it took a couple of minutes of furious scrubbing on my part to get the gunk off.

After scrubbing off as much dishes as possible, I yanked open the dishwasher and carefully began placing the dishes in on the racks. The last thing I wanted to do was break any of these dishes, because that would be awful.

The only thing running through my mind while I was doing this rather tedious task was what had happened earlier with Regina.

I knew the family had been through more than enough. But after everything horrible that happens in a person's life, there comes a point when things start to hurt a little less, wounds start to to heal, even if it's extremely slow. You won't ever forget it, but time heals.

Now I was beginning to think that maybe there were some things that were impossible to ever distance yourself from. That no matter how hard you to move on from something, it's just not possible. I had a feeling that this was something the Morales family was never going to be able to move on from.

"Hadley. What're you doing?"

I let out a shriek and dropped a glass plate into the dishwasher before spinning around on my heel. Archer was standing behind me, leaning up against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed over his chest.

I couldn't be sure if he'd actually been crying, or if his eyes were just naturally bloodshot like that.

If it was possible, I think my heart actually started to hurt all the more.

"Doing the dishes," I stammered out embarrassedly. "I, uhm..didn't want to leave them here...over night. It's Black Friday and everything tomorrow."

Archer let out a small noise of amusement, flicking a fork off the counter into the sink full of soapy water. "You could've just gone home, you know."

I shrugged, averting my eyes as I stacked more plates into the dishwasher. "I know, but I wanted to..."

"To what?" Archer suggested lightly after I didn't say anything.

"To make sure you and Regina were okay," I answered, turning back around.

If Archer could see my face right then, he probably would've started laughing at me.

"You didn't need to stick around and do the dishes to find that out."

Well, that might've been true, but still.

I kept my head down and focused intently on placing each and every dish into the dishwasher as carefully as possible.

"Hadley."

"Look, Archer, I'm almost done with the dishes, so just let me - "

My words fell short when Archer took the plate I'd been about to put in the dishwasher out of my hands and set it on the counter.

I turned around to give Archer a curious look, to ask him what he was doing, but I couldn't even force myself to speak when I noticed Archer was closer to me than I was expecting.

Maybe it was my imagination that was making this seem like something more than it actually was. It would be pretty stupid of my mind to spin a fantasy where I was almost positive Archer was about to kiss me.

But after a moment, I realized this was actually happening.

His thumb skimmed across my cheek while he leaned closer to me, and his eyes were locked with mine. I could tell that my face was an embarrassing red color and my heart was pounding loudly against my chest, but for some odd reason, my eyes refused to look away from his.

"What're you doing, Archer?" I muttered, my breath catching in my throat.

"Hadley, shut up."

Archer leaned down and kissed me after that, and it was enough to make me forget pretty much every thought I'd had in the last half hour or so.

I didn't think Archer had kissed that many girls, but he certainly knew how to kiss, that was for sure.

We could've been kissing for several minutes or several hours or several days, and it was more than amazing, making my toes curl and my fingers tangle in his hair, but oxygen was necessary and we eventually had to break away for air.

"What'd you do that for?" I asked Archer breathlessly, trying to keep my eyes from crossing.

"I wanted to," Archer answered, surprisingly at ease.

That wasn't fair. How could anyone be totally composed after a kiss like that?

"Uh, okay?" I said, very confused.

"Just go with it, Hadley," Archer sighed, rolling his eyes.

I scoffed, resisting the urge to whap him upside the head.

I probably wasn't going to be able to talk to Archer about everything that had just happened today (and what a day this turned out to be) but for right now, it was enough.

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Well, here's another update!! I didn't expect to update so soon, but I was really excited to write this chapter! I hope it turned out alright! :D

What do you guys think? Comments, reads, and votes are always super awesome!! (: