Archer's Voice

Archer tries to concentrate on a building project on his patio, but remembers that he has his cooking lesson with Bree. When he thinks of Bree he feels a warmth in his chest. Archer is suspicious of Bree’s intent and grapples with the insecurities that he has about interacting with the community. He wonders what it would be like to go to the diner and order a coffee. Archer shamefully wonders how he might communicate with other people.

Archer hears screaming in the distance and realizes that it is Bree. Not able to find his shoes, he runs to her barefoot and finds her caught in one of Uncle Nate’s traps. She is shivering and convulsing. Archer realizes that she is having a panic attack and frees her from the trap. Archer picks up Bree and takes her to the house. He is frustrated that he cannot communicate with Bree to explain the trap or why it was there.

Bree holds onto Archer for support, still sobbing. Archer holds her and kisses the top of Bree’s head like his mama used to do to calm him down. Archer is unsure what else to do. He continues to hold Bree and she cries for a long time.

Eventually Bree calms down and tells Archer, “I didn’t fight” (105). Archer asks what she means, and Bree explains that a man under the influence of drugs broke into her father’s deli after they had closed. The man shot her father and made Bree undress. Bree, in a fit of emotion, explains to Archer that the intruder told Bree that he was going to violate her with the gun.

Bree explains that she is ashamed that she did not fight back when the man threatened her father or when he turned on her. She says that she feels that she could have possibly saved her father or her dignity if she had fought for herself. Archer signs to Bree that she did fight when she fought to live. He explains that survival is a type of fight that Bree engages in every day. Bree continues to cry while Archer holds her until she falls asleep. Archer thinks about what Bree told him. He thinks that he and Bree are both so different and yet similar. He thinks of how they both reacted differently out of fear, but both ended up hurt.

Bree wakes up on Archer’s couch and Archer is not in the room. She thinks about the night before and feels embarrassed. However, Bree also acknowledges that she feels lighter and comfortable.

Archer emerges from another room and Bree sees that he has shaved his face and pulled back his hair. Bree is struck by Archer’s good looks. Bree sits on the couch with Archer and asks him why he shaved. Archer says that when she was in the trap and he could not speak to her, he wished that he could comfort Bree with his expression. He believes that shaving his beard will help him to communicate with Bree.

Bree thanks Archer for helping her the night before. Archer asks Bree if she wants to talk about it. Bree thinks about how she never told anyone about the intruder trying to rape her. Bree realizes that she feels very safe with Archer.

Bree tells Archer the details of her father’s murder and the attempted rape. The man shot Charlie, her father, through the heart, killing him instantly. Bree tells Archer that she knew what the man was going to do to her. He made her undress and traced the point of the gun across her face and breasts. Before he could rape her, the police arrived, and the man fled. It was storming the night of the murder and she explains that storms upset her now.

Bree tells Archer that they never found the man who murdered her father because there was no evidence. She explains that her father let his life insurance lapse, and the cost of living and funeral expenses forced her to sell her father’s deli. This was one of the reasons that Bree decided to leave Ohio to live in Pelion.

Bree feels comfortable confiding in Archer. She reaches out and lightly touches the scar on his throat. Archer self-consciously shrinks away from her touch. She asks what happened. Archer signs to her that, when he was seven years old, he was shot by his uncle. Bree is shocked but feels that Archer does not want to talk about the incident.

Archer and Bree look longingly at each other. Bree notices that his feet are covered in scratches. After some talking and joking, Archer grabs her hands. They stare at their entwined fingers, feeling a connection. Bree offhandedly says that she should go. Archer explains that he is not comfortable letting her ride her bike home alone at night and that his feet are too sore to walk. He offers to let her stay the night and offers Bree his bed. Bree accepts.

Bree finds a photo of Archer’s mother, Alyssa, in his room. The photo has a note: “My beautiful, Lys. Love forever. -C” (118). Bree is confused about the fact that the photo is from the uncle who supposedly shot Archer. Bree falls asleep in Archer’s bed.

The next morning Bree awakes and heads to Archer’s bathroom to freshen up. She waits for a flashback, but it never comes. Overwhelmed with joy about not having a flashback, Bree rushes to find Archer to tell him, and she sees that he understands her. Bree tells Archer that she needs to go home to check on her dog, but she will be back to see him later. Archer nods in agreement. Archer lets Bree hug him, but he does not hug her back. Bree leaves feeling happy, alive, and free.

Bree happily cleans herself up and takes care of her dog, then returns to Archer’s house. Bree offers to give Archer a haircut and he agrees. The haircut is filled with sexual tension for both of them. Bree embraces the feeling, but it is clear that Archer is uncomfortable. Bree feels like Archer wanted to kiss her, but instead, Archer asks Bree to leave. Offended, Bree goes home.