35. Zane

35

ZANE

L yric is finally asleep, breathing even and calm, a stark contrast to the turmoil she's endured tonight. We sit quietly in Archer's room, moonlight filtering through the blinds. The air is thick with tension, the three of us not ready to admit to how badly we fucked up.

Archer finally breaks the silence, his voice low. "We got it all fucking wrong," he says, regret in his words.

Levi nods, his eyes haunted by the weight of Lyric's confession. "Yeah. Everything we thought we knew was twisted up. We were ready to blame anyone but ourselves and Lyric is the one who got caught up in our bullshit."

I stare at Lyric's sleeping form, the guilt gnawing at me. "God, we've been such assholes."

Archer runs a hand through his hair, frustration coming out as he stands up, pacing the length of the room. "We never gave her a chance to explain and now we've ruined her life."

"And put her through hell," Levi adds, a rasp in his voice. "We have to fix this, Archer. Make things right."

I take a deep breath. "Yeah, we do. We owe her that much, at least. We're going to fix everything we did. All the bullshit, all the torment, it's all gone now."

"We're going to step up and be there for Eli now, too," Archer says, determination crossing his features. "We're dropping the custody battle shit. And we'll undo the damage we did to her reputation."

Levi's eyes meet mine and I see the same resolve mirrored in them. "We'll make it right. For Lyric and our son."

As Lyric sleeps, unaware of our newfound resolve, I feel a glimmer of hope. We've got a long way to go, but for the first time in a while, it feels like we're on the right path.

The three of us make a plan for how to fix everything, starting with making sure that Cameron pays for what he did to Lyric. Archer makes a strategic phone call to the family lawyer, and Mr. Bryce promises to take care of things, no questions asked.

While Archer is on the phone, Levi and I head to Lyric's apartment to pick up Eli, giving Annie a generous bonus for helping us out with an emergency.

We bring Eli back to the frat house and he snuggles up with Lyric right away, falling back asleep immediately. Relief washes over me as I watch him sleep, grateful that he's too little to understand everything that's been going on. At least it's one less thing to worry about.

My chest aches, a knot growing inside. We fucked up so badly. We promised to never hurt Eli and we broke that when we threatened to take custody away from Lyric. I can't believe we were so wrong about everything. I couldn't see past my own hurt to see that the person I should have been angry with was myself.

All that bullshit we put her through, all the pain, the bullying and torment, it isn't right. We have to do whatever we can to fix this.

Levi elects to stay behind and watch over Eli and Lyric while Archer and I head out to remove all the flyers that were posted around campus, the ones that labeled Lyric as the "Alpha Lambda Slut." As we walk across campus, tearing down the malicious posters, I can't help but notice the stares from passing students, eyeing us with a mix of curiosity and judgment. It's like they're more interested in our actions than the trash we're removing.

Archer yanks another flyer off a bulletin board, crumpling it in his fist. "We should've done this a long time ago."

I nod, my jaw clenched tight. "We could have destroyed her future and we didn't even give a shit. Have we become the people everyone thought we were?"

Archer sighs, the weight of our guilt hanging over us. "Maybe. But the important thing is what we do now, how we fix everything. How we change the path forward."

We spend the rest of the night walking the campus, removing every last piece of evidence of our cruelty. The sun is starting to rise as we finish up in front of the library.

Archer looks around, his eyes tired but determined. "This is only the beginning. We have to do more than simply clean up our mess. We need to change how people see her."

"Yeah, but how?" I ask, frustration evident in my voice. "We've spent months making her life hell. It's not going to be easy to turn that around."

"We have to show people who Lyric is, make them see the person behind the rumors," Archer says, his jaw set firm. "The one who's strong, resilient, and kind."

I nod, running a hand through my limp locks. It's been a long night. "Agreed. But we need a plan. Something concrete. What about a social media post?"

"Maybe," Archer says, a frown on his face. "I don't know if I want to dredge up more drama, though. We want to stop the drama."

An idea tugs at the back of my brain. "There's always the upcoming Panhellenic Award Ceremony," I suggest. "We could nominate Lyric for Fraternity Sister of the Year. With all the help she gave us for the toy drive, she deserves it."

Archer scratches the back of his head "Will that be enough?"

I nod. "It's gotta help, right? We get her up there on stage at the award ceremony and make a big speech on behalf of the frat and talk about how great she is and all the stuff she's done."

"It's a start," Archer agrees slowly. "But we need to start treating her like she's an Alpha Lambda Girl, like she's more than just our plaything. We have sway on campus. Everyone looks up to us. If we make it clear that no one messes with Lyric, they'll fall in line."

As we head back to the frat house, the fatigue starts seeping through my bones. We've been up all night and we've only scratched the surface of what we've got to do to fix everything.

I can't help but wonder if it's even possible for us to fix it all. How can we spread the word that Lyric is off-limits and just pretend like nothing happened when we were the ones who ruined everything in the first place?

Once we arrive, Eli is up playing with Levi already. Lyric is still passed out, but her breathing is even, so we leave her to rest.

"Did you get them all?" Levi asks as Eli smacks his hands into our brother's cheeks. He gently grabs Eli's wrists and pulls them away, shaking his head.

"Yeah, I think so," I say, lying on the bed next to Lyric, careful not to jostle her. "We came up with an idea too, something to change Lyric's image on campus."

As Archer explains the plan to Levi, I pick up Eli and bounce him on my knee. I made a promise to keep this boy safe and I've failed so far. What kind of person does that make me? What kind of father? I try to think back to my memories of my own parents, though they're dim and blurry.

I remember that they were kind and generous. Before they died, they ran a charity for the unhoused. I wonder what they would think of me if they could see me now.

A grimace spreads across my face as I realize how disappointed they'd be in the man I've become. I've let bitterness fester inside me and eat away at the humanity they gave me. Now is my chance to change things, to prove that I'm someone my parents can be proud of. Not only my birth parents', but my adoptive ones too. I don't want to let Lydia and Eric down, either.

They gave me a second chance at a family once and I owe it to them to give my new family a second chance.

My phone pings, and I check the message, my heart pounding in my chest when I read it.

"Guys," I say, holding it out to Archer. "Look at this shit."

It's a link to a blog post from one of the anonymous campus gossip rags. Someone took a photo of Lyric being carried out of the frat, looking like a wreck. " Alpha Lambda Slut Parties too Hard? " the headline reads.

"Fucking hell," Archer groans, then whips his head around to see if Eli was paying attention. The little boy is wide-eyed, staring at him. "I mean, uh… freaking heck," he amends, a sheepish look on his face. "This is a mess."

"Should we try to get that site shut down?" Levi asks, tapping away at his phone as he investigates.

"It doesn't even matter," I mutter. "Three more will be spreading the story before noon. It's going to be everywhere."

I glance back to see Lyric still slumbering, and my fists clench. "Whatever we did, we can undo," I promise. "We're Alpha Lambdas. We're the lords of the campus. We tore her down, but we can build her back up."

"You're right," Levi says, his eyes shining with determination. "We're the Hudson Boys. We can do whatever we put our mind to."

With newfound resolve, we vow to take down any campus sites that spread more gossip about Lyric and confront anyone who tries to harass her. We're going to fix this if it's the last thing we do.