4. Archer

4

ARCHER

T he clang of metal on metal rings through the gym as I work out, pulling the bar down to my chest over and over again. The intensity clears my head as I process everything.

So she's definitely here. Zane confirmed it after running into her a second time. Who would have thought Lyric would show her face again after everything she fucking put us through? Bitterness rises up in me and I scowl, yanking the bar down harder.

Fucking bitch.

She ruined our lives. She ran to the police first thing, just waiting for an opportunity to screw us over. We'd always been able to talk our way out of anything the three of us got into before, but this time was different.

This time, no amount of talking could get us out of the situation. Military school was hell. The only good thing to come out of the whole experience was getting stronger and more determined to stay on top.

Lyric has no idea how lucky she is that we're only now finding out she's attending the same school. If it weren't for her, we would have had an amazing senior year and coasted into college. We should have been going to parties every weekend, sneaking liquor from my parents' bar and driving down to the beach for a good time…

Instead, our days consisted of waking up at the crack of dawn every morning, taking cold showers, running a 5K before breakfast, then class, followed by military training, homework time and then bed. We barely had time to breathe or think, let alone enjoy our last days of high school.

It isn't enough that Lyric gets to walk around unscathed like she didn't betray us in the worst fucking way possible. She doesn't deserve to show her face after what she did to us.

Despite how hard I'm working out now, my blood is boiling even hotter. I need to step away before I hurt myself. Dropping the bar with a clang, I stand up, scrubbing a hand over my face.

I hit the showers, washing off the sweat I worked up, my mind churning with a need to pay Lyric back for all the hurt she caused. It wasn't enough to send us to military school. She also destroyed our relationship with my parents.

They couldn't look at us the same after what we did. They barely wrote to us, rarely visited and the abandonment felt like a sharp knife to the gut. It was more than just missing out on our senior year. It was everything. Losing our status in the town we grew up in, having everyone look at us like we were criminals and being treated like criminals…

I want to make Lyric suffer just as much as we did. I want her to feel as alone as we felt.

I want revenge.

Once I'm changed, I head back to the frat house and storm up to Levi's bedroom, where he and Zane are playing Madden together.

"We need to do something about Lyric," I say, tone flat. They both look up, and Levi pauses the game.

Zane's lips quirk up. "What is it you want?"

"I want revenge. I want her to feel as shitty as we felt when she betrayed us," I say, narrowing my eyes. "She doesn't deserve to walk around like nothing happened, like she didn't rip out our hearts and stomp them into the ground."

Levi strokes his chin. "We need leverage."

"Yeah, we need to find some dirt on her," I agree. "Levi, can you get into the school's records? And Zane, I want you to look into her social media and see what we can find out."

"She doesn't have much social media presence," Zane says, scrolling his phone. "Last post on Instagram was a couple of years ago."

"Keep digging," I say, gritting my teeth. "She's got to have something we can use!"

"She's here on scholarship," Levi says, pointing to his screen, where he's pulled up her profile on the admin directory. "Full ride."

"No wonder," Zane murmurs. "I didn't think she could afford to come to a place like this."

A grin blossoms on my face. "That's perfect. We can use that."

"If she doesn't want it taken away, she has to do whatever we ask," Zane says, his eyes lighting up. He rubs his hands together. "You have no idea how much I've wanted this."

The three of us make plans to confront her later that day after we figure out her schedule. She has a break in between classes this afternoon, which gives us plenty of time to plan.

We figure we'd make it easy on her at first, make sure she knows what the playing field looks like when it's been leveled.

Zane, Levi, and I head to the quad where she's walking, head down, along the path.

Stepping in front of her, she nearly bumps into me as she looks up, eyes widening in shock.

"Archer?" she says, her voice soft as a whisper. "Levi, Zane? What are you doing here?"

There's a flicker of hope in her eyes, and I grin to myself, eager to quash that look.

"We know your secret," I tell her, leaning into her space.

Lyric's breath starts coming in quick pants, cheeks flushing, eyes filling with tears. "You… you know?" she asks, voice wobbly.

"Yeah, we know that you're a scholarship kid," Zane says from my right. "We knew you couldn't afford to come here without help."

"See, the thing is," I drawl, bending a little so I'm at eye level with her, "you screwed us over, pretty fucking badly."

"I never meant…"

" I never meant ," I mock her words back at her. "Bullshit. You went straight to the police. Don't try to play innocent. So unless you want us to destroy your future like you tried to do to us, you might want to consider listening."

Lyric crosses her arms, swallowing and going quiet. I take her in, looking her over. She looks ragged, tired, and disheveled, like she hasn't had a good night's sleep in a while. Her clothes are frumpy, ratty jeans, a holey sweater, her hair is frizzy, and her eyes are hidden behind large, wire-rimmed glasses. She looks curvier than I remember, grown up into a woman, but I know that beneath the fa?ade is a snake.

"What do you want, Archer?" she asks, a plaintive note in her voice.

"Simple. We want you to pay for all the bullshit you put us through. You do whatever we want, whenever we want and we don't get your scholarship revoked."

"You can't do that!" Lyric bursts out, hands squeezing into fists at her sides. "You don't have the power to get my scholarship taken away."

"Maybe not directly, but there's plenty we can do to ruin your life in the meantime," I warn her.

Lyric breathes hard in and out. "Don't," she says, a note of warning in her voice. "You don't know what you're doing."

"I'll do whatever the fuck I want," I tell her. "If you don't like it, that's too bad."

"I don't remember you being this big of an asshole," Lyric mumbles. "You were never like this."

"Yeah, well, military school changes a man," I inform her. "All my soft edges were filed away by that place."

Lyric winces and glances at Zane and Levi, who give her the same cold look that I'm wearing.

"So I'm supposed to be your slave?" she asks, pulling the sweater around herself more tightly.

"Now you're getting the picture," I say, my tone mock-encouraging. "We tell you we want you to get us beer at three am, you ask us where to bring it. We tell you to write our essays, you ask when it needs to be done. We say jump and you ask how high. Got it, peaches?"

Lyric looks at me, disgust in her eyes. Once upon a time, I might have crumpled under that, but not anymore. Not after everything I'd been through.

Lyric shakes her head. "No. I'm not giving in to the demands of a bitter, jaded asshole."

I laugh, high and cruel. "You think you can just tell me no, sweetheart?" I ask, raising a brow. Lyric glances back up at Zane and Levi, who are both standing with me, arms crossed. None of us is in the mood to give her an ounce of sympathy.

"Newsflash," I say, bringing her attention back to me. "You want to challenge me, go right ahead. I've got the money and the time to make your life a living hell."

Lyric's fists tighten as I step further into her personal space.

"What do you say, peaches?" I ask, bending closer so our faces are nearly touching, my lips hovering just over hers. "Are you going to be a good girl for me, or does Daddy need to get rough?"

Her eyes are wide, fear almost palpable as it courses through her. There's something else there too, a hint of something more as her eyes flick to my mouth.

Then she turns her gaze back up at me and pushes me away. "Fuck you," she growls out, storming off. "Don't ever talk to me again, Archer Hudson!"

I watch her go, a mix of anger and satisfaction surging through me. I know I've gotten under her skin. Now, it's time to put the plan into motion.

"Do you think she'll give in?" Levi asks, stepping forward with me to watch her go.

"I think we just need to be a little patient," I tell them. "She'll give in. She has no choice."