49. Archer

49

ARCHER

T he atmosphere feels electric with our shared sense of victory as we sit around Lyric's tiny dinner table together. Plates are piled high with food and the clinking of glasses punctuates our animated conversation. We did it. Madison and Cameron's reign of terror is finally over.

"To justice!" Levi toasts, raising his glass. "And to Lyric for being the bravest among us."

We all clink our glasses together, smiling and basking in the hard-earned triumph. Lyric looks relieved, the weight of the past few months seeming to lift from her shoulders.

"Madison never saw it coming," Zane says, grinning. "And Cameron… well, he deserved every bit of what he got."

Lyric nods, a small smile playing on her lips. "It feels good to have the truth out there. But what about the others, Max and the rest of the Sigma Thetas?"

I lean back in my chair, contemplating. "They're next. We can't let them get away with what they did to you, Lyric. They need to face the consequences too."

Zane's eyes flash with determination. "Agreed. They've gotten away with too much for too long. We need to make sure they're held accountable."

Levi nods. "We've got momentum on our side. We can use what we've learned from taking down Madison and Cameron to go after the others."

Lyric looks at each of us in turn, her eyes filled with gratitude and resolve. "I'm with you," she says firmly. "Whatever it takes."

As we finish our dinner, the conversation shifts to strategy. Lyric has an in with someone from her Chem class, a girl who's been complaining to her about being ghosted by one of Max's blonde goons.

We debate the best way to get the evidence we need, playfully arguing with each other's ideas. The bond between us feels stronger than ever, the atmosphere light and joyful. Even Eli gets in on the action, banging his spoon against the high chair and babbling loudly like he's trying to participate.

Once we finish dinner, Lyric and I start cleaning up while Levi and Zane take Eli to get his bath. I lean against her as we wash the dishes in the cramped kitchen, warmth flooding me as I think about how different our lives are now.

If it weren't for our idiocy, we could have had this all along. I regret all the ways I've hurt Lyric, but I know I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to her. She's got the patience of a saint to deal with me and my brothers, that's for sure. We're still rough around the edges, still reigning lords of campus, but Lyric has softened us a little.

"So, I'm going to text Valencia and ask if I can look at her notes from the last class," Lyric says as she dries a dish.

"Don't make it too obvious," I warn her. "We don't want her to suspect you're fishing for information."

Lyric rolls her eyes, a grin on her face. "I can handle myself, Archer. Unlike some people here, I know how to mind my manners."

I bump my hip into hers, and she giggles, and soon we're play wrestling on the floor, which is where Zane and Levi find us when they come back.

"Are you guys good?" Levi asks, raising one eyebrow. We look up, wearing identical guilty expressions, and crack up.

The next day, we put our plan into action. Lyric goes to meet with the girl from her class, and we sit nearby, trying not to look suspicious as we listen in for any relevant information.

We gather at the campus quad, sitting at a table near a large oak tree. Lyric's plan is risky, but we all agree it's our best shot at getting solid information. My eyes follow Lyric as she approaches Valencia, my heart pounding.

"Hey, Valencia," Lyric says with a warm smile as she sits down beside her.

Valencia looks up, a friendly smile on her face. "Hey, Lyric. You said you wanted to look at my notes?"

"Yeah, I missed a few points and heard you're thorough," Lyric says, pulling out her notebook. "Do you mind?"

"Sure." Valencia opens her notebook up and pushes it toward Lyric. "You know, you're not too bad at taking notes yourself. Always on top of things."

I pretend to be engrossed in my own conversation with Zane and Levi, but my attention is entirely on Lyric and Valencia. I catch bits of their conversation about class, my pulse quickening as Lyric steers the topic toward the guy Valencia's been complaining about.

"Oh, hey," Lyric says casually, "Did you ever hear back from that guy you were talking about?"

Valencia's expression darkens, and she sighs. "Nope. And honestly, I'm not even that surprised. A lot of those Sigma Theta guys are like that. They're kind of known for using girls."

"Damn, that sucks," Lyric says. "I know you're in a sorority. I hope you don't have to spend too much time around them."

"No, thankfully," Valencia says, a sigh escaping her. "I mean, especially since something happened at a party one time. It kind of freaked me out, being around those guys, to be honest. I thought Nate was different, but… I'm not so sure."

My pulse races. This is it. "What do you mean?" Lyric asks.

Valencia hesitates, glancing around nervously. "It's just… one time, we were at a Sigma party and I think he might have spiked my drink."

Lyric gasps, her reaction genuine. "Oh, my God, Valencia. Are you okay?"

Valencia nods, though she looks uneasy. "Yeah, I didn't drink much of it because it tasted weird. But I felt really off that night. And one of my sorority sisters, Emma, said the same thing happened to her."

"That's so horrible. I think I might have had the same thing happen to me," Lyric says, lowering her voice. "Do you know how I can get in touch with Emma? Maybe we can all look out for each other."

Valencia nods, scribbling Emma's number on a piece of paper. "Here, she's usually pretty open about talking to people."

"Thanks, Valencia," Lyric says, giving her a reassuring smile. "We should definitely stick together."

After a few more minutes of chatting, Lyric stands up and walks past us, subtly nodding. We follow her to a quieter part of campus.

"Did you get what you needed?" I ask, pulling her toward me.

"Yes," Lyric replies, handing us Emma's number. "And it's worse than we thought. The guy who ghosted Valencia might have spiked her drink. And Emma's, too."

Zane clenches his fists, anger flashing in his eyes. "We need to talk to Emma. If there's a pattern, we can bring it to the administration and the authorities."

Levi nods. "We'll make sure they pay for what they've done."

As we head off to find Emma, a surge of determination courses through me. We're getting closer to uncovering the truth and with each step, we're one step closer to making sure the Sigma Thetas can't hurt anyone else.

Lyric approaches Emma later that day and it's not hard to get her to open up about what happened. Emma reveals that after she was drugged, she woke up naked in Max's room and my stomach sinks.

It's worse than we thought. Emma admits that she was warned about the Sigma's by her Big, but she didn't believe her at first. Her Big, Amanda, is willing to talk to Lyric as well and soon enough, we find out that there's a group of Sigma's who have a history of drugging girls at their parties for non-consensual purposes.

It makes me sick, but the girls we speak with are willing to speak out with our backing. We take all our evidence, along with the testimonials, to the dean's office the next morning.

The dean is reluctant at first, but with a few well-placed legal threats, he's willing to hear us out. When we present the evidence to him, he agrees that the situation needs to be addressed.

It takes a few days of meetings and discussions, but in the end, the Sigma Theta fraternity is suspended for a year and is no longer allowed to participate in any Greek system activities. All members are kicked out of the frat house and made to find alternative housing.

And the best part is that Max, his cronies and all the participating members are expelled from the university following the investigation and are facing serious legal consequences.

It feels almost like a Pyrrhic victory, though, coming too late to save those girls from being assaulted. At least justice is finally being served.

We celebrate with pizza and a cram session. Finals are coming up and we sit around the table together, eating and taking turns quizzing each other.

Lyric glances up at me as she takes a bite of her food, a shy smile on her face. I feel so full to bursting with love for this woman. It was incredible of her to take on an entire fraternity, to watch her fight for justice for all those girls who were hurt by the Sigma's.

I can't believe how lucky I am to have her in my life. Especially after everything we put her through. She was willing to give us another chance and I hope I've done enough to deserve it.

"What?" I ask, feeling self-conscious as she continues to stare at me. I dab my face with a napkin. "Do I have pizza on my face?"

Lyric giggles and ducks her head, giving Eli more from her pizza slice. "No. You look as good as ever. It's just… I have something I think I need to tell you."

Archer and Zane's eyes snap over to her at the same time and I raise one brow.

"Oh?" I ask, my heart pounding in my chest. I don't know if I can take any more revelations right now. "What is it?"