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“So tell me for real, though, are you and Archer together?” Lexi jogs up next to me as I make my way out of the classroom forty long minutes later.
“I don’t know what we are,” I admit, because really, I don’t.
Other than our brief conversation about not seeing other people, we haven’t stopped to define it. I thought I was okay with that, but now, I don’t know, I’m starting to realize that maybe I do want the label. Maybe I want people to know that the campus’s most sought-after bachelor is no longer on the market. Maybe I want people to know that he’smine.
“That’s all you’re going to give me?” She pushes open the door, holding it for me as I follow her outside.
“That’s all there is to give.”
My feet no more than hit the sidewalk when I see him... Archer. And he’s not alone. Oh no, pressed up against him, where he’s casually leaning against a large tree that just happens to sit out front of the art building where he knows I have class, is some dark-haired girl with shorts so short I can see the bottom of her ass cheeks. Her back is to me, so I can’t see her face, but there’s no mistaking what’s happening.
I stop so abruptly that Lexi runs into the back of me, the complaint dying on her lips the instant she sees it too.
My stomach fills with rocks so quickly that my knees wobble beneath the weight of them. I watch in horror at the scene that seems to unfold in front of me in slow motion.
Archer touches the side of her face.
Seconds later, his hand slides around her back, pulling her closer.
And then, just moments before his lips touch hers, he looks up and meets my gaze, like he wants to make sure I’m watching before he runs my heart straight through a fucking meat grinder.
I tell myself not to look, not to give him the satisfaction, but at the same time, I need my eyes to see it. I need to know that he really is the person I thought he was. That all of this was nothing more than a game.
And when his mouth reaches hers and he kisses her slow and deep, the coil tightening inside of me finally snaps.
I don’t know what happens.
One second I’m standing on the sidewalk, the next, I’m across the grounds, shoving Archer so hard that the woman in his arms nearly topples over herself.
“What the fuck?” Her high-pitched voice makes me want to claw her eyes out. Or maybe just the fact that she was just kissing the man I had let myself admit I was in love with just a few short minutes ago. Either way, I could just about kill someone right now, and the look on my face must tell her as much because she quickly backs away.
“Leave.” I growl, anger like I’ve never felt building deep within my chest. “I said, leave!” I scream, my voice echoing across the grounds.
I don’t care if people are watching. Hell, let them. Let them see that the man they hold in such high esteem is really nothing more than a user and a liar.
“How could you!” I spin toward Archer, my hands finding his chest as I shove him again. “You piece of absolute shit.” When I move to push him again, he catches my wrists. “Let go of me!” I quickly shake free. “So what was this then, huh? A bet. A fun little game that you and some of your buddies cooked up? Or did you just think it would be fun to fuck the shy little art major, just to prove you could? To take the one person you knew couldn’t stand you and make her fall for you? Well, congratulations, you sick son of a bitch. You accomplished your mission.”
“Rory.” When my name slides past his lips, it feels like it almost pains him to say it. And it should.
“Why?” My voice breaks. “Why did you do this?”
“I...” For the first time in his life, he doesn’t seem to have words.
“You knew I had class here. You knew I’d be coming out of that building and you knew when. You planned this. The least you can do is tell me why!”
“I forgot you had a class this morning. My world doesn’t revolve around you. Your first mistake was thinking it did.” When he finally finds his words, they slice me straight to my core.
“I never thought it did.” I sneer defensively.
“Look, Rory, what we had was fun, but I’m bored now.” He leans down, picking up his bag off the ground before slinging it over his shoulder. “I think I’m done here.” He moves to turn, but I quickly cut off his path.
“You’re done here?” My voice shoots up an octave. “You’re done?” I suck in a hard breath, trying to calm my temper. “You know what, thank you.” He tries to keep his expression flat and uninterested, but I don’t miss the hint of confusion that tugs at his features. “Thank you for showing me that you are exactly that person I knew you were all along. You’ve taught me a very important lesson. Next time, I’ll listen to my gut. And for the record, you were underwhelming at best. So don’t flatter yourself into thinking I’m going to give two shits that you took the coward’s way out.”
Without giving him a chance to respond, I spin around in the opposite direction and stomp across the lawn, my heart ricocheting off my ribs so violently that it’s a wonder they don’t crack and break. At least then they would match the other parts of me. The parts I refused to let Archer see. The parts that feel shattered in such small pieces, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to fully piece them back together again.
I manage to keep my tears at bay until I’m around the corner, but I can’t hold them in any longer. They stream down my cheeks, blur my vision, make me feel like I can’t pull in a real breath as the magnitude of what just happened sinks in.
I feel embarrassed. I feel angry. I feel betrayed. I feel... devastated.
