Chapter 22
Rafe
Morella
We need to get to class.
Rafe
Now.
Isigh and slide my phone back into my pocket. I look at Archer, still slumped on the ground, his head hung low.
I hold my hand out to him. “Come on, man.”
He hesitates before clasping hands with me and pulling himself up. He still doesn’t look at me.
“What were you thinking?” I run my hand through my hair again, dragging it back in frustration. “That’s not you, man.”
“It was... it was an accident.” His fists are balled. His breathing's uneven.
“What do you mean?” My brows knit. “How do you accidentally put bruises on someone?”
He starts pacing, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“I wasn’t in my right mind, and I bumped into her leaving the bathroom.
” His voice is tight. “I almost knocked her over. When I caught her and realized it was her, my grip just... it was too tight.” His head shakes like he’s trying to shake the memory away.
His shoulders cave inward. “I would never hurt her,” he says.
His voice cracks, barely above a whisper.
His hands drag down his face like he’s trying to claw the guilt off his skin. “But I did.”
My phone dings.
Morella
***
“Look, I gotta find Morella. Are you gonna be okay?” I place a hand on his shoulder.
He shrugs me off and stands. “Probably not, but what else is there?” He wipes his nose on his sleeve then turns and walks away.
I jog up to the hallway I told Morella to meet me in. She’s already there, arms crossed, clearly irritated.
“You told me “Now” and then you keep me waiting? What the actual fuck?” she snaps.
My eyes narrow. “What did you tell Silas?” My tone’s flat.
Her expression twists in confusion. Just for a second and then panic spreads across her face. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, don’t bullshit me, Ella.” I take a step toward her. “Silas came at me throwing threats around like it’s normal for me to put hands on a girl.”
Her jaw works but no sound comes out.
“You really think that low of me?” My voice wavers, just slightly. “My twin sister actually thinks I’d do something like that?” I drag my hand through my hair again, trying to keep it together.
“After everything, you still thought I could be that guy? That I’d lay a hand on her? God, Ella.”
“I... no. I didn’t. I… I told him I wasn’t sure.”
“But you still told him.” My voice nearly cracks. “I didn’t. As much as I can’t stand that girl, I didn’t. And I wouldn’t.”
Her eyes fall to the floor. “Then who...”
“Archer.” I cut her off.
The late bell rings but neither of us move.
She stares at me, then shakes her head fiercely like she’s trying to reject the thought from her skull.
“Archer?” She throws her head back in disbelief and laughs “Ha!” Her focus is on me again.
“Archer Gravemont. You know, the Archer we’ve been friends with since the day we were born?
That Archer. You think that I'm going to believe that he put hands on her?”
“He admitted to it.” My hands go deep into my pockets. “Silas didn’t take it well. And apparently, Archer’s not handling it well either.”
Morella just stares, then glances at her phone.
“We need to get to class,” she mutters, turning the corner. I follow in silence.
The locker room door slams open when I walk in, already fuming.
“OLIVIA!” I shout into the girls’ locker room.
Girls scatter like pigeons. I stalk past rows of lockers, scanning the empty space. Most of the girls have either gone outside or bolted the second I yelled.
Finally, I spot her and she’s not alone.
Maddison stands nearby, arms crossed, smirking like she’s been waiting for drama. Liv’s cheeks are flushed like she’s also angry.
“Olivia,” I say through clenched teeth, chest heaving.
“Oh, this should be good,” Maddison says, cocking a brow.
“Out. Now.”
“Oh no,” she laughs. “I want to see this.”
“OUT!” I roar.
She doesn’t flinch like I expect her to. She just lifts her chin and scowls, walking past me.
“I can’t wait to see you break her,” she mutters on her way out, dragging her hand across my chest. I ignore her until the moment the door clicks shut behind her. I turn and lock eyes with Liv. She’s trembling and tugging at the hem of her shirt. Her breaths are shallow and fast.
“Rafe…” she whispers.
I raise a hand to silence her.
“What’s it going to take?” My voice is tight and low.
Liv's eyes snap up to my face, confusion itched in her expression.“Ever since you showed up, it's like everything fell apart. My friends, my family, we’re turning on each other. For what? For you?” I hate this. Hate showing this side of me. But this hurts, physically. “We’ve never had fights like this between us. Never.”
Her lips part, but nothing comes out.
“When are you going to stop?” I ask.
“Rafe,” She chokes out my name. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I snap. I storm toward her, backing her into the wall behind the lockers.
“You mean to tell me Silas and Archer are fighting and you don’t even know why?
!” I’m yelling again. “You put Silas in a position to do the one thing that breaks him. Something that haunts him every goddamn day, and you don’t even realize what you did? !”
She’s shaking.
“You’re stirring up shit and I won’t let you keep doing it,” My voice lowers but doesn’t lose its bite. “It’s time for you to go.”
Her eyes go glassy and her bottom lip wobbles. She clutches the front of her shirt.
Then the sob comes. Loud and raw. Her tears fall fast. I stumble back, like I’ve been hit.
Shit.
“Haverhill!”
I whirl around to find my OA teacher standing in the doorway, red-faced, eyes wide.
“You may have a name in this town, but this is still the girls’ locker room. Get out!”
He jabs a fat, hairy finger at the door. Without another word a head for the door.
Archer and I sit on a bench in the weight room.
“I see you changed,” I say, gesturing toward his shirt.
He looks down, and pulls the fabric away from his chest. “Yeah, well... didn’t want to walk around in a blood-soaked tee all day.”
“Fair enough. How’s your nose?”
“Not broken. Nurse was pissed I wouldn’t tell her what happened.”
He stares at his hands for a moment then stands, positioning behind the bar to spot me. I load the weights and start lifting.
“Dude, chill. You’re gonna burn out fast.” Archer grabs the bar, forcing me to rack it.
“What’s going on?” he asks, holding the bar steady as I try to take it again.
I sigh and sit up, facing away. “I made her cry.”
“What?” He moves to one side of the bar.
“I made her cry.” This time I say it louder.
“Who?”
He circles to stand in front of me, arms crossed.
“Liv.”
He says nothing. He just stares at me and I can’t tell what’s behind it. Then he grabs a gym bag by his foot and smacks me with it.
“Hey!” I jump up. “What the fuck was that for?”
Archer tosses the bag back down and glares at me. “For making her cry! Dude, what did you do?”
“I wanna say I didn’t mean to make her cry, because God, I hate when girls cry, but I did go in there planning to yell at her.” I tell him.
“There? Where?” He questions.
Shit. I knew this wasn't going to go over well. Archer is big on consent and women's privacy. “The girls locker room.” I braced. I fully expected to be hit, but Archer just stared. His eyes wide, swirling with fury, his jaw slack.
“You’re telling me, not only did you go into the girls' locker room, but you also screamed at her and made her cry?”
I take a step back, just for good measure. “Yes.”
Archer follows. Until he’s chest to chest with me, and as fast as a whip, his hand flies up, but instead of the impact I’m expecting he clamps down hard on the back of my neck. He yanks me in close, forehead nearly to mine, mouth at my ear. His voice comes out deadly, spilling with venom.
“Do you have any idea what you just did to her? You think you’re pissed about your ‘family falling apart’?
She’s out there thinking she’s the reason people hate her.
She’s out there terrified, Rafe. Because you, a guy twice her size, cornered her where she should’ve been safe.
” His grip tightens. “You know how many girls don’t report shit because of moments like that?
Because a guy they trusted decided she was easier to scream at than talk to? ”
My jaw clenches. I don’t say anything.
Archer pulls back just enough to look me in the eye. “You don’t have to like her. But you don’t get to break her.” Then he lets go and steps back. He shakes out his hands like he’s trying to rid himself of the anger still coiled inside.
I sit back down and drop my face in my hands, groaning. “I know I crossed a line, I didn't mean to but I wasn't thinking. She’s messing with everything and I just…lost it.”
Archer doesn't respond, he just storms out of the weight room, the door softly closing behind him.