Half of My Heart ✔️

53 | young at heart

A few minutes later, Archer walks out of the nightclub with Mya slung over his shoulder, just like he had me. Before Archer even reaches the car, I see Jack walk back into the nightclub, not sparing me another word. The warmth in my chest has been replaced by an ache.

Archer goes to place Mya in the backseat, cursing when he remembers his new car doesn't have one. I roll down the window again just in time to hear him mumble, "Fuck me in the ass, bro," before he pulls out his phone and to call an Uber for her.

"Tweedledee and Tweedledum. What a pair you two make," Archer grumbles as he waits for the Uber with Mya still in his arms.

"Am I Tweedledee or Tweedledum?" I ask.

"I wanna be Tweedledum," Mya giggles sleepily. A few minutes later, her Uber arrives. Archer places her gently in the backseat, then leans into the front seat to talk to the driver, who can't be much older than Archer himself. Even though he tries to lower his voice, I hear him say, "You better get her home safe and fucking sound, got it? If you don't, I'll hunt your ass down and shank you."

Then he takes a photo of the driver's face and the license plate before letting them drive off.

"Seriously, you two should have been more careful," Archer says sternly as he slides into the driver's seat. "What if one of you had blacked out? Who's gonna take care of you if the other one is just as drunk? What were you thinking?"

"I'm sorry," I say honestly, feeling bad that he had to postpone his night out with his basketball friends for me and Mya. The ache in my chest has combined with the alcohol to produce a swell of emotion threatening to break any moment. "I just wanted to have some fun."

"You can have fun without putting yourself in danger."

Archer's being logical, but once my mouth starts moving, I can't stop the flow of uninhibited truth and emotion that comes flowing out of me. As my face starts to scrunch and tears start to burn my throat, I start to wish that I was a sleepy drunk like Mya and not an emotional one.

"Next time you two go out, I want you to tell me where yo—Are you crying?" Archer takes his hands off the wheel to get a better look at me in the dark. "Dude, I'm not mad at you."

"No," I say, burying my face in my hands. My tears are escalating quickly, and I turn and rest my head on the center console as my body heaves with drunken sobs. I'm about to unload all my troubles onto him when my phone rings. I audibly gasp when I see the name on the screen.

Noticing my reaction, Archer picks up the phone before I can gather the courage to, holding it to his ear. "Hello," he says curtly. I hear the muffled sound of Levi talking on the other end, and I'm terrified for what he could possibly be telling Archer right now. Archer doesn't know about anything that went down between us, so this is Levi's opportunity to spin the truth.

I tug on Archer's arm, coaxing him into ending the call, but Archer just leans away, listening to Levi. Surprisingly, his face betrays nothing, no anger or shock, which relieves me. But that relief of quickly squashed when Archer holds the phone out to me, his face neutral. "He wants to talk to you."

With a shaky hand, I take the phone. "What do you want?" I say coldly, sobering up for this phone call.

"Scarlett?"

"What do you want?" I repeat, even harsher this time, trying not to slur my words. "I told you to leave me the hell alone." Archer's looking more concerned by the tone of my voice, picking up on the tension right now.

"I know, and I'm sorry that I pushed you to that point. Everything is my fault, I know," he says. "I just needed to apologize for how I acted. In class and when you came to my apartment."