passed pretty smoothly, all things considered. Bree came over that first afternoon to catch up on my weekend with Archer, but we ended up doing exactly what she'd joked about. Except with cocktails.
I had to hand it to her, watching Kody and Archer punch, kick, and wrestle each other in their home version of an octagon was insanely great entertainment. Especially after Steele became our personal bartender.
Bree enjoyed it so much that the next day she turned up with Dallas in tow, offering him up as a new sparring partner for Archer.
Shockingly, the boys were fine with this arrangement—probably because they’d known Archer would hand Dallas his ass, but my old friend didn't make it an easy win for him.
Come Wednesday, I'd evidently avoided Scott as long as I possibly could. He was waiting for me outside my second-to-last lecture of the day and looked all kinds of pissed off.
"Oh good, you are alive," he sneered when I stopped dead in front of him.
"Don't be dramatic, Scott," I replied with a flat glare. "I need to get to my psychology lecture. Can we talk later?"
His nostrils flared, and he grabbed my arm in a bruising grip before I could take off. "No, Maddie, we can't talk later because you'll just avoid me again." His grip tightened as he tried to drag me along the hall, but I dug my heels in, resisting.
"Scott," I snapped in a harsh tone, "let me fucking go. This is not okay."
There were enough students around that my demand drew attention, and Scott's cheeks heated with embarrassment under their curious stares. Still, he didn't release my arm.
"Scott," I hissed, harder this time. "Let. Go."
His eyes darted around at our audience, and he reluctantly peeled his fingers from my upper arm, where he was sure to have left bruises. Great. Now I'd have to explain that to my three overprotective shadows.
Scott let out a long breath, but his whole body radiated anger as he glared at me. "Maddie, I want to talk to you in private for five fucking minutes. Is that seriously so much to ask for? I transferred schools for you."
Annoyance flared inside me. "I never asked you to do that, Scott. And I don't have five minutes to give you right now; I'm late for my psychology lecture, so just..." I shook my head, wanting to say just leave me the hell alone.
"Just what?" he snapped, his hands balling into fists at his sides. "Just stand back and watch my girl get used by three guys who think they own this fucking city? They don't even care about you, Maddie. You're just the latest in their long line of desperate sluts, and the second they're done fucking you, they'll toss you aside for the next tight cunt to catch their attention."
Smack.
As it turned out, I would need to skip psychology anyway. My hand needed ice from punching Archer earlier and now from popping Scott in the face.
"What the fuck?" Scott roared, clapping his hand to his face where my punch had landed. I made a mental note to send Cass a text, thanking him. I doubted I could have hit half as hard a couple of weeks ago.
The other students who'd gathered around to witness our argument all cheered and whistled at my punch, but I was just furious.
"Next time you call me a desperate slut," I told Scott in a low voice, not even caring who overheard, "I'll cut your fucking dick off. Now leave me the fuck alone."
I spun on my heel, pushing past a couple of cheering jocks on my way to the exit. My step faltered, though, when I spotted Steele storming toward me with a face like an avenging angel.
"I took care of it," I told him quickly as he reached me. He clearly wanted to go past me and deliver some hard truths to Scott himself, but I blocked his way with my body, looping my arms around his neck. "Max, babe? I need ice for my hand. Help me out?"
He scowled but huffed a sigh and nodded. "I'll kill that fucker later, then. Come on, I'll take you home early."
With a possessive, protective arm around my waist, he walked me out to his car while I shot off texts to Kody, Archer, and Bree.
Bree's reply came almost immediately, informing me that she already knew. Someone had started filming the second our argument had gotten heated. So much for the no-phones rule on SGU campus. I didn't even