Page 62 of Lords of the Campus

Archer sighs, the weight of our guilt hanging over us. “Maybe. But the important thing is what we do now, how we fix everything. How we change the path forward.”

We spend the rest of the night walking the campus, removing every last piece of evidence of our cruelty. The sun is starting to rise as we finish up in front of the library.

Archer looks around, his eyes tired but determined. “This is only the beginning. We have to do more than simply clean up our mess. We need to change how people see her.”

“Yeah, but how?” I ask, frustration evident in my voice. “We’ve spent months making her life hell. It’s not going to be easy to turn that around.”

“We have to show people who Lyric is, make them see the person behind the rumors,” Archer says, his jaw set firm. “The one who’s strong, resilient, and kind.”

I nod, running a hand through my limp locks. It’s been a long night. “Agreed. But we need a plan. Something concrete. What about a social media post?”

“Maybe,” Archer says, a frown on his face. “I don’t know if I want to dredge up more drama, though. We want to stop the drama.”

An idea tugs at the back of my brain. “There’s always the upcoming Panhellenic Award Ceremony,” I suggest. “We could nominate Lyric for Fraternity Sister of the Year. With all the help she gave us for the toy drive, she deserves it.”

Archer scratches the back of his head “Will that be enough?”

I nod. “It’s gotta help, right? We get her up there on stage at the award ceremony and make a big speech on behalf of the frat and talk about how great she is and all the stuff she’s done.”

“It’s a start,” Archer agrees slowly. “But we need to start treating her like she’s an Alpha Lambda Girl, like she’s more than just our plaything. We have sway on campus. Everyone looks up to us. If we make it clear that no one messes with Lyric, they’ll fall in line.”

As we head back to the frat house, the fatigue starts seeping through my bones. We’ve been up all night and we’ve only scratched the surface of what we’ve got to do to fix everything.

I can’t help but wonder if it’s even possible for us to fix it all. How can we spread the word that Lyric is off-limits and just pretend like nothing happened when we were the ones who ruined everything in the first place?

Once we arrive, Eli is up playing with Levi already. Lyric is still passed out, but her breathing is even, so we leave her to rest.

“Did you get them all?” Levi asks as Eli smacks his hands into our brother’s cheeks. He gently grabs Eli’s wrists and pulls them away, shaking his head.

“Yeah, I think so,” I say, lying on the bed next to Lyric, careful not to jostle her. “We came up with an idea too, something to change Lyric’s image on campus.”

As Archer explains the plan to Levi, I pick up Eli and bounce him on my knee. I made a promise to keep this boy safe and I’vefailed so far. What kind of person does that make me? What kind of father? I try to think back to my memories of my own parents, though they’re dim and blurry.

I remember that they were kind and generous. Before they died, they ran a charity for the unhoused. I wonder what they would think of me if they could see me now.

A grimace spreads across my face as I realize how disappointed they’d be in the man I’ve become. I’ve let bitterness fester inside me and eat away at the humanity they gave me. Now is my chance to change things, to prove that I’m someone my parents can be proud of. Not only my birth parents’, but my adoptive ones too. I don’t want to let Lydia and Eric down, either.

They gave me a second chance at a family once and I owe it to them to give my new family a second chance.

My phone pings, and I check the message, my heart pounding in my chest when I read it.

“Guys,” I say, holding it out to Archer. “Look at this shit.”

It’s a link to a blog post from one of the anonymous campus gossip rags. Someone took a photo of Lyric being carried out of the frat, looking like a wreck. “Alpha Lambda Slut Parties too Hard?” the headline reads.

“Fucking hell,” Archer groans, then whips his head around to see if Eli was paying attention. The little boy is wide-eyed, staring at him. “I mean, uh… freaking heck,” he amends, a sheepish look on his face. “This is a mess.”

“Should we try to get that site shut down?” Levi asks, tapping away at his phone as he investigates.

“It doesn’t even matter,” I mutter. “Three more will be spreading the story before noon. It’s going to be everywhere.”

I glance back to see Lyric still slumbering, and my fists clench. “Whatever we did, we can undo,” I promise. “We’reAlpha Lambdas. We’re the lords of the campus. We tore her down, but we can build her back up.”

“You’re right,” Levi says, his eyes shining with determination. “We’re the Hudson Boys. We can do whatever we put our mind to.”

With newfound resolve, we vow to take down any campus sites that spread more gossip about Lyric and confront anyone who tries to harass her. We’re going to fix this if it’s the last thing we do.

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