Bad Boy's Game

[24] Archer

B A D 
B O Y ' S
G A M E

***Archer's pov***

Sorry I found out Ryder was cheating on me, sorry you couldn't get that cold hard cash you wanted, and sorry that you drunkenly revealed the truth to me. Today you revealed the real Archer West. Don't worry about picking me up for school or walking me to class, I'm sure that I can just find another asshole to do those things. After all, assholes seem to be the only guys that I attract... I was stupid to think that you're capable of kindness, you're just one hell of an actor. You're just playing a game, a game is all it's ever been. For a second I thought that you might actually care about me... I thought that maybe it was more than just a game to you... I can't believe I almost fell for it. 

I'm just another asshole to her, I'm just another asshole.

I wouldn't blame her if she decided to call quits on our fake relationship or if she proclaimed vocally her hatred towards me.

I can't blame her for anything, after all, it's me who deserves all the blame.

I knew it was wrong that I ever made the deal with Ryder, it was so incredibly wrong. I was so desperate for the cash that I disregarded all morals. And now I'm stuck out on my back patio with a bottle of whiskey and too many issues to count.

The house by now is littered with various alcohol bottles, I can't help but drink my problems away.

My mother surely wouldn't be proud of any of this, if she was here I would definitely be shipped off to a reform school or be grounded for an eternity.

But, how could she when she isn't here?

My mother's miles away laying on possibly her deathbed because the medical bills are adding up and our savings is dissipating. If anything, she's caring about other serious things, like if she's going to live to see the next day.

Cancer is a pain in the ass.

My mother's diagnosis made my father a certified alcoholic, my mother weaker than lead, and made me just another cigarette smoking asshole.

By this rate, I'm following my awful father's footsteps. I probably have reached his alcohol intake and my lungs are probably just as crumbled.

All I need now is to become a federal criminal and to start a family that I can bail out on.

Bailout on my family like how Ryder bailed out on me.

Ryder bailing out on our poisonous deal had two side effects.

1) It allowed me to spend time with a smart ass girl while making Nilsen feel like shit.

2) It allowed the girl to eventually find out about the poisonous deal and hate me.

And then there's a third thing, one that isn't quite a side effect but is definitely something.

3) It allowed me to feel a spark I have never quite felt before.

It's a spark that makes me extremely confused, so confused that I find myself taking a twenty-minute shower. I hope that the shower will wash away the strangeness, that it will make me forget the look she gave me before walking out. But, it doesn't work and I end up feeling lightheaded with a craving for vodka.

I heard there was a party going on a block away, at some football player's house. The host doesn't really matter much to me, I only care if they have a good drink selection. I could use it.

I throw on a button down, the button down I first kissed Grey in, and head out the door.

It's around nine or at least that's what my watch says.

I arrive at the party just minutes later, my motorcycle being one of the first vehicles on the lot. Once I'm parked I hop off the bike and place my helmet on the seat, walking over to the front door and ringing the doorbell.

Our school's quarterback opens the door. "Welcome to the best party of the year."

I give a nod and he shows me inside, I immediately notice a few familiar faces.

Once he goes back to the front door in order to greet more guest I pour myself a drink, feeling a hand stop me from picking it up. The person takes the cup away from me before I even have the chance to pick it up.

I turn to the side, seeing a blonde in a bright shade of coral.

"How about we talk over drinks," she suggests.

I nod, it wouldn't hurt anybody. Being in the presence of company could make drinking not so lonely.

Or so I assume.

After over an hour of hearing her talk, I find the desire to be left alone. I began to wish for her to give me an excuse to leave the conversation about thirty minutes ago.

The party's now in full swing and I'm probably on my fourth cup.

Over the course of the conversation, the girl begins to make her way closer to me, evidently attracted to me. Every inch closer she gets makes me shiver, I don't particularly like her talking let alone being of a close physical distance.

10:30 p.m. and she's leaning in for a kiss, I place a hand over her mouth before she can touch my lips.

She blinks a couple times and gives a confused look.

"I have a girlfriend," I tell her, shutting down her advances.

The girl groans and I walk away. I grab another drink or rather a whole bottle of vodka and go outside, I could really use the fresh air. It's getting a little too warm and hormonal inside.

The moment I walk completely outside, I see a familiar brunette holding hands with a blond boy.

And she meets my stare with a stare of her own.

I open my mouth in an attempt to apologize to her or ask to talk, but no words stumble out.

A flash of pain is in her eyes, a flash of anger is in the boy next door's eyes.

Before I can try again to speak she walks away, leaving me to face Liam.

"Don't cry when she isn't yours anymore, know that it's your fault for hurting her," he says.

"How do you know it's me who she's upset over?" I ask.

"You're the only guy she sighs over."

Liam leaves and goes after her, leaving me with my single bottle of vodka.

I freeze for a moment, going over the expression she wore when she stood opposite of me.

I put the vodka bottle down on a random table, making my way back up front. I grab my helmet and strap it on, knowing that it would be best if I leave now.

I forget the fact that I have an excessive amount of alcohol in my system.

I suddenly remember that same fact once I see red and blue lights flashing in the dark of night.

Red. Blue. Red.