Chapter 1 Betrayed under neon lights
Chapter One
Iris’ POV
He’s late. Again.
“Archer!” I type for the twentieth time tonight, my thumbs trembling. “Where are you?”
The double-tick flash across the screen, just like the other messages I’ve left him. Yet, Archer is nowhere to be found.
My eyes dart around the cozy restaurant, and then back at the door. The waiter approaches again, but this time, the warmth in her eyes is gone.
“You’ve got to leave now,” she starts, picking up the empty glass on the table. “The restaurant is about to close.”
“Please.” I stare up at her with puppy eyes. Archer finds it cute. “He’ll be here any minute now. I’m sure he’s just running late because of traffic.”
She grabs the tray under the glass and scoffs. "He stood you up, girl! If you have any dignity left, I'll advise you to grab your things and go home. Block his ass and move on with your life. He doesn't deserve you."
“You don’t know him enough to say that!” I snap, jumping to my feet. “Archer was right. I should have postponed our anniversary celebration. He told me he was going to be busy this week. Right now, he’s risking his life to get here.”
“Is he at least answering his phone?”
The lie is on the tip of my tongue, but I stop myself.
"Sweetheart," the waitress leans in. "It's almost midnight. There's no traffic at 11 pm."
I grab my things and make for the door. “Thanks, but I don’t need your advice.”
Outside, the chill in the air hits me instantly. Wrapping my arms around myself, I look at both sides of the road, wondering if I should call Daisy to come get me or just wait a little longer.
I know Archer will still come around. He always does. He knows how important today is for both of us.
And that’s when I see him.
Right across the street. His hair is tousled by the wind, and his arms are wrapped around the waist of someone else. His teeth glimmer under the neon lights of the club's entrance as he laughs at something she says.
He pushes a curl behind her ear, and I think I am going to lose my mind.
Sabine. I have seen her a million times in school. Her platinum-blonde hair is unmistakable, and the way she carries herself, like she's the answer to everyone's prayers.
My chest caves in just as Archer pulls her closer to him. His lips find hers, and she giggles like a love-struck high schooler.
My boyfriend, who has been with me for five years, is kissing another girl on the night of our anniversary.
I barely realize when my purse hits the ground in a whisper. Something inside me tears. It sounds like a hiss, like dry wood tossed into a hearth. My chest thumps so hard, as if trying to claw right out of my chest.
Fire engulfs my whole being suddenly, pulling me under. I don’t attempt to fight it, my rage edging it on. It is hard to breathe, but I find out that I am fine without it. I curl my hands into fists.
I can feel my nails digging into my palm. Last I checked, they were not that long for something like that to happen.
My chest rises and falls. Heat floods my bones. My back curves.
“Isn’t that your little girlfriend over there?” I hear Sabina giggle from across the road.
Archer turns casually, his lips mere inches away from hers. “Iris?”
He angles his head, as if to make sure it is really me. His eyes widen when he takes me in, like he’s surprised I saw them.
The nerve of Archer!
I don’t think twice about it as I charge towards them. All that I can picture is that little grin on Sabine’s face, and how bad I want to wipe it off.
My heels hit the pavement, but I can tell something is wrong. Everything feels sharper. I can tell the red and green apart in the neon lights of the club, and I can hear the scrape of a chair from somewhere upstairs.
I stop when a baby cries exactly five blocks away. A woman whispers, “Shhhh. You’re going to wake the world.”
Sabrina's laughter brings me back. "What are you trying to do? Fight back? We all know you are a two-goody-shoes for that. You're only going to end up hurt."
“She’s right, Iris,” Archer murmurs, slowly stepping in front of her. “You should calm down, okay? Let’s talk.”
“Talk?” My voice breaks, but it isn’t fear. I am boiling with so much anger than I can contain. “You’ve been ignoring my texts all day, and now, you’re right across the street from the restaurant reserved for our anniversary, making out with her?”
Something shifts under my skin, just as Sabine scoffs. "Don't blame him, Iris. You were just never good enough for him, and you never will be."
I don't remember moving. One second, Sabine is grinning, and the next, her back hits the wall behind her, a sharp crack echoing into the night. My hand pins her in place, and my eyes don't feel like mine.
“What did you just say?” I growl, my nails digging into her neck.
“Iris!” Archer screams, pulling my arm. “Stop this right now! You could hurt her.”
The minute his hands touch my skin, Sabine is the last person on my mind. I edge towards him, but just then, a blinding pain hits, pushing me to the ground.
My bones are stretching, breaking, and hurting. I feel something trying to crawl out of me. I can hear Archer somewhere in the distance, still screaming, but I can't tell what he is screaming at.
Suddenly, strong arms yank me off the floor, a blur of silver and black in my vision. I fight hard against him, but his hold is too strong. He’s moving. I can tell by the rhythm rocking through me.
“Let me go!”
“Not until you are calm,” a cold voice responds. Something about it makes me stop.
“Who…who are you?”
“The one who just saved your life.”
And then, the pain returns. I hear his voice faintly.
“I’ve got you.”