I hated small talk. “Yeah, majoring in accounting. You?”
“Nah. University isn’t on my radar until next year.” There was a bit of a self-deprecating edge in his tone. “I got other things on my plate right now.”
Gavino was a nice guy. Not very tall and blond like goldilocks. We’d both been defencemen on the team, though I was the alternate captain and he was on the second line.
Despite all the surface level stuff, I respected Gavino’s hustle.He was born on the rough side of South Side, Montardor—just like me—and had attended St. Victoria courtesy of a scholarship. He was smart and worked many odd jobs to sustain himself from what I remembered. I found that quite admirable.
We turned our attention to Shaun when he cleared his throat, fiddling with his phone. “Darla just texted. She’s at the front doors. We need to head out.” Then louder for the rest of the guys, he yelled, “Almost quarter to midnight, boys! Let’s fucking go!”
The crowd roared in excitement, Shaun’s shout galvanizing them into action.
We were leaving the woods when I grasped Shaun’s shoulder and pulled him back. “What favour were you talking about?”
Shaun gave me a smirk laced with dark amusement. “You’ll see soon enough.”
C H A P T E R4
Let the Games Begin
Ella
The Present
When Callie and I crossed through the doors of St. Victoria high school, the dark aura surrounding the gothic-style building and the thick fragrance of incense, wood, and blood orange hugged my frame like an old inamorato.
Four months since I graduated, yet it felt like just yesterday I was sauntering down these arched hallways in my cheerleading uniform with my ex-boyfriend by my side.
Cade and I had beenthatcouple. Inseparable and indestructible. I was the co-captain of the cheerleading team and he was the alternate captain for the Rangers. We weren’t oblivious to the gossip that followed our trail. People were either jealous of us or wanted tobeus. No matter what or where we went, we incited envy and revered glances.
South Side’s resident good girl and bad boy was a goddamn headline.
For three years, we’d been the center of attention, sitting on our high horses.
Now we were nothing.
Funny how lovers who were tighter than a nun’s vow could be reduced to ashes.
Walking further into the dark foyer illuminated by our flashlights and lined with mosaic windows, brass-accents, and wooden floors, memories of our relationship played in my mind like a film.
From our first meeting to our last sighting. From our first kiss to our last fight. From the first moment we saidI love youto the very moment he shattered my heart with a sledgehammer.
Even with all my pain, it was impossible to erase his memory.
He’d built himself a home in my heart and he never,everleft.
Being in St. Victoria magnified all the feelings I’d tried to avoid for three months. They clawed to the surface like ghouls and I desperately tried to kick them back below the surface, in the graveyard of all the things I once held dear to me.
Callie wasn’t oblivious to my inner turmoil. She kept shooting me worried glances as we leaned against a row of lockers, watching Initiators entering the building after us. They chatted in low voices, their excitement palpable in the air.
My best friend’s gaze burned a hole into my side. She finally bit the bullet and asked, “Are you okay, Ella?”
I knew what she actually meant to ask.Are you okay being back here after everything that happened with you and Cade?
Masking my emotions, I pasted a fake smile because I was in public. And as per my parents’ rules, you never let your guard slip in front of the world—never wore your emotions on your sleeve for others to witness. “Yeah, just waiting for the game to begin.”
“I can’t believe this will be our last one,” Callie whispered sadly. “I’m going to miss Initiation Night.”
Initiation Night was for the current St. Victoria students, but every year, former graduates—namely first year alumni—were granted the privilege to come play the game one last time.
