Essentially, Initiation Night was sacred to us, the same way enchiladas were sacred to mymamá.
“One last thing. Although this has never happened in the history of Initiation Night, if, for whatever reason, the cops show up…run like hell. Try not to get caught. And should you get caught, you will not breathe a word about what transpired tonight or say the names of those involved,” Shaun added sternly. “Have I made myself clear?”
Low echoes ofyesesrang in our circle.
I glanced around and instantly froze, spotting a familiar figure amongst the group of hockey players huddled close to Shaun.
Was it reallyhim?
My eyes must be playing tricks.
Cade would never show up willingly to Initiation Night.
And it wouldn’t be the first time my traitorous mind conjured up the image of the boy who broke my heart. The one who still held its tattered pieces in his rough palms.
Excitement and fear bubbled in the pit of my stomach. Conflicting feelings were the norm when it came to thoughts of my ex-boyfriend.
I wanted nothing to do with him…yet a small masochistic part of medidwant to see him in the flesh.
I forced myself to listen to the rest of the instructions, but all my mind kept chanting wasCade, Cade, Cade.
“Remember, this isn’t just a competition.” Shaun gazed around the circle conspiratorially, his flashlight flickering. “Thisis a chance to prove yourself worthy of your team and to have a fucking good time!”
Students roared their glee to the rafters, the noise parallel to a crowd in the coliseum.
Initiators pounded their fists against the row of lockers, creating a beat that mimicked the loud bass at a club. It skyrocketed my own excitement.
I loved Initiation Night. Something about it appealed to the adrenaline junkie inside of me. Other high schools were notorious for taking hazing way too far, but we toed between the line of safe and completely insane.
One thing I could do without was the tenebrosity looming over the campus. The lights out at St. Victoria would freak out even the seasoned horror movie loving fiend. It felt like Sister Victoria’s ghost would make an appearance any second.
There was a rumour that Cassidy Johansson, a sophomore in the chess club, fainted last year when she stayed back to clean the crypt during detention. Apparently, she saw Sister Victoria glaring at her from her resting place.
Not a lot scared me, but a one-hundred-plus-year-old ghost roaming the halls of the institute in her habit did. It was said that Sister Victoria and twelve other nuns died in an unforeseen fire, their skeletons buried in the crypt below us.
Apparently, if you paid close attention, you could hear their screams till this day.
Darla asked all the Initiators to leave their phones with Shaun, who held out a brown tote. Everyone lined up to deposit their devices, including Callie, Gavino, and me.
My eyes chased one person after another to confirm if what I’d seen before was a mirage or really Cade. There were many hockey players present…though none of them were him.
Standing behind me, Callie murmured in my ear, “Don’t look now, but Darla’s glaring at you.”
My hackles rose. I waited a few seconds before my eyes flicked over to Darla.
True enough, my ex-best friend glared in my direction.
Seriously, what’s her problem? Won’t speak to me anymore, yet still shoots me daggers with her eyes…
Once all the phones were deposited in the bag, Darla walked around with a chalice filled with red paint. She dipped in her fingers and smeared them along the back of our hands, branding us with the customary mark of the hellhound—the Devil’s very own print. It was something we’d always done since the dawn of Initiation Night, but no one knew the exact reason for it.
When she got to me, I extended my fist with an apathetic look.
“Do you pledge your allegiance?” she demanded blankly.
My jaw tightened. “Yes.”
Cold, brown gaze fixed on me, she scraped the back of my hand with three fingernails. Luckily, she didn’t break any skin. Didn’t mean I was going to let her get away with it.
