Pride (Page 9)

There will be a scroll. Read from it. Let them know who they are about to become. Watch as they all stare at you in envy. But no need to fear. Your pride will rise above them all. Enjoy your new brotherhood. And don’t be so grouchy. There’s a surprise for you all. Not every sin is bad.

LG

Pulling the parchment off the shelf, I hear someone arrive. I stand silent, as two dudes walk in, one of them staring me down, testing me. Little does he know, whatever superiority he thinks he has over me means shit to me. In this game, I’m the alpha.

“So, do we wait here or…?” Out of nowhere, another guy pops out from the shadows. I didn’t hear him enter, and when I make eye contact, it unsettles me.

I hold up the scroll. “I found this on the mantel.”

“What does it say?” the entitled douchebag asks, flashing the flashlight on his phone to search around the room.

“We have to wait for all seven of us to be here.” It’s quiet except the flickering of the candles and wheezing of the heavy wind outside. A few unspoken moments pass before all seven finally arrive. Standing in a circle, I begin. “If you stand in this room, you are witness to the seven chosen candidates. The Elite Seven. Pride, Wrath, Lust, Sloth, Gluttony, Greed, Envy.”

“Do we get to choose? Because I can see me being prideful.” The douchebag turns to his friend and winks.

My fingers clench around the scroll to keep my calm. I take a labored breath and continue. “The Elite is made up of the best our school has to offer, and you have the honor of proving yourself worthy. Your oath to the society will be given in action. You will perform assignments to show your obedience and dedication to The Elite. In return, you will be welcomed into a society rich, not just in wealth, but in status, influence, opportunity. You’ve been chosen as the crème de le crème of St. Augustine, and you will be joining the ranks of the most powerful and influential members of society.” I take a breather and flex my jaw. “Above all things, we pride ourselves on candidates who will prosper long after school ends. The Elite is for life. It will become a part of you. Keeping the societies’ secret is of utmost importance. Any indiscretion will be punishable by the full force of the society.

“Your initiation begins with the bonding of seven. The men in this room are your brothers. The brotherhood of the seven is unbendable. You are no longer one person, you are seven.” I lift my eyes away from the words to my audience. Their faces are mostly hidden within the darkness, only a small glare from the candles giving their appearance away. Everyone seems attuned to what I’m telling them. No one looks confused or ready to bail. I inhale a deep breath and continue. “To be chosen for The Elite is of the highest honor, and for this reason, Pride is always chosen as the conduit between the initiating members and The Elite.”

“Me,” the rich asshole whispers, sticking his chin up, looking high and mighty.

I ignore the urge to take him by the lapels of his expensive shirt and put my fist through his face. I just need to get through this and get the fuck out of here. “Pride leads the seven. Prove yourselves worthy of full initiation and you’ll be welcomed into the best society the world has to offer. Your given sin reflects your abilities and personality in life, so shall it be in sin.”

“Mason Blackwell, Pride.” I peer up at the group and pat my chest. “That’s me. Samuel Gunner, Wrath. Rhett Masters, Lust. Rush Demsey, Sloth. Micah—”

I pause on the name, and my eyes raise. I find him in the darkness of the circle. Micah Dixon, my old best friend. What the fuck? How…? I shake it off. Get through this and worry about that later. “Micah Dixon, Greed. Sebastian Westbrook, Envy. Baxter Goddard, Gluttony. Good luck, and may your sins be worthy.”

There’s a rush of excitement from a few of the guys, Gluttony looks pissed, and a few others have a no care grin on their face. Everyone begins to turn to exit when I speak. “Wait, there’s a card.” I hold it up. Gluttony walks up, snatches it from my grip, and opens it.

“To bond your brotherhood, you will indulge in the sins of the body, in lust.” He wiggles his eyebrows at the group. Annoyed at his cockiness, I rip the card out of his hand, and flip it over to see an address. “There’s an address. Let’s go.”

Everyone takes that as their cue to leave, but Micah and I don’t move a muscle. I hear the door creak shut before he makes a move.

“Holy fuck, is it really you?” Micah approaches me, pulling me in for a hug. His arms, also covered in ink, wrap around me, a hand slapping at my back. “Dude! I thought…” He pulls back, the familiar laid-back smile he used to carry still on his face. “I didn’t know what happened to you. Shit, I even thought your ass was dead.”

More unwanted memories surge to the forefront of my mind. The night I drove Micah and I home, only to watch Evelyn be accused of horrible things and ripped away from the only family she had. The only call I was given in jail.

“I could ask you the same thing.” I step back, allowing the anger to filter back in at the betrayal.

“What’s that shit supposed to mean?” His expression hardens. “You fucking disappeared, man.”

I go at him and he meets me nose to nose. “I did? How about hours after I got beaten and dragged away, I called you and your phone was disconnected.”

His eyes shine with confusion, but they quickly register into understanding. “Fuck. My dad,” he begins, shaking his head. “I came home right after all that shit went down. I wanted to ask my dad to look into what happened. But he took my phone. Said I had been hacked or some shit and handed me a new one. I didn’t even…”

“Your dad already knew.”

“But how?”

Fucking Lillian. The Griffins attended the same church as the Dixons, and on many occasions, those families ended up in the papers together at galas and charity events.

“You think my dad had something to do with—?”

“Lillian Griffin is a cunt liar. My sister never did anything wrong. Her accusations were due to her jealousy that her husband would rather abuse young girls than touch her.”

Micah’s face turns stone cold. “He fucking do something to Evie?”

“Not sure yet. We’ve just been reunited as of late and she’s not doing much talkin’.”

His expression once again morphs into confusion. “Wait. You haven’t been with her? Where you been, man? Where’s she been? She okay?”

I don’t want to admit I’ve been in hell, separated from my sister with no power or ability to help her. If he even knew what sort of life she was succumbed to live because I couldn’t help her, he’d hate me. I hate myself. “I’ve been in State Pen. Got myself into some shit.”

“Damn. Don’t mind me askin’, how the hell you end up here, runnin’ this crazy ass shit?”

Because I sold my life for another’s. “Long fuckin’ story.” A large gust of wind causes the doors of the church to burst open, startling us both and instantly breaking the moment. “Let’s get out of here. Everyone’s waiting.” I say to distract him from further questions.

He hesitates, but nods. “Yeah, but once we get some drinks in us, you’re telling me everything. I feel you have more you’re not telling me.”

He has no idea.

We all follow The Elite’s directions and head to the address. Once everyone arrives, we all jump out of our cars and head up the steps of the lavish two-story mansion, pillars surrounding the property, a grand balcony wrapping around the entire upper floor. “Ready to sell your soul for The Elite?” I ask and slam my fist against the large wooden door. As soon as it opens, the ambiance hits us, sin and pleasure, greeting us at the door. A slow tune fills the room, while women, covered in only seductive masks, and thongs crowd the entire first floor.

Together, we enter the house and once everyone makes it past the threshold of the doorway, a woman, her eyes covered by a peacock mask, walks up to us with a tray full of drinks.

“Welcome gentleman. One for each,” she says, offering us a drink and we each grab a goblet from the tray. “Morality doesn’t exist past those doors. Tonight, is about embracing your true sin. Tonight’s transgression is to create your very own divine law. Enjoy.”

This is The Elite’s version of bonding?

The woman walks away without another word, and we all clink our glasses together and take down the sugary liquid. I sneer at the taste. What the fuck was in that?

“You heard her, leave your morals at the door, guys.” Sebastian, or Envy licks his lips and disappears into the sea of flesh. Everyone else follows suit. Gluttony walks passed and knocks his shoulder into mine. I reach forward to grab him by the fucking neck when Lust stops me.

“Not worth it, man. There’s a reason he’s Gluttony. Excessiveness in always wanting to be on top.” I turn to Lust. Fuck if I care why he earned his sin. Brother or not, he won’t make it too far if he thinks he’s above me. “Rhett, by the way.” He sticks his hand out, and I shake it.

“Mason.”

“Pretty badass, this whole Elite thing, right? What’d you have to do to get in?”