Page 69 of Cruel Steps

Smiling wide, happiness pumped through my veins, and I jogged the rest of the way. The dressing room was quiet. I’d gotten here early to avoid Hope. I glanced around the room at each cubby. They had each Wolfette’s name on it and held their pom-poms and uniform. I spotted my name on the end and headed toward it. Setting down Wolfie, my heart dropped at the sight of roses resting in front.

“Holden talked to Hope. It’s not her. They’re just roses. Colter didn’t know,” I whispered to myself, trying to be reassuring. With shaky hands, I reached out for the card attached.

I can’t wait to watch you dance, Princess. No one deserves it more than you.

I gasped and dropped the note, and my eyes caught the sight in front of me. A Wolfette uniform hung in the back of the cubby, but what stole my breath was the dance jacket every Wolfette wore with pride beside it. It was black with teal accents, with a wolf’s head on the front, and the dancer’s name on the back in pink rhinestones.

Was this for real? Had Holden actually gotten through to Hope?

Excitement I hadn’t expected flooded me at being accepted. With shaky hands, I turned the jacket around, and my stomach immediately dropped at the words.

Fat Muppet Loser

Tears blurred my eyes, and I sucked in a shaky breath. She wasn’t going to stop. Hope wouldn’t be happy until I was gone.

Defeated, I took the roses and put them in Hope’s cubby. She could have them. I couldn’t deal with this anymore. If Holden didn’t want me to fight, I’d have to give up.

Stripping down into my tank top and dance shorts, I climbed into the mascot costume in a daze. My entire body was numb, and the world around me blurred. My phone buzzed, but I ignored it and shoved it into my sports bra. With a deep breath, I pulled on the big head just as the girls entered.

Their laughter was loud, hitting my already frayed nerves. Keeping my head down, I skirted around them. If I could make it out of here before Hope arrived, I might have a chance. I made it past the cubbies, the door in my view, just as someone stepped in front of me and blocked my escape.

“Leaving so soon? But you haven’t gotten your initiation gift yet,” Kimmy said, pouting.

“Just let me go. I’ll resign from the team if that’s what you want.”

“Why would we want that? It’s more fun to play with you.”

Girls tittered behind me, and I wished I’d waited until I was out of here to put my head on. I couldn’t see anything except straight ahead.

“Please,” I begged, despite knowing it never helped.

“Say cheese,” Kimmy said before the wolf’s head was lifted from the back, and ice-cold liquid slid down my back. I jumped, but they grabbed my arms and held me in place.

“Stop!” I screamed.

They continued to pour the frozen liquid down my back, filling the costume with the sticky liquid. My breaths rushed out as every time I’d been bullied before came to the surface, and panic overwhelmed me. My heart beat loudly, thumping against my chest hard, and my head spun. Breaking free, I pushed through them, and this time, they let me go, having finished their torture.

But even out of their reach, the panic didn’t subside. Each step felt like walking in quicksand, the cold liquid seeping into every part of me. I kept moving, not knowing or caring where I went as long as I got away. I could have been walking for hours, or mere minutes. Time no longer existed.

Thoughts came at me in a barrage, one after the other, until all logic was erased.

I should leave. Pack it up and call it quits. What was the point of fighting when no one cared? Each step I took revealed a new monster hiding and waiting to devour me. I had no clue how I’d survive the game.

But something wouldn’t let me leave.

I needed to see Colter and Holden first. I had to know. Was it real or just a long con? It felt real, but I’d been deceived before.

Hope stepped into view, halting me and my thoughts in my tracks. Surprisingly, she was alone. She stared at me with a coy smile, her hands on her hips, the pink and gold sequins glinting off the light. Her hair was pulled back in a perfect high-ponytail, and she had teal eyeshadow across her lids. She was ready for the game in all of her Wolfette glory.

Then there was me, a sticky and wet mascot who smelled of moldy dog fur. I would never beat her. I didn’t even know why I’d tried.

“I warned you. But you couldn’t stay in the hole you belong in, Muppet. You only have yourself to blame for everything that’s coming your way. If I were you, I’d run with my tail between my legs, and never show my face at Hayward again.”

The sad truth… part of me believed her. But my heart wouldn’t let me ignore the way Holden made me feel.

Pulling off the wolf’s head, I blinked at her. “What did I ever do to you to deserve this?”

Hope’s head fell back as she laughed. “Oh, Muppet, you really don’t understand how things are here. Do you?”

---