Page 47 of Loving the Liar

I stride to the bathroom, feeling my heart pounds against my ribcage as I rid myself of my underwear. This place is no joke, and I hadn’t realized the lack of dignity was going to start so soon.

I walk back out, right on time to follow the others, as we are being moved into another room. When we pass the door, a man in a suit is asking for the invitations, taking them from us. I don’t recognize him from anywhere, but I catch the signet ring on his pinky.

I’m in the right place.

Megan finds me again when we enter the second room. She walks beside me as we’re all guided through double doors into a backyard. Well, if you can call what looks like acres of land a ‘backyard.’

“Take off your shoes,” she whispers to me as we step outside. “They won’t want you to wear them.”

I do so and notice the girls who didn’t know are almost told off when ordered to do so. Then they’re placed at the back of the crowd.

“Thanks,” I murmur to Megan as we both settle toward the front.

Why is she helping me suddenly? I prefer when she’s horrible.

“You seem to know things a lot of the other girls don’t,” I tell her.

She nods, looking ahead of her as we keep walking through lush grass, following two men guiding us.

“You always have an advantage when you already know people within the Circle. The other girls are randoms trying to be initiated into a society they don’t understand. You and I are different. Our families are part of it.”

I look down at the grass that is starting to feel damp as the night blankets over us and the temperatures drop.

“I don’t know if I’m so different. My dad?—”

“He was still a member,” she cuts me off. “And I brought you to the front. You have better chances.”

“What is it we have to do exactly?”

I’ve been so focused on the grass, my own feet, my fear, that I didn’t look ahead of me. It’s only when Megan points out the giant entrance to a hedge maze that reality sinks in.

“What the hell?” I knew they wanted us to find the place that had a maze, but I didn’t realize we would be walking barefoot through it.

I look back to see the main building a little too small in the distance to my liking. We’re far out, the edge of Stoneview forest to our left and the eerie maze looking like an entrance to Hell.

Unable to control my fear, my mind goes to the only person who’s always protected me.

“Where’s Chris?”

Megan cocks an eyebrow at me, and I can hardly feel guilty. I’m too scared. I need him.

“Are you looking for my boyfriend?” she asks, completely unimpressed. I am, and there’s nothing I can do about it now.

“It’s just…he’s just…the only person here I know.”

“He’s at the center of the maze,” she explains calmly. “Waiting for me.”

Her eyes hold mine for a few seconds, driving the knife a little deeper with her stern look.

“Ladies. Good evening.”

My head snaps back to the front. Eugene Duval is standing at the entrance of the maze. That’s Achilles’s dad. I would be glad he cut through my awkward conversation if he wasn’t looking so terrifying. Like a ringmaster ready to put on the show of his life.

“I am so incredibly honored to welcome you to the yearly initiation into our community. Within our circle, my name is Zeus, and I’m the president. There is no higher authority than me.”

He smiles, so proud of his status. Achilles’s dad has always given me weird vibes, but then, so did my dad, and I learned that all those men couldn’t be trusted. But I never thought he was the president of the Silent Circle.

“Tonight, some of you will become Heras, and some of you Aphrodites. That depends not only on your fierceness to go for what you truly want, but also who you truly are. What is for certain, is that your lives are about to change.”

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