Page 23 of Bleed With Me
“Welcome Initiates,” One of the elders greets us. We stop in front of them and wait for their meeting to begin. My father lowers his hood and stands.
“You were summoned here today because you have four infractions against you, Hayes and two against you, Parker.” He informs us. I say nothing. I keep my face neutral and my stance strong. This is the one place I can’t mouth off in. The punishments will only be worse. It’s one thing to run my mouthwhile being punished, but it’s another to argue with my father in front of the elders. “Hayes you are up first,” he says, gesturing for me to stand at the deity.
I walk a few feet and lower my hood. “Ivy was supposed to be your sacrifice next year but it seems her death came a little too soon.” he says with a raised brow, and I nod. “Number two is that her death wasn’t by your hands. She was killed by a new student who just started here only a few days ago. We cannot have those that are not a part of this society killing other members. We will be discussing her punishment whether that be death or initiating her to be your sacrifice.” He taunts.FUCK! Keeping her a secret doesn’t bode well within these walls. She wasn’t supposed to be on their radar. Ever!
“Your third infraction is almost killing Mr. Dillon Buckman. He’s a member of our society. He is untouchable just like you are Hayes. You treat him like a brother, like kin.” he tells me, and I tighten my fist under the sleeve of the cloak.This is fucking bullshit.“And last but not least. Your friend Lucius, was a test. We murdered him for being a rat. We planted him along the treeline hoping the two of you would find him and we were right, you did but your reactionwas not of an initiate. You showed your hand and we cannot have that in our ranks.” he tells us.
I don’t move an inch, even if my rage is seconds away from boiling over. I will never show weakness in this room. Here, I’m a robot. A yes man. They will never get a reaction out of me but my best friend standing behind me, waiting for his infractions is a shaking mess. He knows better, and this is not going to end well if he doesn’t get it together and quickly.
“I understand Sir, what will be the punishment?” I ask and he smiles, snapping his fingers. I take a step back and stand near Parker as the orderlies surround us. Suddenly, someone comes up behind us and shoves a cloth over our mouths. The room begins to spin and everything goes black.
Idle Threats & Nicknames
Liviana
When I woke up in Dillon's bed this morning, I felt sick to my stomach. I knew I didn’t belong there—I didn’t belong with him, period. I let the petty side of me win–instead of kicking Tiffany out of Hayes' room and taking care of him myself. The need to be a toxic bitch rears her head every so often, and this is the perfect example.
I’ve made so many mistakes in the last twenty-four hours but one thing for sure is that I didn’t sleep with Dillon. I couldn’t—I may have walked into his room with the intention of letting him distract me and sink his cock into me, but I couldn’t. I lied and said I was on my period. Dillon doesn’tlike blood—it actually makes him want to puke, so, when Hayes punched him repeatedly making him bleed it was almost laughable because I knew Dillon would start gagging the minute he saw it. The only reason I stood there stunned wasn’t because I was afraid. No, it was because I tried to stop him and he wasn’t listening. It’s like he raged and blacked out like I do. So it shocked me for a second to see myself through him. The way he held that knife, I just wanted to drop to my knees and beg him to slice into me. I was completely turned on and didn’t believe that Hayes would hurt someone else for touching me. I know he told me he killed Knight and Chuck and I witnessed it but seeing it is different, especially because it’s Dillon. Back home Dillon was like Hayes. Popular, rich, and a bad boy. All the girls wanted him but all he wanted was me. Here, though, he's at the bottom of the totem pole.
“So your parents sent you here, and you decided what? Fuck Dillon, I’m gunna get a new boytoy?” Dillon accuses, and I roll my eyes.
“Before I left, I told you it wasn’t a good idea to stay together. My parents never told me how long I’d be here. So there’s no point in a long distant relationship. But see, this is where our problem lies. You don’tever fucking listen to a word that comes out of my mouth.” I fire back, and his eyes widen.
“When did you become so mouthy?” he asks, taking a bite of his pancake.
“Newsflash Dillon. I’ve always been this way. Maybe if you got your head out of your ass, you’d know exactly how your “girlfriend” acts,” I sass and he shakes his head,
“I don’t want you around that guy. I’m here now.” He tells me, and I laugh.
“Again, do I need to spell it out for you? We are not together, Dillon.” I say, staring at him, making sure he really fucking hears me because unfortunately for him, the feelings I once had for him are long gone. Granted, I haven’t even been here for a week, but the pull–the electricity and the butterflies I feel every single time Hayes is near outweighs everything I’ve ever felt for anyone else.
“Wrong! End of discussion.” he deadpans, and I laugh. A full belly laugh so loud it brings attention from everyone around us, but I don’t care. I don’t belong to him. My heart doesn’t speak the same language he does. All it beats for is Hayes Valentine. “Would you keep your voice down,” he scolds, and I shake my head.
“Or else what Dillon. What the fuck are you going to do? Lock me in your room for eternity. Get real. I’m with someone else, and that’s END of discussion!” I fire back, and his eyes slowly meet mine and narrow as I raise a brow, not backing down.
“Keep it up, and you will see exactly what I am capable of. If I see you with him, there will be dire consequences, and I’m not talking about going to the administration. I will ruin you and make sure you’re sent home in a body bag. Do I make myself clear?” He whisper-shouts but even though his voice is low the tone is nothing short of threatening. Taking a deep breath, I stand.
“Fucking crystal. Pansy bitch,” I mumble walking away, but he grips my wrist tightly, making me wince.
“Where are you going? I’m not finished eating,” he growls and I rip my arm away from him.
“To shower!” and with that, I walk away from him and out of the cafeteria to go search for Hayes. First stop–sports arena.
A few hours pass, and I take out my phone to text him. I’ve called thirteen million times and checked everywhere around this damn place.Where could he be?
Me:
I’ve been searching for you. I’m in my room. Please come talk to me.
Rolling over on my bed, I switch over to Syd’s thread, realizing I haven’t spoken to her since last night.
Me:
You good babe? I haven’t heard from you and I saw Parker earlier.
SydBaby:
Ummm, I’m on the lamb. Don’t tell Parker. I’ll explain everything later and Oh, Kendall is fine. She got really drunk after Manhunt and passed out in the cemetery. Hit her up if you need anything. Love you.
