I didn’t stop her as she left the room.
Guilt filled me. I’d asked her to say and now I was calling her out on it for staying. I was a fucking wreck.
“You know, she reminds me so much of Joan,” George, my dad, said.
I spun around and found him in the doorway, arms folded, much like how I stood. “How much did you hear?”
“Enough to know that you can’t let her go. She’s in love with you.”
“She’s been through so much. I don’t want her to feel any kind of pain, ever again.”
“I can tell she’s a strong one, son. You cannot force her to be something she’s not. If she doesn’t want to leave, don’t force her hand. Don’t make her leave. Believe me, if you think you’re doing the right thing letting her go, it’s a fucking lie. Trust me when I say living without the one you love is so much worse than you will ever realize.”
I stared at my dad. “I don’t want to be selfish with her. She deserves a life as far away from here as possible.”
“She deserves the life she wants, Dante. Not you. Not me. No one is going to tell her how to live her life. She is strong. You need to realize it.”
I moved toward the pool table, picking up the stick and potting the rest of the balls without much challenge.
I knew what my father was saying, but it was so fucking hard to do. As much as I wanted Sian to be part of us, I knew challenges faced us. Some we’d be able to handle together, others not so much.
“How are you going to handle the video?” I asked.
There was no doubt there was already a press conference being called with a big explanation as to what happened. They would do what they could to recover any image that might be damaged by this.
Staring at my dad, I knew it was already done.
“We’ll wait the required thirty minutes, at which time a press conference will be called. During which, the video of Alexander beating that girl will go live, interrupting our explanation. Imagine our shock and surprise about seeing an upstanding citizen not only hurting a young girl, but also having an affair with one. Chloe’s identity will remain anonymous.”
“What happened to her?” I asked.
“They have been removed. You know this, William. Don’t ask any more questions about her, about this. What is done is done.”
I was done with this conversation. There was nothing new when it came to my father. I was at the door when I stopped and glanced back. “Do you ever regret it?” I asked.
“No,” he said.
“Have you ever wondered what your actions have caused?”
“That’s why you don’t think about it, William. You forget. You follow your list of instructions, and you leave and ignore the rest. Nothing else matters.”
I wanted to argue with him, but I saw it was pointless.
None of us knew what The Society was really capable of. We could only hope to stay in its good graces and embrace the power they gifted us with.
****
Sian
The video was out there.
Even though my request for a certain time for my father’s evidence to go live had been denied, they had exposed him within forty minutes of the sex tape. A couple of the press and newspapers ran our twisted tale, but most had taken on the lawyer who killed a young girl from an underprivileged family. Along with the footage, records of his embezzlement, bribery, sexual abuse, and even rape had been exposed as well.
I was shocked to see the full extent of what my father could do. The Society hadn’t gone quiet for ten months, they had been building all the evidence they needed to take him down. I was happy about that.
He needed to go away, to be killed. This bloodthirsty nature was not natural to me.
I stood in the graveyard once again, this time covered in a large hoodie, glasses, and leggings, staring down at my friend’s grave.
I hadn’t seen her for so long, and as I looked at her name, I wanted to cry.
I didn’t.
Sadness washed over me as I stared at my friend’s resting place. She deserved so much better than this.
“Hello,” I said. “I see you haven’t left.” I groaned. “Bad joke. Really bad joke.” I sighed. “It’s empty.” Sometimes the cemetery was empty. Other times, I noticed a lot of people hanging around, holding flowers, showing the love, their pain.
“I miss you. There’s a lot to tell you about.” So, I stood and told her everything. The laptop, Fred’s evidence, the proof of who killed her. I told her about my nearly killing Chloe and the fact she’d been taken, and I didn’t know what had happened to her. “I don’t know if you would’ve liked that. Also, my dad decided to play hardball and there’s now a tape being shared and forwarded and whatnot with my virginity being lost. Good times.”
Standing up seemed like too much of a job to do.
Sinking to the ground, I crossed my legs and stared hard at my best friend’s headstone.
“I’m not leaving them. William’s pissed at me because of it, which I just want to point out, I don’t get. He was the one who asked me to stick around and now he’s upset.” I took another deep breath. “My mom didn’t want me to be part of this world, but she’s not here to offer advice. Drew didn’t raise me to be a quitter. I’m not ready to turn my back on them. Ugh, do you remember what it was like at the beginning of senior year when they granted me the selection rose? I was so angry with them and didn’t want anything to do with them. They were all hot guys, but I had no interest. That seems like a lifetime ago.” I chuckled. “I’d give anything to go back to then to talk to you, Heather.”
Like all the other times, an overwhelming sadness takes over.
Her voice inside my head was getting less clear. There were times I forgot how it sounded even after I’d watched the videos with her talking.
“I’m going to go to college, and seeing as my folks aren’t around, I’m going to be studying English language, yay. Totally rock.” I laughed. “I know one day you wanted to take a trip to Europe, so I’m going to figure that out as well. There is so much I want to do for the both of us, and I promise I will get to it. I’ll make sure to see everything you wanted to see.”
I pressed my fingers to my lips and then brushed them across her name. “I love you, Heather. I hope you are at peace.”
I got to my feet and just felt this overwhelming sadness.
My friend was gone. She wasn’t coming back. I knew this, but each time I came here, I hoped it was some kind of warped, twisted joke. The Society playing a game on me to surprise me. My initiation perhaps. But I saw Heather die.
The way the guys and their dads looked at me sometimes, I knew this wasn’t a joke. Heather really was gone.
Tears filled my eyes as I turned away to sit on a bench. I didn’t want to go back to Gideon’s home.
Sitting on the bench, considering my thoughts, I basked in the silence. There was something to be said for the stillness that surrounded me.
In the space of twenty-four hours, I had gone from being free to giving myself to four men and the mercy of The Society. An organization I knew nothing about. Feeling slightly sick, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
Getting to my feet, I glanced around the cemetery, but I didn’t see anyone. I didn’t like this feeling.