Fiendish Play (12 page)

Who was this amazing girl? And where did this energy and thirst for passion suddenly come from?

“I’m so sorry James. I don’t know what just came over me like that.” She climbed off me quickly, looking away, clearly embarrassed and shaken by her reaction. “I can’t believe I just did that to you...I should get going...I’m sorry for just showing up like this...I don’t know what I’m doing...”

“Anais, stop. Just stop.” I grabbed her face. “Look...just to be clear, I like you too. A lot. And this...” I pointed to the beginnings of my sculpture piece, “is all because of you...for you...about you. You’ve inspired something that has moved me like no other.”

Anais sighed and stepped away from my hands that held onto her. She smiled that beautiful smile I saw on campus when she had given me the tour. That was before her eyes shifted down to the obvious bulge in my boxers that I couldn’t hide. She turned her back towards me, feeling like she shouldn’t look, but I grabbed her elbow and spun her back around. I didn’t want her to hide from me because I wasn’t going to hide from her. And I had nothing to be embarrassed about. Her eyes darted down again, like she wanted to peek but wasn’t sure she could. I touched her lips with my finger, feeling even more turned on by the fact she couldn’t take her eyes off my boxer shorts that now looked more like a tent. I was about ready to throw all this respect my mother had taught me to give women, and toss it out the window from her hungry gaze. My urge to want to rip her pretty white dress off becoming more than I could handle. I watched her chest heave back and forth, her breasts rising and falling. They continued to slow, like she was making the conscious effort to calm herself as well. I moved forward towards her lips. I needed to taste her again before she changed her mind. Before she might try to run. But she didn’t pull away from me. She stayed in the confines of my arms wrapped around her tight and my hardness pushed up against her body.

I kissed her sensually then. Slow and soft. Our tongues dancing together like they were meant to be partners. She tasted like something I never knew I was hungry for. And I needed more. I needed to devour her, all day, every day. She broke from the kiss but kept her cheek on mine.

“I was thinking James...that maybe we can catch up tomorrow, you know; hang out...if you want? I can meet you at my gates in the evening...”

There was nowhere else I wanted to be, yet she sounded so unsure I wanted the same thing. Maybe this feeling was new for both of us and natural insecurity was quickly seeping into her conscious. I needed to reassure Anais that I was right there with her in the same headspace, wanting and needing this too.

“Anais, nothing would make me happier. Let’s make it our first official date.”

She rested her head on my shoulder and hugged me tight. “Finally...” she whispered, “something that might be mine.”

I’m glad she couldn’t hear my thoughts, because in my mind, there was no ‘might be’ in her sentence. For me, I wasn’t ‘might be,’ I already
was
.

{10}

I was walking down to the garage when I saw the silver Mercedes pull up in our driveway. It screeched to a halt and jerked forward, stopping abruptly. I stood back, eyes squinting; trying to see what was going on. The driver’s door flung open and Anais climbed out, running over to me. She was wearing black high-waisted slacks with buttons on the hips and a short-sleeved white blouse that was open at her chest, only half tucked into her pants. It looked like she had thrown the clothes on her body in an effort to get here faster. I felt kind of flattered. This was the second time in two days she had just appeared on my doorstep. I was starting to believe she really liked me.

“Hey, I was just on my way over…” I said in a relaxed swagger as I walked down my stairs towards my motorbike. She ran up to me, holding onto my shoulders, stopping me from finishing my sentence.

“James…I…I need your help.”

My ego sank and my pulse shot up. This was something else entirely. Her eyes were bright pink like she had been crying all the way here. Something was very wrong. I held her back so I could see her face and assess how bad the situation was. “Anais, what’s wrong with you? What’s happened? Are you okay?”

“It’s not me James…it’s my cousin Seth. He’s in trouble. I had no one else I could turn to who would consider helping. Will you come with me? Help him for me?”

What kind of friends wouldn’t help her out?

“Of course I’ll help you, but I’m going to need a lot more information about what’s going on.”

Anais nodded like she understood exactly what I meant. If she wanted my help, she would need to finally open up about this world and these people and everything she was pushing me away from. Enough of the silly “I’m trying to protect you,” statements when it was clear Anais couldn’t protect anyone. It was time to let me in.

She tugged my arm forcefully. “Let’s go then.” She ran back to her Mercedes and I quickly followed, jumping into the passenger’s side.

“Where are we going?” I asked, watching Anais tear out of my driveway, shift gear and pound her foot onto the accelerator. Watching her handle the car so aggressively was pretty darn sexy, to say the least, even in an emergency.

“James…do you remember at the dinner when I told you I was part of a club…a secret organization…?”

The urgency of the situation was back. “Yeah. How can I forget?”

“Well it’s not just any club. It’s a secret society called the Lappell. It’s probably the most powerful secret society in the country. But I didn’t choose this for myself. It was chosen for me. Just like my cousin Seth. We’re what you call legacies. The child of a parent who is already part of the society. We have to join. We’re made to. You see, refusal is not an option. And my cousin Seth...well...he’s a good guy, only eighteen, and not cut out for it. With its expectations and what we’re made to do...he really struggles. He’s a kind, sweet and soft person. And in this horrible world…if he doesn’t perform, well…”

Anais’ voice trailed off. Like she couldn’t bring herself to even say the rest. But I needed to know how bad it got. What kind of danger I was potentially walking into with her cousin.

“Go on…” I pressed.

“Then you’re punished. In the worst kind of ways. And right now he’s paying for something he never chose for himself. James, I have to try and help him. My friend Gwen who’s also a legacy, she called me and told me where they’ve got him. What they’re doing to him.”

“Who?”

“Byron…and Deacon…and the others. They’re all in the Lappell. They’re all on the rise and fighting for positions and power. Byron is like third in command of this chapter, next to the second and president. He makes up his own rules...makes up the punishments. And dishes it out ...without mercy.”

“And why do they have Seth?”

“Because there are consequences when we fail or if we don’t comply. If we don’t do what we’re told. If we don’t succeed. If we’re not winners. The price we pay...”

She couldn’t finish her sentence. What was the price they paid? How bad did it really get? “Anais are you saying...”

“What I’m saying…is that I need you.” She cut me off. “And I know I have no right to ask for your help. I know I shouldn’t be including you in any of my problems and these people…but…but…”

“Anais, stop. You don’t have to ask me anything. I want to help you, and your cousin.”

I reached over and took one of her hands she had resting on her thigh, and squeezed it tightly. She eyed me trying to smile, but her face was filled with mixed emotions, the most obvious being fear. Fear of these people and fear for her cousin’s welfare. I had no idea what exactly I was going to be charging into. I didn’t know how bad these people were and what they could be doing, especially given the picture Anais just painted in my head. But something told me to trust that her fear was real. That this was Anais’ way of letting me in. She was throwing me straight into the deep end. Opening her emotional suitcase up wide and saying,
“Here’s my dirty laundry — take a big whiff!”
I either had to help carry the load or walk away. And I was choosing Anais, suitcase and all.

When we arrived at a long stretch of road that was at least twenty minutes north of the township, it was already getting dark. The sun made haste in disappearing over the horizon. It wasn’t generous with its light today. The blackness of the humid night quickly crept out to take its place.

We arrived to where there was a large number of luxury cars scattered in a circle, with headlights all streaming into the center, like it was a spotlight on a stage. Anais screeched her Mercedes to another abrupt stop, flinging the door open and racing out, not even stopping to close the door behind her. “James. Follow me!” she yelled. I followed quickly, shutting the doors, coming up behind where she was pushing through a circle of people into the blinding headlights and what was happening in the beams in the center of the crowd.

I heard the sound of a grunt first, then a whooshing sound of a fist pounding into flesh, like the stomach, or maybe even a cheek. Then coughing. Yep, it was punch to the gut. More grunting. Then another punching sound but this time there was a crack and moan soon afterward.

I shoved my way into the light where I could now see Byron. He was punching into a guy who looked no older than sixteen, being held up by two other guys on each of his arms. The boy had curly brown hair all swished to one side, black rimmed glasses, and a weedy thin body. This was no fight. This was three guys beating the shit out of a guy who was half their size.

I saw Anais next, bursting through the crowd and running over in front of Byron.

“STOP!” she screamed holding up both her palms in front of him. “STOP BYRON! STOP! You’re killing him!” He shoved her out of his way as he pummeled into the glasses-wearing boy once more. She sobbed loudly as she saw the boy’s face filled with pain. Blood running from his nose. I swear I think I even saw Byron laugh. That was it for me. Byron raised his arm again, but before he could punch it forward, I was there behind him, holding him back, stopping his raised fist from propelling into the boy’s body again. The crowd suddenly went still and quiet, watching me intervene, like what I did was either crazy...or a miracle. All the eyes blinking at me like silent rapid fire.

“Not really a fair fight, is it Byron?” I said, cutting through the shocked air of silence. I was still holding his arm in the air when he turned to face me. His eyes glared towards Anais and then back to me. Instead of taking a swing at my face as I expected he would, he smirked and broke away from my hold. The two guys holding up the beaten younger guy called Seth, dropped him to the ground and he crumpled into a heap, moaning and groaning. Anais ran to his side, her hand going to his back and rubbed it in a soothing action. “Seth...Seth...are you okay?”

I wanted to go help Anais with her cousin, but right now, I had more pressing problems. Namely the group of secret society guys who were all rubbing their fists together, surrounding me. I was quickly imagining myself as their new punching bag for the evening. I had not thought this all the way through when I decided to interject. I could probably, quite easily take a few of them down, but a group this big, no way. I would be lucky if I could walk with both legs tomorrow.

“It’s good to see you James,” Byron said to me, but also like he was addressing the crowd. “I can’t say I appreciate you stepping in the way you did, but frankly...I’m impressed. That was a bold move.” Byron looked out to the eyes of our audience. “No one else would dare go up against me like that...so you’ve definitely got my attention.”

I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be shocked or scared but I think it was safe to say I was both. Fighting Byron was not the issue. It was the way he seemed so calm. Too calm. Like those pictures you see of serial killers that have no emotion in their face. It had my mind doing mental flips about what he might do next. When someone doesn’t react the way you expect them to, that’s the time you start to worry. My hand began to shake. I knew it would happen after how I just intervened. There was no doubt that the violence had set it off. I slowly moved my hand from view and shoved it into my jean pocket. I didn’t want these guys and Anais to know I had a weakness...or condition...or whatever the fuck it was. It was my cross to bear and not something I wanted to reveal.

“And you,” Byron turned towards Anais crouched on the ground now, still tending to her cousin’s beaten body. “You’re lucky we don’t have you spread-eagle on the ground right now for all of us. It’s lucky your Daddy knows people who can bend the rules.”

Bend the rules?
Anais said nothing. She kept looking Seth over and over again, trying to assess the damage done to his thin fragile frame.

“You can’t baby him all night Anais. He has a race to win. Now tell him to get up now!”

Anais turned to look up at Byron. Her eyes were so open and wide, you could almost see the daggers flying out. “You almost killed him Byron! How do you expect him to race in a state like this? He can barely move.”

“Well he shouldn’t have lost the preliminary. Do I have to remind you all,” Byron’s voice grew louder, more fearsome, “that we don’t tolerate losers? We are the best because we only initiate the best. Not pathetic, pubescent looking legacies like your cousin. We were merely ‘reminding him’ of what he’ll get if he doesn’t win tonight.”

“You’re a monster,” Anais said barely loud enough for anyone to hear, but in the deathly silence, it carried through the air and slapped Byron right in the face.

“What did you say?” His voice changing, becoming aggressive, taking a step toward Anais. Immediately my protective instinct kicked in.

“I’ll do it,” I said out loud, breaking the tension, diverting Byron away from Anais. Throwing myself in front of the line of fire, so to speak. I guess I did it because I not only really liked this girl, but what Byron was doing to Seth was wrong. There was a part of me that couldn’t allow that to happen even if I knew it meant I would get hurt myself. I’m not the type of person who could just be a bystander if someone was in trouble.