Hateful Lies

by Liv Reid

  I wish this walk could last all night. I’m enjoying learning about my roommate, and I want to ask her more about her life, but we’ve arrived at the Dark Society’s headquarters. Oh well, they’ll be plenty of time. We have the whole year together.

  In front of us is a thick metal door surrounded by ornate stonework and not much else. It looks like the entrance to a mausoleum.

  “This is it?” I ask.

  Everly smiles at me conspiratorially and walks up to the door. She knocks once, then pauses, then knocks four times in quick succession, then pauses, then knocks again twice.

  “That’s the secret knock. Remember it if you ever have to come here by yourself.”

  The heavy door swings open, and there’s a person in a dark robe standing there. I take a step back uneasily. Their hood is up, and their face is covered in shadow. The long sleeves of the robe are even covering the person’s hands, so I have no idea who is inside.

  Everly performs a curtsey to the mysterious person. “We request entrance to the tomb, oh ancient dark spirit.”

  The figure moves slightly, and I can tell they are looking at me. There’s along pause and then finally the hooded figure moves to the side and raises one arm, motioning for us to enter.

  Everly and I quickly scurry inside, and the door slams shut behind us with a loud bang. I feel like I’m being sealed inside this tomb. I don’t know what the hell I’ve gotten myself into. If this situation ends up going bad, then I’m going to be in big trouble because I don’t know how I’ll get back out.

  It’s dark in here. There are a couple of lights attached to the wall, but they are old and dim and only give off a small glow. I stick close to Everly as we descend the stone stairs in front of us. The air gets cooler, and I start shivering.

  At the bottom, there’s a long corridor of stone. I can barely see anything because there are no lights down here except for one torch attached to the wall. I’m getting really nervous, and I whisper to Everly, “What is all of this?”

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s mostly for show.” She picks up an unlit torch from a pile sitting on a tray underneath the one on the wall. She lights it and starts walking down the hallway.

  I stick close to her and look at the doors as we pass by. The entire hall is lined on either side with thick, unmarked wooden doors.

  “What’s in there?” I whisper.

  “Secrets,” Everly says with air quotation marks and giggles.

  I don’t like the sound of that, but I don’t ask anymore questions. It feels wrong to speak so much in this creepy environment. This is a place that demands silence.

  Finally, we reach another flight of stairs, but this time going up. I’m so happy to get out of the oppressive hall that my mood lightens with each step upwards. At the top of the stairs is a door identical to the ones in the hallway. I’m anxious to find out what is waiting for us behind it and get the hell out of here.

  Everly performs the secret knock, and a few seconds later it swings open. The bright light feels blinding after the darkness of the tunnel. The sounds of people laughing and music hit me. I look around Everly to see where we are.

  “Come on in! And welcome!” the guy who opened the door says and then takes Everly’s hand and kisses it. She giggles. He’s wearing a Victorian mask as well and dressed in a suit.

  Everly extinguishes the torch in a pot of water next to the door that already has several used torches in it, and we head inside. We push aside the heavy velvet curtains hanging in front of the door and walk into a large room filled with people.

  “Whoa,” I murmur.

  It looks like we are in a very expensive old mansion. There’s dark wood and marble statues everywhere. The ceilings are two stories tall. The place is decorated top-to-bottom in gold and silver decorations meant to look like a masquerade-themed ballroom. All of the people are dressed in costumes similar to ours. Thank God Everly let me borrow this dress, otherwise I would have stuck out like a sore thumb.

  She grabs my arm and drags me over to a bar in the corner. “What’s your drink?”

  “Uhh, whatever you’re having.” I don’t want to tell her I normally drink beer. These people don’t seem like the kind of people who drink beer.

  She orders two fruity drinks and makes them doubles. “You’ll need it to get through tonight,” she says with a laugh, as she hands me one. “These parties always end up being about everyone trying to subtly show off how much money they have or how successful their family is. Bore-ing. Cheers!”

  We clink glasses and then start walking around. People come up to Everly and ask her how her summer was. No one is really talking to me, so I take the chance to look around—and drink more. Out the windows I can see the campus, so I know we are still on school grounds. I wonder why we had to come through that creepy underground hallway to get here then? Probably just tradition to try to freak the new members out.

  I still can’t believe I’m here. It hasn’t properly sunk in yet. I’d been exposed to how rich people lived their lives when my dad started working for the Astons, and I started going to Sycamore Heights. But I was never invited to many parties while I was there. I only ever went to one when Heston took me as his date. That was the second-to-last date we ever had, and then he became my tormentor.

  I shake my head. I don’t want to think about it. I don’t want to think about the fact that the only reason I’m here is because his family is paying for me. Charity case. That’s all I am. I don’t belong here. I can put on a fancy dress and pretend, but it’s obvious what I am. That’s why none of the people talking to Everly are bothering to talk to me. They can smell the poverty on me. I should just get out of here.

  “Everly.” I tap her on the shoulder, and she spins around from the group of people she’s talking with, a big smile on her face. “I’m going to get ou—”

  “Another drink?” she asks. “Ok, come on.”

  She leads me back over to the bar and orders two shots.

  “I better not,” I say. “I should probably get out of here.”

  “Are you serious? You can’t leave me alone. Please. You’re the only one I don’t have to be fake around.” She grabs my hand and looks at me earnestly.

  I’m surprised. I don’t want her to feel like she has to babysit me instead of hanging out with her real friends. She looked like she was having so much fun with them, but then I realize it was all an act. She’s faking it with all these people because she has to.

  “I’ll stay,” I answer.

  She hugs me. “Good!”

  We take the shots and then start walking around. Everly introduces me to a couple of people, and I start to relax. This isn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. Everyone is just here to have a good time, drink and maybe dance a bit. No one cares who you are tonight, Violet. The masks help too. Since all of our faces are covered, we can all feel anonymous for tonight.

  No one knows I’m Violet Miller, the poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Orphan. Couple of years behind in school. No one knows I don’t belong here. For tonight, I can be anyone.

  “Let’s dance!” Everly starts pulling me onto the small dance floor.

  “Ok,” I say, laughing.

  I let her pull me, but then I stop cold.

  Those eyes.

  Those angry hazel eyes.

  “What’s wrong?” Everly asks.

  I thought I saw those eyes, but it was just for a split second and then they were gone in the sea of masks.

  “Nothing,” I say quickly. It was probably just my imagination.

  We start dancing, but I’m left with a weird, uneasy feeling that I can’t shake.

  About half an hour later, we go back to the bar for another drink. As Everly orders, I see them again. Those eyes that stare at me with pure loathing, with a hateful passion so strong it burns like fire.

  In a blink, they’re gone, and I’m just looking at a room full of laughing, smiling strangers. I shake my head. What’s going on with me?r />
  “I better not,” I say, as Everly hands me the drink. “I’m… getting a headache.”

  I’m being haunted by my past.

  “Oh, that sucks. Want any painkillers?”

  “No, I’m ok. I’m sure it’ll go away soon.”

  “Just nurse this until you feel better, otherwise people are going to judge you for being a downer.”

  I take the glass, and we head over to a couch in one corner of the room. I take deep breaths to steady my nerves. The alcohol probably just hit me too fast, and being in this environment is stressing me out, so my mind is playing tricks on me, that’s all. I just need to slow down and relax, and then I’ll be fine.

  A tall, muscular guy in a suit comes up to us and even though he’s wearing a mask, I recognize Rogan’s chocolate-colored hair.

  “Hey, Sis,” he greets Everly. “Who’s this pretty thing?” He nods towards me.

  “Are you really that dumb?” Everly asks. “You met her a couple of hours ago—you hit on her a couple of hours ago.”

  “You’ll have to be more specific,” he laughs. And with that, my burgeoning crush is immediately extinguished.

  “She’s my roommate,” Everly says impatiently.

  “In my defense, she’s wearing a mask. Hey, Everly’s roommate.”

  I just nod and turn away. At first when he hit on me in the cafeteria, I was flattered. This super hot, wealthy, successful guy was interested in me, but now that I know it had nothing to do with me and he’ll just hit on everything that moves—like Everly said—I feel less special.

  “Having a good time?” he asks Everly.

  “Same old, same old. You know I don’t like these parties.”

  “I know, but we have to. Have to uphold the family name,” he says sarcastically, and I feel a bit like a voyeur. Like I’m seeing a view of their sibling dynamic that not many people see, and that I probably shouldn’t be seeing either.

  “Speech time,” he says and leaves.

  He walks to the front of the room, and Everly sighs. “Let’s go over and watch.”

  We stand up and follow him. Rogan walks up the stairs so that he’s raised above the rest of the gathered students. He starts by welcoming everyone to a new year of school and a new year of the Dark Society.

  I’ll give him credit, he’s a great public speaker. It’s as natural to him as breathing. He’s funny and poignant, and even though I’m still a bit insulted from earlier, I have to give credit where credit is due. This guy is going to make an amazing politician one day. I can see why he’s the president of the club.

  “And now I’d like to pass it off to our VP. Come on up here and give the people what they want. Where is he?” Rogan says, as he scans the crowd.

  A tall figure in a dark suit steps out and walks up to stand next to Rogan. He turns to face us, and I feel like my heart stops. Those eyes lock on to mine, and I can’t breathe. The edges of my vision blacken and tunnel so that the rest of the room falls away, and all I can see are those cold, hateful eyes.

  Even before he takes off his mask, I know who it is. A ghost from my past.

  Logan Aston.

  I reach out and grab onto the wall. I need something to steady myself. It may have been four years since I last saw him, but I immediately know it’s him. He’s grown so much that I barely recognize him, but it’s the eyes. Those eyes have haunted me every day for the last four years, and I would recognize them anywhere.

  I know he recognizes me too because he’s looking straight at me. But he doesn’t look surprised to see me at all.

  He thanks Rogan for the introduction then takes his turn addressing the crowd. If it wasn’t for those eyes, I wouldn’t even be sure it was the same person. The guy I used to know was quiet and sullen. He kept to himself and rarely spoke, but this guy in front of me is so confident and self-assured. He’s as good as Rogan when it comes to public speaking. This guy is charming and funny—nothing like the Logan I used to know.

  His light brown hair has deepened into a rich coffee color. His jaw has filled out, and his shoulders have expanded into broad muscle. And was he always this tall? I don’t remember him being this tall.

  He was always a good-looking guy, but I never really thought about him in that way. I never thought much about him at all, actually. I got along better with his brother—everyone did. I always thought Logan didn’t like me, and I never liked him either.

  But seeing this new version of him in front of me, I feel like I’m in an alternative reality. Nothing about this makes sense. There’s no way this can be the same guy, they have nothing in common—but it is. I know in my heart it is because whenever he looks my direction, those eyes don’t lie. Those eyes tell me he wants to make me pay. He wants to make me suffer.

  I need to get out of here.

  6

  L

  I clock her the second she walks in. It might have been four years, and she might be wearing a mask, but I’d recognize that tight little ass anywhere. My cock tightens in my suit pants, and I curse it. I hate her, everything about her, but I feel betrayed by the way my body reacts to her.

  She may look innocent on the outside, but I know what lurks within. She’s pure evil.

  I watch as she dances and drinks with Everly. I don’t take my eyes off her. That’s fine, have your fun. It’s not going to last long, sweetheart. Soon I’ll turn that innocent look in your eyes into one of fear. I can’t help but smile at the thought.

  “I know who you’re taking home tonight,” Rogan says, as he comes to stand next to me. I didn’t even notice he was there because I was so focused on her.

  “What?” I ask gruffly. She puts me in a bad mood.

  “That chick.” He motions with his head to Violet. Pretty, little, not-so-innocent Violet.

  “No. I fucking hate her.”

  He looks at me in amusement—and it pisses me off. “You haven’t taken your eyes off her the entire night. You want her.”

  “It’s not because I want to fuck her. It’s because I want to choke the life out of her,” I growl. I know I sound insane, but I can’t help it. She makes me crazy.

  Rogan just laughs and pats me on the shoulder. “Ok, man. Whatever you say… just promise you’ll make me best man at the wedding.”

  I jerk away from his hand. He’s really pissing me off.

  “Where’s your brother?” he changes the subject casually.

  “Overseas. Taking care of some family business in London,” I answer, never taking my eyes off that little liar. I’m drawn to her like a magnet, and I can’t tear my eyes away.

  I’ve never liked her. From the first moment I saw her, I knew she was going to be trouble.

  Rogan pats my shoulder again sympathetically. “Ok, VP, let’s go. Speech time.”

  He then walks right over to her. What the fuck? I can’t hear what they are saying. I’m in the corner while they are sitting on a couch across the room. If he says anything to her about me, I’m going to punch his teeth in.

  I feel a feminine hand on my arm. I don’t even bother looking down at the girl. She starts shamelessly flirting with me, and I wonder what she’s thinking. I know I don’t look inviting right now. I’m in a dark corner with my arms crossed over my chest and staring daggers at a girl across the room. I look like someone who wants to be left alone.

  I finally look over and realize it’s Josie. She’s a freshman who comes from one of the least powerful families here. She normally wouldn’t even have been allowed to be a member, but her dad gave the society a large donation just to get her in here, which I’m sure was about half their fortune. Idiot.

  Even though my family’s name has been dragged through the mud, I’d still be quite a catch for someone like her. That’s why she’s hanging off my arm and trying to whisper all the dirty things she wants to do to me in my ear. I’m not making it easy for her by bending down. She has to stand on her tiptoes and is still only reaching my shoulder.

  Take the hint, sweetheart.


  Even though I have no respect for what Josie is trying to do, Violet is a hundred times worse.

  Finally, Rogan stops talking to them and heads over to the stairs to start his speech. After a few minutes, he mentions me, and I stride out of my darkened corner. Josie doesn’t expect it and almost falls when she doesn’t have me to hang off of anymore.

  I take my place on the stairs next to him. I turn, and that’s when I see the shock in that little liar’s eyes. A part of me thrills when I see that mixed in with the shock is fear.

  I could tell she sensed my presence throughout the evening. She kept getting worried looks on her pretty face, like she knew something wasn’t right but couldn’t tell exactly what. But now it’s finally become real, and she can’t deny my existence anymore. Now she knows I’m here.

  But what she doesn’t know is that I was there too. I saw how her dad died. I know she lied.

  That’s right, Violet, your nightmare is here. Welcome to my world.

  7

  V

  I can’t believe he’s here. They failed to fucking mention that in the welcome package. Why should I be surprised though? That seems on brand for that evil family.

  He’s standing up there like a curse from my past. All sharp lines, styled hair and piercing eyes. He’s staring into my soul, like I’m the only one in the room.

  I feel a sudden familiar pain in my head, and he starts to become hazy as my vision blurs. I need to get out of here.

  I look around, but it’s hard to see for a second. Finally, I notice a door and rush towards it. I burst outside into the cool night air and walk quickly down the stone path. My head is swimming, and it’s hard to tell what part of campus this is. All the paths and manicured grass look the same. I start heading in what I think is the direction of my dorm.