Page 54 of Pretty Little Fears

Gatheringmy stuff,Itoss everything in the bag and pull it onto my back.LiftingupBlairfrom the ground, we make our way back through the tunnel and to the cemetery to head back home.Lookingdown at her angelic and blushed face, my heart swells andIrealize that home isn’t a place.

HomeisBlair.Homeis us.

Mylittle obsession has no idea how deep she runs through my veins.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

EMMETT

AfterdrainingBlair,Itook her back to her place.Onour way back,Ihad gotten a message fromGrimmthat we had a little delivery fromRSB.Istayed with her for a while, making sure she was okay.Sheended up falling asleep on my chest and it took everything in me to slide out from under her and go home.

TheRedSkullBrotherhood- otherwise known asRSB- is one that lasts a lifetime.Onceyou’re in, there’s no getting out.Theonly way out is through death, of either yourself or the one who initiated you.

Withus being seniors, we are the members tasked with the most challenging and dangerous assignments.Thetasks are usually assigned by house, which means me and the guys are always on these expeditions together.Wework well as a team.Eachof us has an asset that the others don’t possess, making us an indestructible group.Beingclose friends helps because the trust has already been established.

Wewere assigned our first task of the year.Anenvelope was delivered to us with a name and what information we needed from them.Howwe get it?Well, that’s the best part.Aslong as the task didn’t give specific directions on how to retrieve information, we were free to…research as we please.

Aslong as it ends with their death.

Therealization of senior year hits andIthink back on my friendships with each of the guys.Imet them all at different points in time, but they've managed to ingrain themselves into my life.Beingas closed off asIam, it's a mystery how they’ve gotten past my defenses.

Grimmhas been my best friend practically since birth.Wewere neighbors and our mothers were close, causing us to be around each other from the time we were in diapers.Truthfully,Ihad no choice but to be his friend.

Iremember the first timeGrimmand his mother came over.Wewere outside playing with my toy trucks when his mother came outside to let him know it was time to go.Ilooked over at him to say goodbye when he pulled his shirt off, raised his fists in the air, and ran straight over to the lake shouting, then did a belly flop.

Hismother screamed and rushed to get him.Fuckerdidn’t even know how to swim yet, apparently.Whenhis mom pulled him out of the lake, he coughed up water and started laughing, a full-bellied laugh that shook his whole body.He’salways been sort of unhinged, the kind you can’t really explain and don’t want to understand.

Whenmy mother died,Grimmwas there for me when no one else was.Thatwas the darkest time of my life, for multiple reasons.Hedoesn't know it, but ifGrimmwasn't there,Iwouldn't be here today.

I'dnever tell him that because his ego doesn't need the boost, but he truly fucking saved my sanity.Hedidn’t do anything in particular, he was just a constant companion, able to pull me from the darkness of my life with his constant jokes and distractions.

Shortlyafter my mom’s passing,Grimm’smother left.Noletter, no notice.Shewas just gone.Afew days went by and then a few weeks.Afterthree months,Grimmhad accepted that from now on it would be him and his dad.Icould tell that it affected him, but he tried his best to never let it show.However,Grimm’smother wasn’t his father’s first wife.

Hisfirst wife was his high school sweetheart.Theyhad their first kid right after graduation and continued to pop one out each year for five years.Sheended up cheating andGrimm’sdad left.Shortlyafter, he got together withGrimm’smother.Whenhis mom left, he reconnected with his first wife andGrimmwent from being the center of his dad’s world, to being knocked to the bottom of the food chain.

Hissiblings are all older than him and would constantly leave him out.Thestories he’s shared about his older siblings belittling and bullying him tugged at my heartstrings.Ihad a bully too, my dad.Grimmwas the only one that knew.Wewere two lonely kids who just needed someone and thankfully, we found each other.

It’skind of an unwritten rule that we don’t talk about the misery of our childhoods.

Sincethen, we became a package deal, doing absolutely anything and everything together.Wewere inseparable from then on.Shortlyafter we both lost our mothers, our dads built a friendship.Theywould occasionally hang out and were acquaintances, but nothing compared to us boys.

BecauseGrimmandIhave polar opposite personalities, we balance each other out.Wherehe was quick to act out, be irrational, and carefree without a thought of the consequences,Iwas typically calm and reserved.Igrew up with more of a militant lifestyle.Myfather didn’t let a hair out of place for the fear of ruining his perfectly crafted image.Grimm’shousehold with seven kids was beyond hectic and loud.

Withmy dad being the dean, andGrimm’sdad being one of his newly close friends, he cashed in a favor withGrimm’sacceptance intoBlackwood.Noone really has any idea whatGrimmis studying.He’skind of just here.He’snever mentioned his major andIcan’t remember ifI’veever seen him pick up a textbook or study for a final.Isaw an anatomy book in his room once, butIdon't know if that was for classes or for his own…

Personalinterests.

EliandJadencame along later.GrimmandImetJadenin high school.Hewas the new kid who transferred in our sophomore year.Moststudents knew to stay out of my way and didn't bother me.Unfortunately, the new kid didn't get the hint.Oneday inPE, he thought it would be funny to trip me during the mile run.

Ibeat his ass that day.

Heleft school with a broken nose and a black eye but he slapped me on the back and told meIhad a good right hook.Idecided then that his type of crazy would fit perfectly with ours, and we took him under our wing.JadenandGrimminstantly clicked.Bothunhinged in their own ways.Jaden’sstudying psychology.Hesaid mind manipulation fascinated him, another weird motherfucker.

Elijahon the other hand, we met our freshmen year of college.Thebrotherhood was always a thing of my future, regardless ifIwanted to join or not.Ididn’t have a choice.Myfather made sure of that.Freshmanyear whenGrimm,Jaden, andIwere initiated, so wasEli.

Ininitiations, they take us in groups of four.ItwasGrimm,Jaden,Eli, and myself.That'show we met him.Afterthe ritual, we talked to him and found our fourth missing link.Ithink it's becauseElihas his own darkness lurking inside that calls to mine.I'mnot sure if the others took notice of it, butIsure did.

Wehad an extra room in our house and offered it to him, and our friendship was born.Elidoesn’t seem to feel or think the same way the rest of us do, but he’s smart as fuck.He’saComputerSciencemajor, hoping to break intoCyberSecurityand hisIQis the highestI'veever seen.

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