Page 16 of Shadows Within
“Not today.” I shoo her away. I can’t fuck her with Scarlett on my mind.
“Callum.” Harrison stands across the room with some of the pledges. “We’re all going to meet in the garage.” He motions for me to follow him.
As I try to get Scarlett off my mind, I spot her in the corner of my eye, coming down the stairs. I can recognize her anywhere. She scans the room, then heads toward the back door. I look down at her hand and notice she doesn’t have the drink I gave her. She doesn’t trust me.Good.She shouldn’t.
She doesn’t notice me as I slowly make my way toward the garage. I already know what they want to talk about, my shoulders straighten just thinking about it.
Upon entering, I shut the door behind me. I look around at some the other pledges—there must be at least fifteen of them. Some of them are good guys, but most of them aren’t. These guys just love the power that comes with the title. They don’t realize that The Society will grow to be their worst enemy. Most of them will resent everything they worked so hard for. They should fear what they are going to become—and fear me.
“Tonight, some of you are getting sloppy. I have seen two of you try and slip drugs into drinks with others watching you. If you do it, make sure you do it right. We can’t afford a fuck up, and we can’t have any extra eyes on us,” Blaine remains calm. “Remember who we are. We do this for power, for control. You only get this chance once. It’s a rite of passage. It’s something you must earn.”
Blaine Banks is the kind of guy who buys into everything The Society teaches him. He’ll protect them until he’s blue in the face, and he believes that stripping women of their humanity provides power—I’ll never be like him.
I glance around at the first-year pledges. They must think of this as a privilege, when really, it’s a suicide mission.
“No one here is untouchable. Find someone special, and don’t complete the task until you are ready.” He flicks his hand, motioning for everyone to leave.
I laugh to myself. His words replay in my head: find someonespecial.And then drug and rape them. Show a woman how special she is to you by asserting your dominance while she is vulnerable.
I don’t need to drug and rape women for attention. Even though they shouldn't, most women already respect me without hesitation. Why do they run toward me and not from me?
I think back to the girl that was chosen for my initiation. It was the same week that Scarlett was drugged. We had consensual sex, and she was in her right state of mind to make that decision. I didn’t drug her. I would never take advantage of someone, not like that. The only people I hurt are those who deserve it.
I see Harrison talking to Blaine on the other side of the garage. Harrison does whatever it takes to survive—just like I do. We’ve known each other since we were babies, but we grew closer in middle school.
Harrison has seen a side of me that no one else knows. I don’t show that side of myself often, the vulnerable Callum. Once you show the dark world your sensitive side, you can never be the same. Darkness does everything in its power to tear you apart.
Harrison walks over to me. “Where did you disappear to?”
He hands me a cigarette.
“There’s no way you were getting me up on that roof.” He offers me a light.
“I heard Sophia ask one of the pledges if Chase was coming.” He knows that I’m interested in Scarlett but doesn’t know the full extent. Not yet. My eyes drift to the door, eager to leave.
“That douche wouldn’t miss any chance to score.” Harrison laughs and leans against a workbench. “I wonder if her question had anything to do with the library the other day.”
My gaze snaps from the door back to him. “What happened in the library?”
“You know when we were studying? Or I guess I was, and you were not being stealth about watching Scarlett. Well, I guess the conversation that we saw wasn’t very… friendly.” He waits for my reaction before he finishes. “And, it’s not the first time Chase has forced conversation, from what I’ve heard.”
I take a long haul of my cigarette then breathe out.Stay calm.
“What do you want to do about it?” He asks, but he already knows the answer.
“I’ll handle it.” I put my hand on his shoulder and squeeze. I know that Harrison would burn the whole world down with me if I asked him to, but he doesn’t need to be brought into this, not now.
I flick my smoke to the ground and walk out of the garage. I hear a sweet, quiet laugh, a sound that I could recognize from anywhere but have yet to draw out of her. I smirk to myself, thinking of all the ways I want to make her scream and cry my name between her bruised lips.
My smile quickly fades. She isn’t supposed to matter. So why the fuck can’t I stop thinking about her.
Fighting Demons
Scarlett
I roll over and look at my alarm clock. It’s six forty, twenty minutes before I’m supposed to wake up.
Some mornings are heavier than others—today is one of them. I guess my anxiety the other day was a warning that I should’ve listened to. I throw the covers off, get out of bed, and do the same meticulous routine that I do every morning. I stay in the shower and close my eyes, just to let the hot water wash over me for an extra few minutes.
