“Right now,” Gideon said. “I think what he needs, more than anything else, is a friend. Agenuinefriend who will be there for him regardless of who he is.” Gideon tilted his head, his voice softening. “Are you that friend, Franco?”
The young man remained silent for a long moment, then raised his head, a distant look on his face.
“I-I don’t understand.”
“Don’t understand what?”
“That… That was the initiation ritual?”
“Yeah. Why? Isn’t that what Todd told you?”
“No.”
“What did he tell you?”
Long pause with no answer.
“Katt? What did he tell you?”
“Nothing. It… It doesn’t matter.”
“You sound upset. What’s going on? Where are you?”
No answer.
“Katt, come on. You can talk to me.”
“I can’t.”
“Come back to the dorm. We’ll talk in person. Okay?”
“No. I’m not coming back. Ever.”
“Katt—” The call went dead.
Fuck.
Franco sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the phone in his hand. What the fuck was going on? Why would Todd tell Katt something else? What had he told him to do?
Squeezing the phone, Franco stood and stuffed the device in his pocket. Franco was typically an easy-going, laid-back kind of guy who rarely let things stress him out. So, when the knot formed in his gut, he was hyper-aware of its presence—and its source.
Katt.
Something was wrong with Katt.
Whatever Todd had told him to do had upset Katt.
Franco wasn’t okay with that. He and Katt hadn’t been friends for long—less than a month—but in that short time, their friendship had quickly taken root, strengthened. In some ways, possibly more ways than Franco had realized, his friendship with Katt was stronger—more important?—than his friendship with Todd.
Todd and Franco had been friends since their sophomore year of high school. But Franco had never really felt the “bond” he’d immediately experienced with Katt. He and Todd hung out as friends do, and they stayed in touch after high school, evengoing to the same college. But that “something” one feels with a true best friend was never quite there.
Leaving the dorm room, Franco headed for the frat house. His feet moved quickly—quicker than usual for him—and he was breathing hard, his heart thudding against his ribcage. It was rare for him to get truly pissed, and he was startled by the heat surging through his veins now.
He barely acknowledged those who spoke to him as he passed by, likely surprising them as he was always up for a quick, friendly chat. Not today.
As he approached the frat house, a couple of the brothers lounged outside the front door, shmoozing up two hot sorority sisters.
“Hey, Franco,” one of the brothers grinned. “Party tonight at—”
