AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Oh yeah,” Alex lets out a strained chuckle, “that really makes it all better." He stiffens, sucking in a sharp breath. “Motherfucker…”
“What is it?”
“He wouldn’t… no way…” he murmurs to himself, and for a second, I’m worried he has a head injury, because he’s not making any sense.
“Alex,” I bark, “will you tell me what the fuck is going on?”
“There’s something you should know.” His words come out strained as he meets my bleary stare.
“Go on…” My throat is dry, because somehow I know I’m not going to like whatever he says next.
“Your uncle… I mean, your grandfather… well, he… fuck.” He hesitates, and I drill holes into the side of his face. “He asked me to befriend you all those months ago.”
“What the actual fuck?”
“Yeah, he checks in on my mom occasionally. One day he was over for dinner and collared me. Said he had a nephew coming to live with him and that he’d need a friend—”
“He pay you or something?” I grit out, anger skittering up my spine as I try to process what he’s saying.
“What? No! It wasn’t like that, I swear, man.”
“So what the fuck was it like?”
“He said I’d be doing him a big favor, and he’s always helped me and Mom out, so I thought, why not? Besides, it only took one look at you to know you needed a friend.”
“Fuck you, Rexford,” I sneer.
Alex flinches. “Guess I deserve that. But you know it’s true.” The faintest of smiles tugs at his mouth. “I had no idea you were his grandson or the Easton heir, Bex, I swear. He pulled the wool over both our eyes there.”
“Why, though? Why go to all those lengths?”
None of this makes any sense.
“Maybe he knew about my dad all along. Maybe he knew this day would come and wanted us to be in it together.”
The fight leaves my body on a pained sigh. He’s right. Somewhere deep inside, I know Alex is right. My uncle… no, my grandfather orchestrated this to make sure we had each other going into this thing.
But to what end?
Silence settles between us, and I rest my head back against the wall and close my eyes, willing the pain to subside. "How much do you know about… about all of this?"
"Not enough to fully understand, but enough to know that our lives have just turned to shit,” Alex replies.
"This Initium thing, is it serious?"
"As far as I know, yeah. There are stories… I heard one guy died way back…"
"Fuck."
"This isn't just some rich pricks playing games, man."
"We can say no though, right?"
Alex laughs, and for a minute he sounds like his old self, but then it turns manic and I start to wonder if the drugs they plied us with are having a lasting effect on him.
"No, Bex. We can't get out of this. It's our blood right. The only way out is to… is to die."
"We could leave," I suggest.
