AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I look at her, my heartbeat accelerating. “Erm,” I hesitate.
“Yeah, we do,” Xi answers casually. “Come sit with us,” he orders more than offers me. “I didn’t know you were Xi girl.”
My heart stops, my body suddenly hot, not understanding the meaning until I realize he means Xi Epsilon, the sorority. Not…one of his girls. Of course not.
My eyes dart to Harper as hers harden. “Actually,” she says as she readjusts herself on his lap and wraps an arm around his neck. “Alex is a pledge, so she’s notreallypart of the sisterhood yet. Not until she passes her initiation. Right, Alex?”
I nod stiffly. “Yes, of course.”
Xi drags another puff out of his cigarette and turns his head to exhale. “You’re gonna go easy on her, Harper, right? Would be a shame to damage her.”
Xi’s words say one thing, but his eyes tell a different story when he talks about damaging me.
Almost like he would love to do that himself.
The way Harper’s jaw tightens tells me Xi is going to get me in trouble, and yet I can’t seem to find my voice to put a stop to it.
“She’s going to get no special treatment,” Harper says, anger simmering in her voice. “Not because she’s a legacy, and not because her last name is Delacroix. Everyone is treated equally at Xi Ep.”
“I wouldn’t want—”
“Alex,” she cuts me off. “Be a dear and get your big sister a drink.” Silver bracelets jingle around her wrist as she extends her arm, offering me her red solo cup. “White claw.”
I nod again, hurrying her way and grabbing her cup. “Sure.” My eyes dart to Xi as he watches me walk away.
My heart is still racing by the time I make it to the kitchen fridge. I grab a can of White Claw and pour it into Harper’s cup. Putting it on the counter, I then grab the edge and take a deep breath.
I need to bring Harper the drink and go home. Obviously, she doesn’t want me in her way, and I refuse to compromise my four years at a sorority for one man. Especially one my friends warned me about.
Determined to end this night and wholly ignore Xi in the process, I bring the drink back to Harper. A wave of disappointment washes over me when I notice he and his friend are gone. Instead, they’ve been replaced by two other girls from our house, and they brought ten shots of tequila with them. Except that’s not what shocks me the most. No, it’s the white powder they’re currently gathering in a line on the table using a black Amex.
I approach carefully and hand Harper her drink. “Here you go.”
“Aw, thanks, sweetie. You’re the best. Come on,” she taps the seat next to hers, “sit with us.”
“I’m okay.” I put my hands in front of me. “I was going to go home. It was a long day of—”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” She grabs me by the wrist and pulls me until I fall on the seat next to her. “You’re our sister. You’ve got to party with us.”
Taking a deep breath, I nod. “Sure.”
The girl to my right bends down and takes the line of coke she’s just finished cutting. My eyes widen, but I try to control my reaction. I’ve barely been to a party in my life, let alone done drugs.
Harper grabs a shot of tequila and her friends cheer as she downs it. She looks at me, grabs two on the table and gives them to me.
“No, thanks. I’ve had enough.” I smile shyly. My face is still warm from all the alcohol I’ve had. Any more, and I’ll black out.
“You gotta do double what your big sister does. That’s the rules tonight,” she reminds me. Her perfect fake smile is bright even at night. My stomach twists as I eye the shot glasses in my hands. It was easier to do that earlier at the house when I was sober.
“I really don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Come on, Alex,” one of them insists. “It’s bid night. We shouldn’t be telling you this, but we like you, so we will. We use tonight to check on all the weak girls in the sorority and see who we should go hard on during initiations. Honestly, you better take the shots because it’ll be worse at initiations if you don’t.”
I turn to Harper, checking if that’s true with a silent stare. She nods. “We really want you to be part of our circle, Alex. Don’t get left behind.”
Without further thought, I drink the two shots. I cough, some of the tequila spilling down my chin, before wiping my mouth with my forearm. They all explode in laughter as Harper tilts her head to the side. She’s the only one not laughing. No, she’s just observing me.
“Nice,” she says, tapping my back to help with the coughing fit.
