Page 52 of Half Truths (Secret Society 1)
“Do I understand that you want me to die tonight?” I nodded. “Yep. Crystal clear.”
He rolled his eyes. The rest of the guys chuckled before going silent.
“Take one step forward,” he said.
I did. I wasn’t in the actual square yet, but my palms were already sweating and my knees were already shaking.
“Set the blindfold over your eyes,” he said. I held his gaze as I shakily lifted my hands to the blindfold, holding it at my forehead for a beat. “Come on, Amelia. You can do this.”
It was his deep voice that coaxed me into doing it. Once it was over my eyes, I couldn’t see anything at all. I looked around, toward where I thought the light was, and I could definitely see brightness behind the blindfold, but nothing beyond that.
“Look at me,” Logan said.
My head instantly snapped in his direction. “I can’t see anything.”
“It’s okay. You can do this,” he repeated. “Pick up your left foot and step forward.”
My blood pumped wildly as I did as he instructed. I took a deep breath, then another one, trying as best I could to calm down.
“Listen to me, Amelia. My voice. Only my voice.”
Under any other circumstance, like Spin the Bottle or Seven minutes in heaven, I would absolutely be okay with closing my eyes and having him talk to me. While standing in the middle of knives though, wearing a ridiculous helmet over my head? Not so much.
“Pick up your right foot, remember the counts? One count forward, one count to the right. Pay attention. This is important.”
I whimpered, my body shaking as I lifted my foot and did as I was told. Once it was on the ground, and I didn’t feel a knife on it, I let out a breath.
“Left foot, one count forward, one count left.”
I did as I was told, my foot shaky as I set it down. I whimpered, my lip trembling.
“I don’t think I can do this.” My teeth clattered. “I don’t think I can do—”
“Well, now you really are surrounded by blades, so you have to.”
I shook my head quickly. “I can’t.”
“Listen to my voice,” he said. “I vouched for you. You have to finish.”
“I didn’t ask you to vouch for me,” I shouted, because it was the only thing I could do.
“Yet I did.”
“Why?” I shook.
“Because I believe in you.”
“You don’t even know me.” I took a deep breath. “You don’t even like me.”
“This isn’t about me. This is about you. Do you believe in yourself? Do you like yourself?” He paused. “Matter of fact, how much do you like your toes? You’re about to slice one open if you don’t follow my instructions.
“Oh my God,” I whispered.
“Left foot forward. One count.”
My heart pounded as I did it.
“Pick up your right foot and move it two counts left. I’ll count. Ready?”
“No.” I bit down on my lip.
“Pick up your foot,” he instructed. I did. “One count left. Good. One more. Good. Now drop it.”
I bit down harder on my lip. He could’ve very well been telling me to drop my foot right on a blade. Maybe that had been the challenge all along—get Amelia to slice a blade through her foot.
“Drop it,” he said again. “If you move in any other direction, you’re fucked.”
“What if you’re lying?” I screamed, tears wetting my cheeks. I hadn’t even realized I was crying until I tasted the salt on my lips. “What if this whole thing is designed for me to end up with no foot?”
“I’m impressed you’re able to hold that position for so long,” he said. “Yoga much?”
My chest shuttered with a sob. My left leg wasn’t tired yet, but it would be. I could hold this position well enough on a yoga mat or a dance floor, but out here in the slick grass, it was completely different. Thunder sounded above us. It had been forecast to rain tonight. Was that why they were making this my challenge? Because they wanted me to be a sopping, crying mess? Instead of dropping my foot, I brought it up against my left leg in a tree pose.
“This is about trust, Amelia.” Logan’s voice rang out in the darkness. I focused on him again. “This is about trust.”
“How am I supposed to trust you? You told me to stay away from the cloaks, yet you are a cloak!”
“I meant the red cloaks,” he explained, as if I was being petulant.
“You drugged me the other night!”
“I did not drug you. I was against that.”
“Yet you let it happen.”
“I was late. I wasn’t there when it happened.” He paused, I thought I heard him exhale. “All that is in the past now. You have to trust that I have your back, forever, through everything.”
“I can’t.” I was screaming and shaking and my foot was going to freaking slide off of my inner thigh any moment. “I’m scared.”
