Bitter Demons

12. I Guess I Was Expecting More

Even with the important game coming up, I couldn't take my mind off my afternoon with Jackson. How had I managed to screw things up so royally? Instead of enjoying the beautiful picnic, I pushed him to tell me his most painful secrets.

Now everything was even more complicated than ever. When we were together, I felt a magnetic attraction to him-like we were meant for each other. But now I wondered if the attraction was only one-sided. Did he really care for me? Or did he just want be close to me so he could stay close to his brother?

Right now, his brother was more like a bodyguard for me. He was trapped somewhere and was only able to take form when my life was threatened in some way. I'd figured that much out by now. If the Order of Shadows ever put me through the final initiation ceremony, however, my connection to Jackson's brother would be much more intimate. Any hope I had of a possible relationship with Jackson would be destroyed forever if I let that happen.

I needed to find out as much as I could about the initiation ceremony of a Prima. And I needed to start looking for a way to break the bond or close the gate without killing myself and everyone in Peachville.

"Harper?" Courtney knocked on my door and poked her head inside. "You're not even dressed," she said. "Ella Mae's already downstairs waiting in the van. Need help?"

I looked down at my robe. I'd been so absent-minded the past few days. If I didn't hurry, I was going to be late to meet the futures from Cypress. That's what all the girls on the squad called them, anyway. Futures. The technical name was Prima Futura and was given to any girl in-line to someday become the Prima of her demon gate. There were two Futures on the Cypress squad. Their mother was the current Prima. I envied them and I hadn't even met them yet. I would have given anything for just five minutes with my mother. Maybe she could have explained this crazy world to me.

"Harper?"

I'd been staring into space again. "Sorry," I said. "Can you grab my cheerleading uniform out of my closet?"

Courtney rushed to the closet while I quickly applied the demon tattoo to my cheek and threw my hair into a high ponytail.

"Thanks," I said. "Tell Ella Mae I'll be down in two minutes."

I got into my uniform in record time, slipped into my sneakers and ran downstairs to the van. By the time we got to the school, everyone was waiting for me.

"I was just about to go without you," Mrs. King said. "Brooke, you're off the hook. Harper's here."

Brooke crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Are you sure Harper's ready for this level of responsibility? She's ten minutes late."

"Yes, Brooke. Thank you." Mrs. King dismissed her and winked at me. "Sorry I'm late," I said.

"You're fine. The other team isn't here yet, anyway."

"What exactly am I supposed to do when they get here?"

Mrs. King put her arm around my shoulders and led me out into the gym. "Just greet the squad," she said. "Smile and be friendly. I'm excited for you to meet the futures from Cypress. Meredith is the oldest. She's also team captain. Her younger sister is Caroline. I think she's about your age."

"That's all? Just be nice?"

Mrs. King laughed. "Yep, that's it. Simple."

The tension in my shoulder relaxed a bit. The pain was still bothering me, especially when I was stressed. "I think I can handle that."

We walked outside just as the buses from Cypress pulled up. Football players climbed off the first bus and started making their way to the guest locker rooms. I saw Drake come out of the locker room with Coach King. I crossed behind Mrs. King to walk on the other side, hoping to avoid Drake seeing me. It was bad enough I had to put up with him at the lunch table every day.