Sinners & Saints (Sinners & Saints #1) (37 page)

           
I
snatch a champagne glass off of a moving tray and walk over to the space where
Jordana and Cody are standing. Ms. Eleanor is sitting at the table as Diego
whispers sweet nothings in her ear and Poppy is flirting with one of the
waiters. I stand between them and do what she knew I would do. I watch her. I
completely strain my eyes watching her and Nicky Young laugh and flirt. She
doesn’t even look my way. This is fucking bullshit; why do I have to do the
work? She’s been on my dick since we met and now she wants to be
I am woman, hear me roar
?!

Okay, that was rude. I shouldn’t of
thought that.

           
“Careful,
Hugo… the steam is fuming out of you,” Jordana states, grinning at me.

           
Cody
laughs and continues texting on his phone.

           
“Still
texting your charity case fling?” I’m just getting desperate and lazy at this
point and it’s obvious. My heart is ill right now.

           
“Wow,”
Cody’s eyes stare at me in disbelief. He begins to walk away, but stops and
gives me what I predict to be a lecture. “No, you know what, fuck you, Hugo…
you talk all this shit about being this unemotional asshole, yet here you are
pining for a wonderful and amazing girl, with common sense I might add, and who
still through all her fucking common sense is in love with you.” I glare at
him. “You’re the pussy. You take what’s yours, right? Well go take it and stop
being a bitch. Like you told me… Imagine Nicky King’s hands all over her and
imagine her screaming his name because eventually they all give into desire
right, Mandrake?” He crosses his arms and pouts, leaning against the wall.

Jordana applauds him. “Well done, Cody…
I knew your balls were down there.”

“Did you know Margaret has been staring
at you since you got in here?” I say, still staring at a laughing Juliet.

Jordana says nothing and I look at her.
“I’m not pointing that out to be rude; I am clearly just informing you that her
lingering stares are becoming more and more visible, which means you are really
getting through to her… how do I know that? Well, look at me. Like blue balls
said, I’m clearly becoming a pussy.” I finish my champagne and shove the glass
into Cody’s chest. I straighten my bowtie and head for what is mine. She wants
me to fucking show her, then I will.

JULIET

I literally laugh as I see Hugo
approach us. Nicky stares at me confused until he turns around.

           
“Nicky,
I’m sorry to interrupt,” Hugo speaks in a sharp tone. “But I was wondering if I
may steal
back
Juliet for a dance.”
He looks at me. “Do you waltz, Juliet?”

           
“Fortunately,
yes. Mum made me take ballroom at school,” I answer, remembering the hours of
boredom. “I personally wanted to take hip hop dancing lessons.”

           
Nicky
looks back and forth between us and he isn’t an idiot. He backs away
respectfully. Hugo holds out his hand and I grant him mine. He leads us to the
dance floor where others are waltzing. They are actually waltzing. They were
serious about this being a high society ball.

We position ourselves. The music
arrives and I let him lead even though I can easily do it. The song’s nice.
It’s a love song of course. We glide around the room amongst the other dancers.

           
“I
must say, your waltz surpasses my first impressions,” he says after a moment.

           
“I
was a debutante, and come on I’m British, you idiot.” I smile at him and he smirks.
“So, I guess you didn’t like the sight of my new friend and I enjoying
ourselves.”

           
“Would
it please you to know that, other than my brother and Cody, I do not enjoy
seeing you in the midst of any man?”

           
“Are
you possessive, Hugo?”

           
“I
don’t know… never really had a reason to be, not even with Scarlett.”

           
“Then
I feel rather special.”

           
“I
wouldn’t think you would like a man who would view you as his possession, given
that you dance to the beat of your own drum.”

           
“There
is a difference between a nutter who just wants to possess someone for his own
ego and a man who can’t help but to want the one thing that stirs something
powerful in him all to himself. Then maybe that’s a crazy person too.”

           
He
smiles as his eyes intensify.

           
“Besides,”
I speak quietly. “No one tells me what to do… unless it’s in bed.”

           
A
mischievous grin plays on both our faces. The music continues and so do we in
our universe, confined to each other. I’ve never cared for waltzing, but I
think now it’s my favorite dance.

           
Finally,
the music ends and the dancing unfortunately stops, but the lingering gazes
still continue. He looks at me like he has so much to say and, better yet, he
wants to say it.

           
“Every
time you enter a room… people stare.”

           
“I
must always have something on my face.”

           
He
chuckles. “Must you always joke?”

           
“Must
you always be so serious?”

           
His
face pains and he licks his lips in deep thought. “There is no exquisite beauty
without some strangeness in the proportion.”

           
“Edgar
Allen Poe.”

           
“Correct.”

           
“Are
you trying to call me strange, Mandrake?” I pout playfully.

           
He
nods. “Your strange is what makes you sensational to me.”

           
Well
shit just got really real. I’m speechless. I think I just fell in love all over
again. I step closer to him, wanting to kiss and give my all too until a
certain singer’s voice blasts through the speakers.

           
I
gleam with excitement. “I’m sorry to ruin the moment, but it’s Tay Tay.”

           
He
frowns. “You did not just say Tay Tay.”

           
“Yes,
I did and you and I are going to dance.”

           
“No
fucking way. I’m not dancing to her.”

           
“Oh,
come on Hugo, when is a more perfect time to have an embarrassing dance moment
than at a ball full of yuppies in a ball gown during a Taylor Swift song? You
can’t call me sensational, basically implying your undying love for me, and
then not embarrass yourself for me.”

           
“Where
is that a rule in life?”

           
“It’s
a rule in my life and unless you want me to run over to Nicky Young, you will
dance. Uh oh, here comes the chorus. Poppy!” I wave for her to come over.

           
“Oh
God,” he mumbles in despair and I spin around, pulling out every break dancing
move I got.

HUGO

What in the fuck?

           
She’s
actually doing this. Dancing in a gown in front of me and in front of everyone.
I want to leave her where she stands. There is no way in hell that I will join
this debacle. Nope, no way. The music rings louder and the dancing ensues.
Stares surround us, but it amazes me that Juliet truly doesn’t mind. Why should
it amaze me though? Nothing by now should have this much shock value where she’s
involved.

           
“Oh
my God!!!” Poppy comes out of nowhere in her pink gown and joins the non-rhythm
community that Juliet is clearly the leader of. I look around and see Cody and
Jordana laughing hysterically along with others. Poppy quickly runs and pulls them
to the middle of the dance floor. Jordana is mortified, but Cody joins right
in. He is such a spaz. With some encouragement from Juliet, Jordana starts to
move mildly. Juliet looks disapprovingly at me, challenging me to move by
waving her hands in my face. It’s not working. This is way too much out of my
comfort zone. She leans up and whispers. “Nicky Young looks like a really good
dancer.” She smiles at me. She starts to head over his way and I know it
doesn’t mean anything, but still I find myself saying fuck it. I grab her
wrist, bringing her back to me and she stares in shock. My mother used to do
this dance. It was like a shoulder bounce and God forbid… I do it. I do it for
her. She laughs and I bring out the dance I’ve been doing in secret with August
since we were six
—
the pop and
lock. No one knows this, but I am perfection when it comes to this dance move.
She raises her arms up and whips her head back and forth. In the midst of it,
something happens. I feel like an idiot, but… not worthless. I don’t feel
angry. I’m embarrassed, but I don’t mind it. I don’t mind it at all. It’s all
worth it. Just to see her smile at me and think good of me. It’s a moment of
jollity and I feel alive. The laughter and smile on her face, even the smiles
on Poppy, Jordana, and Cody’s cause me to join them in the laughter.

           
I
laugh so hard that I have to hold her to keep myself from falling. Our
foreheads pressed together and I feel… I feel pure.

SCARLETT

“I didn’t think he had a funny bone in
his body.” I think that’s what Patrick just said. I’m too busy staring at the
innocent debacle before me. She has him smiling, laughing, dancing like a fool.
She has officially stepped over my power.

           
“Babe.”
I snap out of it and face Patrick. “You okay?”

           
“Yes,
of course.” I force a smile. “It is nice to see Hugo laugh for once, rough life
and all.”

           
“He
really is quite taken with Juliet, isn’t he?”

           
I
grind my teeth and clear my throat.

           
“Yes,
he is.”

25

HUGO

The sounds of a wolf come from outside
and we all know what that means.

“What was that?” Juliet asks me. Our
dancing has finished and the clock has struck midnight; the young are restless
and ready for the real fun.

“It’s the usual call when it’s time for
the after party,” Cody informs her.

“Yeah, we go out to the back near the
lake where there is a tent and enjoy ourselves with drugs, shots, and good old
family fun games,” Jordana says and we all head outside.

Juliet and I, side-by-side, walk slower
than everyone else. She grabs my hand, interlocking our fingers and quietly we
enjoy the moment of being unseen before we appear in front of everyone. I let
go of her hand
—
not because
I care what people think but because Scarlett is here. She’s sitting at the
head of the palette as everyone gawks. I’m worried she’s here. I know she
witnessed everything and I know Scarlett doesn’t like to lose.

SCARLETT

“What are you doing out here?” Hugo
whispers to me as the girls stare at the huge rock on my finger.

“Reuniting with my old friends.”
Everyone from the ages of sixteen to twenty-seven is out here. About twenty of
us, sitting around on a palette made up of red and white pillows and a large
white sheet under the canopy tent.

“Time for games, children.” Matt
Barker, twenty-five and studying to be a surgeon like all the men and women of
his family, announces.

“What do you suggest?” Connie asks.
Real name Constance Bendago, daughter of Constantine Bendago, who is also a
former lover of mine. I once accepted a rare black diamond necklace from him
when I was sixteen. He recovered it from one of his many diamond mines in West
Africa. Constance pretended like she didn’t know, but she did. She will never
dare to retaliate due to me making sure no one knows about her time getting
gang bang by the polo team. I threaten them all with truths of outing their
sexualities and alleged use of steroids. I have always been good with knowing
things about people and keeping them in place. No one dares to cross it, but
Juliet Spears has and I need to help her take a fucking step back.

“How about One Word Cutthroat?” I ask
them and they all swoon and cheer in excitement. It’s everyone’s favorite game.

JULIET

“What is One Word Cutthroat?” I ask
Jordana.

“Exactly how you entitle it.” She
shakes her head smiling. She looks at Margaret who is flirting with some guy
she clearly has no interest in. “Two people are challenged to describe each
other in one word and they must keep going until one folds, giving up before
they can be any more humiliated.”

“So, basically it’s another way to
insult someone playfully?”

“Yep.”

“Alrighty then.”

“Want to know who came up with it?”

“I suspect, Scarlett.”

“Nope… Gabriel Mandrake.”

“Before we start this lovely game…”
says a tall boy that can barely stand as he raises his glass.

“Who is he?”
 
I ask.

“Hendry Waldman, youngest son of the
mayor.”

“I feel as if, seeing as this is one of
my all-time favorite games, we should toast to the person who originated it. I
was a mere thirteen-year-old boy when the infamous Gabriel Mandrake suggested
it and it led to a great and satisfying night for me because I got my first
BJ.”

The crowd groans and laughs. “Oh, God,”
one girl says.

“Sit your ass down, Henry,” Another
person says.

“Hugo!” Henry continues. “To your
brother, man. He was cool
—
he always
got me laid.” He laughs and Hugo just raises his glass. “Nice dance moves too.”
He laughs harder and Hugo raises his middle finger as he takes a seat between
two other guys. I still can’t believe he did that for me.

“Alright, who is up first?” says a girl
who I’ve met before. I think her name is BeBe. She looks around. “Zitra and
Carly.” She grins mischievously. The two girls stare at each other and I wait
for them to start.

“Easy… slut,” one girl rays rudely.

“Jealous,” the other fires back.

“Bitter.”

“Whore.”

“Loser.”

“Idiot.”

Clearly these girls aren’t fond of each
other and I would’ve thought these insults would be better than this.

“Klepto.”

There are some snickers and giggles
after that one.

The girl hesitates then smiles.
“Bulimic.”

The other girl’s face contorts and
quickly she raises her hand. “I fold.” She takes a shot of goose vodka and
completely shuts herself off for a moment.

The crowd moans and laughs. This is
cutthroat.

HUGO

Leave it to Gabriel to develop this
game.

           
“Weeelll,”
Matt Barker drags out to clear the tension between Zitra and Carly. They used
to be best friends. Who knows what happened, probably the usual. Someone slept
with someone’s boyfriend. “Next?”

           
“I
challenge Sean,” Redington Harmon says.

           
“Okay,
go,” Matt says.

           
“Liar,”
Redington starts.

           
“Buttboy,”
Sean responds.

           
“Faggot.”

           
“Pussy.”

           
“Cocksucker.”

           
“Asswipe.”

           
“Bitch.”

           
“Deepthroat.

           
They
break into laughter. I’m pretty sure they’re gay. In high school they always
loved to wrestle each other and they were not on the wrestling team. Also one
time in the school showers I caught Redington trying to steal a glance at my
dick. You know, it amazes me how homophobic people still are. I don’t
understand it. You’re gay, you’re gay. No one other than Margaret Jacobs should
care what other people think. Her father would disown her if he ever found out.

           
“You
guys’ duel sucks,” Jessica Grandy whines. “Someone else make this interesting.”

           
“I’ll
go,” Jordana says. “I challenge Margaret.”

           
Margaret’s
face turns sour and she clears her throat. “Okay.” Now this will be
interesting.

           
“Coward,”
Jordana practically emphasizes on the word.

           
“Dyke,”
Margaret says harshly.

           
“Curious.”

           
“Freak.”

           
“Daddy’s
girl.”

           
“Two
words, Jordana,” Henry points out. “Can’t do that, take a shot.”

           
Jordana
grins at Margaret and gladly takes her shot. It is obvious that as long as
Jordana got the words coward and curious out, coming out as the loser is not
much concern for her.

           
“I
challenge Juliet,” Nicky Young says, smiling.

           
“Oh
yeah, new girl, wassup!” Henry, the drunk idiot waves.

           
Juliet
laughs and waves back. “Hi.” She shrugs. “Alright.”

           
“Gorgeous.”

           
“Cocky.”

           
“Sexy.”

           
“Friendly.”

           
“Interested.”

           
She
slowly smiles. It’s clear he’s using this to flirt with her.

“Taken,” she answers glancing at me.

           
He
laughs, nodding in understanding. “I fold… even though the taken word wasn’t
meant for me.”

           
Everyone
gasps and smiles, staring between Juliet and I.
 
The shock on their faces. The Big Bad
Wolf is no longer trying to feast on Red Riding; he only wants to love her.
There it is. I’ve said it. Well, in my head. People don’t understand, but it is
very difficult for someone like me to just say the word love and it is
absolutely painful for me to tell someone that. We stare at each other and all
I want is to take her somewhere and disappear from this reality.

           
“Anyone
else?” Matt asks.

           
“Me.”
We all turn our heads to Scarlett who is grinning at me. Fine, she wants to
challenge me? Fine. But no, I follow her moving gaze to Juliet and I panic.

SCARLETT

“The reigning champ!” Henry claps.
“Yeah!”

           
“Okay,
Scarlett,” Matt says. “Pick your victim.”

           
He
emphasizes on victim because he knows. They all know… I never lose at this
game.

           
“Juliet.”
She peers her eyes at me and laughs a little to herself, not shocked. “Care for
another round?”

           
She
hesitates. That glimmer of hope and coolness wipes off the face of the earth.
For the first time she looks at me with fear. Her eyes are scarce as if she
knows that this won’t end well for her. She glances at Hugo who shakes his
head, warning her. How cute.

           
“Sure,
why not,” she says. She sits up straight, preparing herself for a battle she
will not win.

           
“Trespasser.”
I start off on her easy.

           
“Recreant.”

           
“Scared.”

           
“Petrified.”

           
“Jealous.”

           
“Lonely.”

           
“Fraud.”

           
“Worthless.”

           
Me,
worthless? I have cut down empires due to my abilities. I am never worthless.
My father once told me I was worthless. Look what happened to him. I glance at
Hugo and continue while his eyes pierce at me with rage. They all wait as I
look back at her.

“Cutter.”

           
She
isn’t even able to say fold. She only shrugs. Her eyes water and she lets out
the breath she’s held in.

           
“Well…”
Juliet starts to say.

           
“Cutter…”
We all look at Hugo who has interrupted her with the same kill word. “Bulimic,
anorexic, faggot, slut
—
it is all
the same thing.” He’s staring down at the drink in his hand. “We use these
terms to bring pain and yet the only pain we truly bring is to ourselves. We
poison our hearts by being so cruel that once it’s time to use our heart… the
process is difficult to bare.” He looks around him at all the faces. Some
confused, some knowing, others intrigued. “It’s so hard to bare. The pain of
just using our heart to feel something. Something… good.” He’s in a trance,
nodding his head, still staring at the glass. “When did we all stop feeling?
That’s the question most of us ask ourselves. I think I know when I did. It was
when I did the worst thing I ever did.”

           
“The
Onami twins!” Henry, that drunken brute, yells raising his hand and everyone
laughs and roars. Having a threesome with the Onami twins was a great
accomplishment in high school for all the young boys.

           
“Yeah,”
Hugo laughs a little. “That’s up there, but… but that wasn’t the worst thing I
ever did. As you all may know, my twin brother August is different. Sometimes he
can be very hyper. When we were younger, he kept trying to get me to come with
him so he could reveal a big secret. Usually his big secrets are things like I
found a new door or…” He finally looks up. He looks up to Juliet. “Or he met a
really pretty girl. But this day I didn’t have time for it. I was so angry at
everything and everyone. He kept pushing me and tapping me on my head and I
just lost it. I socked him right in the face. I kept hitting him and hitting
him in the face and called him all kinds of retard and stupid and nothings. I
called him bad names because I felt horrible about myself. I just wanted the
pain to go away. I wanted… I wanted my father to just… like me. I wanted my
brother and mother to… to not have left me. Finally, I stopped. All there was
left was his blood on my hands.” His eyes come round to me. “But someone was
there to tend to my wounds. They were the ones to calm me down and tell me that
it was okay and that it was just blood. Blood always washes away. It forever
changed me and made me the brilliant and pointless man I am today.” He raises
his glass. “So a toast to the redundant and pointless. They are the things that
keep us from being anything better than a poisonous serpent.”