Page 107 of Sincerely, Butterfly

After leaving the house, I met up with Callie at the coffee shop near campus. We grabbed a drink and have been chilling in my car for the past half hour. I’ve been filling her in on what my dad and I were talking about.

“This is so weird,” she laughs. “Does it say something about me that I’m taking this all so well? Like, you killing people is just a regular old Tuesday activity? Shouldn’t I be afraid of you or something?”

I stop moving and pause. “You’re not, are you? Because you don’t have any reason to fear me. I won’t kill you.” I hold out my pinky to her. “Pinky promise.”

She laughs, a big smile on her face as she hooks her pinky with mine. “You see!” she laughs. “That right there should worry me. But it doesn't. I trust you.” She shrugs.

“I don’t know, man.” I shake my head. “I think you need some therapy. Who is just okay with their best friend being a murderer?”

“Oh, fuck off,” she laughs, shoving at my arm. I laugh too. “I don’t know,” she sighs. “I just don’t care?” she admits. “Like, the people you’re killing, they’re not exactly good people. Do they deserve to die? To me, no, but you believe so, and that's a good enough reason for me. Maybe it’s just because I’m so done with everything. I don’t know these people, so why should I care? I just want to live my life, make something of myself. And honestly, if people were standing in my way, I’d probably do whatever I could to make sure that obstacle was eliminated, too.”

“You’d kill someone to get what you want?” I ask her.

“Maybe.” She shrugs. “I mean, it looks like fun,” she confesses with a giggle.

“It is.” I grin. “So much fun. The rush of power and adrenaline is intoxicating. Almost as good as sex.”

“Wait. You’ve had sex?” she questions, her eyes widening. “What the fuck! When? With who? What about the guys?”

Opps. Did I let that slip?

“Sooo, remember when I told you about my plans to win the guys over, and why I’m murdering in the first place? And the whole Brotherhood thing?”

“Yes.”

“I left something out. Remember that ritual I told you about.”

“The one the Brotherhood does every year. The offering for the gods?”

“Yeah. That one. I was… kind of, maybe, sort of one of the volunteer sacrifices.” I wince, waiting for her to blow up at me.

Her jaw practically hits the ground. “Shut up!” she shouts. “No fucking way. How did you get them to pick you? Shit, wait, who was it with? Do you know or did they all have their masks and cloaks on?”

“I wasn’t sure I’d even get picked when I went. I knew there was a chance they’d pick someone else, but I took my chances anyway. I knew they wanted pure and virginal. So, what gives off that vibe more, a white night gown or bras and panties?”

“The white night gown of course.”

“Exactly.” I grin. “And that's whatIwore. It helped that I turn into a blushing idiot anytime the guys are near me. I gave up very sweet and innocent vibes.”

“Hey, you’re getting better! You can speak at least a few sentences with the guys without stumbling over your words. And you’ve been bantering with them. I love a girl with a good backbone. And they’ve noticed for sure.”

“They have?” A surge of joy fills me.

“Totally.” She nods her head. “Now, back to the ritual thing?”

“Right,” I continue. “I knew because they were the head of the Brotherhood, they would get to pick first. My plan was if theydidn’t pick me, I’d get the hell out of there. But because I think I’m one of the luckiest people on this damn planet, they picked me.”

“As they should have.” Callie grins.

I smile, shaking my head. “But yeah. We went down under the mausoleum and into the tunnels, and…”

“They deflowered you,” she gasps. “Oh my god. That's amazing! Ugh. I’d hate to have my first time in front of other people.” She wrinkles her nose.

“Yeah, pretty much. I don’t want to give you details, because I’m sure you don’t want to know about your brother having sex.”

“Nope.” She holds up her hand. “We are best friends, but anything to do with him and what he does with his dick, I don’t want to hear about it. The other two, however…” She wiggles her brows. “I want to know everything!”

“Really? I thought you saw them like your brothers.”