Chapter 77 Ivy
IVY
“Can you get to the point?” I say, wanting to hear whatever hoops we have to jump through now.
“Ivy.” Luca tugs me towards him as I yank my arm away.
“What? Is he going to kill me like he did Remy?” I glare at the masked figure who doesn’t even have the balls to show his face. “How can you stand there and pretend like this shit is okay when someone died?”
“The dead are gone. The blood is shared amongst us all.”
“More fucking riddles,” I mutter, earning another keep-your-mouth-shut glare from Luca. “He was your friend and you’re fine with all of this.”
I peek over to Micah and Brooke. “Is this really worth it?”
Brooke responds, “We don’t have a choice.”
I’m so sick of hearing that excuse. The truth is we tolerate and put up with exactly what we want.
“If it’s the truth you want, you’ll get it,” Decider states. Two hooded figures enter and guide us to the same exact tomb where we were blindfolded for the whisper challenge.
“Do we have to whisper to each other again? Share our truth and tribulations?”
Decider enters as he announces, “Truth is inevitable. Everyone must accept that before they can advance to the final round. Each team has a secret that will bond or destroy the trust that was built over the entirety of Mercy. Whose bond is strong enough to withhold and earn the right to make it to the end?”
More. Freaking. Riddles. That’s all this clusterfuck is. But I plop down in the chair. “Yeah, I have a secret. I hate this fucking game.”
“That’s not a secret,” Decider states as the two masked figures approach holding a test tube that looks like it belongs in a chemistry lab. “Drink up. Reveal the truth. Then accept the fate that follows.”
They extend the vials out to each of us. The liquid is dark, almost black, but has a hint of red. Blood? Is that really what he meant when he said it’s shared? The sick bastards drink it for rituals? “What is it?”
“Drink,” Decider retorts.
“And if we don’t drink the Kool-Aid, what happens?”
“You fail.”
Luca snatches one and downs the contents before I do the same. It tastes minty with a touch of herbs, so I tell myself it wasn’t blood even if I’m still not so sure. We sit there for a few minutes, everyone staying silent.
“Now what, Game Master?” I ask as Luca leans forward, his palms resting on my thighs as he stares at me. When I shift forward, I feel a slight surge of wooziness. “What was in it?”
“Just something to help you relax,” Decider states before he snickers, “Nothing deadly.”
“Comforting,” I reply, keeping my back against the chair.
“The real test was if you’d drink it without knowing what it contained. And now it’s time for the final trial—truth.”
“I can’t frigging wait.” I give him a thumbs-up as a comforting sensation settles in my core. “That is some good shit. Can I get another glass?” The warmth spreads throughout my limbs. “Wait. It’s not like a roofie or something, right? Will it make us forget?”
Decider responds, “No, you’ll remember every detail revealed tonight, which will be regrettable for you I’m certain.”
“Fantastic. You seem really delighted about this one, Almighty Decider,” I state, knowing I should shut my mouth. “Can you find out if my mom is my mom? I think they’re lying to me, and this is all about the truth.”
“Ivy, stop,” Luca exhales. I can see him blinking tightly as he tries to clear his mind too.
“Reveal the truth,” Decider commands.
I think he’s talking to me but notice he’s directing his statement at Luca. That’s when the warmth slowly dissipates a bit.
Luca seethes, “I can’t.”
What is happening? My body is relaxed but my mind kicks into overdrive as I watch Luca squirm.
“I’m going to kill you,” Luca shouts at the Decider as he lunges for him.
Several hooded figures scramble to restrain him as Decider remains in place.
They get him back in the chair. I’m so preoccupied with him that I don’t realize a chain has been wrapped around my chest, pinning my arms at my sides and securing me to the chair.
“What the fuck?” I struggle but can’t get up.
“Let her go,” Luca yells.
Decider calmly declares, “Her chains aren’t released until the truth is.”
Luca tumbles out of his chair, falling to his knees before he crawls in front of me. “I knew this day would come and I’d lose you.”
Even though I know it’s going to hurt, I beg, “Luca, please tell me what’s going on.”
“Please forgive me, baby.” His finger traces over the scar on my wrist. “You almost died in my arms.”
“What?”
His fingers secure tightly around my wrist as his eyes lock with mine. “I did this.”
“No. I don’t understand. No, no,” I repeat over and over. Because I can’t possibly brace myself for what he’s saying, “To accept the invitation and play Mercy, we had to complete the first dare—Scar. It was me.”
“You’re lying,” I shriek. But know it’s true. I can see it written in his pained expression.
“When the truck hit, I knew it was a moment I’d never be able to take back. But when I saw you in the wreckage, heard your screams as the light faded from your eyes, I knew it was the day I died inside. The dare wasn’t meant to scar someone else, but my own soul.”
“You killed my mother.”
He avoids meeting my gaze for a few seconds.
When he finally does, the agony in his voice grates along my heart.
“I’m so sorry. If I could change it, I would’ve never accepted the invitation.
And then we would’ve never met. I can’t imagine a world where I don’t know you anymore, but at least that choice wouldn’t have ripped your mother away from you.
” Luca clings to my wrist as he utters, “And now that same decision that brought you into my life will rip you away from me.”
The chain releases off of me, but I feel weighted down by a ton of bricks. Standing, I punch and hammer against Luca’s chest as he takes the hits until my legs give out and I collapse to the floor. I can’t do this.
“Ivy, please—” Luca grips my shoulders, his touch making me sick to my stomach.
“Get your hands off of me.” I shove away from him, stumbling to my feet.
Bile rises in my throat as I run out of the tomb and through the mausoleum until the night air hits me.
It doesn’t help me catch my breath though, and a wave of nausea fills me, but I keep running, my eyes blurry with tears as I cry.
I have to get as far away from here as I can.
This can’t be happening.
It’s not true.
Because if it is, real life just surpassed my nightmares.