Free Confined (A Tethered Novel, Book 3) by Jennifer Snyder Page B

because of the initiation.”
    I cast a quick glance at her, noticing her sad demeanor
still intact. Her posture was slouched, and she didn’t look anywhere besides at
her hands as they carefully filled the tumblers with ice. I caught sight of
them trembling and felt sympathy sweep through me. What she had done was eating
her up.
    “It’s also to celebrate you agreeing to go through with the
initiation,” Kace added.
    “Oh, okay,” I said. I stacked the ice cube trays up and slid
them back into the freezer. “When will everyone be here?”
    My mind ran through mental images of my house. I wondered if
there was anything that needed to be tidied up before they arrived. Even if
there had been something that jumped out at me right away, it wouldn’t have
mattered, because the doorbell rang.
    “And they’re here,” Adam said. He finished pouring the mixed
drinks. “Rum and Coke, everyone. Don’t let the ’rents know what you’re
drinking; we’re supposed to refrain from alcohol and shit until after the initiation for purification reasons,” he said pointedly to me.
    “So, then why are we drinking?” I asked.
    If that was the case, then I didn’t want alcohol in my
system. I needed the initiation to work; I needed the tether gone.
    “Because one drink won’t hurt us…or two…they’re going to
‘cleanse’ us before we begin the rite anyway,” Adam said with an eye roll and
an expression on his face that led me to believe he thought the rule was
stupid. “Bottoms up.”
    The doorbell rang again, and Callie set her drink down to
answer it for me.
    “I’ve got it,” she said.
    Kace took a big swig of his drink, and then made his way to
my side. A small smile turned up the corners of his lips. “It’s okay. You can
drink it. Adam’s right.”
    “Those are two words I never thought anyone would ever say
about him,” I said, attempting to loosen up some.
    If Kace was going to be honestly okay with what I’d told him
in the attic, then I could be too. I glanced at him, watching as he took
another swig of his drink. He truly seemed as though nothing had happened
between us, like I’d never told him at all. I tipped my glass to my lips, and
let the spiced taste of rum and Coke trickle down my throat.
    “Funny, Avery, funny,” Adam said sarcastically in response
to my little jab.
    Adam’s mom was the first to walk into the kitchen. She held
a large casserole dish between her hands and had a few grocery bags hanging from
her wrists.
    “Adam, you could help me carry this stuff in,” Della
scolded.
    Adam took another swig of his drink before he set the glass
on the counter and walked over to help his mother.
    “What did you make?” he asked as he took the casserole dish
from her. He lifted the Saran Wrap, which had been clouded over from the
condensation, to get a peek. “I’ve been waiting all day for some of your potato
salad. Please tell me you made it.”
    “Every year,” she said. She set the grocery bags she’d been
holding on the counter.
    “This isn’t potato salad,” Adam said, scrunching his face in
disappointment as he set the casserole dish down.
    “I made some, Adam. Don’t worry,” Della assured him.
    “Is there anything else in the car?” Kace asked.
    Della glanced at Kace over her shoulder as she began to
empty the bags she’d set down. Her dark hair swept across her forehead and
covered her bright green eyes as she glared at him. “Of course there is; you
know this isn’t all I brought.”
    Adam and Kace left to go help bring in more stuff. Taking
another small sip from my drink, I crossed the kitchen to help Della empty the
grocery bags.
    “Does this need to be in the fridge or should we warm it up
in the oven a little?” Callie asked as she scooped the casserole dish off the
counter.
    “It’s homemade macaroni. I think if you put the oven on the
lowest heat and shove that in there for a minute or two it will be just fine,”
Della answered.
    I pulled out some