Page 30 of His to Keep
John laughs. “What did you say to me?”
Callum glares at him, and surprise sparks in John’s eyes. The smirk forming on his lips means he’s anything but excited by the challenge. Fear punctures my pain. It paints my insides with panic as I turn to Father Aaron, who is now staring at Callum with narrowed eyes.
Stepping forward, Father Aaron puts his hand on John’s shoulder. “Sit.”
I get off the floor and scramble back to my seat. Callum still glowers at John in a way that makes me sure that any minute he’s going to hit him. The hate between them is violent, but I know he’ll have no chance with Father Aaron being here.
As I sit, I nudge him discreetly. His eyes flicker down to me, dropping to my mouth and then to my dress stained in dark red. His expression twists with disgust, and he turns away as I consciously wipe my mouth with my hand, not knowing what I must look like and hating how he looked at me.
Penny returns, carrying a large pot. As she walks around the table, we all sit in silence as she drops a ladle of vegetable broth into our bowls. When she gets to me, I wait for her to drop soup into my bowl. She pours it over my lap instead, the bubbling liquid scorching the tops of my thighs. When I scream, Penny cackles hysterically, as if it’s the funniest thing she’s ever done. Growling, Father Aaron stands, and I know what’s coming as he lifts his arm. He’s going to hit her like he did to me moments ago.
“No!” I throw myself at her to block his attack and his fist slams into my cheekbone. Callum shoots out of his chair. Despite my thighs burning raw and my face throbbing, the dread that washes through me is so cold as he rounds the table. “Callum, no!”
It’s too late. He punches Father Aaron in the face.
Putting my hands over my mouth, Father Aaron wipes the blood covering his lower lip. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
My body trembles. I’m terrified for Callum but also angry at him. How can he be so stupid? With his mouth stretching into a cruel grin, Father Aaron grabs Callum around his throat and starts dragging him away from the table.
“Stop!” I shout as he takes Callum to the horror room.
“Finally.” John gets out of his seat and eagerly follows them both. As Father Aaron pushes Callum into the room, I can’t move or breathe as John shuts the door.
Panicked, I rush over and try to open it. Slamming my fists against the door when it won’t. “Let him out!”
Just as I hear banging inside, a hand touches my arm. I turn, seeing Penny’s now beside me and nodding her head.Come.
Just as I’m about to ask why she puts her hand over my mouth to shush me. Tugging my arm, I follow her out into the hallway. Letting go of me, she runs over to the door and unlocks it. And there it is—outside. So bright and welcoming, I could almost cry. It’s like heaven as air blows inside and kisses my skin, sending chills down my spine. Air I haven’t felt in months.Breathedin months.
“Go,” Penny whispers, her voice raspy with eagerness. “Run.”
Darkness binds around my neck, and my heart starts pounding with confusion. “Why?”
“Go. Quickly!” she hisses. “He will do much, much worse than you think. You don’t know the secrets.”
“What secrets?”
She doesn’t answer me. “Leave now. Go!”
She pushes me forward, and I’m now a step away from being outside. So close. I don’t trust her, and I’m confused by why she’s doing this, knowing Father Aaron will severely punish her. But what if this is my only chance?
I take a step forward, and then another. Before I know it, I’m running down the porch steps and darting toward the trees faster than I’ve ever run before.
I don’t look back. I don’t think. I just run as fast as I can.
Chapter Eighteen
Dark clouds roll in. Thunder rumbles in the sky, the sun gone in an instant. It should be enough. Enough to tell me what I’m doing isn’t right and that I should turn back. Pretend I never got this far and pray Father Aaron never finds out I ran. But my legs don’t stop moving, my feet pounding into the dirt of the untamed road that often haunts my dreams. Racing down the lane Father Aaron drove up all those months ago.
It’s much longer than I remember, and I think back to that day. How blind I was while sitting in Father Aaron’s car, going along with all his lies. That terrible, cunning smirk stretched over his lips I hadn’t realized held a deviant meaning. I don’t look back. I don’t stop running. Even though I can’t breathe, and my stomach churns from the terror of being caught.
Another crack of thunder. Rain pelts against my skin, soothing my scalded thighs but not my fears. I’m so scared. So afraid to look back and see if I’m being chased. Only, it seems that’s the least of my worries when I spot something ahead that wasn’t there before.
“No,” I gasp. “No, no, no!”
Something’s blocking my way. A tall gate I know wasn’t there before. Once I’m near it, I grab the bars and shake them. It’s locked, the bars wrapped in a thick chain and secured with a lock. It carries on, disappearing into the line of trees on either side of the road. A metal fence with rings of barbed wire along the top like you’d see in prison. My vision blurs, and panic builds. No. It can’t be. Thiscan’tbe right.
“Avaaa!” someone roars in the distance. Father Aaron. He knows I’ve escaped. It doesn’t seem like any time has passed. Did Penny tell him?