“I promised I’d take him to the Christian Single Mingles. I’m his only friend right now. It will be easier to cut him off if he has other friends to turn to.” It hurt to say those words.
Boss nodded. “I’ll tell the hands to start a regular poker game again.”
“Instead of church? Or—”
“He can go to the singles thing. And Sunday services if he wants. Elena or I will take you.”
Genuine horror must have shown on my face because he laughed.
“We’ll wait for you outside, like always.”
“You guys have way more important things to do than that.”
“What’s more important than standing up for what’s right?”
Calling out who’s wrong?
Pointless, pointless to say it.
“Skyler needs to get an ID or a driver’s license within thirty days of his release. If he has a driver’s license, he can take me to Bible study and church on Sundays, can’t he? Elena has better things to do.”
“We’ll discuss that, after I’ve seen some concessions on your part.”
I shook my head. Bit my tongue to keep from saying Andi’s behavior made a hell of a lot more sense to me now.
“You can go.”
Dissed and dismissed.I headed for my room to change for work in the dirt. I didn’t see Elena. Maybe she’d gone to her room. She didn’t answer my knock so I shut myself inside my bedroom. Rested my forehead against the old wooden door.
The room was tiny.
Actively getting smaller.
Shit, shit, shit.
If I did what they said, I was safe and Sky was safe, but we could never be together. If I defied them, they would send me back home. Then I’d no longer be safe and Sky might lose his job. Possibly his freedom...
The mirror over my dresser was crazed, but the word could have described me too.
I have this memory of lying in a field in absolute silence, even though the sky is roiling and black with clouds. Rain poured down. People worked frantically on something...
Wait—
I’m the twisted hunk of junk Sky said can become a diamond.
Some folks screamed. I tried to get up, but couldn’t. I writhed and tried, again and again, but hands keep pushing me back down.
Stop...
Wrenching, burning pain. The skin on my shoulder was on fire.
With a last exhalation I sank so deep inside myself I went somewhere else...
Cried for help.
I couldn’t hear my own voice. Inside my head, a woman said, “Patience...”
I didn’t understand. Patience? What does that mean?
