One of the men smiled at me in a way that made me feel vaguely like a rat who had been dumped in a snake’s den and I slowed my steps.
“Well, hello there, young man! You must be Mr.… Cameron!” He said, hesitating a moment on my name as he stuck a hand out. “I’m William Conyers. Call me Bill!” He insisted. “Our church is sponsoring the event this evening,” he explained.
“Good to see you made it! Did you come alone?” Conyers asked, glancing up and down the hallway.
“Um, yes, a friend of mine, Lee Devereaux, dropped me off,” I explained.
I shook hands with both men, and I felt a frisson of uncertainty run through me. Did Conyers hold my hand just a moment too long? Did the smile that lit his face as we were introduced fail to reach his eyes? I shook my head and refused to let my fears run roughshod over me. This wasn’t rational, and I wasn’t going to let it stop me from keeping my commitment here tonight. Lizzie and Zem were counting on me.
Conyers gave me a brief tour of the building and explained they were turning an old school into a community center for disadvantaged youths. I let his words lull my fears. I knew that Lizzie wouldn’t book me anyplace that I’d be unwelcome, so I pushed my worries to the side and tried to focus on the event.
No, they’d “welcomed” me, all right.
Conyers led me down a hallway through a confusing warren of what looked like classrooms and office doors. I was mentally rehearsing my new presentation as we walked, so I wasn’t really paying much attention as we stopped outside an unmarked door.
“One moment, please,” he said, gesturing for me to wait in the hallway. I heard low voices speaking for a moment before he came back out in the hallway.
“Mr. Cameron, our Pastor would like to meet you before the event,” he said. I nodded and put my game face on as I stepped through the door.
The office was richly furnished, in contrast to the rest of the building. A large mahogany desk dominated the room. I saw two men, a woman and a teenager standing in one corner of the room. It took me a minute to realize the two men were holding the struggling teenagerby the arms and another before I recognized him. It was Jeri’s boyfriend, Tobi.
I never saw the blow that knocked me to the ground, just staggered and fell, my hands automatically going out to cushion my fall.
“Whaaa…?” I began, my ears ringing from the blow. I heard cars starting outside and people… singing…? That had to be wrong. I shook my head as I tried to get to my feet. I knew all the worst things happened to you if you were on the ground. Anxiety chased through my muddled head, confused by the suddenness of the attack.
I'd just made my feet, head still swimming and had started backing away toward one of the doors that led outside when I felt a strong arm grab me and force me face forward against a wall.
“Not so fast, you little whore…” a voice rang in my ear and I froze. That voice… Iknewthat voice.
“…Dreyven…” I whispered, then everything went dark.
27
Mason
When I became aware again,I was being kept on my feet by a painful grip on my arms. I shook my head and tried to keep my eyes shut, like a little kid who believed if he didn’t see the monster, it couldn’t really be there. I couldn’t keep hiding forever, though, and the sound of Tobi’s voice made me open my eyes.
The two men held Tobi by the arms. I winced, because I knew he would have bruises tomorrow. The woman’s gaze was on me, her lips pursed disapprovingly. Despite her age and poor makeup choices I could see the resemblance to Tobi.
Dreyven pushed me into the room, the corner of his lips turned up as he watched my face.
“Yeah, you fuckin’ whore, you know what kind of shit you’re in now,” he growled.
I blinked over and over, trying desperately to clear the blurriness in my vision. I was finally able to focus and saw Tobi looking at me from across the room, tears threatening to spill from his shiny eyes.
“I’m sorry, Mason!” he yelled, before being viciously slapped by the woman in front of him.
“Shut your mouth, you abomination!” she screamed at him. “You’ve let him contaminate your soul with his evil!”
I didn’t understand what she was talking about at first, then saw that she was waving around a phone that had a picture of Tobi and me from the signing.
“Wait!” I yelled. “He’s just a kid! I never touched—” a blow to my stomach knocked the air from my lungs and I doubled over, retching.
“Close your mouth, Mason. We know what you’ve done. ‘The Lord detests lying lips!’” I heard Dreyven say as he pushed me into one of the seats in front of the desk, then took the chair behind it.
I’d never known he had even read the Bible, much less memorized passages from it. And I certainly had never heard him quote scripture before. I heard the woman and two men saying “Amen” as Dreyven finished.
“What… What do you want, Dreyven?” I managed, after I caught my breath, turning to look at him. I was struggling desperately to keep my panic under control. It wasnotthe time to have a panic attack.
