“Of course I won’t stay here. Not now. I’m leaving with you.” I hesitated for just a moment. “But what about the children? Rosie? Dakota? Pia?” I couldn’t stomach the idea of leaving them here. To this.
What they must have seen…
Bastian’s eyes were hard pieces of glass. Sharp and almost scary. “We have to leave, Sara. We can’t help them from in here.”
I nodded. He was right. Staying at The Retreat wasn’t possible for us. We would have to figure out another way to save them.
And we would. There was no other option.
Even if that meant destroying everything I had ever known.
Bastian pulled me to him. Crushing me to his chest, his lips found mine. Bruising, not tender. He poured his horror into me. I swallowed it up.
We would leave. There was no other plan to make. No other path to follow. That was all over now.
We’d run as fast and as far as we could.
Away from the fire.
I would learn to live with the cold.
“We have to be quick. They’ll be looking for us,” I told Bastian as we jogged down the narrow path towards my house. We’d gather my things first. Then we’d head to his house.
Bastian was uncharacteristically quiet. He said little as I grabbed some clothes. The bracelet I kept hidden beneath my mattress. A last gift from my dad. And of course Bastian’s book and the picture he drew for me. I didn’t have a bag to put them in so I pulled the sheet off my bed and used it as a sack, tying it at one end.
“David never had a chance,” Bastian murmured, standing by the door, watching me with deadened eyes. “Carter—I won’t call him a Pastor—” he spat out, “he preyed on his weaknesses. He used it against him. He wanted him to be an example to the rest of them. He called David his fucking guide! I can’t believe you people believe the shit he sells! He’s a psychopath!” Bastian picked up the small wooden chair and smashed it against the wall. Fragments went flying, hitting me in the face.
Bastian’s face paled. “I’m sorry, Sara. I shouldn’t have done that.” He pulled himself together, scrubbing his face with his hands. “Let’s just get out of here. We can talk about all this later. We need to focus on leaving.”
“I’m so sorry, Bastian,” I had to say. It felt so insignificant, but it was something.
I would never be able to make up for what he lost tonight.
I wanted to hurt Pastor Carter. I wanted him to suffer.
“Come on,” Bastian held open the door and we slipped out.
“Where are you going?”
My mother’s voice froze me in place.
No, not her. Anyone but her…
Bastian wrapped his arm around my waist. He didn’t respond to my mom. He wouldn’t answer for me.
“I’m leaving,” I said, my voice shaking.
“I always knew you’d shame me,” she replied, her lip curled in disgust.
Bastian stepped forward, shielding me from the woman who had set me on this path to begin with. “If anyone should be ashamed, it should be you.” He pointed in her face. “You brought a young child into this deranged world. You chose yourself and your fanaticism over what was right for her.Youshould be ashamed.You!”
Mom completely ignored him. It was as though Bastian hadn’t spoken at all. She looked at me, her eyes boring into mine. “If you leave, you will be dead to me. I won’t risk my eternal life for someone tempted by sin. Someone so ungrateful that she is willing to throw everything away for carnal pleasures.”
“Did you know Pastor Carter expected me to marry him?” I asked her.
“What the actual fuck?” Bastian growled beside me. I didn’t look at him, my eyes were trained on my mother.
She didn’t respond, but I could tell by the tightness around her mouth that what I said upset her.
