I felt Theo’s stare and flicked my eyes to him in my peripheral vision. He watched and waited, maybe expecting me to push back, but when I didn’t, he smiled.It’s nothing outside the scope of The Bible. It’s not like they’re going to torture me with a fucking drill or cut my tongue out.I gritted my teeth against the flash of memory. The bloody drill lingering near the man sobbing on the floor made my heart skip a beat.
“I know this can seem overwhelming, Olivia. It’s a big decision to choose to dedicate your life to Christ and follow in His footsteps. But you are on the cusp of freedom, Olivia. Freedom from sin and shame and evil. I want you to take some time to pray about all that we’ve offered you. I want you to take a moment to realize that this is a test from Satan. A test of whether or not you will continue to believe the lies he feeds you, or step into the light and let us guide you, let the Holy Spirit guide you to a future of peace and fulfillment as a daughter of Christ.”
I swallowed the saliva that was pooling in my mouth. Theodore was right. It was divine intervention. No way this man would be so enthralled with me if not for God’s hand leading him towards me.
“Okay.”
Theo nodded with a smile, leaning back in his chair. “Thank you, Elder Mark.”
It was a clear dismissal, and Elder Mark nodded, giving me a smile as he said, “Have a blessed day.”
I thanked him with a smile and once the office door was closed, Theo turned his eyes back to mine with an intensity that made me fidget in the chair.
“I hope I didn’t scare you off by confessing my conviction earlier. I truly do believe that God has placed us together to be joined as husband and wife forever in His Kingdom.”
“I’m…flattered. I don’t know what to say.” I looked away, trying to appear shy and not concerned that the man I’d met a handful of times was confessing he was obsessed with me.It’ll be fine, Shiloh. This is exactly what you need. You are not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Better he falls in love with you than risk the wrath of Carlos.
He hummed in thought before standing and offering his elbow. “Can I give you a ride somewhere?”
I shook my head. “No, thank you, Theo. I’m meeting a friend for dinner nearby.”
He dropped his arm back to his side and nodded solemnly. “If you’re sure.”
“Yes. Thank you. I’ll see you on Sunday?”
“Yes.” He licked his lips. “I’ll be counting the minutes to see your radiant face again.”
I nodded and tried my best to walk casually out of his office and back to the main entrance. My heart was racing, and I felt like I was going to be sick. Everything was moving too quickly. I thought I would have months of back and forth before they let me into the program to join their church. I thought I had more time before I had to say goodbye.
Thirty-One
November 17, Wednesday
Shiloh
In my haste to get to a toilet before I threw up, I ran into the guy’s restroom gagging as I passed the row of urinals. I turned into the stall and vomited into the toilet. I shuddered, my eyes burning with the involuntary tears. I cringed as I sat back on my heels to grab some toilet paper to wipe the puke that had gotten into my hair.
“Fucking hell,” I whispered as I tossed the tissue into the toilet and stood to flush it.
Black dots floated and popped in my vision, and I gripped the toilet paper holder to steady myself. I took a shaky breath trying to settle my stomach that was starting to heave again. I leaned over the toilet, this time holding my hair with one hand, the toilet with the other. I heard the door open as I spat the bittertaste from my mouth, praying this person chose not to use one of the urinals because I didn’t want to see anyone’s dick.
“Oh fuck,” a heard a boy exclaim behind me. “Wait, this is the guy’s bathroom. What the hell—”
He didn’t have time to finish before I was dry heaving over the toilet again. He said something, but I couldn’t hear him over the sound of my pulse drumming in my ears. The door opened, letting the sound of rowdy teenagers filter in, and I sat back on my ass, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand.
“Fuck,” I spat, cursing my goddamn allergy. I blinked a few times, but everything was hazy, and I put my head down between my legs. The bell rang and the door opened again. Someone entered, calling out to the only logical person, me.
“Hey, are you okay? Someone said there was a girl—Oh, shit.”
I looked up to the blurry figure and flipped them off.
“I was gonna ask if you needed me to get the nurse, but fine. Be a bitch. Can you, like, leave because I gotta piss?”
“I’m pretty attached to this toilet at the moment. But be my guest, I’ll just be here, puking.”
He mumbled something under his breath and walked out.
Pissface.
