Page 2 of Nun’s Prayer

We heard footsteps heading towards us.

Crap on a cracker, surely Hillary wasn’t aware we were back here? This was the one place off-limits to us. My parents strongly disliked acting, so the theatre should have been a safe spot for me to get laid. Hillary was going to ruin my only chance!

I placed a hand over Dylan’s mouth, but he jerked away and knocked something over. Hillary’s sharp footsteps marched towards us, and I gave up. I was done for. Hillary would ensure I was shipped off tonight—because if I escaped, she was next in line. The curtain yanked back, and she smirked as she took in Dylan and me.

“Say bye-bye,” she trilled in triumph. “You can thank lover boy for me finding you. He bragged to all his friends. If he’d kept his mouth shut, you might have got away with this!”

“You stupid prick,” I snarled at Dylan, who looked smug.

I reached out, grabbed his balls, and twisted them so hard he’d never have kids. Then I stomped off, furious at having been caught. Dylan lay on the floor, screaming. Yeah, well, at this particular moment he understood how I felt.

2015

“Reverend Mother has ordered you to take these leaflets and hand them out at the bar,” Sister Theresa Clare said.

I nodded and took them obediently. “I’ll go now,” I replied dully.

“Sister Mary Immaculate will accompany you, Sister Agnes Madalene,” Theresa Clare instructed.

“Yes.” I didn’t bother arguing. There was no point. It didn’t get me anywhere, and I’d still be imprisoned in this hellhole. My aunt was up for abbess, which would give her the coveted Mother Superior title she wanted. If I ran away, she’d lose that, as questions would be asked. So, I had watchdogs. Theresa Clare, Mary Immaculate, Hildegard, and Elizabeth Antony. The most sadistic nuns in the priory.

I followed Mary Immaculate into town. We targeted several bars, chasing sinners out of them. Mary Immaculate marched along, her face like a chewed-up bulldog, watching as people scattered. Yeah, they knew what Sister Mary Immaculate meant. I spotted a row of Harleys parked up and cocked my head in curiosity. They were new; I’d not seen them around here before.

“Sinners!” Mary Immaculate snarled. “Heathens!”

Whatever.

Within moments, Mary Immaculate was preaching, handing out leaflets, and praying over people. Most crossed the road to avoid us, which I found funny, but Mary Immaculate got louder, shouting across the street.

Could this be any more embarrassing?

I stood by her side, handed out the flyers, and prayed God would deliver me from this.

Several women exited the bar. Oh no. This was the type of woman Mary Immaculate loved to humiliate. Mentally, I urged them to run, and one stopped and stared at me.

“Whores! Jezebels!” Mary Immaculate roared.

Just leave, I begged in my mind. These women weren’t causing trouble, simply having some fun. But the dried-up old prune had set her sights on them. I ducked my head as she stomped towards them. The young woman in the lead paused.

“Who the fuck are you calling whores?” she demanded.

Her aggression took the wind out of Mary Immaculate’s sails for a moment as she herself stepped forward.

“Dear God, look at that face. No wonder she became a nun. Not even putting a bag over her head would get her laid! Sapphire, take a fuckin’ peek; she’d scare a milk cow dry,” another said.

I barely held my lips steady. Mary Immaculate regrouped and made the sign of the cross. “May God forgive your sins and your blight on society. Repent, whores! Get down on your knees and beg for forgiveness!”

“I only get on my knees for one reason, and believe me, it ain’t to seek absolution,” the leader snapped with a grin. She performed an obscene gesture, and Mary Immaculate turned puce. Vitriol spilt from her lips as the women laughed and mocked her.

Meanwhile, one focused on me, as I kept my thoughts to myself. But boy, did I enjoy it. I longed for their freedom, to join them and ride a bike like them.

To wear jeans again and pretty tops rather than this nasty, coarse habit. The Reverend Mother had mine made of the worst material as punishment. It itched my skin and rubbed me raw.

“Belladonna,” Sapphire called, and the woman watching me held a finger up.

For a moment all my suppressed yearnings were freed, and then Mary Immaculate stood in my line of sight. Instinctively and fearfully, I buried them again. I’d escape someday, but not today. The old bitch kept hollering insults, but the women just laughed them off. Belladonna cast a look at Sapphire, who deliberately sought Mary Immaculate’s attention.

“You want freedom. We’ll meet you at your gates at one this morning. Be there. We’ll set you free, little nun!” Belladonna murmured and snatched a leaflet as a cover. She stomped over to Mary Immaculate, who’d been watching, tore it up in front of her and sauntered away.