Held (Gone #2) (18 page)

"I know. You two need to get to know each other."

"What's that going to help?"

"It's obvious that you need him in your life."

"Ugh! You keep saying that. We've done just fine without him."

"Just fine? You call this
just fine
?"

"Do you know how many girls get pregnant? It was probably different way back when you were in high school."

Valerie laughed. "It wasn't that long ago, Zo."

"Yeah, it was. Things were so different. Could girls get an abortion without their parents knowing?"

"I honestly wouldn't even know. I had a nurse try to talk me into the pill when I was a little older than you, but I wasn't interested. My focus was getting into college. All I wanted was to get the career that I now have."

"Well, whatever it used to be like, now some girls don't even bother with the pill. If the guy doesn't have his own protection, they just get the morning after pill or have an abortion. It pretty much happens all the time."

"Back to the topic. I want your dad to move over here."

"Don't bother. I'm sure he's happy with his own family."

"No, he doesn't have a family."

Zoey raised an eyebrow.

"He plays baseball over there. He always dreamed of playing, but couldn't even make the minors here, so he went back home to play."

"A sport is more important than me? What a tool."

"It's not like that." Valerie sighed.

"What's it like, then?"

"I didn't want to hold him back when I got pregnant. Neither of us were looking for a long-term relationship. We were just having a little fun. We met through some mutual friends one summer. I'm a strong woman and figured I could handle raising you on my own." She smiled. "I even thought it would be easier because then I wouldn't have to argue with him on how to raise you."

"That doesn't change the fact that he walked away."

"He hasn't forgotten about you. On a pretty regular basis, I receive 'anonymous' deposits in my account. He thinks it's important to support you. Since I don't need his money, I've been keeping it for you in a savings account. You have a nice amount built up for college."

"And you never once thought to mention this to me? Here I've been thinking that he doesn't care." Zoey crossed her arms. "You could have called him any time you wanted?"

Valerie shook her head. "It took me some time to find him. Like I said, he left anonymous deposits. I still don't have his address or anything. I managed to find an email address and then he agreed to talk with me on the phone. He was actually benched with an injury since last season. They're talking about letting him retire since it looks like he can't play this season either, so this might be the perfect time for him to return."

"I don't want him in my life!" Zoey ran out of the room before her mom could see the tears.

Discussion

The walk to school was an uncomfortable silence. Macy wanted to talk to Rebekah, but was afraid. Rebekah had barely made eye contact with Macy since Chester's outburst. Rebekah had been jumpy around both Macy and Chester.

Macy was still shaken from the whole vision room thing. She wasn't sure how she'd made it through the rest of the day. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about the mirrors—especially the images that appeared to change. Chills ran through her each time she thought about it. It had to have been her mind playing tricks on her. Or maybe it was the flickering light from the small candle.

It also didn't help that Eve had had a thousand questions about the experience, none that Macy had wanted to answer. She wasn't sure what Eve wanted to hear. Macy would have said anything—anything at all—to avoid ever having to go back in there again.

She had ended up admitting to having seen a couple things, and much to her relief, Eve hadn't pressed. Her smile had been wide; she had been thrilled that the daughter of the up and coming prophet had seen a vision. She told Macy that visions were private and needed to be kept to oneself until the right time.

"Are you okay?" Rebekah asked, bringing her back to the present.

"Yeah."

"No, I mean it, Heather. The way that your dad's been acting…I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine."

Rebekah came closer and spoke softer. "Does he act like that a lot, or he just stressed about training to become a prophet? You can talk to me."

If Macy said anything, would Rebekah tell Chester? Macy had to be careful with her wording. "He can be…a little moody. Don't tell him I said anything."

"Of course. I was shocked when he reacted like that. You looked more concerned than surprised, so I thought that wasn't the first time. Are there certain things that tend to set him off?"

Macy's heart raced. "I don't really know."

Rebekah gave her an inquisitive look.

Did she know that Macy was holding back?

"I don't want you to fear me, Heather. Yes, my first responsibility is to my husband, but as your new mother, I also have an enormous responsibility to take care of you."

That answered that. Chester came first, and if he ever pressed Rebekah to find out what Macy had told her in private, she'd talk. "Thanks," Macy said.

"I still want to tell you about my life before I joined the community. It sounded like you were interested, but that will have to wait. I do hope we can be friends." Rebekah smiled.

Macy nodded. "That would be nice."

"As far as today, please stay inside the schoolroom. I won't tell your dad if you talk to boys, but please—please—don't go anywhere with one. Luke is a trustworthy young man, and you would do well to become friends with him, but please also make friends with some of the girls. We don't want to upset your dad again."

"Okay."

They turned a corner and the school was in sight. Rebekah took Macy's hand and gave a squeeze. "Everything is going to be all right. If we work together, we'll figure out how your dad ticks and we'll learn to live in such a way as to not incite his anger again. Sound good?"

Macy had to stop herself from laughing. Good luck with that. "Sure." She hoped that Rebekah didn't pick up on her sarcasm.

"If your hand cramps up—and it might until you adjust—let me know. I'll have you do some reading or have one of the girls sit with you and go over some of what you need to learn."

They entered the schoolroom without a word. Everyone sat at their desks doing their work. Macy sat next to Luke.

He looked up at her. "I missed you yesterday afternoon."

"Something came up."

"I see." Luke held each her gaze for a moment and then went back to his papers.

She opened the book in front of her, getting ready to copy from it. She'd have to write slowly so that hopefully her hand wouldn't cramp. Why bother writing fast anyway? Was there a rush to learn this stuff? Of course not. What she needed was to find a way out of the community.

Even if she could get out, did they have the woods booby trapped? What about wild animals? How would she get home? Hitchhike? Then she would risk running into another Chester—or even someone worse. Macy shuddered.

"You all right?"

Macy looked over at Luke. "Yeah." She picked up the pencil and copied from where she had left off the day before. She wanted to talk to Luke, but how?

She sat in silence writing for what felt like hours. Maybe it was. It wasn't like there was a clock on the wall. They wouldn't want to use that evil electricity.

At least her hand felt okay. She was treating it like a wounded bird, careful not to let it cramp again.

A tapping noise in the front of the room grabbed Macy's attention. Rebekah stood in the front of the room, tapping on the chalk board. "It's time to stretch our legs and take a break. We'll reconvene in ten minutes."

Luke looked at Macy. "Want some fresh air?"

Her eyes widened. Could they, without her getting into trouble? She noticed some of the other kids going outside. If she talked to some of them she should be okay talking with Luke also. "Sure."

"It's all overwhelming, isn't it?" Luke gave her a reassuring smile.

"You have no idea." Why had she said that? Her mouth seemed to run on its own when talking to him.

His eyebrow arched, but didn't say anything. He held his hand out, indicating for her to go first and she headed for the door. When they got outside, the cold air felt good and the sun shining down felt even better. She stood off to the side, watching the kids talk.

Aside from the white clothes and the buns on the girls, they all seemed like normal teenagers. Except that they weren't goofing off or picking on each other. She wasn't sure if she missed the kids running around acting like caged animals.

She kind of liked the serenity of the community—not that she wanted to become one of them. Maybe she was just glad to be away from Chester. It had been torture spending so much time with him since he'd taken her from her family. At least here, she had school and Chester spent a lot of time with the prophets, but he made sure to drive Macy crazy when they were home.

"Care to share your thoughts?" Luke asked.

Macy shrugged. "Just taking everything in. It's a big change."

"It usually is. Some kids have a really hard time getting used to this way of life."

Something about the tone of his voice told her he wasn't referring to hand cramps. "What do you mean?"

"I've seen people have breakdowns or tantrums because it's too much of a change for them."

"Then what?"

"Sometimes they have to stay away from school for a while until they're able to come back and behave properly. Other times, they have to be shamed. It depends on what they do."

"What did you think when I didn't come back yesterday afternoon?"

"I hoped for the best since Teacher didn't say anything. You hadn't done anything wrong. Your hand just cramped up. I assumed that you were resting or studying at home."

"Something like that."

"Is your hand okay now?" Luke asked.

Macy held it up. "A little sore, but otherwise it's fine."

Luke reached for it and rubbed. Her heart raced. She loved the feel of his skin against hers, but what if word got back to Chester?

She closed her eyes. Whatever Chester did to her would be worth it. An adorable boy cared enough to hold and rub her tired hand. He couldn't take that away from her, even if she did get punished.

Luke's fingers slid down to her wrist under her sleeve again. Macy's eyes popped open. Luke smiled at her and then hid their hands behind his back. Macy stared into his eyes, feeling her face flush. He rubbed his fingers back and forth along her arm just above her wrist.

She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came. Her skin tingled where his fingers touched her arm.

Luke slid his hand back down to hers, and then squeezed. He cleared his throat. "Perhaps I should introduce you to the others?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, sure." Macy shook her head, trying to clear it. "That's probably a good idea."

"Maybe." The skin around his eyes wrinkled a little as he grinned.

Macy's pulse quickened. He was adorable, and he wasn't repulsed by her.

"Come on," Luke said.

He walked to one of the groups and introduced them to her. She tried to remember their names, but they all had strange names. They all stared at her, not saying anything. Were they expecting her to say something? If so, what?

"It was nice to you meet you all." She went back to where she had been standing with Luke, and the girls went back to their conversation.

Luke joined her.

"That went well," Macy joked.

"I think they're intimidated by you."

Macy laughed. He had to be kidding. "By me? Why?"

"You're the daughter of Jonah's new favorite. Everyone has been talking about your dad since before you guys arrived. Jonah isn't one to keep his visions to himself. He spends hours in the vision room and as I'm sure you've noticed in the nightly meetings, he loves sharing every single detail."

"Yeah. I've noticed."

Luke looked like was trying to cover a laugh. Macy thought it was cute the way he fought to keep his composure.

"Jonah received visions long before he met your dad. He left the community for a while, following clues from his visions until he found him. Did your dad tell you how excited he was to find out that he had been chosen?"

"He's mentioned it."

Luke raked his fingers through his hair. Macy watched each strand fall back into place. It looked so soft she wanted to touch it. His hair was a nice, sandy color. It had speckles of brown and blonde strands all throughout. She moved her gaze down to his eyes. Macy had never seen such kind eyes before. Or was it just because she was used to Chester and his frightening stares?

Either way, Luke held a genuine graciousness about him. His eyes lit up when he smiled, and his voice was soothing. That's when Macy realized that he'd been talking to her, but she hadn't heard a word of it.