The Sect (20 page)

T
HE
P
AST

Being that it was my first night on the street, I didn’t want to be the spoiled brat who complained about her living conditions, but sleeping underneath the park bench while Jeff slept on top of it didn’t seem fair.

“You…move too much,” Jeff said above me through a yawn.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized quietly, trying to make sure no one heard me. The idea of not speaking became a concept too difficult to tackle. “I don’t want to complain. This…just…sucks.”

One eye peeped open, he looked almost amused with me. “What did you expect the Ritz?”

“The shelters have beds,” I countered. “Why don’t we go there?”

“Too many rules,” he balked, “not enough beds and too many horny men who will eat you alive while I sleep.”

“Oh,” I remarked, deflated. I wasn’t sure what I expected, but this wasn’t what I’d thought it would be.

“Look up.”

I wiggled from underneath the bench a little and set my gaze to the sky. The stars were hard to see due to the city’s lights, but beyond the shield of civilization illuminating the sky, I could see them, fading against the foreground. “It’s beautiful. I’ve never noticed the sky before.”

He folded his arms across his chest, enjoying the view along with me. “Because you had too much. When you have little, you appreciate the little. It’s not your king bed, but it sure beats the ceiling. Shut up and get some sleep. Your voice is like a siren song to these pirates.”

“Yes, sir,” I said quietly. As I kept my gaze to the sky, my concrete bed didn’t feel so uncomfortable anymore.

The moment my eyes closed and I began to find comfort enough to sleep on the ground, Jeff’s thrashing forced me to peek at him from above me. He seemed to be fighting with something invisible and continuously muttered incoherently.

Afraid he was going to hurt himself, I sprang into action and slipped out from underneath the bench to shake him.

His eyes popped open and were wide and vacant. He bolted off the bench, letting several derogatory words slip from his lips. I only saw the glint of his makeshift weapon before it sliced through the layers of fabric keeping my upper body warm. The sting barely hurt until I fell backward and exposed my stomach. He straddled me sinking the blade into my flesh with reckless abandon.

My pleas at him to stop were gurgled. My mind whirled with dizziness.

“Oh, God!” He held his head, blinking rapidly. “Keaton? Keaton?” He shook me, but my reactions were delayed. I felt him pull me into his arms. The bouncing motion of him running through the streets.

He ran.

And he ran.

The blinding, bright halogen lights and sterile environment told me we were in a hospital. Jeff’s panicked voice was an echo I could barely hear. “Help! Someone help my friend! She’s hurt real bad.”

In my drug-induced sleep, something pulled me to wake up. Urgency hit me hard, screaming at me;
You have to get out of here.
I looked around the hospital room, feeling the prick of an IV in the crook of my arm.
 

“Jane Doe is awake,” said a baritone male voice.

I blinked away the haze, trying to focus on the voice. In an ill-fitted suit and thrusting a badge in my face, he introduced himself, “My name is Detective Robbins. I’ve been assigned to your case. Can you tell me your name?”

I saw another officer in the doorway, holding up a paper while speaking to one of the nurses. I caught one glimpse of my picture and name on the sheet of paper.

Panic hit me hard. I sat up, trying to figure out the best escape route. “May I have a glass of water?” I asked once the police detective in the doorway disappeared with the nurse.

“Sure.” He gave me a fake smile, clearly less than ecstatic with my request. When he rounded the bed and picked up a pink pitcher, removing the plastic cup from the shrink-wrap, I made my move.

I pulled the IV out of my arm, took a blanket from the bed with me, and darted out of the room. My legs were still partially asleep; my feet slipped around before becoming steady enough to allow me to walk outside my door. It was sheer luck that I was able to evade the panicked voices yelling at me from behind. Amongst the chorus of pleas for me to stop, I could’ve sworn I heard my mother and father. I never turned around to discover if it really was them who called my name. If I had, I might’ve had difficulties returning to the new place I called home.

I found Jeff right where I found him the first time. His face was more sullen than normal as he surveyed the park for things to pack his cart with. He gave me a double-take. A brief glint of surprise and happiness flashed in his eyes before it quickly disappeared. “I’m glad you’re all right, mute”—he scowled at me—“but you and I both know it’s too dangerous for you to hang around me. Go home.”

Shaking my head, I stepped forward. “I’ll be more careful,” I whispered, looking around in paranoia.

“Nah, you shouldn’t be around me—”

“Being around you is the safest I’ve ever felt. Don’t take that away from me. I never should’ve disturbed you like that. I don’t blame you, Jeff.” I stepped forward. “You’re not a bad man. I wouldn’t have spent months having lunch with you instead of my coworkers if you were. You’ve taught me so many things about how to be real in this world. Things that I never saw or realized in my other life.” Sighing, I looked down, knowing that he hated sentimentalities. “You’re not a bad person; you reacted that way because of something that was done to you. Please, let me stay.”

He fought a smile and waved me over. “Come on and help me find some bags, and maybe we can find you some clothes, too.”

He never apologized. He never needed to. Because when I woke up in the morning, I had a new set of clothes and a fresh cup of coffee waiting for me. When I asked Jeff about it, he said that he had received it while panhandling.

I didn’t believe him, because Jeff never panhandled. He said it was a way of seeking handouts and he’d work for what he wanted.
 

I didn’t dig any further. I had my protection and my friend back and that was all that mattered to me.

T
HE
POUNDING
knock on the door startled me. I was stuck between exhaustion and anxiousness. The mixture prevented slumber.
 

The moment I sat up in bed, Jayme was there to greet me. The glint that used to be in her green eyes had faded away. The natural warmth and slight smile she used to show me was completely gone.

My eyes darted to the floor, tormented with wanting to apologize to her.
 

She tossed some things across the bed and dropped a basket full of makeup items next to it. “I’m here to help you get ready.”

“I can do it on my own.”

She stared at me, unmoved and inexpressive. She looked off at the window with a thousand-yard stare. “Noah must be losing his touch or going too soft on you because he likes you.”

I stood, wringing my hands. “I’m sorry—”

“No, Keaton. You really aren’t.” Her head snapped back to me, showing me a glimpse of her anger. It was gone quickly with her posture and facial expression relaxing into indifference. “I want to blame you for the way Reven ignores me, but he wouldn’t want that. I can’t blame you, I have to blame myself and atone if I want him to forgive me.” She looked up as if suddenly realizing I was still there. “If I were still the person I was when I first came here, I would’ve done the same thing.”

“What did they do to you?”

Her eyes darted up to mine, holding to fear and fury. “We
never
need to talk about it.”

I looked down at the items she placed on my bed; red lace tanga panties, a matching demi bra, and very high red stilettos. I was never one to walk the stage in a bikini. A one-piece was my preferred outfit during the swimsuit competitions in the contests I attended.
 

“You’re to wear this underneath your dress. Congratulations, you’re going to attend your first meeting at the Church of Rebirth.”

After a painful wax of my entire body, dressing, and preparing my makeup, I was ready. On the brink of sliding my dress over my hips, Noah burst into my room.

Jayme bristled at the sight of Noah in the doorway. Her head bowed and her posture curved. She quietly left the room while Noah’s eyes were firmly planted on her exit. When his hazel-blue eyes searched my body, I crossed my arms awkwardly, hoping to ward him away from continuing to cast his lascivious stare at me.
 

He moved forward and took my arms down from my body with a smile. “We’re past shyness, aren’t we, princess? I’ve seen every single part of you naked and spread.” Giving me a wink that made me shudder in what I wished I could’ve titled as revulsion, he swiveled around, heading toward the bedroom door. Snapping his fingers over his shoulders, he ordered me to follow him. I grabbed my parka and a pair of boots, swiftly placing both on as I made my way to the door.

At the door, Adam, Sander, Radley, Nadine, and Jayme were dressed and ready to make the trip to the “church.”

We trudged across the pavement, dusted in a light mist of melted snow, making our way to a place I hadn’t seen from the atrium nor my view from the window. As I looked around, I noticed the heavy amount of snow falling from the sky and the frigid breeze on my skin. I looked up at the cloudy blue sky, wondering how late it was in the winter season. I’d missed so much time and had lost track of the sunsets that I couldn’t be sure.