Page 3 of Sinful Secrets

She huffs and starts pulling out the bread to make her another sandwich. “For that, you can take it to her, and here, give her this to read,” she says, handing me a Cosmo magazine.

“Really? Cosmo? She doesn’t strike me as the type that would want to know what the five best sexual positions are to orgasm,” I state, reading the cover.

Trudy pushes me out of the door. “Just take it to her, would you? She needs to start learning how the world is. She has no idea,” Trudy states.

“Well, giving her Cosmo isn’t the best idea. Give it a week, she will end up having an eating disorder and will only wear designer clothes.” I smirk.

Trudy doesn’t answer, she just turns around, walking back into the kitchen. I shrug and walk down the hall to the room where Talitha is staying… well, more like being held captive at the moment.

I walk in and smile at her. She doesn’t flinch away this time, she just sits perfectly still, watching me. “Brought you some food, darlin’, and a magazine,” I say, handing her the magazine. Her eyes alight and she snatches it from me. Flicking the pages eagerly, I watch as she smiles eagerly looking at the pages.

“Right, I will leave you to it,” I state, turning to leave.

“Will you please read to me?” she asks.

“You can read, right?” I ask.

“Latin, yes, I can read Latin. I struggle to read in English,” she says softly.

I nod and sit down on the chair. “No… Here, so I can see the pictures too.” She smiles, patting the bed. I'm surprised by how relaxed she is being. She has been scared since she arrived two weeks ago.

“Err, maybe I will grab one of the women, they are better at reading that shit than me,” I state, getting up and walking out of the room, calling Trudy to read to her, not giving her a choice. No way am I reading God damn Cosmo.

I head to the bar area and sit down. “We got any news on this cult yet?” I ask Pres. He shakes his head.

“No, they keep things buried fuckin’ deep, proving tougher than we had thought. These aren’t just your normal religious folk; these are organised fucking criminals using the cult as a cover.”

“Well, at least we got Talitha out of that shit. Fuck knows what weird shit went on in that place,” I say, shaking my head.

“You ain’t wrong, brother. The ironic thing is she sees us as the bad guys, she would go back if we let her,” Pres points out.

Chapter Two

Talitha

I think it’s been fourteen days that I've been locked away in this room. I have prayed every night to be rescued. At least I think I want to be rescued. They give me books, magazines and food, and so far, they have been friendly, but I am not naïve, my father warned me of these people… People like them, they believe in the devil and do bad things.

I can’t help but be curious though. Father Isiah would condemn me for having such thoughts. I must keep focused and not be drawn into their evil ways. I must pray for myself and for them. Only through prayer can I help save myself, and maybe even save them.

The door opens and in walks one of the women. “Hey, just came to get your plates.” She smiles.

I nod, not saying anything, I must keep quiet. They want to know about my family, our lives, our whole community, and I must remain strong for them to stay true to God.

She stops and perches next to me on the bed. “I know you won’t talk to me, and that you think by keeping quiet you're protecting them, because you think we are the bad guys, but in truth, its them that’s the bad guys, not us. They have brainwashed you and your father, and so many more. They do terrible things to you. Deep down you must realise this.” She sighs when I don’t give her a response. “Listen, it may not feel like it right now being stuck in this room, but this is freedom, honey. No one here will tell you what to wear, how to think or feel. You can have your own mind here.” She stands and pauses at the door. “I'm Rose, by the way,” she adds before leaving.

I let out a long breath once the door is shut. They all seemed nice when I did their beauty treatments. They are crude in what they talk about, and if they said things like that back home, they would be put in the holding for at least two weeks and receive a lashing and a punishment from Father Isiah and brother Asher. I shudder at the thought of their punishments. I am thankful I have never received severe punishments by their hand, but my friend Sapphira has. She never spoke of what happened, but I helped clean and take care of her afterwards. The marks and the blood made me fearful, made all of us fearful.

I lay down and pick up a magazine, unable to read all the words. We are taught to read Latin, Father Isiah tells us it is God’s wish, that it is God’s way to communicate with us, making us more special than anyone else, but over the time I have learnt some words, mainly from reading labels.

As I flick through the pages, a woman in nothing but her underwear is sprawled across the page, I blush and quickly turn it over. I'm not used to seeing such profanity.

I get frustrated after a while at not being able to read anything, and I throw it onto the floor. Tears sting my eyes. I miss my father and I miss my friends. I pray, just like I do every day, that I will soon be reunited with them.

I stay curled up for the rest of the day, not eating or drinking, ignoring anyone that comes into the room, anyone but him. I'm not sure what it is about him, he makes me feel warm, something about him makes me want to talk to him. I want to ask him questions, but I keep my mouth shut, too afraid to ask.

* * *

It’s late into the night and I can hear loud music and laughter. It’s not the first time they have had parties, and I decide that maybe this is my ideal time to run, they will be intoxicated and busy with the women, they won’t notice me.

---