Page 86 of My Vows Are Sealed

Scattered gasps and murmuring broke out all over the sanctuary, and I took a few deep breaths to calm myself as I realized that thehighly esteemedPastor Jones now had an entire congregation of people who would blindly take what he was saying at face value and be willing to do the dirty work to locate Darla for him. Naomi covertly reached over and squeezed my hand, and when I looked at her, she gave me a sad smile. She knew what this meant as much as I did.

“We’ve been praying and looking, but we haven’t been successful in locating her,” Abraham continued. “We love our daughter very much, and I confess that we’re feeling lost at the moment, wondering what we’ve done to cause her to travel down this unholy path. We all know the Lord forgives all of us our sins, even when we stray from His path and His will for our lives. I’m asking all of you to pray for my daughter’s soul, to pray that the Lord works a miracle in her life and leads her back home. And please, if you notice any sign of her whereabouts, let us know. My daughter is troubled, but I still love her very much, and I just want her home and safe with me. Let’s all join together in prayer and ask the Lord to work a miracle in her life.”

Fucking slimy bastard. How could he stand up there with his crocodile tears and fake distress, telling everyone in this congregation that Darla was the one who had done something wrong? Acting like he was scared for her safety because he didn’t know her whereabouts, when Iknewthe only thing he was scared of was her opening her mouth and spilling her guts about all the horrors he’d subjected her to.

He knew damn good and well that she was safer now than she had ever been. Because safe for Darla was staying as far away fromhimas possible. And he’d just made that exponentially more difficult.

Chapter 24

Darla

Luv Is a Verb

Alump rose in my throat as I heard the apartment door close and lock. Suddenly, it hit me that I was alone here and that, for the first time since I could remember, I was missing church. It wasn’t so much that I was sad about missing the sermon. I was sad about missing the fellowship. Getting to hang out with Naomi in youth group and seeing Nathan for a few minutes.

Oh, God. I had no idea when I’d see that sweet little boy next. He wouldn’t understand why I’d just suddenly stopped coming to church and, unlike our reasoning for keeping our relationship a secret, this was one thing that Brendan and I couldn’t explain to him. He was way too young to be told about why I’d run away from home.

I took a few deep breaths and forced myself not to cry. I’d cried enough in the past twenty-four hours. And crying wouldn’t change anything or make the tightness in my chest and the knot in the pit of my stomach go away. What I needed was to get my friends over here and try to figure out what in the hell my next move was.

As I went to get up so I could get changed into some real clothes, the twinge of soreness between my legs and the burning in my thigh and calf muscles reminded me of what had happened last night, and I felt warmth radiating through my whole body as I let the memories overtake me. The way Brendan had kissed me, the way he’d touched me, the way he’d put all of his focus on me, even though everything was just as new and intense for him as it was for me…it was everything. Every girl deserved a first time as beautiful and perfect and romantic as that.

I got up and went into the bathroom, grabbing the ibuprofen out of Brendan’s medicine cabinet. Rinsing out his toothbrush glass, I filled it up with some water so I could swallow the pills. And then it hit me. I hadn’t even had time to grab my toothbrush or shampoo or any other toiletries. And I was sure my dad was going to cut my debit card off first thing tomorrow morning, so I couldn’t even get any of that stuff at the store. Even if he didn’t, he’d be able to see where I’d charged the card, which would only make it easier for him to find me. I literally hadnoway of getting basic supplies and necessities.

Left with no other choice, I used Brendan’s toothbrush to brush my teeth, then grabbed a t-shirt, some yoga pants, and panties out of my duffel bag. After getting changed, I unplugged my phone from where Brendan had left it charging last night and dialed Kate’s number.

“Darla?” she answered on the third ring. “Are you okay?”

“No,” I mumbled.

“What’s wrong, hon?” she asked me. “Ash, stop it!”

I hated interrupting her time with Ashton, but I needed them. Both of them. And I had no idea how to make her understand how bad this was without going into the wholeReader’s Digestversion over the phone.

And then I remembered. The day I’d finally broken down and told them about my dad, they’d given me a code word to use if I needed help immediately. I didn’t need them to call the police for me, but Iwashiding out at my boyfriend’s apartment because I didn’t feel safe going home. That qualified, right?

“Snickerdoodle,” I sniffled.

“Ohmygod,” she gasped, then took a deep breath. “Ash, get dressed. Now.”

I heard Ashton talking in the background, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

“I don’t know. I just know it’s bad,” I heard her say, sounding like she was holding the phone away from her ear. Then her voice was louder again. “What do you need, hon? Where are you?”

“I’m at Brendan’s,” I said as tears started trickling down my cheeks. “I can’t go home, Kate. I can’t. I’m sorry to just call you like this, but—”

“Stop it,” she cut me off. “That’s what friends are for. Is Brendan with you now?”

“No,” I choked out. “He had to go to church so my dad wouldn’t realize I was here. And I really don’t want to be alone.”

“Deep breaths, Darla. We’re leaving in five minutes. I’m going to text you when we’re outside. Donotopen that door foranyoneuntil you know who’s on the other side. Okay?”

I took as deep of a breath as I could manage. “Okay.”

“Okay. We’ll see you soon,” she said.

* * *

“Kate,” I sobbed, throwing my arms around my friend’s neck the second she walked in the door.

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