Page 49 of Reverse Perspective

“Well, you all go on and eat without us,” I say.

“You just got here,” she says.

“I’ve suddenly lost my appetite,” I say.

“Are you going to ignore me?” Paul asks. I ignore him again and continue to look at Mom.

“Why are you being rude, Sadie?” Mom asks. “You’ve ignored him twice now.”

“Because I have no interest in talking to him or any of y’all, really,” I shrug.

“Will you stop being a child for ten seconds so we can have a conversation,” Paul says. I snap my glare at him and one of the guys touches my back to try and convey that blowing up isn’t a good idea.

“I thought kids were your thing, Paul? I was eleven when you forced yourself in my mouth,” I say with an eerily calm voice. “Do you remember that? Do you remember forcing me to swallow because that’s how sinners repent?”

“Sadie Marie!” my Mom gasps. Paul smirks slightly and that simple gesture strikes more fear in me than his death glare that follows.

“Oh… Right… I was a little temptress,” I say. “I was practically begging him to make me bleed for literal days from what he was doing to me. I should have known better than to be so suggestive with almost a grown adult. Shame on me for being such a slut.”

“You are being dramatic,” Dad says. “Lying won’t get you anywhere.

“Lying?” Dean snaps.

“I don’t think we asked for your input,” Paul says to Dean with a cold tone.

“Don’t you dare fucking talk to him,” I growl. “I am not that weak little girl anymore, Paul. I don’t know what the fuck you are doing here, but I’d advise you to get back into your car and go home.”

“We are offering you a way to repent from all of this nonsense,” Mom says seriously. “A fresh start.”

“This should be good,” I laugh. “What? What is your offer?”

“You marry Paul,” Dad says. I stare at him blankly before chuckling and shaking my head.

“You two have lost your goddamn minds,” I say simply. “You really just sat here and told me I should marry the person whosexually assaulted me at eleven so I can have a fresh start. All because you don’t like the fact that I have sex with my boyfriends. Men that you two had no problems with until that video.”

“If you go back to the original sin you…” Mom starts but stops when I put my hand up.

“I didn’t sin. I was assaulted. I was a fucking child who was forced into a cabin with a fucking psychopath for six weeks then was blamed when I ended up needing to go to the doctor. You knew he did wrong because you fucking lied to the doctor,” I say simply.

“This is a chance for both of you to start fresh, Sadie,” Mom says.

“No,” I say simply. “I don't understand why I still put myself through this. I have no idea why I continue to keep you guys in my life. You bring me nothing but stress.”

“Will you at least consider it?” Dad asks.

“She can’t get married if she’s already married,” Lance says. He slips his arm around my waist and pulls me closer to him. I smile up at Lance, thankful for the support. The look of horror on their face is fucking perfect.

“What? You didn’t,” Mom says.

“I did. It was a last-minute decision,” I say. This means we might actually have to follow through with this because they will definitely make sure to double-check. Maybe this will get them to leave me alone if I get married.

“How could you do this without telling anyone? Do you understand the position you have put us in?” Dad scolds.

“Oh, are you sad that you can’t marry me off to my abuser to rid me of sin for being a temptress as a preteen?” I ask with feigned happiness in my tone.

“Will you stop saying that?” Mom asks, raising her voice.

“He’s not even fucking denying it, Mother,” I yell. “He hurt your only child and you’re defending him. You lost five pregnancies before me and when you finally get a baby, you support her fucking rapist. That's what he is. He orally raped your daughter over and over. And over. You get that, right? He did it so often that I learned how to not throw up on him within a week. By the sixth week, he didn’t hold back anymore when he would aggressively face fuck your daughter. This doesn’t even include everything else he was doing to me. And here you are, defending him yet again. Surely it’s a sin to be that fucking stupid.”

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