Page 84 of Wait For It

“You haven’t been yourself since the seizure,” Tsega added. “We saw the way you were with Killian, Ariana. You love him, and he loves you. I’m just not sure he knows it yet. Life isn’t perfect. The stars seldom align, but when they do, you grab on with both hands and don’t let go.”

“He doesn’t love me,” I choked, refusing to let the sudden shoot of hope pierce my heart. “If he did, he never would have left. Brad is the man I’m meant to be with, so stop looking for things that aren’t there.”

Tsega looked to Georgia for back up. The older woman sighed. “Do you think we haven’t heard the rumors about the church’s little gated community—the whispers that the pastor’s daughters are nothing more than slaves?”

“You’re wrong.” My voice faded, and I sank down onto the chair, no longer able to stand. People could suspect that things weren’t right, but there would never be any proof.

And, even if I were inclined to take a ghost’s advice and speak out against the church, my sisters would stick to the narrative they’d been spoon-fed since birth.

I’d be labeled a liar, and then Tristan would ensure that I never left my cage again.

“Just help us understand why you’re marrying that man,” Tsega pleaded, moving beside me. “Is it because Killian left, and you feel you have no other choice? Was he going to help you?”

No one could help me.

My eyes stung with anger and shame, but I kept the tears at bay long enough to quietly confess, “I only agreed to the marriage so he wouldn’t look into Killian. I thought if I gave myself up that he’d back off and I could find a way out of it—find a way to escape. But it’s hopeless. He’s always going to be one step ahead of me.”

“Tsega, be a dear and turn this up real quick, would you?” Georgia stabbed a finger in the direction of the television.

My jaw went slack as Tsega retrieved the remote, wondering if either of them had been listening, or if the pull of on-screen violence was simply too strong to resist.

Just as I was on the verge of standing up to excuse myself for a previously scheduled cry, Georgia began bouncing excitedly in her seat. “This is it! Look at them, Ariana—stuck in no man’s land. All around, people are dying or starving. An entire village enslaved. This battalion has been stuck in the trenches for a year, unable to gain any ground. I imagine this is as hopeless as hopeless gets.”

I pushed my hurt feelings aside and watched as a couple argued battle strategy, failing to see how the events of World War I related in any way to what I’d been trying to say.

“Diana is a woman in the middle of a man’s war,” Georgia murmured, no longer watching the screen, but me. “By all rights, she’s the weakest among them. Steve tells her that it’s not possible to cross—end of story. Except, it’s not. Because sometimes, the smallest voices are the loudest. Sometimes, Ariana, the girl gets to be the hero. Watch.”

At first, it appeared as if Diana was doing nothing more than unpinning her hair. Then, she stepped up onto the ladder, seemingly ready to sacrifice herself, and I couldn’t look away.

“She’s taking all the fire!”

Bullets flew all around her, but she managed to deflect every single one. Chills raced across my arms when the hail of gunfire became too much, but Diana just picked up her shield and continued advancing on the German army.

“Ariana,” Georgia said softly when the scene ended. I blinked, suddenly aware that my cheeks were damp with tears.

“You might be able to speak, but you haven’t ever truly used your voice. You have two choices—keep silent and marry a man you don’t love because your father expects it. Or, you can pick up your shield to forge your own path, destroying any man who stands in your way, like a goddess among mortals.”

Tsega nodded in agreement and reached for my hand. “You don’t have to fight this battle alone.”

I’d never seen a woman save the day—either on-screen or off. Growing up, we’d been taught to be respectful and meek, but never brave.

Georgia took my other hand and squeezed. “We’ll stand by your side. Oh, and one more thing. If that baseball player doesn’t track you down and drop to his knees at your feet, then he’s an unworthy fool.”

My sex—the very thing that had seemingly held me at a disadvantage was now my greatest weapon. I just didn’t know how to hone it into something I could easily wield, something that could expose the monsters.

Chapter Seventeen

Killian

“We have two lives... the life we learn with and the life we live after that. Suffering is what brings us towards happiness.”

-Bernard Malamud,The Natural

I’d been homefor all of an hour when someone leaked the details of my record-breaking contract to ESPN. From there, news spread like wildfire to every major outlet in the country. My phone had been ringing off the hook ever since.

During the day, the endless interviews and promotional shoots were enough to keep me from fixating on the way I’d left things with Ari. But at night, I wasn’t as successful.

It had been seven days since I’d held her. A week spent putting one foot in front of the other, inhaling, exhaling, and dealing with the nagging sense that I’d lost something that couldn’t be recovered. Like maybe I hadn’t just left her, but a piece of myself back atTrue North.

---