Page 116 of The Last Session

“Well, that’s not my decision.” Sol sounded thoughtful. “It’s really up to you.”

“I know. But what do you think?”

“It makes sense to me. You know, taking responsibility like that.”

“But then… I won’t be able to see you.” She started crying again, her sobs cutting into my chest.

“Of course you will. Gracie, nothing can keep us apart. You hear me? My love for you transcends all worlds.” He paused. “You know, you’re the bravest person I ever met. No one would’ve expected that you’d be able to do this. The others, they think you’re a coward. But I know what you’re capable of.”

She took a shuddery breath. “Thank you.”

“Thankyou. For inspiring me.”

There was quiet, then. At least until Grace made a soft moaning sound. I backed up, then turned and hurried out of the dining room onto the terrace.

The running kicked up the headache, which interfered with my ability to puzzle out what I’d just heard. Grace and Sol were lovers. Fine—I wasn’t all that surprised Sol was sleeping with other members. But what on earth was Grace so scared to do? And why was Sol pushing her to do it?

Don’t listen to your fear. It comes from the primitive self.Gaslighting the natural fear response was a classic cult technique. It was so effective because it cut people off from their intuition. If your brain was able to argue with what your body was feeling, then you could be convinced to do anything.

Jonah was walking down the gravel path from the yurts.

“Where have you been?” I asked, approaching him.

His hair was mussed, his eyes bleary. “Sleeping.” He rubbed his hair, making it even messier. I remembered running my hands through the curls, grasping them hard.

“Listen, I have to talk to you,” I said.

“Okay, I just really need water.”

“No.” I held up a hand. “Please, just for five minutes.”

We went back to my yurt, where I filled him in on the car situationand the conversation I’d overheard between Grace and Sol. He listened, stroking the stubble on his chin.

“That is weird,” he said when I stopped.

“Right? What do you think they were talking about?”

“I don’t know.” He exhaled. “But I don’t like the sound of it. Any of it.”

“Me either. And I can’t stop wondering… I mean, what if Moon’s lying? What if that second car actually works?”

“Well.” He shrugged. “Why don’t we try it?”

“Now?”

“You know a better time?” He clasped his hands. “We know where the keys are. If the car works, then that’s that. Grace can drive us, or we can fucking drive ourselves.”

“But what about Catherine?” My heart slammed against my breastbone. “We can’t leave without her.”

“You don’t think she’ll come?”

“I don’t know.”

“Listen, let’s take it step by step. We check the car first.” He was already halfway out the door. “Come on.”

As we approached the lobby, I wondered what everyone would think, hearing the car turn on in the heavy silence. But what did it matter? It’d prove they’d been lying to us. They couldn’t stop us from leaving, and if they tried, I’d call emergency services.

Jonah pulled open the drawer and snatched the lone set of keys. He sailed through the glass doors, and his movements were quick enough that I wondered if he felt scared too.

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