Page 24 of Redeemed

But there’s nothing I can do about that today. Julie promised to visit Cornerstone occasionally so she can give me updates on how my siblings are doing, and it has to be enough for now. I can’t go back—not for a long, long time.

If I ever can.

Before tears can fill my eyesagain,I pull out my phone and text Athelia.

Haven:Are we still getting ice cream?

Athelia:Yep! Sugar is an absolute need.

Haven:I’m heading back to the dorm from class. I’m two minutes away.

Athelia:Thank god. I’ll head your way. Today has been a DAY.

I smile. The way Athelia talks is funny sometimes. Or, I suppose, the wayItalk is funny.

Growing up, I always knew there was a whole world outside of Cornerstone, but I rarely saw it. I was only allowed off our property to go grocery shopping or for doctor appointments that couldn’t be handled by Cornerstone’s medical staff.

It’s weird, realizing just how many people there are out here. Literal billions, according to Athelia. I don’t think I ever heard of numbers getting that high until I came to Pemberton.

What’s been lovely, though, is discovering how kind a lot of the people are. I was always taught that sin had ruined the rest of the world—that it was a dark, scary place full of people who only meant harm. But most of the people I’ve talked to have acted better than the people I grew up around.

Funny how that works.

“Hey. Hey! I’m talking to you.”

I stop when I notice a boy with brown hair waving at me. When I meet his gaze, he grins, and I realize it’s the boy Colton and I ran into on my first night here.

“There we go,” he says. “Thought you were ignoring me for a second. You free tonight?”

“Oh. Um, no, I’m hanging out with a friend.”

“What about tomorrow night?”

“I… um. I don’t know.”

“Can I get your number?” He pulls out his phone and shoves it at me. “Here, you can plug it in.”

I stare at his phone. “Why?”

With a shrug, he says, “You’re cute.”

I frown. Colton called me cute a few weeks ago, and I think I liked it then. But this feels different. Predatory, in a way.

“Oh. Um… n-no thank you.”

“No? Are you serious? C’mon, you know you want to.”

What?The way he’s acting reminds me too much of some of the boys back home. They thought they were the best thing to ever happen to the world, and it always made me so angry.

“Please leave me alone.”

He rolls his eyes playfully, but there’s something menacing about it. “A little texting won’t hurt you.”

I shake my head and back away. When he reaches for me, I don’t think, just react. I push his arm away, forgetting all the things I used to tell myself daily to stay safe.

You’re smaller than him.

Weaker. Easy to hurt.

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