Page 57 of Maximum
“There’s a woman called Jolene who is a psychologist. She researches cult behavior and she’s the one who asked us to come and ask you her questions. She’s been trying to reach you via email.”
“I get so much hate mail that I’ve stopped reading emails from people I don’t know.”
“All right, but if I send you an email to connect you and Jolene, would you talk to her? She’s calm and professional and didn’t grow up in a cult herself.”
Anthony sent a sideways glance to me as he stood in front of Fleur. “I have nothing to hide. We can only process our past by owning up to it.”
“So, you’ll answer her questions?”
“Sure.”
I collected myself enough to shake his hand before we left.
“Maximum, think about what I said. In the darkness there’s always light. It’s your choice where you direct your eyes, but when you focus on the darkness, you don’t see much at all.”
“Save that for people who are interested,” I muttered as I exited his house with my hand on Fleur’s back.
“That was rude,” she commented as we walked down the small pathway.
I hated that she took his side and answered through gritted teeth. “Compared to the things I wanted to say to him, I was polite. You didn’t grow up in a cult and you don’t understand what it’s like. Trust me, he deserved much worse than what I gave him.” I opened the car door on the passenger side for her and waited until she was inside before I closed it with too much force. Fisting my hands, I walked to the driver’s side trying to get my emotions under control. We’d only been on this journey for six days, but Fleur had already seen me in two confrontations and would know by now that there was more to me than my sunny disposition. I only hoped that Fleur wasn’t easily scared away by my explosive anger.
