Page 17 of His to Keep

“Why would you want me to?”

Words die in my throat. Once again, he hits me with the obvious. I only offered because it’s three hours until dinnertime and the bed’s more comfortable than the floor or his chair. I was trying to be nice, but maybe I shouldn’t be. And yet, there’s a weird part of me that does want him near me, even though he’s a stranger. Just wanting someone beside me.There. What’s wrong with me?

“Please?” I find myself whispering when he’s about to shut himself away in the bathroom again. The lines on his forehead soften, and his reluctance wavers.

He steps forward until he’s on the other side of the bed, his movements wary as he lifts his legs onto the mattress and leans back against the headboard. I keep quiet as he lets out a careful, slow breath, but my heart already pounds. Maybe he hears it. Feels the vibrations of the wild thuds against my chest because he turns to me in that moment. “Are you afraid of me?”

I gaze into his eyes, which seem more blue than usual. “No.”

He searches my face, and I don’t think he believes me. Maybe he shouldn’t. I’mterrifiedof him. Tearing my sight from his, I force myself to relax beside him. Anyone could walk in and catch us, and God only knows what Father Aaron would do if he saw us together. Though, sitting beside Callum makes the suffering slowly disappear. I’m suddenly calm and judging by his easing breaths, he is too. Or maybe I truly am just a liar and sinner.

Chapter Ten

When three hours pass, John comes for us. He says nothing as we go downstairs to the dining room, for once being patient with our weak movements, though not out of concern. He’s all but lapping it up.

Once there, I’m shoved into my usual seat, and Callum sits next to me. Father Aaron’s stony expression watches Penny pull the lid off a large pot, though I can’t bear to look at him straight on. The aroma of beef and dumpling stew fills the air as she serves food into individual bowls. My stomach clenches with pain. Saliva pools in my mouth as suffocating emotion builds in my chest. People shouldn’t be made to feel like this. It’s inhumane. Wrong.

Never knowing desperation like it, I can hardly wait for prayers to be over. After a hastyamen, I pick up the spoon and shovel beef and potatoes into my mouth. It scalds my lips and tongue, leaving a trail of bubbling heat all the way down to my stomach. But I don’t care. The bowl is empty in minutes, and Father Aaron nods, allowing second helpings. I eat slower, savoring every bite until I’m full and can’t possibly eat any more.

That’s when I notice Father Aaron’s eyes are on me, staring at me in a way that causes tension to crawl down my back. When he stands, my heart leaps, my body all too aware of what my brain doesn’t want to process. Ice fills my veins when he smiles and walks around the table, appearing between Callum and me. “Get up.”

I do without realizing it, my body quick to comply in fear of another punishment. Cold fingers brush my skin before settling around my upper arm. I breathe out slowly. Painfully. I don’t want to go anywhere with him. I don’t—

“You stay.” He pushes Callum back into his seat when he moves his chair back. My stomach coils. Why just me?

Glancing at me briefly, confusion furrows Callum’s brow when Father Aaron drags me away from the table. And when I see where he’s taking me, blood drains from my face.

“No!” He opens the door of horror and forces me inside. Screams echo around me, and at first, I think I’m about to meet his next victim. Until I realize it’sme—I’m the one screaming. The door closes, encasing us in darkness. A light somewhere flickers on, brightening the room but not truly casting the shadows away. This time, there isn’t a dead girl hanging from the ceiling. There’s no blood or dirt on the floor. It’s smaller than I remember, with no windows and a distinct smell of bleach.

Peering around, I search for anything to reveal someone died in here. My eyes land on something in the middle of the room instead—a table and chair big enough for one person. While it poses as an ordinary object, I know it’s not, given the thick leather cuffs nailed to the surface, perfectly placed to strap someone against it.

Father Aaron watches me with a disturbing smile, and I can tell he likes having me in here. Letting out a sigh, I watch as he walks around the table slowly, dragging a pale finger across the wood. “Take a seat.”

My stomach churns around the food I ate. My head’s about to shake when I stop myself.Defiance is a sin.It punctures my thoughts. I can’t go through being starved again. Reluctantly, I go over to the desk and sit. My body trembles in the small rickety chair as I wait quietly, praying I’ll get through whatever Father Aaron’s about to do.

“Put your hands on the desk,” he instructs.

Oh, God.

My hands shake as I do what he says, spreading my fingers over the surface. Father Aaron’s lips slither into an even wider smile. “Good girl.”

His breathing quivers—he’s excited, and it sickens me. I’m doing everything he’s asking me to do, and it’s clear he’s relishing it. He places his large hands in front of mine but thankfully doesn’t reach for the cuffs, though the action has him too close for comfort. He invades my senses, his cologne tickling the back of my throat.

“Ava?” I face the monster in front of me, unwantedly meeting his stare. “Listen to me, and you shall learn.” My eyes blink, confusion blanketing me. “Did you know not even God spared angels when they sinned? He cast them to Hell, wrapping them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment.”

What?

“I’ve been watching you, Ava.” He lets out a deep breath through his nose. “I watched you in church and how you deliberately kept partaking in sinful acts. Even your grandmother struggled to discipline you. I knew what you needed. Now that you’re here by my doing, judgment shall come.Consequences. Not only to you but to those you are closest to. And we wouldn’t want anything like that to happen. Especially not to your dearest grandmother.”

My eyes widen at his blatant threat. “Don’t hurt Gran, Father Aaron, pleas—”

“Then follow my rules.Obeyme. Stop this disobedience. The punishments will only get worse, that I can promise you.” He covers his hand over mine, and I want to snatch my hand away. Not that he’d let me; his grasp pins me down like the cuffs would. “Hear me when I say my next punishment won’t be aslenient.”

A scream builds in my throat but doesn’t come. He used Gran to get me here, and now he’s using her to control me. It’s working, the weight of his words crushing me. No matter what our relationship was like, I don’t want Father Aaron anywhere near Gran. Grandpa once said that family is family no matter what. No matter what’s been said and done, we protect each other. Father Aaron knows where she lives. He knows she’s alone, and he has John to help. I’m already in chains, twisted in them, and the man with the key to my lock might never set me free. I have to do everything he says, or else Gran dies.

* * *

It’sdark outside when Father Aaron takes me back upstairs. Defeated from the turn of events, I walk inside myself without the forceful prod, which seems to please him that I broke so quickly.

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