Page 15 of Conflicting Lyrics
“Oh, thank god,” Marie breathes out in a sigh of relief, her hand rubbing up and down my back. “They’re here.”
Taylor pulls back the curtains, checking to see what's going on in the front yard before turning to look at us.
“They’re in handcuffs and being taken over to the squad car. You're okay now, Lucy.”
I don’t believe him, I need to see it with my own eyes.
Lowering my feet to the ground, I get up and follow after Taylor as he opens the door and steps outside.
Wrapping my arms around myself, I take in the scene before me.
Three cop cars are parked in the middle of the street, the lights on top flashing red and blue.
An officer approaches me and begins to speak, but I don’t hear his words as my eyes lock on the cars. They’re in there.
But what does this mean? Will they be charged and taken to prison? Or will the church do what they always do and fight to get them free?
Until I know they no longer have access to me, I won’t feel safe or free.
Another officer opens the back of the car that my mother is being held in. She looks up at him and pleads for him to let her go, that she hasn’t done anything wrong.
But when her eyes flick over, spotting me, that bullshit mask she holds in place slips.
Her face morphs into disgust. “You're an abomination!” she screams at me. “A vile creature. You should be put down like the dog you are! You’re dead to us, Lucinda, you hear me! You’re no longer a daughter of mine. A disgrace and a pathetic excuse of a child.”
The officer closes the door, cutting off her hateful words.
They didn’t hurt me. Her opinion of me doesn’t matter. Anything I felt for them died the moment they shoved me into their car the night I losther.
Only when I watch the cars leave with my parents inside them do I allow myself to fully breathe.
“Breathe,”Lisa, one of the workers from the Omega center, encourages us as we walk out of the courtroom. We stop, off to the side of the door, and she moves to stand in front of me, her hands giving my shoulders a squeeze. “It’s over. You don’t have to worry about them ever again.”
She gives me a smile, and as much as I wish her words were comforting, they’re not.
The past few months have been a rollercoaster of emotions.
The day my parents were carted off to the police station, I was taken in to give a statement. After a few hours, a conversation with a social worker, and some time to let everything sink in, I was finally able to speak. With my lawyer by my side, one provided to me by the Omega center, I told them everything I could think of that ever involved my parents.
From the lifestyle they live, to the church they follow, to how they’ve treated me, not only my whole life, but every detail I could remember of the past few months.
By the end of it, I knew it was enough to put them away, but the question was, for how long?
They were charged that night, locked up somewhere they weren’t able to get to me. And I was escorted to the nearby Omega center.
It’s been an adjustment, but I feel safer in this place full of strangers than I ever did with my own parents.
I was surrounded by people who understood. Not just with me being an Omega, but what I was going through regarding my parents and their church.
There were around five Omegas with similar stories to mine. While I haven’t really given myself the chance to form any friendships, I’ve gotten to know them through our group therapy.
Along with group therapy and a lot of one-on-one counselling, I’ve been learning how to deal with my trauma and becoming more informed about my designation.
Being an Omega is a completely brand-new experience. I wouldn’t really say a bad one, but it's been pretty challenging.
There are so many different emotions I’ve never felt before.
Lisa says the same words I’ve heard so many times before,I don’t have to worry about them.
