Page 7 of Leviticus
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Zeke whispered, his words barely choked out behind the emotion he was clearly feeling. He looked like he was about to vomit. His face had turned a putrid greenish color and his breaths came in slow, steady rhythms. The somewhat reclusive member of our family, seeing such emotion on his face came as a bit of a surprise to me.
“I wish I were. It’s disgusting,” I spat in agreement, taking another sip of my smooth whiskey.
“It’s not just disgusting, it’s predatory and sometimes pedophilic behavior!” Malachi exploded derisively. “Christ, we’ve all seen some of the women on their wedding day. Not even women! This church has married off fifteen and sixteen year old girls to men twice their age. You’re telling me they —” His voice cut off on a near growl and I could feel the sentiment echoed in every fiber of my being.
“As disgusting and horrific as it is, we need to keep our heads on straight here, brothers. Imagine how hard it is on them? On these poor girls. We need to follow through with this plan more than ever,” I urged.
“I get that, but why?” Gideon’s voice piped up, his fist slamming down on the tabletop in frustration.
“What do you mean, why?” I shot back.
“I mean, why is it our job to save these women?” Gideon whined.
“You know why, Gideon.” I rubbed my hand over my forehead. I felt tired.
“No, he’s right, Levi. Why us?” Malachi argued, leaning over the table, his hands fisted and tense against the sturdy table.
“Because at the end of the day we are better than the circumstances of our upbringing,” Zeke added quietly, his eyes still lowered to his folded hands. He was the quietest of us, awkward in a way that none of us really understood, but we all went along with.
“Exactly. We’ve had this conversation time and time again over the last year. While the new information isn’t easy to digest, it just solidifies the decision, if you ask me.” My eyes squared away with Malachi’s. As the second eldest, and closest to me in age, he and I sparred more than any of the other brothers. Malachi was a wild thing, a child of the forest, if you will. He had been since birth. Our mother had always been fetching him from the woods when we were kids, barely able to keep him indoors, clothed, or in line. And for that, he’d received more lashings from our father than the rest of us combined. Just another reason to get the hell out of this place.
“This isn’t a question of what is easiest, Malachi. It’s a question of what is right. And this is right. Offering these women a way out, should they want it, is the best thing we could do for them,” Ollie agreed.
“And what if they say no?” Malachi pushed.
“Then that is their decision and we won’t fight them on it,” I answered easily. I was going to need a second drink, and soon.
“What’s to stop them from telling Jacob and the elders? Of tracking us down after we leave?” Gideon argued. Unlike Malachi, he wasn’t some wild loner. He was just young and, honestly, didn’t give a flying fuck half of the time. All he wanted to do was be at the dungeon or to be on his boat.
“I don’t want the elders anywhere near me when we leave,” Zeke agreed quietly.
“They won’t be. We will keep the plan to ourselves. Only tell the women what they need to know. That way if they don’t want to leave, they can go back to their families and we can live out our lives in peace away from this place.” I tilted my head back, letting the last drops of the smoky alcohol slide down my throat, letting the burn act as a sort of penance for the actions I was going to be forced to commit in the coming days.
Each of my brothers nodded slowly, the information sinking into them as we all sat in relative silence.
“Malachi?” I prompted. “We need to be a team with this. Each of us will need to go through with the plan if it is to work.”
“I fucking said I would, Levi. No need to keep dredging all this toxic shit up every time something goes a little lopsided,” he all but whined, moving back to the kitchen and making himself a drink. I couldn’t blame him. Malachi had basically resigned himself to a life of solitude a long time ago. His own sexual proclivities made him feel … well, unmatchable.
It wouldn’t matter in the end. Our parents would match us as they saw fit. Sure, we had the ability to say no, but that wasn’t really the purpose of this, was it?
“I know this isn’t easy. It isn’t for any of us, but just remember why we are doing it,” I reminded gently, resigning myself to the course.
“To love who I choose to love,” Ollie admitted.
“To live away from the rules of the place. Just me and my boat,” Gideon added.
“To be myself for once,” Zeke barely whispered.
“To be left alone once and for all,” Malachi grumbled.
“To find the truth and freedom I have sought for years. And maybe to find happiness someday. Perhaps.” I focused on those words and let them give me hope.
“Well, let’s not wallow any longer. We have less than two days to get this place in order for your new wife, Levi,” Ollie slapped his thighs and plastered a forced smile across his face.
“How the hell are you going to hide your playroom, Levi?” Gideon teased.
“How are you going to when it’s your turn, baby brother?” I shot back with a laugh. All of us would have our own issues when the time came to share our homes with our new wives.
