Page 2 of Malachi
“I’m happy to see you finally joining the ranks of the married men of Zion.” Everything about him, from the tone of his voice to the smug look on his arrogant face, reeked of a holier-than-thou man of Zion. He wasnotthe same Levi who left two weeks ago.
Before I could respond, our other brothers waltzed into the room, completely unaware that our eldest brother had sold us to the devil himself. They were already dressed and ready for the ceremony.
“Today’s the big day, brother,” Ollie smirked, clapping me on the back. “You ready for the bigI do?”
“I will do what I am required to do,” I answered carefully, eyeing Levi from across the room.
Elder Rivers appeared in the doorway, clearing his throat. “Leviticus, a word please,” he said, gesturing for Levi to follow him alone.
As soon as he had left the room, I let out a sigh of relief, turning to my brothers. They needed to know the truth about Levi. I waited until I heard the sound of their footsteps disappear down the hall before turning to address my brothers. Before I could get any words out, they surrounded me, clapping me on the back and congratulating me, all smiles and laughter.
“There he is! Big brother is finally taking the plunge into married life! How does it feel, Kai?” Ollie said boisterously, grabbing the back of my neck and shaking me playfully.
“Enough, Ollie. You know I would rather not be here,” I grumbled, slapping his hand away.
“Hey, look on the bright side,” Ollie said, laughing.
“What could possibly be the bright side of this situation exactly, Ollie?” I argued right back, snapping at him with a roll of my eyes.
“At least they allowed you to wait until Eden turned eighteen.” Ollie shrugged. I groaned, wanting to pull my hair out by the roots and then eat it. It would be ten million times better than what I was about to do.
I would have given anything for a sip of whiskey right then, not caring in the slightest that I was in the middle of a church. The church that had built me and then immediately broke me. This place that had once been my home, a place I found comfort, was now my purgatory.
“Try thinking happy thoughts,” Gideon responded beside me, trying unsuccessfully to cheer me up.
“Happy thoughts? Ha!” I scoffed humorlessly. I would have much rather punched him in the face at that moment.
“You could always think about your new bride. Word has it she’s quite a looker,” Ollie teased, waggling his eyebrows and slapping me on the back again.
“She’s a child,” I sneered through clenched teeth.
“She’s an adult in the eyes of the law, which is more than I can say for some brides in Zion,” Zeke spoke up, once again proving himself the voice of reason in this fucked up nightmare.
“The only happy thoughts I have are of being left alone,” I grumbled. “That’s all I wanted.”
“Being alone isn’t enough in life. We all need companionship at some point or another,” Zeke spoke softly, still obviously trying to get through to me. I didn’t want to hear it; not right then.
“You and I both know that is probably not in the cards for someone like me,” I groused with a scowl.
“Eh, you say that now,” he shrugged. “And what I say is that everyone deserves to find happiness. Even someone like you.”
I shook my head at the ridiculous comment.
“Guys, we need to talk.” I sighed heavily, trying to pull the conversation back to what I had overheard with Levi and father.
“About what happens on a wedding night? You see Malachi, when a man and a woman love each other, they—” Ollie couldn’t finish his absurd comment before Elder Cantor, Talia’s father, burst into the room, a wide smile on his face.
“It’s time for us to begin, Malachi. Please follow me to the sanctuary,” he announced excitedly. With a grimace and a renewed sense of resignation, I tucked away my newfound knowledge and followed the Elder out of the room, my brothers following closely behind me. The talk would have to wait, because my wedding certainly wouldn’t.
As we entered the sanctuary, I glanced towards the stained glass window behind the pulpit. There. Right out there, unseen past the multi-colored artistry, was a blue sky decorated with tall mountains and trees. That was my happiness. Not some woman who was destined to be my wife. I didn’t believe in such divine interventions as my brothers did. Not anymore.
My hand was halfway to my hidden flask before I remembered I was literally standing at the front of the church, members of the congregation finding their seats as we waited impatiently.
Just as the last few members of the community trickled into the remaining pews, Levi finally joined us at the pulpit, standing between Ollie and me. I resisted the urge to glare at him. I wanted more than anything to trust that my brother had not betrayed us, but I’d heard that conversation between him and Father. There was no denying it. No matter how much my heart wanted to. Hehadsold us out.
I wanted to give him a piece of my mind, to call him out right then and there, but the organ began blasting out the loud chords of the processional. The ceremony was beginning. The congregation rose to their collective feet, everyone turning to face the back of the church to watch my fucking child bride be marched down the aisle. Dread and self-loathing pitted itself in my stomach, refusing to be ignored as my soon to be father-in-law walked this tiny wisp of a girl down the aisle with a beaming smile etched over his face.
Anger filled every fiber of my being. I wanted to punch Leviticus. I wanted to punch every last Elder for doing this to me; but even more so for doing this to her. She didn’t even fucking know better. Elder Cantor placed the girl’s hand into my own as he congratulated me with a smile. He was literally passing his daughter over like cattle. That’s all women were in this town. Cattle, livestock, property to be sold, traded, and used for personal gain or pleasure.
