Page 104 of Stay With Me
Unknown
Withshakinghands,Ipower up the phone from my hiding place. Father will not be happy about another delayed update, but the longer I’m away from The Family, the more I question if I’m doing the right thing.
As soon as the phone turns on, text messages start buzzing in.
Father: I need an update.
Father: You are taking too long for an update.
Father: You must check in soon, or I fear your soul will not be saved.
Father: HOW DARE YOU IGNORE ME.
My chest heaves as I type out a message.
Me: I’m sorry for the delay, Father. It was not intentional. I did not have any information, but I have learned something today.
Father: You let me decide if you have the information I need or not. The future of The Family depends on us.
Me: They will be at the large store outside of town to go school shopping soon.
Father: Perfect. Do you know when?
Me: On their next day off together.
Father: You will let me know the night before. Thank you for this wonderful information. Go now and pray to Father for forgiveness.
Me: Yes, Father.
As soon as I hit send, I power the phone off and stare at it. I should warn them… But what would I say? And how would I tell them? I quickly put the phone back into the hiding spot and try to figure out what I should do next.
FORTY-SEVEN
Noah
Thelastfewdayshave been a whirlwind. After Luna went inside the other night, I spent an hour on the phone with Hunt and Mike, talking about the information Luna gave after seeing the star and moon pattern. We all agree The Family is in the tri-county area.
Reaching over the center console, I put my hand on Luna’s thigh and squeeze. She’s been overly worried about Jess since we found out The Family is close by.
She slides her hand over mine, so I flip it over and lace our fingers together, bringing her hand to my mouth to kiss the back of it.
I want the day to be a lot of fun. The first part of the day, we’ll be school shopping for Jess. After that, I plan on taking them out to dinner and maybe a movie.
Just a night on the town with my girls.
“Can I have a backpack with glitter on it?” Jess asks as she fiddles with the purse Pam gave her the other day.
I grimace, picturing the glitter going everywhere in the truck and house, but I’ll never deny her of it since it makes her happy.“If they have one you really like, then yes, you can get one,” I tell her.
Luna snorts and shakes her head. I squeeze her hand, and she gives me a smile so bright I feel it square in my chest. I told her I would follow her wherever she wants to go, and I mean it. I’ll leave everything behind to make sure she is safe and happy.
We pull into the parking lot, and thankfully, it’s not busy since it’s the middle of the week.
Parking the car next to a cart return area, I turn the car off and turn to them.
“Are you guys ready for a day of shopping?”
They both nod, and we all get out. When I walk around to the other side of the car and open their doors,?Jess looks around the parking lot, her eyebrows drawn down as she bites her lip.
