Page 87 of Stay With Me
“I don’t know if I can pinpoint an exact time.” I pause to take a deep breath and close my eyes, trying to bring my childhoodto the front of my memory. “I remember the first time I was allowed to go into town for something that we couldn’t produce at the farm. I saw some of the local kids playing and riding bikes. I wanted to do that. When I asked why I couldn’t, that was the first time I received the lecture that they weren’t chosen, and they spent their days sinning.”
“And did you go to school? Or was there school on the property?” Thorne asks.
“No. Well, not a typical school. The closest thing I can say we had to school was when we were in church learning from the Bible. Or The Family version of it. We did that about twice a day.”
“Were there punishments for anyone who was out of line?” Thorne asks, and Noah tenses next to me.
I put my hand on his thigh and give him a slight squeeze. “Yes, the punishment varied based on what you did. The most that ever happened to me was that I was starved for four days. They had an isolation room where some people were locked in, and I never saw it happen, but there was one person who was banished and had to face the elders for the crimes he committed. I also heard of some people receiving beatings.”
“Banished?” Hunt questions.
“Yeah.” I shrug.
Thorne cocks his head to the side and asks, “Do you know the person’s name?”
“No, it was years before I was born, and once banished, your name was never spoken again.”
A look passes between the agents before they bring their gazes back to me. “Okay, let’s talk about who your marriage match was and what made you decide to leave?”
I tell them about how Aspen and I were going to leave together and bring Jess with us. How I was trying to avoid my fate ofmarrying Matthew and how I was always told how lucky I was to be matched with Father’s son.
“You were matched with Matthew?” Hunt narrows his eyes.
“Yeah. We were told we were the chosen couple. The couple that would bring forth the next prophet. I was so upset because he was always so mean to everyone. He was the Father’s youngest son and got a lot of privileges as a favorite. I just remember not feeling special. I felt like it was a death sentence. That if I married him, my life would not end well,” I admit, and Noah kisses my temple.
“And you ran away when you were sixteen?” Thorne asks.
“Yeah, the night Matthew and I were supposed to get married. Aspen and I had a plan. We were going to take Jess, and the three of us were going to run. We had a few belongings and very little money we had saved from change after our trips out into town to barter.”
“How did you save the money?” Hunt asks.
I shrug. “When we would sell things, we would take a dollar or two and tell The Family a different number so they never knew.”
They both nod at my answer.
“How old was Jess?” Hunt asks.
“She would have been about ten months old at the time.”
“But you didn’t all get out. What happened?”
“I’m not sure, to be honest,” I admit as tears start running down my face. “I didn’t want to go. I wanted to find a way to get us all out of there. It’s my biggest regret. I wanted to find a way to get Aspen out too. She had to have helped Jess escape. I don’t know how else she would have known where I was.”
“You did what you had to do in that moment. I can promise you that Matthew is not a good man. Your instincts were spot on about him.” Hunt gives me a grim nod. “Now, are you saying you stayed in contact with Aspen? How?”
“We always had a backup plan if one of us couldn’t get out. We would double-check the key was in an envelope in our hidden spot, and we would send a letter the first chance we got. I was able to do that, and we’ve been mailing letters to each other for years. I always updated her on where I was without naming where I was living or working, and I never sent a letter from the town I lived in. I always went to another town to mail it out.”
“What about when you got to other towns? How did you open them?” Hunt asks her.
“I would wait a few weeks after learning who worked at the post office in the next town over. I made sure they recognized me, then I would pretend I lost my ID. I only had an issue once, but mostly because I stuck to smaller towns, they let it slide. When I got here, I let it slip with Ann, and she said she would rent one for me so I could talk to my friend without worry. I would put cash in her purse every month for it because I realized she wasn’t taking the money out of my check like she said she would.”
“Have you heard from her recently? Did she let you know she was sending Jess or anything after as to say how or why now?”
I shake my head. “No, nothing. I haven’t heard from her in at least four months, which is the longest we’ve ever gone.” My chest aches with the admission.
“Now, Jess, she’s your sister, but you said you have different fathers? Does that happen often?” Thorne asks, redirecting the conversation.
I take a breath. “Yes. Sometimes Father has a vision and is told that a wife would better serve another male. If that happens, the children are separated from the mother as they have to stay with the head male of the family they were born into. She then moves to the new husband’s house.”
