Page 60 of These Unhallowed Halls
“Nope.How’d you even get in here?We have a gate and everything.”
“Oh, honestly.”Mother rolled her eyes, waving off Lizzie’s annoyance like it was nothing.“I demanded that I be allowed to visit my daughters and take them for an important family outing.”
Before Barbara could even swing her head back down from her display, Lizzie was right in front of her, fury radiating off her like a dark cloud.
“You are not my mother, and I am not your daughter.”Nervous energy peaked inside me as Lizzie challenged my mother.“Mymother died, and there is not a day that goes by that I wish I could pull the old switcheroo.”
They were going to tear each other apart at this rate, and truthfully, I didn’t want something happening to Lizzie because my mother pulled a Karen and talked to the school.I shot up between them, stepping in front of Lizzie and reaching my hand back to squeeze hers.
“What’s going on, Mom?You said a family outing?We’re a bit busy for a middle-of-the-day, no-notice event.”
She waved off my complaint just as she had Lizzie.“Nonsense.You’ll both be coming.I’ve been going to far too many of these events by myself, and this time, I’ll be presenting myfamily, just like all the other top-tier parishioners.”
“You want us coming with you to the church?Are you serious?”Lizzie demanded.
“Yes.Now stop loafing about and get changed into something becoming of two proper young ladies.None of that black crap, Elizabeth.”She jabbed a finger forward.“And don’t try me either.I have no issue with speaking to the school board about our payments for next semester.”
Dammit.She really is that obsessed with all this.
“Alright, alright, Mom.We’ll go, just give us a moment to get changed, okay?We’ll meet you outside.”
“Excellent.”She clapped her hands together, smiling like a snake.“Hurry up.Things begin in an hour.”
I escorted her to the door, closing it behind her, and then sagged against the wood with a sigh.“Fuuuuck, okay.I’m sorry, but can we just get changed and go to this thing?Maybe it’ll keep her off our backs for a while.”
When I looked across the room at Lizzie, she narrowed her eyes at me but nodded.“You owe me.Big time.”
“I do.”Hurrying over to her, I leaned in for a kiss and then landed back on my heels.“So much.You can even tell Caleb and Cerberus that you’re owed some loving.”
She brightened at that, scampering off to her closet with a grin.“Ooh, good play.You should negotiate more often.”
“Well, when this is all over with,” I went to my closet, searching through my clothes for that pale pink outfit my mom had gotten me, “I’ll definitely think about it.These kinky rules of yours sound fun.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I watched Lizzie bite her lip as she pulled free the only white shirt she owned and the weird overdress thing my mom had gotten her last holiday season.
“Done.”
“Iswearthisistheitchiest fucking thing on the godsdamn planet.”Lizzie pulled at the neck of the overstretched dress thing, and I fought a laugh.
“Sorry,” I frown sympathetically at her, squeezing her hand as we pulled to a stop in my mom’s car, “I’ll admit that this thing isn’t as uncomfortable, but I don’t know how I’m supposed to pee in it.I think I’ll—”
My words died as I looked out the window and realized where we’d driven.I’d yet to take a car here, so I didn’t know how short the trip would be, and every warning bell in my head blared at max volume.
The carnival.
“How the fuck…This can’t be right.Is your mom really taking us to a fucking church meeting at the carnival?”
Lizzie kept her voice down as we pulled into a spot, and my mother threw the car into park.I couldn’t find the words.We knew that the symbol she was sporting was suspicious, but I’d clearly been in big-time denial.I really hadn’t believed that she was actually involved in all this.
I was going to throw up.
“We still made it.I’m so glad I can finally introduce you to Pastor Paine.Ugh, he’s a revolutionary.I have never felt as good in my entire life as I have since I’ve started coming to these.You’ll see!”
“I…” I squeezed Lizzie’s hand, shaking my head.“I’m not sure I can do this.”
She adjusted on the seat as my mother got out and started toward the open flap of the faded red and white striped tent, a line of people already there to get inside.
“We can do this, Temps.We can find out more about what they’re doing.A circus holding sermons is seriously less than normal.We can see why no one has said anything.”
