Page 115 of The Confidant
I just saw a lot of harm from my previous religion that came in the forms of guilt and shame and anxiety over being valiant enough to earn an eternal reward. And the fact that it was based on the lies of a conman with a talent for manipulation just made it a no-go for me.
But it was nice that Scarlett was at least trying to understand, which was far better than I could have hoped for a month ago.
The High Priest’s voice sounded through the speakers in the foyer a moment later. Since I knew she’d want to get back to the meeting, I said, “I’m going to go, okay? We’ll catch up later.”
She nodded. “I’ll call you.”
I was about to lean close and kiss her cheek before leaving but stopped when Xander walked into the foyer. When he saw how close we were standing together, he got a warning look in his eyes.
Like he was silently telling me to keep my apostate hands off of her.
And if Pastor Caldwell hadn’t guessed that Scarlett and I were trying to work things out from what he’d seen earlier today, I had a feeling he was about to.
Our cover was officially blown.
37
SCARLETT
“Scarlett,”my dad said, walking up to where I was standing outside my Sunday school classroom after church. “Can I have a word with you in my office?”
“S-sure,” I said, my stomach flipping with nerves over what he might want to talk to me about.
Whenever I was visiting home, he usually skipped the after-church interviews since he would just ask me about everything during dinner. So the only reason I could think of why he was pulling me into his office now was that it had something to do with Hunter and me.
Please don’t tell me to break up with him.
I was eighteen now. I deserved the space to figure things out myself.
I followed my dad through the hall where people were scattered about, chatting about various things. When we made it to his office on the north side of the building, he gestured for me to walk inside before coming in and closing the door behind him.
I took one of the cushioned seats in front of his desk while he sat on the big chair on the other side.
After scooting close to the desk, he folded his hands together and said, “I know we usually have our little chats at dinner when you’re home, but I needed to talk to you about something of a private nature.”
“Okay.” I swallowed, curious and confused.
He looked down at his hands, like he wasn’t sure how to begin. But after clearing his throat, he said, “As you know, I had a meeting with the High Priest this morning. A meeting where he reminded me of something we talked about several months ago.”
“Yeah?” I asked, not understanding what he was talking about but relieved it didn’t seem to be about Hunter and me.
He nodded. But instead of looking like he was excited about his meeting with the High Priest, he almost seemed distraught.
Which had never happened before. Usually, he was glowing after these special meetings since any moment spent alone with the leader of our church was such an honor. Not something that most people ever got to experience.
“Did he give you a new position?” I asked. Had he been called to be an Elder and he was simply overwhelmed at the prospect of traveling more to fulfill the higher calling?
But he shook his head and said, “It’s about a revelation.”
“A revelation?” My ears perked up. A new revelation could be exciting.
But then he said, “It’s one that I should have informed you of when it was first given to me.”
There was a revelationIwas supposed to know about?
“I’ve been trying to put it off. To let things work out naturally, since I didn’t know there was such a distinct timeframe for this.” He sighed heavily. “Until this morning, I thought we had more time.”
“You thoughtwehad more time?”What is he talking about?
