Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32913 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32913 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
“Did you?” If there’s one thing I’ve noticed about people, it’s that they seem to think whatever situation they’re in is normal, whether it is or not. It’s all they know, so they believe it to be true. Sully’s brows pull together, and I know he’s contemplating his answer.
I go first. “It was my father. He gave them to me.”
I see something flash in Sully’s eyes that looks like anger, but he takes a deep calming breath.
I stand in front of him completely bare. All the skeletons I had in my closet are finally out. “Why?” The one word comes out of him sounding like it's been dragged against gravel.
“The short answer. I questioned his teachings. I read the books they made us read, and while I might not agree with what was in them at times, I also didn’t interpret them the same way. If my father and his followers honestly believed what was written in them and that was the way we were supposed to live, they couldn’t be true. Because we were doing no such thing. They only made us follow the rules while they did whatever they pleased.”
“So he beat you with a belt.”
“How could you tell what he used?” Sully’s right, it was a belt that my father delivered the punishment with. Sully nods his head once. His fists are clenched at his sides. I reach out and lay my hands on his fist. “He wanted to teach me a lesson.”
“To never question him. To never have a voice of your own and to follow him blindly.” I can feel the rage rolling off Sully in thick waves filling up the room all around us.
“That may have been his intention, but the only thing the beating did was teach me that I needed to question everything.” I let my hands slip up Sully’s forearms, my fingers brushing past a few scars of his own. “I used to hate them. Thought they were ugly, but really they made me strong. As I watched them heal, I grew stronger, and I knew what I had to do. I had to get out, and you may hate the lesson my father tried to teach me that day, but it led me right to you. An angel of sorts.”
“Angel? Petal, I’m no angel.”
“Sure you are. Angels are warriors.” My fingers drift down his chest along more of his scars. “You’re most definitely my warrior. My angel.”
“Do angels murder men? I don’t think that’s in those books.”
“Absolutely. Besides, everyone interprets things differently. From books to music to the very things we both see right in front of our eyes.”
“What are you saying, Petal?” I lick my lips, suddenly feeling hesitant. One of his fingers comes to my chin, lifting my head to meet his gaze.
“I guess I don’t want you to look at me differently either. I’m your petal. A petal is sweet and innocent.”
“They might feel sweet and innocent, but that’s not how they start.”
“I suppose it’s not.” I think of all the plants in my garden. Some of them are stronger than others.
“I want you to be honest with me, Petal. What is it that you want?”
“I want to save the rest of the women on the land, but it’s not that simple. Some don’t know or understand what is happening to them. Even if I could get to them, they are so brainwashed that they might not come willingly. I think the leaders have to die to truly set them free.” I let the words slip past my lips that I’ve held in for so long.
“Your father?”
“Him most of all, but there are others.” I close my eyes and take a breath. It hurts to think of some of the girls I left behind. Even my own mom. “Death or jail. I don’t know. It’s been ingrained in me so deeply to fear the government that it still scares me to go there. Some of these men hold powerful positions. In fact, I know one of the men, Jacob Berhard, is a senator. He hides that he has a handful of wives. A few were quite young when he married them.” I don’t even want to speak about their ages. The very thought of it makes me want to vomit.
“I want you to be very sure of what you’re saying to me Petal, because I’d burn down this whole world if you asked me to.” I can see it in his eyes. He really would.
“Save them Sully. Show them what an angel truly is.”
21
SULLY
“You sure you want in?” I stow guns and ammo into a large black case.
“We’re going to wreck some fundamentalist fascists who brainwash and abuse girls and women?” Reeve grabs a shotgun from the armory. “Hell yeah, I’m in. It’s been way too long since the two of us raised hell.”