Stir

My oldest sister is twenty-one years old, and Aasta is twenty. Adriel is the most defiant of us. She still lives at home as my father is searching for her husband since we are not allowed to move out until then, but secretly, I feel like she is waiting on something. What, I don't know. She often pushes his buttons and doesn’t believe half the stuff he says. She upsets him the most because he has the least amount of control over her. Aasta is more subdued. She doesn’t talk as much but also doesn’t push my father as much. She did go against the grain and got a job at the local ice cream shop.

Then there is Rayna and me. We are eighteen and in our last year of high school. Rayna is my father’s favorite. She soaks up everything he says and hangs on his every word. She is his golden child, whereas I am just...here. I don’t feed into his words, but I am also scared to rebel and more afraid of not making God happy. Do I believe that in order for that to happen, I have to follow my father’s words verbatim? No, but as sheltered and shy as I am, I have no one else to talk to about alternatives. I have no girlfriends, and my sisters are so stuck in their own heads that they hardly pay Rayna and me any attention.

As we speak, my father is ranting and raving about the new neighbors. On our block is the biggest house in three counties. It is where our old Mayor and his family used to live before all except one of his kids grew up and moved out. His son Rory is a senior like me and the last one home. He and his wife moved, and the house has stayed vacant until now. Over the last six months, there have been construction crews building what we realized is an addition to the house. Seems they acquired the vacant land next to the house and added an entire new wing, I guess. My father is convinced this either makes them criminals, politicians, who he also hates, and/or movie stars who are the devil.

There have been moving trucks coming and going all day, and this has seemed to set him off. At once, we all hear the opening and closing of doors and look out of the window. Instantly the air feels thick with curiosity. Four young guys get out, and they are nothing like I expected. All of them are covered in tattoos, some more than others. The man I assume is their father walks over to the only woman, who I believe is their mother, and grips her in an embrace before he kisses her like there is no one around. I am more than fascinated. “They look like something off the ID channel,” Rayna whispers in my ear. I smile at her, turning my eyes back to the window, but inside I think they look like world travelers who don’t care what others think. I can’t really tell from here how old they are, but I am wondering if any will be in school on Monday. The girls in my school will be in a tizzy.

“Imogen, are you listening to me?” My father’s voice drowns out the view, and I jerk back, letting go of the curtain. “Where is your head? Is it in a verse? Because if not, you can go into the closet and ask forgiveness.” Shoot.

“No, father. I was thinking about my assignment from Pastor Lome for outreach.” My skin begins to sweat as the lie slips from my mouth. I am going to have to pray at least twice as long to get forgiveness for this lie. Rayna giggles in my ear, and I elbow her to shut up.

The problem is, for the rest of the day, my mind is on the guys across the street. If I were Catholic, I would be doing Hail Mary’s. Why do I feel like everything has suddenly changed?

CHAPTER 3

TWO DAYS LATER

MONDAY

If I were a person that gave a shit about what people think, this day would make me want to blow my brains out. The first day of school blows anyway, but it is even more annoying when the school year is almost over, and everyone knows everyone. I pull up on my Harley about thirty minutes early so I can go grab my schedule and meet with the principal as requested. When my helmet comes off, the stares are immediate. The teachers pinch their faces, obviously disapproving of my mode of transportation. Walking inside, I pretend not to notice the girls who are either turned on by the bad boy in this dry, religion-covered town or the girls who want to offer me a chance to find Jesus. The comical part is the guys, jocks and nerds alike who try to puff their chest out and seem like the big cheese when one look at all of them shows me not one of them could take me.