Dark Wish

“Who’s that?” I ask.

April turns to look at her. “We don’t know. She won’t say her name.”

“She hasn’t said a word since we all came here,” Olivia says.

“Strange, if you ask me,” Jane adds, shrugging.

“Maybe she’s just scared,” April says, looking away. “I know I was when I first ended up in one of their houses.”

“One?” I frown. “There are more?”

Her eyes widen. “You don’t know?”

I quickly glance at Soren, who is still watching our every move.

April leans in and tries to whisper, “I came from—”

“No whispering.” Soren’s gruff voice overwhelms the entire room, causing everyone to look at him. In particular, April, whose eyes bore into his as much as his bore into hers. She swallows hard as he refuses to take his eyes off her.

“We’re allowed to talk,” I say.

“No whispering,” he repeats.

I roll my eyes and take the girls to the couch where we sit down, crossing our legs underneath these lavish dresses in defiance of our captors.

“I came from a cult,” April says, this time out loud. “One that forced women to marry men whenever they were chosen.”

“Why?” Jane asks.

April looks down at the floor. “To please the men who ruled it. They called that place the Holy Ground and the people who live there ‘The Family.’”

“How strange,” Jane adds.

“Tell me about it. I was taken from my regular old life straight into a cult,” she says. “And then to imagine girls were born into it, thinking it was normal.” She shakes her head in disbelief while staring at the floor. “You wouldn’t believe what I’ve seen.”

I grab her hand and squeeze tight. “That must’ve been rough.”

Tears well up in her eyes as she looks up, gazing straight into Soren’s eyes. Silence overcomes her, filling the room with nothing but unsaid words. “But I refused to bow to their rules. And then they sent me here to punish me or something.”

Soren never takes his eyes off her, and I’m starting to wonder if he’s just glaring at her like he’s a mechanical robot keeping watch or if he’s taking some of her words to heart. Maybe both. Wish I knew what he was doing in this house because there must be something else he’s good at besides watching people. Or more specifically … girls.

“But anyway, we’re all here now. How did you all get here?” April says, clearing her throat as she looks away from Soren.

“Ah … prefer not to tell,” Jane says, looking away with a blush on her face.

“I’m not,” Olivia says, raising a brow. “My father sent me here after I gave away all his money.”

April’s eyes widen while Jane’s jaw drops, but me? I’m just grinning like crazy.

“Wow,” Jane says, almost choking on her words. “I did not expect that.”

“I’m proud of it,” Olivia says, leaning back against the couch. “He gave me a choice. Jail, death, or be sent here. So you know what I chose.”

“Chose?” I raise a brow.

“Yeah …” Jane presses her lips tightly. “Same.”

I frown. “So you all … actually chose to be here?”

They both sigh and roll their eyes as if it’s the most normal answer in the world.

“But what about you, Amelia? What did you do?” Jane asks.

I gulp and make a face, clutching my hands close to my knees as sweat drops roll down my back. I look up at Soren whose eyes are still on April, but the occasional look thrown my way does not go unnoticed. I have to be careful of what I say or else.

“I … don’t know. I was taken.”

“But you chose this, right?” Olivia mutters. “I mean, we all did.”

“Not me,” April chimes in.

Unsure of how to answer, I reply, “But I don’t know what I did.”

They all look at me, and it makes me even more confused, more uneasy about myself. So I get up from the couch and pat down my dress.

“Do we deserve this?” I mutter to myself. “Maybe. Or maybe we’re all just sinners in this room. Even him.” I point at Soren. “What makes him better than us?”

He narrows his fiery eyes at me almost as a warning sign not to go too far. But I’ve already long crossed that line.

I march over to the girl standing near the window, grab her shoulder, and force her to turn around. “You’re not here because you wanna be. That’s why you don’t talk, right? You never asked for any of this, just like me.”

Her lip quivers while her eyes fill with tears.

“Why do you let them do this to you?” I ask. “Look at how afraid you are.”

“Enough, Amelia,” Olivia says.

“No,” I growl back.

“She was already damaged when she came here. She never talked. Don’t you see?” she replies. “She can’t handle your questions. So leave her alone.”

“So what, you all agree with how they treat you?” I scoff.