Chapter 15
Fifteen
Emory
My eyes slowly blinked open, and I stretched my body out with a groan. It took a moment to realize that I wasn’t in my own home, and another moment to wrack my brain as to where the hell I was. Something brushed my leg, and I rolled over with a start.
“Fuck. You scared me,” I mumbled under my breath as I looked up at Enoch.
“Sorry,” he said with a light squeeze of my leg. He was sitting on the edge of the bed and after taking a good look at him, I realized he was fully dressed in a pair of olive chinos and a sweater and collared shirt.
I rubbed my eyes, trying to get my mind to fully wake up. “What time is it? Are you leaving for church?”
Enoch chuckled and shook his head. “It’s almost one in the afternoon. I just got home. Have you not been up yet?”
I blinked slowly, trying to process his words. The hell? I slept for well over twelve hours.
“No. I just woke up.”
“Well, I bet you’re starving. Come out when you’re ready and I’ll heat up some lunch.”
I quickly used the bathroom and brushed my teeth before making my way out to the kitchen. Enoch and Jae were chatting to each other at the kitchen island but stopped when they saw me.
“Morning,” Jae called with a wave.
I studied his expression, searching for any sign of disgust or hatred, but there was none.
“Afternoon,” I finally said.
Jae chuckled and took a sip of the drink in his hand.
“Pot roast sound good? I made it Thursday night.”
I gave Enoch a nod and took a seat at the island across from where they were standing.
“After lunch can you drop me home?”
Enoch held my gaze for a long moment before smiling softly, “Yeah, of course.”
I nodded, the awkward lull of silence broken up by the sound of the food bubbling on the stove.
My body still felt sluggish, and I decided some caffeine was needed. I hopped down from the stool and grabbed a soda from the fridge.
“So, uh, how was church?” I asked in an effort to make things less weird. If we were going to avoid mentioning everything that happened yesterday, we needed an ice breaker. I cracked open the can and returned to my chair.
“Good. There was a guest pastor today. His sermon was about what it means to be obedient as a Christian.”
My heart skipped a beat. It’s not him. It’s not him.
“What was he saying?”
Enoch and Jae both gave me a strange look, but I gestured for them to speak.
“Um, well, he was talking about how our culture promotes arrogance and because of this we think we know everything. And that leads us to disobey God and not follow Him.”
Shit.
I took a sip of my soda to unclog my throat. “Oh.”
Jae tilted his head as he studied me with a curious expression. “Do you go to church?”
I swallowed the thick saliva pooling in my mouth. “No. Not anymore.”
“Do you believe in God?”
“Yeah.”
“Just not a fan of church or what?”
I shrugged, letting my finger run up and down the condensation on the outside of the soda can. “You could say that.”
“Yeah, I used to feel that way too. What made you stop going?”
“God so commands us to obey His laws. And in obeying His laws we will become Christ-like, fulfilling our purpose as God’s creation and obtaining eternal life in Heaven.”
My gaze strayed to the young woman sitting at the desk beside me. She was copying everything Elder Paul said. I glanced down at the blank notebook in front of me and quickly picked up my own pen.
“God is very clear when He describes each of our roles in this world He created. And He is very clear when He describes exactly how to fulfill those roles. It all goes back to obedience.”
My jaw clenched with tension as I copied his words.
“Miss Olivia.” I looked up with a start. “Please, come stand and read for us the highlighted scripture.”
I blinked, my stomach tensing with knots. I made sure to keep my hands by my sides, well-aware of the fact that I was sweating with nerves, as I stood from my desk and approached Elder Paul. He smiled at me broadly, his hazel eyes tracking my every moment.
“Emory?”
“Forgive me for—,” I muttered immediately before stopping myself, shaking my head and blinking back to reality. Fuck’s sake. I will break that habit.
I took a sip of my drink, focusing on Enoch who was serving the stew into bowls.
“Um, what-what did you ask?”
“I was wondering what happened at the church you had a bad experience with.”
I nodded. “They were really big on obedience and repentance.”
“Repentance? Like confessing your sins? Was it a Catholic church or something?”
“For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to the death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
The bowl in Enoch’s hand clattered and he pulled his hand up to his mouth. “Ouch.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, waving my concern away with his hand. “Sorry, you just surprised me. Did you just quote scripture?”
Enoch’s brown eyes waited patiently for me to reply and I nodded.
“Yeah, Romans 8:13.”
Enoch cocked a brow. “So, you study the Bible well enough to quote it but don’t go to church?”
“Maybe. I dunno. I guess it just stuck with me.”
“Huh.”
Enoch placed a bowl down in front of me and I smiled with thanks. They each took a seat on either side of me at the island with their own food.
“So, what exactly does that scripture have to do with repentance?”
I rolled my shoulders back, trying to rid myself of the tension building in my body.
“They preached that in order to repent you had to die to the flesh. Jesus suffered tremendous pain for our sins.” I took a breath, focused on stirring the food in my bowl. “We should also suffer as a reminder of what Christ did for us and to show Him that we are remorseful.”
I could feel both of them staring at me.
“I’m not really sure what you’re saying,” Enoch said with trepidation. “What does ‘dying to the flesh’ mean?”
I could see his mind already had an idea of what I was implying.
“Belting, whipping, whatever you want to call it. Physical punishment was meant to be a reminder of your wrongdoings and a personal connection to Christ and His suffering for your sins.”
“Shit, what kind of church was this?” Enoch asked with shock. “That’s so…wrong. I mean, just, completely wrong.”
“And you went to this church as a child? In Granby?” Jae asked, making me turn to face him. His brow was furrowed, like he was trying to picture which church I was talking about.
I ignored his question, opting instead to reply to Enoch.
“No, I mean, I agree it’s insane. Which is why I haven’t been back to church since.”
“Wow,” Jae breathed.
“Yeah, seriously. I’m scared to ask what else they were preaching,” Enoch said with a head shake.
“You don’t even want to know,” I mumbled, finally taking a bite of the food. I sighed, letting my eyes fall closed. I chewed and swallowed, savoring the flavors. “I think this is the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”
Enoch chuckled, his hand landing on the back of my stool. “Thank you. It’s, uh, my mom’s recipe. Well, minus the red wine.”
The lull in conversation left an opening for my mind to wander to the past. I refused to relive anymore shit today, so I changed the topic.
“So…the bathroom…It looks a little bare still.”
Enoch laughed self-deprecatingly. “I might have bitten off a little more than I can chew.”
The tension in the room dissipated, and I relaxed my shoulders, content with listening to him tell me about his coworker who was going to help him.
◆◆◆
I dumped my backpack in my room, taking a moment in the privacy behind the door to look inside. The gun and bullets were still there. I sighed with relief and left my bag on the floor.
I returned to the living room, watching Enoch look around the space. I was more than annoyed that I had let him convince me to allow him to come inside. He was supposed to just drop me off, not come in here and inspect my space. I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Okay…well…” anxious butterflies erupted in my belly, “you saw my place. Can you—”
A knock at the door sent my pulse spiking and my whole body froze. Enoch looked at the door then back at me with a furrowed brow. Did someone follow us?
“You expecting someone?”
My finger shot to my lips, tapping repeatedly and his eyes went wide. I eyed the bedroom where my gun was and flicked my gaze over Enoch who was standing in front of the couch.
What if it is him? What if he’s here? Fuck. I should’ve gotten the name of the person who had preached at their church. What if was a reverend from a Reformation church? Fuck!
“Get down,” I whispered firmly.
I saw a flash of shock cross his face before he was crouching in front of the couch.
The knock sounded again, a persistent rap three times, and I ran to my bedroom, reaching into my backpack and pulling out my Glock. I clicked the magazine into place, loaded a round into the chamber without hesitation, and looked up.
Shit. Enoch was gone. I stepped back into the living room, scanning the space.
Idiot.
I frantically gestured for him to get away from the door. Enoch’s eyes went wide at the sight of the gun in my hand. He shook his head, holding up the largest knife from the kitchen block.
“It’s a man,” he mouthed.
My jaw clenched, heart racing too fast, and I crossed the room to the front door. Enoch stood to the side in the kitchen.
The knocking sounded again, and my heart leapt into my throat. I tried to take a calming breath before I leaned forward enough to see through the peephole.
I huffed a rough sigh, forehead falling to the door.
Fuck my life. This could not be happening right now.
God, is this you? You trying to stop me from killing myself or something?
I needed to stop that email from being sent tonight.
I wasn’t going to be able to explain my abrupt departure like this now.
I’d have to wait a couple of days at least.
I pulled the slide back, popping out the round in the chamber, catching it in my palm. I quickly placed the gun in the closest kitchen drawer before unlocking the deadbolt and pulling the door open.