Chapter 37
Thirty-Seven
Shiloh
Church was boring as fuck, once again. I got there and was immediately bombarded by my welcoming committee.
Reformation Church had a relatively large congregation, nothing like a Texas megachurch, but large, nonetheless.
Easily five hundred people or more. Yet they knew I was fresh meat the second I was greeted at the doors.
May-Lynn, my designated welcoming committee party of one who I’d met the first time I attended, was glued to my damn side once she saw me.
She was nice, but if I had to hear one more fucking comment about how I was so blessed to have been shepherded by Reverend Kit Walsh and his son Elder Theodore, I was going to punch her in the boob.
She made me sit next to her and her gaggle of other single women just like previous times, and I tried my best to find an ounce of energy that would make me seem likable.
When I mentioned to May-Lynn that I was going to be joining RLS she led me to the group of Elders post-service, insisting that I meet with them again.
They were all huddled around a table just outside the cafe located inside the church’s reception area.
I spied Theo with his back to me, and I held my breath when May-Lynn tapped him on the shoulder.
She immediately lowered her eyes to her feet and bowed her head. “Excuse me Elder Theodore. I was just bringing Miss Olivia. She’s an eager lamb ready to be shepherded.”
Theo’s smile split across his face as he looked me up and down slowly.
“Yes. Miss Olivia. Thank you, May-Lynn. She is in good hands. God be with you and have a blessed day.”
At her dismissal, May-Lynn gave me a discreet smile as she brushed past me and squeezed my arm.
“Good luck,” she mouthed.
I nodded at her and turned my attention to the group of five men all staring at me like I was an actual lamb, and they were the lions.
“I’m so glad to see you have joined us this Sunday, Miss Olivia. Did you enjoy the service?”
“Yes, thank you, Elder Sam,” I smiled.
“Good, good. I’m happy to hear that.”
I nodded, an awkward silence making me twitch.
Theo suddenly excused himself from the group of elders and took me by the elbow, leading us to his office.
I took in the familiar space and followed his motion for me to sit down.
I could feel his eyes on me, and I wiped my sweaty hands on my floral dress, taking a seat across him.
He was relaxed, leaned back in his desk chair as he studied me.
“I’ve missed you. You’re all I’ve been able to think about, Olivia. I was overjoyed regarding your decision to join our flock.”
Fuck, that’s kind of creepy. But a good thing. It means he hasn’t lost interest in me.
He hummed, his fingers steepled beneath his chin. “So, tell me. What is it you want out of life here within the Reformed community, Olivia?”
“Happiness. Peace. Guidance.”
He licked his lips and let my answer linger in the air for a long moment. “And do you believe that you can find that with me?”
I swallowed, preparing to sell one hell of an emphatic yes.
“I believe that God has led me to finding you at that event for a reason.” I watched his body tense at the mention of himself.
“A reason that has led me here to this church, this community, and ultimately to God. Coming here today has only solidified to me that this is the path that I am supposed to be on. I don’t know where it will take me, but I have faith that you can help lead me towards those goals. ”
His eyes seemed excited, but his body remained still in his seat, his stare persistent and unwavering. Like he was memorizing every breath I took and every blink of my eyes.
“You must understand, Olivia, that should you complete this program I will make it so that you are my match, my wife. Because God did lead you to us, to me. And I have no intention of letting you slip away, Olivia. But…” he paused, leaning forward until his arms rested on his desktop, “as the wife of a leader in this community, of a Walsh, your duties will be greater than any other woman. If you have any seed of doubt about your ability to fulfill the duties of a leader in every capacity Our Lord wills, you must speak now.”
I swallowed, nervously rubbing my hands against my thighs again. “I…I think I can do that. But you haven’t told me what those duties are? How will I know if I’m capable if I don’t know what your expectations will be? I don’t want to disappoint you. I want to be a good wife.”
He narrowed his blue eyes, standing to his full height and stepping around his desk to stand directly in front of me. Theo leaned down, bracing his hands on the armrests either side of me, his presence clouding my senses.
“Can you obey? My orders and those that the Lord has given us? ”
I blinked. “Yes. Of course.”
“Then you will be extraordinary. It’s what you were born to do, love.”
I nodded, heart hammering and sweat beginning to pool under my arms. I didn’t think too much about the reason behind his infatuation with me because I was grateful that it was working in my favor. At least he seemed like he would treat me right if he was already so enamored.
He sighed, sitting back smugly against the edge of his desk.
“God really did make you just for me.”
I forced a smile that I hoped looked genuine and a knock at the door interrupted his stare down.
“Come in!”
The Elder who had spoken before about working at RLS stepped into the room, acknowledging me with a soft smile before turning his attention to Theo.
“So,” he began, his eyebrows raised. “Have you begun the paperwork?”
“Was just getting to it,” Theo replied easily, strolling behind his desk to open a filing cabinet. He pulled out a folder and placed it on the desk in front of me. It was a branded folder with the church’s logo.
Elder Mark took the chair beside me. I smiled in greeting and flicked my eyes back up to find Theo watching us intently. I edged a little away from Elder Mark, feeling uncomfortable with how close he was to me and noticed Theo flexing his hands on top of his desk.
“The program will cover the cost of room and board through whoever decides to sponsor you.”
“Me,” Theo said with finality. “I’m sponsoring her.”
“Right,” Elder Mark nodded, flicking his eyes only momentarily up to Theo before returning to the folder where he pulled out a pamphlet.
“This explains everything that you will receive and everything you are required to bring with you before you start the program. If you have any issues obtaining any of the documents listed, let us know and we can point you in the right direction. I know it might take some time to get things squared away, so we operate on a rolling start basis. Whenever you’ve sorted out leaving your current life, housing, work, etcetera, we—”
Theo cut him off before he could continue. “She is ready to start immediately. We’ve already discussed what she needed to do.”
“Oh, of course. Then, we can admit you tomorrow morning for orientation.”
Fuck this is really happening.
I nodded and he continued going through each document in the folder. I tried to stay alert as he rambled on and fucking on, watching me fill in every box on the in-take forms. It was slow going, even without his commentary, because I had to remember all the details of my false identity.
Social security. Date of birth. Family history.
Permission for them to hold all my personal identifying documents.
Permission to give them access to any health records from previous healthcare providers in the event that I need medical attention.
History of any surgeries or medical conditions.
History of any contraceptive use. History of any STIs or STDs.
Previous membership to any other religious organizations or institutions.
On and fucking on.
It felt like I was literally signing my entire life away to this organization and I wondered how the fuck anyone else had gone through this without freaking the fuck out about identity theft or worse.
By the end of the meeting, Reformation knew every damn detail of my fake identity and then some.
The amount of bullshit I had to spew on there made my hand cramp from writing.
I sat back in my chair with a deep breath once the folder was closed. Theo had been texting on his phone for the past several minutes of the document signing.
“Thank you, Elder Mark. She’ll be seeing you tomorrow at eight in reception.”
Once Elder Mark had left, Theodore smiled and stared at me for a few uncomfortable moments.
“I’ll send a car to pick you up tomorrow morning at 7:30. I’ll need an address.”
“Um, right. Can I text it to you?”
“Yeah—” he cut himself off, distracted by his phone vibrating loudly on his desk and picked it up. I could see the caller ID was ‘Father’ and I wondered if he would answer it with me present.
“I’ve got to get back to my duties. Will you be alright, love?”
I nodded softly.
“You’re going to do wonderfully, Olivia. RLS will help you grow into the person you’re meant to be, and I look forward to attending your graduation day in six weeks.”
With a parting smile, Theo stood and walked around me before opening the door and motioning for me to leave. I didn’t look back over my shoulder as I crept back to the church entrance, eager to get the fuck out of there.
I tried to give polite smiles to anyone that gave me eye contact, waving off the door greeters who tried to start a conversation as I was leaving, and hurried to put as much distance between the church and me.
The church was located in the north central suburb of San Antonio, Alamo Heights—about twelve blocks from the Alamo Quarry Market where I was to be meeting my ride home.
Fortunately, I didn’t seem to stand out in the area, seeing as there was a church at every other intersection and their congregations were also being released.