16. Celine
Celine
I eat in silence after Prayer. While Joanna and Bekah are discussing everything that had been brought up, I sit here, only opening my mouth to eat. Esther is the same way, always remaining quiet whenever she is around the other two women.
Joanna and Bekah don’t seem to mind it, though. I’m not sure if they even like Esther, or me, for that matter. I think Joanna only puts up with me because I’m fresh meat, and she wants to look good by being the one to take me under her wing.
Rolling my eyes at the thought, I stab at a piece of fruit when I hear Bekah ask Joanna, “What do you want to do after lunch?”
“You will have to find something to occupy your time,” she responds in a mean-girl tone, which throws me for a loop. “I have to meet with Father Keaton.”
“Oh, what about?” Bekah questions.
“I just want to talk with him about Prayer today.”
Bekah’s eyes light up. “Maybe I could come with you! I’d love to discuss the topics he spoke about.”
“Maybe later, Bekah.” Joanna stands from the table. “There are personal things I need to discuss with him. He’s been helping me overcome a lot of issues I’ve been dealing with.”
My brows dip at her pause, and I slide my eyes to Esther. She is already looking at me and mouths, “What the fuck?”
I shrug, finally stabbing a strawberry as Bekah says, “You haven’t told me about any of these issues. We tell each other everything.”
Bekah’s voice is full of hurt, as if she can’t believe there is something that Joanna is hiding from her.
“Yeah, well, some things I can’t talk to you about,” Joanna snaps.
What has her panties in a twist?
I look up at her and see she has pulled her focus from Bekah to Father Keaton, who is sitting at the table across from us. He is talking with Sister Alice, but his eyes move to Joanna.
Looking from him to Joanna, I notice a small smile plays on her lips. It’s faint, but it was enough to slow my chewing. Especially as I notice her cheeks turning pink.
When I glance back at him, he lightly gestures towards the door. Father Keaton’s eyes land on mine, and he offers a warm smile and a dip of his head. I smile back because it is the kind thing to do, and go back to finishing my fruit.
“But—” Bekah begins to say something until Joanna cuts her off.
“Bekah!” She seethes through her teeth.
My eyes widen at the tone of her voice and the annoyance that rolls off her tongue.
Not very Godly of her to speak to her friend that way.
Without another word, Joanna walks off, and Bekah bows her head.
As I swallow the last bit of my food, I stand from my seat and announce that I am going to get some fresh air.
“I’ll come with you,” Esther says, standing from her spot.
“Bekah,” I grab her attention, and when she lifts her head, I can see the tears shining in her eyes. I hate that I am about to ask this because I don’t want to spend any more time with her, but I feel bad. “Would you like to join us?”
Her head shakes. “No, that is okay. I appreciate the offer. I think I’m going to take a nap.”
I flash a sad smile in her direction before leaving the dining hall with Esther by my side. Once we are in the courtyard and no one else is around us, Esther says, “That wasn’t awkward or anything.”
“Who knew Joanna could have a bite to her?”
“She may look like a ray of sunshine, but that girl has a temper,” Esther informs me. “That wasn’t the first time she has snapped at Bekah.”
“Why does Bekah put up with it?”
“Because she is a sheep following the herd.” Esther rolls her eyes.
“I swear, she has never had control over her own thoughts or the choices she makes since she has been here. Joanna swooped in and took her in like she was a stray puppy, and ever since, it’s like Bekah is a robot that will do everything and anything Joanna tells her to do. It’s creepy.”
“That is kind of creepy,” I agree.
“Look where we are at.” She gestures to the exterior stone of the church. “This entire place is creepy. Everyone here is strange. It freaks me out.”
“I get weird vibes from here, too.” I sigh, sitting on the stone bench next to us.
“Were the other churches you went to like this?” Esther asks, plopping down beside me.
I shake my head and answer. “My parents only went to one church close to our house, but it was nothing like this. The church they attended was smaller, and the building was old, not like the structure of this one, but in the sense that they never made any renovations. It has remained the same since I was younger. Even has the same owners who are so old you’d think they’d be on their deathbeds. ”
Esther chuckles. “The church my dad forced me to go to was older at one point, but they ended up needing to do the renovations because the roof was leaking. I remember sitting in the pew, hating my life as water droplets hit my shoulders. It was terrible.”
“Did you attend that church until you came here?”
“No. I refused to go, which is why I ended up here,” she exhales. “Although I guess it isn’t so bad since my dad rarely ever visits me. The first couple of times, I was furious with him for sending me here, and he got disgusted with my attitude. Said he didn’t want to see me for a while.”
“I guess that is a plus. My mom didn’t even stay long on our first visit, and my dad wasn’t with her.
Which again, is a plus, but I do not look forward to seeing her every week.
” I run my hand down the silk of my dress.
“I wish we could have other visitors. I’d die to be able to talk to my friends. ”
Esther hums, making me look her way to see her shove a hand down the front of her dress. I stare at her with utter confusion, wondering what the hell she is doing when she pulls her hand out with a small black device.
A cellphone.
“I had a burner when I was living with my dad because he always wanted to check what I was getting into.” She smirks. “It’s a flip phone, but it does the job. I hid it well from Sister Alice.”
I shake my head and chuckle. “You are trouble.”
She shrugs with a smile. “Do you know their numbers?”
I nod. “By heart.”
Esther hands me the phone and stands up, placing herself in front of me to hide my body from anyone passing by the courtyard. “Make it quick.”
Turning my body, I flip the phone open and dial Amelia’s number, hoping she picks up. Amelia usually never picks up a number she doesn’t know. Same with Vince. My heart pounds in my chest as the line rings. After a few more seconds, she answers.
“If this is some scam call, I’ll report you.”
“God, do I miss you.” I giggle.
“Celine!” Her voice changes from annoyance to joy. “How are you calling me right now?”
“Long story,” I say. “I only have a few minutes, but I needed to talk to you.”
“Is everything alright?”
“This place is hell,” I whine. “I want nothing more than to leave.”
“The offer still stands of me and Vince breaking you out.”
“Why are you talking about me?” I hear Vince come closer to the phone.
“Our missing best friend is on the phone,” Amelia tells him.
Vince gasps, and then he is the one on the phone. “Celine! I miss you! Are we going to break you out?”
“No.” I smile at the fact that they are both willing to come up here and commit a crime. “I have to stay. I just wanted to call and tell you guys that I’m doing okay. I’ll be out in no time.”
“You sound like you are in prison,” Amelia says.
“This place is basically a prison.” I huff and glance up at Esther. “But I made a friend.”
“The hot priest?” Vince teases.
If only he knew what I did that night in my room, and then confessed to Father Alexander. Vince wouldn’t let me live it down.
“No. Another woman who also doesn’t want to be here.”
Vince groans because I haven’t cozied up with the priest, but Amelia is the one to respond. “This other woman, she better not be cooler than us.”
“Honestly, I think she would fit in with our little group.” Esther turns her head to the side, and I see the slight grin on her face. “Look, I have to go. Just know I’m okay.”
“Okay. We love you,” Amelia says.
“I love you guys too.”
I hang up, hating that I had to hit the end button, and hand the phone back to Esther. She tucks it back into her dress. “You think that I’d fit in with your friends?”
“Totally.”
“What are you doing the rest of the day?”
“I don’t know. I might go to the library, since I’ve skipped out on the past few days. You wanna come with me?”
“Oh, no,” she declines. “Sister Greta kicked me out and forbade me from coming back.”
“What on earth did you do to get kicked out?”
She lifts her shoulders. “Who knows. That woman has a stick up her ass.”
Voices filter from the hall, and when I look past Esther, I see that other women are joining us.
“Well, I’m going so I don’t get roped into speaking with any of them.” I stand from the bench.
“Don’t get kicked out!” Esther calls after me as I head towards the exit of the courtyard.
“I’ll try my best,” I answer over my shoulder and start my walk towards the library.
It’s quiet when I walk in. No rustling of papers. No sounds of a pencil gliding across a notepad. It makes me wonder if Sister Greta is even here.
There is a part of me that would be okay if she weren’t. I could easily leave the library if she isn’t here and not clean, but then what would I do with the rest of my day? Sit in my room? Alone?
No way.
I need to keep myself distracted while I’m here, especially if I am supposed to keep my promise to Father Alexander and not touch myself.
But really, how would he know if I went against my word? It’s not like I’m worried about the invisible man upstairs judging me for it.
I step further into the room, my eyes wandering over the shelves and seeing all the dust they are collecting. I haven’t even finished her office. It is so filthy in there that it will take me a few days to get it done. It probably would have been done already if I hadn’t skipped some days.
Huffing out an annoyed breath, I head to the small hallway that leads to Sister Greta’s area. As I round the corner to the dim hall, I let out a shriek and slap my hand against my chest.