Page 51 of Stay With Me (Griffin’s Den #2)

FIFTY

Luna

I hear gravel crunching under the tires as we slow down. I don’t think we’ve been in the van long, but I’m not positive. Once the car comes to a stop, someone grabs my arm, and I whimper at how hard they’re holding me.

“She is supposed to be unharmed. Don’t hurt her, or Father will be upset,” an unknown person says.

“Yes, sir,” the person beside me says, gripping my arm tighter before letting go.

I try to scoot aside to get a little farther away.

“Don’t even try it,” the person says in a harsh whisper as they grab my arm again.

Next to me, the door clicks open, and I’m guided out of the van. I lose my footing as I step down, and I’m dragged forward, tripping up the stairs and into wherever they’re taking me.

The cover over my head is ripped away, and I squint as my eyes adjust to the light. I blink slowly as everything comes into focus again, and faces I hoped to never see again surround me in a room that doesn’t look familiar.

I scan the room and see everyone but three people—my mother, Aspen, and Father.

They talked about Father. Why isn’t he here?

Just as soon as the thought comes, Matthew steps into the room, and my spine goes rigid.

At only a few inches taller than me, he looks almost skeletal, wearing tattered clothes that hang off his frame.

He looks far older than his twenty-three years.

His hair falls slightly into his sunken, cold eyes as he locks onto me.

“Hello, my love. It has been far too long. Yeah?” he says as he stalks closer to me.

I open my mouth to say something, but before I can, he starts talking again.

“Any answer other than yes is influenced by the outside world.” His face reddens as he yells, his hands thrown out to the side. “They have ruined your brain with their way of thinking. Your choices have hurt The Family deeply. Look around at the people you have let down with your selfishness.”

I flinch as his voice booms in the empty room. I fight every instinct to break eye contact as I say. “My life isn’t with The Family anymore. Please, just let me go.”

His face twists in anger. “The prophecy was written before we were born. We will be the leaders of The Family and bring in the new life before the world falls around us!”

I curl into myself since I can’t move with my arms being held.

Grabbing my face, he leans closer, his hot breath on my face as he whispers, “You are my destiny, and you have run long enough and had your fun. We will do our duty tonight, and you will cooperate. Do you understand? If you don’t, someone close to you will be punished.

” He pulls away. “Take her to the room and have the women help her change. It’s almost time. ” He turns and walks away.

My mind races. Someone who is close to me will be punished?

Did they get Jess?

Is Aspen here?

Did they get to Ann or one of the girls?

I’m handed off to two women I’ve never seen before. Both look at me with disgust. They lead me into a room, and I look around. I take in the dingy white walls with peeling paint and the lone mattress in the corner.

“Here is your dress. You must change,” the woman with blond hair says and pushes a garment into my hands.

I hold the dress and just stare at them.

“Now,” the one with the shorter brown hair snaps.

“Well, can you turn around?” I ask.

“No. You will change, and we will make sure you look perfect.”

With shaking hands, I set the dress on the bed. I peel my sundress off, and the women huddle closer together, talking between themselves without taking their eyes off me.

I hear their broken sentences and move faster to just get this over with.

“…ungrateful.”

“She…lucky.”

I want to yell that they can have him if they want him.

I don’t.

I want to go home to Noah and Jess. Tears well in my eyes as I think about them. They must be so worried about me. I should have listened to Noah. I was so silly for thinking it would be okay for me to run out to the truck alone.

I pull the plain white dress with no sleeves over my head, and the women approach me again and fix my dress, then direct me to the bed to sit down.

As I do, they pull my hair into a simple bun. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to think of how I’m going to get out of this.

With a final tug on my hair, they finish and tell me they’ll be back soon for the start of the ceremony.

The moment the door clicks shut, I stand and scan the room.

Do I stay and hope Noah finds me? Or do I try my luck and attempt to get away?

My heart pounds in my ears as I grapple with whether I should stay or go?.?.?. I close my eyes and struggle to pull in a deep breath, weighing my options.

I need to go.

Staying here isn’t a choice. If this ceremony happens as they plan, I’ll never get away.

Spinning in a circle, I take in the room again. The door is out. Even if no one is standing outside it, I don’t know the home layout. The window is the best option.

I don’t have to go far. I just have to stay hidden for long enough to buy me some time.

I look down at my shoes. Do I take them off?

From my time sneaking around when I lived with The Family, I could be quieter without them on, but I haven’t gone without shoes in so long, I don’t know if my feet can handle it.

Okay, my shoes stay on.

I tie my dress at my knees and walk up to the window. Running my fingers across the thin layer of dust, I realize this window hasn’t been opened in a long time, and my heart sinks.

I wipe my palms on the dress, and, seeing that the latch is already flipped, I push with shaking hands. A creak fills the room, and I freeze and look over my shoulder.

Voices come from the other side of the door, and I sit back on the bed as the door creaks open.

“What are you doing?” the young blond asks.

“Um, sitting here,” I say as I try to hide where I tied my dress.

“Your dress is not right. We must fix it,” the other says.

My chest tightens as a wave of nausea sweeps through me. I try to think of something to say. As I run my hands down the dress to smooth it out, I look down at the ground and say, “It’s slightly too long, and I didn’t want to dirty it by stepping on it with my shoes. Matthew would not be happy.”

“Father Matthew,” they snap in unison.

“Father Matthew,” I say softly. The pieces falling into place. If Matthew has taken the title of Father, that means his father must have passed away. Is that why everyone is not here? Have they all passed away?

Aspen… My chest constricts thinking that I couldn’t save her in time.

Before I can ask questions, they look at each other, and then the blond speaks. “He will be very upset if the dress is not clean. We will be back with the sewing kit to adjust it for you.”

I release my breath as they turn to leave.

I can do this. I have to do this.

Rushing back to the window once the door closes, I push a little harder and feel the window move.

I slide the pane up just enough that I can squeeze through. With one last look over my shoulder, I peek my head through and find a bush right under the window. I lift my legs onto the sill and slide as far as I can until I topple into the bush.

As soon as I hit the ground, I hold my breath, hoping no one heard me. When no one comes running or shouting, I stand up slowly and look around. Tall trees surround the home with slivers of light peeking through the leaves. The smell of pine fills my nose as I work to catch my breath.

I don’t recognize the home we’re at, but I think we’re in the town to the west of Griffin’s Den because Joe told me there was a protected woodland over this way.

I take a deep breath and take off in the direction of the woods. If I can hide there for a while, maybe they’ll give up, and I’ll be able to find help.

As I take off running, someone yells from inside the house. I don’t look back and start to zigzag through the woods. Stumbling over the roots, I fight to stay upright.

My lungs burn as I push myself faster.

My name rings through the trees as Matthew yells for me. I pause as I look left and right, knowing I can’t keep running at this pace forever.

I don’t know if I can climb a tree fast enough, but I have to try. I move toward the biggest tree when a fallen trunk catches my eye just past it.

That could be a better option.

Running forward, I see the tree trunk is partially hollow. It’ll be a tight fit, but I think they’ll look up before they look for me on the forest ground.

Trying not to think about the bugs that might bite me, I climb in. The bark scratches my skin as my dress catches. I’m suddenly thankful the women put my hair in a bun so it’s all contained.

I pull my legs into my chest and hold my breath.

The voices get closer until Matthew and Chris sound like they’re right next to me.

“How did she get away?” Matthew asks, his voice trembling with anger.

“The women said she climbed out of the window.”

“Why did anyone think it was a good idea to leave her alone? Why can no one do anything right?”

“I’m sorry, Father. The women were afraid that if they spent too much time with her, they would be touched by the devil.”

“They will be since they let my chosen female get away. They will be sent to the basement with no meals for three days once we find her.”

“Yes, sir.”

Chris’s voice gets farther away.

“Check the trees. She used to climb them when she was a kid. She might have climbed up one and hoped she could hide until someone found her.”

The crunch of pine needles grows distant as they walk farther away.

I don’t hear Chris respond, and I release the air I’d trapped in my lungs. The hum of insects surrounds me as doubt fills me at my choice to run.

I don’t know how long I should wait before I try to leave my safe place to find somewhere I can call for help.

The branches rustle in the wind as I lie curled up, and I fight a shiver as the temperature starts to drop. After a few minutes, raindrops bounce off the tree trunk.

Thankfully, the trunk has no holes, so it should keep me dry.