Page 51 of Two Daddies for Little Jenna

"What is it, Jenna?" Miles asked with a smile as I began pacing around the room in silence. "What's the matter?"

"I want you to be honest, Miles." I sat next to him on his bed. "It's been weeks since you've escaped the cult. How have you been holding up?"

He thought for a moment and shrugged. "I'm fine, really. It's great out here. I've always wanted to leave that wretched place."

"No, I'm not looking for the answer you think I want to hear." I took his hands in mine. "This isn't your grandma asking. It's me, your elder sister. I was there with the rest of you every step of the way. I know what we've been through was straight-up torture. No words could describe what we were put through, so no one would truly understand the trauma. However, I do. You don't have to try and be brave just because you're an adult now. You're just eighteen. Still so young. So tell me now, but this time be honest. How have you been holding up?"

I knew the smile he had put on was forced since it now faded. Suddenly he burst into tears, his face flaming red.

"I can't do this, Jenna," he said as I wiped his tears. "I need to be brave for my siblings. They're so young. They need me to be strong. It's the only way they'll get through this. There are times I wake up worried that I'm back in the cult, but I know life out here is hard too. I don't get along with the other kids at school. How could I, when I have nothing in common? The cult is all I've ever known and we weren't prepped for the real world. I feel so lost here like I don't belong. The cult was a horrible place, but at least I knew how to survive it. Out here I'm all on my own, and I'll never fit in."

"No, you're allowed to cry, Miles. Clark taught me that it's okay to feel scared and sad. It's the first step to healing. I thought it was the end of the world too, that I would never adjust to the real world. But I've found my people. You will too with time. Besides, you're not alone in this. We'll all get through this together. Our parents are in prison where they belong, but we're still a family without them."

I knew that Miles and I would have it the hardest. The rest of our siblings were still so young. They'd get to spend the better part of their childhood out in the real world, so they'd get adjusted to it eventually.

I hugged him as he cried to his heart's content. When he broke the hug, he had a smile on his face, but this time it was genuine.

"Thanks for coming to see us every week. It helps me remember I'm not alone in this."

I nodded. "Before we head back down, I have a question. Do you blame me for running away alone and abandoning you guys?"

He shook his head. "Of course not. You sent help a few weeks later, so we couldn't have escaped without it. It wasn't like you could've taken all five of us with you. It would've attracted too much attention and we'd be caught. Besides, I knew you'd come back for us."

I was so glad to hear it. I hadn't asked him for so long as I was afraid of the answer. Clark was right. The dream was just me feeling guilty, but the guilt was unfounded.

"Yeah, how were you so sure?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He said. "All six of us were supposed to take turns being locked up in the basement as part of that cruel satanic ritual. But each time you volunteered to stay on our behalf. You spent months in there sitting in darkness with absolutely nothing to do. You were barely given enough food or water. You risked your life just so we'd get to eat and not be locked up. You're the best sister in the whole world, and I'm sorry if I haven't said that before. The others are too young to remember, but I'll remember it till the day I die, and I'll be thankful every day that the lord made you our sister."

Any mention of the lord was forbidden back in the cult. But I was glad Miles had found faith, all thanks to Grandma.

How could I not have volunteered to stay in the basement so they'd be spared? I had lost two of my siblings to my parents' negligence and I couldn't have borne to lose another.

"And you all are the best siblings I could've asked for. The moment I was let out of the basement after months of being starved, you all hugged and comforted me. You took turns giving up your meals so I'd gain back all the weight I'd lost. It was my responsibility back then to take care of my siblings and it still is. So when I say seeing the therapist will help you, you'll listen to me. Clark had to pull some strings to get you an appointment. It took so long because she's one of the top therapists in the country."

"Oh," he said quietly. "So grandma told you. I just don't think I'm ready to open up to a stranger about my trauma. Isn't that why you don't want to go too?"

"That was the case, yes. But Clark helped me change my mind today. I need to heal and so do you. Is that understood?"

When he nodded, I knew things were going to be just alright. What lingered however was my hatred for our parents. They had tried to scar us for life and almost succeeded.

Chapter 23: Clark

Jenna was happy when she spent time with her siblings. She didn't get to know her grandma growing up, but she was very warm and welcoming, not just to her, but also to me, Nick, and her siblings. Nick and I had burst into laughter when she straight-up asked us if we were in one of those poly relationships that were famous these days. Jenna seemed embarrassed but that's just how she was. Her grandma turned out to be very open-minded when Jenna explained the lifestyle we lived. She had to keep it a secret from her parents but she was glad a family member now knew who she truly was and accepted her unconditionally.

"Daddy," Jenna now said with a frown as she went through her closet in the nursery, picking up a satanic mask off the floor and holding it up. "Where did you get this mask from? I know you like gifting me, but this was a horrible idea."

I snatched it off her hands and gave the mask a good stare. "I didn't buy any satanic masks. Why would I buy one knowing you're so traumatized from being brought up in a satanic cult?"

"Oh? Could it be one of Michael's pranks then? Maybe he sneaked in here yesterday when we had a playdate. But then again, Michael would never pull such a mean prank."

I nodded. "Michael would never do such a thing, not even for a prank. I've known the boy for years now. Does that mean… Do you think someone broke in when we were gone and left this here to threaten you?"

Jenna giggled, taking it from me and throwing it in the trash bin. "You're too paranoid sometimes, Daddy. I bought so many masks at the exhibition on sale, must've bought this too in all the excitement."

It was true that she bought a bunch of them, but weren't they all animal-themed? I told myself I would stop being paranoid and worrying myself to death. At this point, I was seeing danger when there wasn't any.

"You're right. Your silly Daddy's too paranoid sometimes. Now, let's get started. Your Daddy's waiting for us."