Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 154595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
“Jesus fucking Christ. What about you? And Abe? Immy?”
“Immy’s parents actually coped the best with the move out of the cult. They took custody of Abe. His mom was like mine. She had a breakdown and wasn’t capable of looking after him. With some help, they managed to settle in a neighborhood not too far from the guys. Immy went to school with them as well.”
“And Cat?”
“She was living with her mom’s friends in New York. Her mom . . . she disappeared.”
“Jesus. The monster on the outside?”
“We don’t know whether he got to her or if she disappeared on her own.”
“And you? What happened to you, baby?”
“I . . . I . . .” This was the hard part. “My mom didn’t cope well. We went to live with her step-brother in this small town. He lived in a trailer and there wasn’t a lot of room. My mom wasn’t coping, she’d just . . . she’d sleep all day. Whenever we had money, she’d spend it on booze and drugs. I lived hours away from the others. They knew something was wrong, but I kept telling them I was all right.”
“Maeve, why didn’t you say something?”
“Because I find it hard to ask for help. Because we were all going through some heavy stuff and I didn’t see how they could help. We were all teenagers. Mom’s step-brother didn’t stick around long. About four months after we moved there, he took off. Things were bad at school too. When I first started, I was mostly ignored. I mean, I was picked on a bit for being dumb—”
“What? Who the fuck called you dumb!”
“I . . . well . . . a lot of people, I guess. I hadn’t had the best education up until that stage, so I had to play catch-up and I was put in a grade lower than I should have been in. Even my teachers thought I was stupid. It wasn’t until I went to college that I discovered I had a learning disability.”
“What? What learning disability?”
“Dyscalculia. Basically, I have a problem with math and numbers. Like, I really had trouble with mathematical calculations. But even now, in everyday life, I have problems with things like telling the time on an analogue clock, or with working out change or being on time. Or remembering phone numbers and things. Sampson helped me put everything down in a notebook. But we had to be careful with passwords and pins. It can be pretty tiring and annoying, to be honest.”
“Baby, I didn’t know.”
She shrugged. “It’s not something everyone knows about. And how would you know?”
“And no one in high school figured it out?”
“No, like I said, they just thought I was an idiot. It also makes it difficult for me to drive. And I’m often late because I miscalculate the time. Oh, but unlike some people with it, I dance like a dream. Totally could have been a ballerina. If I’d had any training. Or inclination.”
“Those assholes,” he growled.
“It didn’t help that most of my clothes came from charity shops and I often had to go to the food bank so we could eat. I hated having to accept charity.” She still did.
“Then someone found out that I’d been part of the cult. And the bullying got worse. They’d call me names. The guys would offer me sex all the time. It was . . . it was brutal.”
He let out a low growl.
“Anyway, my mom . . . she started to get violent and one day a teacher spotted some bruises on my arm. She asked me what was going on. I thought I could trust her. She said that she wouldn’t tell anyone. But she lied.”
“They’re obligated to report abuse.”
“I know that now. But then, I felt like she betrayed me. This cop turned up at our house. Anson Peters.”
“Why do I feel like I’m not going to like this next part?” he grumbled.
“I thought that he was going to take me away. Call Child Protective Services or something. I know it’s bad, but I kind of had this dream that I’d be able to go live with Immy and Abe or with Sampson and the others. You know?”
“But he didn’t?”
“No. He . . . he had this strange look on his face when he studied me and Mom. Really weird. He knew about the cult and I think it intrigued him or something. He said that he wouldn’t call CPS, but that I had to be a good girl and not get into trouble. I had no idea what he was going on about, but I agreed. What was I supposed to do? Then three nights later, I come home from school to find him sitting at the dining table and my mom is fussing over him. Like he was some sort of royalty come to visit.”