“Yes,” she replied softly.
Lilah turned in her seat, her hand remaining in Ky’s. “There is no need to be, Sarai. Pastor James is kind. She has closed the church so that no one will be there to make you nervous.” Lilah smiled and sighed. “And you will see that the Lord can still be worshipped. Only purely, not contaminated by hurtful men and false truths.”
Sarai sighed and shook her head. “I cannot imagine such a place, though I am excited to see it.”
My chest tightened as I stared at this young girl. I was beyond thankful that she had found the courage to run away. I knew I would never have left if Mae had not returned. I would have spent my entire life locked in that hell. Until the day Brother Moses killed me. Because he would have. I know now that Brother Moses would have eventually broken me, as Gabriel had done Bella. And I would never have met Flame.
And him not meeting me would have condemned him to a life alone too. I forced down the emotion creeping up my throat and focused instead on remembering his lips against mine.
Without conscious thought, my fingers had lifted to my lips and a smile had graced my face.
My heart leapt with hope. Hope that, maybe together, we may not be so damaged. That we could somehow make one another whole.
The journey passed quicker than most, my thoughts occupied by Flame. Then Ky pulled the truck to a stop.
Mae took Sarai’s hand and left the truck. I went to leave when I saw Ky lean in to Lilah and crush his mouth to hers. Lilah melted into his embrace, and they both broke away with leaden eyes.
“Love you, baby,” Ky hushed out.
Lilah leaned forward once more to press a single quick kiss to her husband’s lips. “I love you too. So much,” she added, and my heart lurched with envy.
“Call me when you want picking up. I’ll be here, downtown, taking care of some business.”
“Okay,” Lilah replied and jumped out of the truck. I quickly left too. I joined Mae and Sarai on the sidewalk. Sarai was staring up at the church, her mouth gaping at the sight.
“Beautiful, is it not?” Lilah prompted, as Ky’s truck pulled back onto the road.
“It is,” Sarai said, clearly in awe. As one, we ascended the steps. Lilah stepped through the large wooden doors first, the three of us following behind. The church was completely silent. At the end, Pastor James stood, obviously awaiting our arrival.
Seeing us enter, Pastor James came down from the altar and we met her half way down the aisle. Her face broke into a smile and she embraced Lilah and Mae. When she reached me, she nodded her head. Then her eyes fell upon Sarai.
“You must be Sarai,” she said. Sarai pressed closer into Mae, obviously shy at meeting the pastor for the first time.
Mae put her arm around Sarai and nodded her head. “This is Sarai. She’s a little shy, but she’s eager to see for herself how people worship here, in Our Savior.”
Pastor James smiled directly at Sarai and showed her the pews. “This is where we worship. The congregation generally comes to a sermon on a Sunday, but the church is open for its people to come by anytime, to worship in private or to have a quiet place for contemplation.”
I watched Sarai staring at Pastor James and my heart clenched at her face absorbing every word. I understood how strange all of this would be for her. And at fourteen, she must feel so lost and alone.