Page 138 of For I Have Sinned

“I’m not,” I say as tears slowly form in my eyes over the fact that something as simple as a muffin and a lighter felt so special. “I usually do something every year for my birthday with Amelia and Vince, so I appreciate you making it special.”

Esther smiles and then points to the dresser. “Get dressed before you make me cry.”

“Think we can skip it?” I ask, opening the drawer that holds the cotton dresses.

“Probably not,” she says. “Oh, we have to wear the silk dresses. I guess because it’s a special event.”

With a grunt, I slam the drawer shut and open the other one to grab a silk dress. “You coming in while I dress, or are you staying out in the hall?”

“I’m coming in because I want to hear what happened with Father Keaton.” Esther steps into the room, shutting the door behind her.

She sits on my bed as I begin to tell her everything that happened while I get dressed. I tell her about how he deleted everything, how he has backup copies, and how there are hidden cameras everywhere, which is how he discovered that Esther helped me. I explain how he threatened Alex and me again. The whole time I’m explaining all of this to Esther, her face flushes with anger.

“The cops didn’t do their job right,” she states. “They should have confiscated his computer. Had one of their tech guys look into it.”

“I agree.” I brush through my hair. “I have to be good and not snoop anymore or get on Father Keaton’s bad side if I want to get out of here.”

“Do you think even if you do those things, he will let you out?”

“I don’t know,” I say, sitting on the bed with her.

We are quiet for a moment before she asks, “Do you think he is going to question me?”

I let out a long sigh. “There is a good chance.”

“Fuck,” she mutters.

“I’ll go with you.” I grab her hand, squeezing it with reassurance.

“Thanks.” She squeezes back. “Too bad you can’t snoop anymore. Getting that footage of you and Alex would be great.” Her shoulder nudges mine. “Especially because of how sexy it was.”

“Oh my god, stop!” I nudge her back.

“What? It was like watching really hot porn!”

“You’re terrible.” A laugh escapes me.

A knock at the door catches our attention. Esther stands and answers the door to a confused Alex. I’m sure he wasn’t expecting to see her when the door opened.

His eyes find mine again, and they soften. “Happy Birthday, Celine.”

“Thank you,” I feel my cheeks blush.

“Are you guys ready?” he asks.

I stand from the bed, Alex taking in my dress, and a sly smirk tugs at his lips because of how my body still slightly trembles from last night.

“You’re escorting us?” I question.

“Sister Alice was rounding up the other girls, so I told her I’d get the two of you,” Alex says, stepping back to let us come out into the hall.

“Lucky us,” I grin.

We walk through the hall and down the stairs, heading towards the chapel, when Alex clears his throat. “We aren’t going to the chapel.”

I give Esther a confused look before glancing at Alex. “Then where are we going?”

“Another part of the convent,” he tells us, and leads the way.