Page 43 of For I Have Sinned

I nod. “By heart.”

Esther hands me the phone and stands up, placing herself in front of me to hide my body from anyone passing by the courtyard. “Make it quick.”

Turning my body, I flip the phone open and dial Amelia’s number, hoping she picks up. Amelia usually never picks up a number she doesn’t know. Same with Vince. My heart pounds in my chest as the line rings. After a few more seconds, she answers.

“If this is some scam call, I’ll report you.”

“God, do I miss you.” I giggle.

“Celine!” Her voice changes from annoyance to joy. “How are you calling me right now?”

“Long story,” I say. “I only have a few minutes, but I needed to talk to you.”

“Is everything alright?”

“This place is hell,” I whine. “I want nothing more than to leave.”

“The offer still stands of me and Vince breaking you out.”

“Why are you talking about me?” I hear Vince come closer to the phone.

“Our missing best friend is on the phone,” Amelia tells him.

Vince gasps, and then he is the one on the phone. “Celine! I miss you! Are we going to break you out?”

“No.” I smile at the fact that they are both willing to come up here and commit a crime. “I have to stay. I just wanted to call and tell you guys that I’m doing okay. I’ll be out in no time.”

“You sound like you are in prison,” Amelia says.

“This place is basically a prison.” I huff and glance up at Esther. “But I made a friend.”

“The hot priest?” Vince teases.

If only he knew what I did that night in my room, and then confessed to Father Alexander. Vince wouldn’t let me live it down.

“No. Another woman who also doesn’t want to be here.”

Vince groans because I haven’t cozied up with the priest, but Amelia is the one to respond. “This other woman, she better not be cooler than us.”

“Honestly, I think she would fit in with our little group.” Esther turns her head to the side, and I see the slight grin on her face. “Look, I have to go. Just know I’m okay.”

“Okay. We love you,” Amelia says.

“I love you guys too.”

I hang up, hating that I had to hit the end button, and hand the phone back to Esther. She tucks it back into her dress. “You think that I’d fit in with your friends?”

“Totally.”

“What are you doing the rest of the day?”

“I don’t know. I might go to the library, since I’ve skipped out on the past few days. You wanna come with me?”

“Oh, no,” she declines. “Sister Greta kicked me out and forbade me from coming back.”

“What on earth did you do to get kicked out?”

She lifts her shoulders. “Who knows. That woman has a stick up her ass.”