Page 581 of End Game

By then, Matthew had only been around a year or two.

I'd complained that I didn't need three adults teaching me how to drive.

Aunt Rachel told me to shut up and check my mirrors.

I close the message.

Uncle Stephen's is shorter.

Uncle Stephen

Do not contact Rachel or the kids while you're living this way. If you decide to repent and leave this lifestyle behind, you know where to find us.

My vision goes blurry again.

Dex sees the screen. “Micah.”

“The kids.” My voice barely works.

Cami's hand finds mine.

“Elijah's eighteen,” I say.

Nobody responds.

“The others are older. Hannah's thirty-four. Caleb's twenty-nine. But Elijah's eighteen.”

Dex's brow furrows.

I don't know why I'm listing ages.

Maybe because numbers are easier.

Maybe because eighteen matters.

“He's a kid.”

“Yeah,” Griffin says softly.

“What if he's queer?”

The room goes still.

I look down at the phone. “What if one of them is?”

No one has an answer.

“They've just told every kid in that family what happens.” My throat closes. “If you're gay, you lose Christmas. You lose… everything.”

Cami's face crumples.

“If you love the wrong person, you're not safe at Aunt Rachel's anymore.” I wipe at my face angrily. “They're going to make me the example.”

Ronan's voice comes quietly from my left. “Yes.”

Everyone looks at him.

He doesn't soften it.