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“I’m not a kid,” Noel scoffed. “You’re like three years older than me. Shut up.”
“Knock it off, Noel,” I snapped, raising my voice a little. “Don’t talk to him like that.”
“Pretty sure I’m not hurting his feelings,” she mumbled.
“If I could’ve stayed, I would’ve.” I glanced at Otto. “No, that’s not true.”
Noel scoffed.
“If I could’ve told you that I was leaving, I would’ve,” I clarified, softening my voice. “I didn’t get a chance. You weren’t there when Mom made me pack a bag and they forced me to leave.”
“You could’ve left a note,” Noel argued. “Anything.”
Memories of that morning flashed through my mind. My dad standing in the doorway, telling us to hurry up. My mom pulling dresses out of the closet, neatly packing them into my suitcase. The dress I’d worn for Thanksgiving hanging over the back of my desk chair. Noel’s bed, neatly made across the room from mine.
“I didn’t have a chance,” I said, my voice nearly a whisper. “It happened really fast.”
“So, you just came here,” she replied, shaking her head. “You could’ve come and seen me. You could’ve—”
“No, she couldn’t,” Otto said flatly, cutting her off.
“They sent me away,” I continued, keeping my voice as level as I could. “Dad drove me out to a cabin in the woods with no electricity or running water. He left me there.”
“He wouldn’t do that,” she argued stubbornly.
“It’s true,” Titus cut in. “She’s telling the truth.”
“You knew?” Noel spun to face him, glaring.
“Not until later.” He looked up at Otto. “Not until Otto brought her back.”
“When was that?” Noel looked at each of us. “When did you go get her?”
“Almost two weeks ago,” Otto replied.
“No.” Noel shook her head. She got to her feet, her hands fisted at her sides. “No. You’ve been gone sinceThanksgiving. That doesn’t make any sense.”
I watched, my chest aching as my baby sister came to the same conclusions about my parents that had taken me weeks to come to terms with. Dad wasn’t worth the title, and Mom, well, she would blindly follow his lead if he jumped off a cliff and told her to follow.
“Why would theydothat?” she asked through clenched teeth.
“Because I didn’t live up to the picture they wanted the church to see,” I guessed. “Because I embarrassed them.”
“Because they’re fuckin’ nut jobs,” Otto muttered under his breath.
“Where were you?” Noel asked accusingly. “You only went to get her two weeks ago. So, where wereyouthat whole time?”
“Lookin’ for your sister,” Otto replied.
“How did you find her?”
“Coincidence,” Otto said flatly, shooting me a warning glance not to explain further.
“Mom and Dad still think I’m at the cabin,” I told Noel quietly. “We haven’t told them yet.”
“Mom and Dad think you’re dead,” Noel argued, glaring.
“No, they don’t.”
