BooksBarbecue
Back When She Returned Save as PDF
Chapters (48)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT
  3. CONTENTS
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. ONE
  6. TWO
  7. THREE
  8. FOUR
  9. FIVE
  10. SIX
  11. SEVEN
  12. EIGHT
  13. NINE
  14. TEN
  15. ELEVEN
  16. TWELVE
  17. THIRTEEN
  18. FOURTEEN
  19. FIFTEEN
  20. SIXTEEN
  21. SEVENTEEN
  22. EIGHTEEN
  23. NINETEEN
  24. TWENTY
  25. TWENTY-ONE
  26. TWENTY-TWO
  27. TWENTY-THREE
  28. TWENTY-FOUR
  29. TWENTY-FIVE
  30. TWENTY-SIX
  31. TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. TWENTY-NINE
  34. THIRTY
  35. THIRTY-ONE
  36. THIRTY-TWO
  37. THIRTY-THREE
  38. THIRTY-FOUR
  39. THIRTY-FIVE
  40. THIRTY-SIX
  41. THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. THIRTY-NINE
  44. FORTY
  45. FORTY-ONE
  46. FORTY-TWO
  47. FORTY-THREE
  48. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

None of this was going like I’d imagined, but that was the point, wasn’t it? Suddenly all I wanted to do was sleep. I’d never been so tired. I lay back on the mattress, resting my head on my arms. The mattress was so thin the weight of my body pressed me to the floor. The musty smell of the blanket made me want to gag—a mixture of body odor and urine. Had they forgotten to clean up after the last person had used this place?

I curled up on my side. How had things gone with Scott? Was he mad when Ray told him what I’d done? How did Ray help families outside of the membership understand the importance of discipleship? At least Scott understood commitment and sacrifice, even if he might not agree with what I’d done. Abbi wouldn’t understand anything, but I would sit her down when she was older and explain all of it. She would be proud of me then. I rested my head on my arms, keeping the blanket away from my face, and closed my eyes, too tired to keep them open any longer.

I had no idea how much time had passed since Ray had put me in this room. It could be hours. It might have been days. I didn’t know. There was a small overhead light bulb on at all times, so there was no way to tell if it was day or night. It stayed dim. It didn’t help that it was stifling hot, like being cooked in a microwave. The bucket in the corner was for exactly what I’d thought it was. So far I’d only had to use it once, and there wasn’t any toilet paper. The entire place smelled like urine.

My stomach gnawed at me. I hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since the croissant with my coffee the morning I’d left, and I’d passed being starved a long time ago. Thankfully I’d been prepared for a fast. This part of the journey was familiar, and not eating would make it easier not to have to go to the bathroom.

I paced with built-up tension and energy but couldn’t walk more than a few feet before I had to turn in the other direction. Seven steps to the door and seven steps back. Only five steps across. I’d had moments when the panic almost overtook me, but so far I’d managed to stay in control of my mind.