The car ride back home was suffocating to say the least. After Veronica finished talking about her father, her mother didn't say anything and left the venue in relative calm. She apologized to the guests in attendance, ignored nosy relatives from asking for the reason for stopping the wedding, paid the vendors in peace before dragging Veronica out to their car, and drove away.
Ver felt dread settle in the pit of her stomach. She loathed hearing her mother shout and go off on her, but this....this silence was something else altogether. It was nerve-wracking and bone-chilling. Nothing good would come out of this silence and Ver knew it better than anyone. The few times Kate had been this quiet were when she divorced her first husband and when young Ver was caught in the middle of the night while trying to escape to her dad's house. It was a futile struggle that resulted in her first visit to the Holy leader. She didn't dare try to escape again after that day.
She hesitantly glanced at her mother. Clenched jaw, red eyes. Yep, she was furious. Ver felt her helplessness crawl back, she still had six months before she could complete her college and hopefully get a job. The place she lived in wasn't a city, it was a small town with a tight-knit community and one church. And the religion that the people here, including her family, followed was very new and unique to the outside world. Her mother moved here after separating from her dad. Even though she was legally an adult, women here were not allowed to move out of their parents' house until their marriage. This was also the biggest reason why she agreed to marry Rick, even though he was kind of a douche to her. She was drowning inside her house and had to get out somehow.
But now even that wasn't possible. That coward snatched away her only chance because he loved someone else. And that someone else? She had no idea who it was. Maybe someone in their circle?
'Screech' Her thoughts came to a halt when the car stopped. The dust on the pavement had not settled before once again, her mother dragged Ver out and inside the house.
As soon as they entered, her stepfather's familiar face came into her view. He stood right in the living room with his arms crossed across his chest. The landline was right on the table in front of him, clearly showing that he had recently talked to someone. Ver had a hunch that someone back in the wedding venue must have called and informed him about everything that happened.
"I heard about it'' He had way too much face for a stepdad who didn't even have the decency to attend her wedding. "My entire golf club is talking about it, my business partners are talking about it. What the hell is this, Kate?'' This time he looked at her mother while asking that.
However, instead of answering him, Kate dragged Ver upstairs passing her sister's room before stopping in front of her room.
"Mom?'' Veronica looked at her mother in confusion, but the next second, she was forcefully pushed inside the room, which made her fall to the ground. She whinced in pain and turned around with tears in her eyes to only see her mother glaring at her with hate-filled eyes.
"You will meet the Holy leader tonight'' that made Ver's eyes widen, "You will receive your long due punishment, you wretched girl'' With that, her mom closed the door to her room, locking it from the outside.
"No," Ver whispered and ran towards the locked door, "No, No, No!'' She shouted and begged, "Mom, please! Please don't do this," She didn't want to meet that psychopath cult leader ever again. Not him!. Never him!
"Why did I have to smart mouth her?'' Ver held her hair between her fingers in frustration at herself, "Why the fuck did I have to act out!? I shouldn't have done it, I should have endured it" Just like she had done till now, she should have shut her mouth and not talked back to her mother. The latter didn't take well with people backtalking to her. Her mother was a vengeful woman, especially toward her. Now she would punish her in the worst way possible. Kate knew how much Ver hated going to the church and confronting the Holy leader. She was going to use that fact to discipline Ver.
"I have to escape," She murmured to herself and quickly walked towards her wardrobe. Picking out something comfortable, she decided to wear them. Pink shirt and track pants. Ease of movement was crucial if she wanted to escape. Turning back, she rushed towards her window and opened it, but when she tried to squeeze through the railings it led her nowhere. The gap was too small for her. She knew that fact well, but the urgency of her situation made it difficult for her to think clearly. A strangled cry left her throat as she backed away. This time, her eyes darted towards the bathroom.
Ver ran towards it and slipped inside before glancing up at the glassed window right above the commode. Beyond her door, she heard a sound indicating that someone was here. She had no time to waste, willing herself, she stepped up the marble seat and started to unlock the window. She wasn't very athletic and struggled to pull herself up to hold the window's edge. But once she did, she held on before propping herself up and inside the window. Once, she was outside, she held her breath when she saw the distance to the ground. It was daunting.
"Veronica!'' It was her mother's voice. She was here for her. That would soon mean her getting dragged to the church. Ver had to move quickly.
Right when the bathroom door slammed open, Ver let go of her grip and jumped to the ground.
"Ugh," She felt her ankle crunch when she finally reached the grass ground. When she scrambled up, a sharp pain shot through her ankle making her wobble. She was sure that it was twisted, in the worst-case scenario, broken.
"Catch her, don't let her get away'' Ver heard voices in the distance and saw some church goons running towards her. Panic started to set in, which made her drag herself, hoping to lose them. To her utter dread, she wasn't able to run as fast as she hoped due to her injured ankle. But giving up now was akin to her ending up in hell.
Ver pushed herself to her limit and ran as fast as she could but the men were faster. They caught up to her before she could cross the street and covered her mouth to not let her make any sound before dragging her back towards her house.
Silent tears streamed down her cheeks as she struggled in their hold. She fought with all her might, tried to scream but with no victory on her side. When they reached her house, she was shoved inside a white van with the two goons sitting on either side of her.
"I want her well disciplined'' Ver vaguely heard her mother say. It was like she was talking about some kind of animal in need of training. Maybe she was much less in her mother's eyes.
"It will take time" one of the goons replied.
"I don't mind," Her mom said, "It is a blessing not to see her face every day. Take all the time you want and send my greetings to His Holiness." Just like that, their discussion was done. The words that came out of her mother's mouth weren't surprising but it still stung. The realization of knowing that her own mother hated her left her weak. The last thing she saw as the van drove away was her mother's scorn-filled face. She didn't know why, but it felt like this was the last time she would see her mother.
The goons slowly released their hold on her while she and Ver sat still. Her struggle would be futile with her being surrounded by these men. She didn't want to waste her energy where it wasn't of any use and took a deep breath. She did that for quite some time but her breath still hitched when she saw the church building. The van stopped, and soon she was dragged out, even amidst her reluctance.
"Let me go!'' She yelled and pulled to get out of their hold but felt a backhanded slap across her face.
"Shut the fuck up, Bitch!" the goon that slapped her said, "This is not your home, there will be consequences for your words and actions. You will be presented before his holiness later today and I suggest you keep your trap shut until then"
It has started. This slap was one amongst many others she would receive in this place.