Esther's POV
I was in the counsellor's office signing up for my one-week deliverance prayer and fasting programme. She had reported me to the school counsellor and enrolled me into the school's CNL (Centre for New Life), not without my consent, though. I was convinced that if I needed a change, then I needed people with much spiritual strength than I to fight. Iron sharpens iron, the bible says, and I was not ready to wait. My life is completely ruined, like my Friend Aholah, before I seek a change. I felt ruined already, though, and all I could do was beg God for HIs grace and mercy to be renewed.
I was assured that since I have approached the school for help, I will not be punished in any way, and everything would be made as confidential as possible. I don't know Miss Debby carries, but I just believe every word she says. I just find it so easy to trust her, and somehow God will help me because of her.
Right there, while all the paperwork was being done, I could not help but pray for my friend Christine, who is here seeking change with me. When I told her about all this, she threatened to make me die if I brought her or any other person into my mess. But I know I'm not in a mess, I'm on a journey to freedom. I'm going to be free from my sins and recover my innocence. I'm going to be able to stand before my maker again, not with any guilt of sin, because he will help me to stop loving my gender the wrong way. One thing I was so sure of as I got into the vehicle that would take me to Roundhouse, where the school's deliverance team would pray with me for the next seven days, was freedom. Somehow, Jesus will set me free. I know so.
***
Kamila's POV
"What?! I can't believe we made it." I sighed as the taxi pulled up on a hillside that night. I looked over at my colleagues. Karen had her head well rested on Damien's Shoulder and was probably already in the world beyond, and Damien, whose countenance had kept me awake, stared into me.
"We might have to spend the night here. The road ahead is pretty rough, and we would need light, good light, else we fall into a ditch." The driver warned while he turned off the engine and got into his seat. I had never thought of the possibility of leaving the country through the hills and then sleeping in a shuttle car overnight, but in desperate times they say...
"Are you okay, Damien?" I had to ask. "Need more water." I handed over to him the remaining water in my bottle. We bought a lot while traveling, but mine seems to be the only one left.
He took the bottle from me and gulped it down. "Please do not abandon Paige, Kamila. She does not deserve to die."
"I know."
"And who is Paige?" Came the voice, from the one who I thought was fast asleep.
Karen has this kind of voice that sends shrills into the night. Or maybe it's just me and how sensitive I was this night. Or maybe how we met. The smart lady with a pocket knife and brains enough to outsmart her boss.
"My client." I decided not to answer for Damien. Just as I predicted, he was quiet.
"Let me guess, the case you were working on when Brianne caught up with you."
"Yes..."
"The Kam family, right?"
"You know them?"
"What does a PA not know?"
"What else do you know?"
She raised her head from Damien's lap and faced him. "No, what do I not know? Why is our fine boy suddenly quiet?"
And why is she flirting with a weak guy? What the hell, Karen? She leaned into him, her face on his, and asked the question again.
"How did you know Paige?"
Okay, a different question this time.
"We never met, wow." I saw Damien ease away from under her and helped her straighten herself.
"I grew up with Brianne."
"Hm... " she groaned.
"Not..." I tried to argue, but stopped myself halfway. Who cares anyway?
I stared at Damien, and he got it. He has just said something new again, and he has to explain it.
"It's a long story."
"I'm also very much interested, Damien." It's how this lady can retain her liveliness even in distress. I looked over the driver's seat, our driver asleep and almost snoring. We've been through a lot that day, and the only thing we should do was sleep, but no, too many questions begging for answers.
"Brianne and his men kidnapped us when we were teenagers. We were returning home from school. Last day in high school. Whoever sent them wanted me dead. Jude Kam sent them. But Brianne, the leader of the gang, knew my father and could not kill me. He claimed my father had saved his life once."
He paused. "He adopted me as his son on the condition that when I am older, I would reconnect with Paige, marry her, and kill her. And inherit her properties in his name."
"Crazy!" Karen chuckled. "He was going to kill you, too, then. Brianne is crazy."
"I knew. But I had no choice then."
"Was that why you left Paige?"
"Yes, I could not marry her. I could not be a part of Brianne's plan. I had to run to find my own family, but..."
"He caught you," Karen interrupted. "My sharp boss."
"Wait, Paige was a lover?"
Like she's just realizing.
"Hm." He nodded.
I saw her relax in her chair, giving me the chance to speak.
"How can I help Paige now when she has taken the law into her own hands by killing her father?"
"Her father is a rapist, a pedophile. He deserved to die."
"What?"
"Kamila, he wanted me dead because I found out. I found out that he forcefully sleeps with his daughter."
"Ewe!" Karen exclaimed.
Too much information. I had taken time to process them all. I could feel blood in my mouth, and Paige's pain in my heart. No wonder she is that crazy.
"So.. that must have been an act of self-defense, but..."
Another round of stating the obvious.
"We need proof." I paused. "Proof that she had stabbed him while he was trying to have his way with her."
Then the night went as silently as it should be, but cold and gloomy as everyone was lost in his thoughts.