Blood Secrets

CHATPER 15

BEFORE

My minds reeling after Dad's explanation and I can't help repeating parts of the conversation over and over again in my head.

She's got a catastrophic plan that will hurt many

Your mum is going to kidnap you

I tried not to seem weak in front of Dad and Andy but now, in the privacy of my room, I cry. I actually cry. Right now, I'm not even sure why but the tears won't stop coming and coming. The warm liquid flows down my cheeks relentlessly and I can't help the raging confusion swirling around in my head. I try to process everything I'd been told but don't know where to start. Too many things had been said and I can't make sense of any of it. My head begins to feel heavy and I close my eyes as I lay onto my bed, falling asleep.

TWO AND A HALF HOURS LATER

I'm surprised when I wake up feeling refreshed. I definitely didn't expect to be able to get a minutes sleep but I guess my body needed to reboot. Not sure what to do next as sounds of movement downstairs travel to my room, I lay there for a good minute or two. Still not being brave enough to come to a rational decision on my own, I pull out my mums book again hoping for some sudden decision to occur mid sentence or something.

I pick up her diary from where I tossed it and stay in that corner of my bedroom to know there's a wall behind me for some kind of support.

Skipping about forty pages, I go to the first post it note and read.

I didn't mean for this to happen but now I know I wouldn't change it for the world. I can't believe little old me, Valerie, the nerdy school reporter would be this special. Ashton tells me only I can do this and I'm so excited! He said not to become to self absorbed or cocky because then I'd lose what makes me special, whatever that is. I don't even think he means it. I just think he doesn't want me to get any smarter in case I realise how much of an amateur he is at this. He leads this cult but he doesn't even know about our religion. He doesn't understand the old rituals and old beliefs that were supposed to withstand all time. Instead, he's made us believe what he wants us to believe in the name of the religion and expects us all to follow him like puppets and do whatever he wants us to. But I know there's more to this and I can make the cult more than it already is. With all the research I've managed to collect on my religion, my eyes have been opened hugely and I know I'm the only one that can make everyone change for the better. This'll be hard though, with Ashton being the manipulator he is so I know what I have to do. I must make everyone else in the cult see what I see and believe the truth, not Ashton's lies and this way, I'll get rid of him once and for all giving the cult -my cult- it's true purpose.

I'm taken aback by her ruthlessness but most of all devotion to her cult and "religion". Weirdly, she never mentions the name of it but I guess that's not that important anyway. I can see what Andy and Dad have been talking about all this time; her addiction to the cult and how quickly she went from wanting a story to becoming the story.

After reading the entry, I can't help but feel disappointed at the lack of information and the obvious concealment of information and details. It was as if she was afraid someone else would read it, someone like me, so she made sure to make entries vague.

Frustrated and overwhelmed, I left the room and then the cabin hoping to assemble my thoughts outside with some fresh air.