Sold (Christian Romance)

Chapter Twenty One

Sisi sat silently beside Remi on the couch and watched his jaw muscle work. He was worried, about what, she had no idea. He had become withdrawn ever since he got that suspicious phone call in the kitchen. With it came his silence and this bitter taste in her mouth that she couldn't seem to be able to swallow. Something was wrong. Why wouldn't he tell her what the problem was, why did he choose instead to sit there, his brows furrowed together with a frown on his face? She glanced at him. What she wouldn't do to make him smile, to make him know that she would support him, no matter what the problem seemed to be, she would stand by him. It almost seemed like she could do anything for this man.

She shifted close to him and placed her hand on his arm. He turned to look at her, concern etched on his face. She wanted to ease his burden, whatever it was. She took his hand and kissed his fingers, one at a time, a smile on her face. Glancing up, she stared at him. A small smile played at the corner of his lips.

"My love" He touched her face and she leaned on his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" She waited a few seconds for his response. When it didn't come, she rose her head up to look at him. His gaze was fixed on the cartoons Jesse, who had fallen asleep on the couch, had been watching. She touched his chin and moved his head to face her. "You haven't spoken more than two words since... Well, since you got that phone call in the kitchen. What is going on, are you having money problems?" He shook his head.

She watched him intently, maintaining eye contact with him.

"I just need to work things out" He said. "Nothing to worry about"

"Let me help you with whatever it is. Please Remi, tell me the problem"

..........

Remi sat, thinking and praying. He felt almost helpless and needed to remind himself constantly that God was with him, that God would see him through, that God wouldn't let anything bad happen to Abigail but who was he trying to fool? He was afraid. Afraid of what Chief could do, afraid of Chief killing Abigail and taking Sisi away. He contemplated calling the Police but even that seemed like a dead end. What if he called the Police and Chief got a wind of it, what if the Police turned on him instead? He didn't know what to think or what to do. He felt Sisi grab his hand and kiss his fingers, the warmth of her lips almost wiping his worries away. He loved this woman, with all of him. He loved her so much, it scared him. He wasn't willing to let go of her, he wasn't willing to lose her. He turned, a smile on his face.

"My love" He whispered. He wanted so much to kiss her as he touched her face. She rested her head on his shoulder and he felt an overwhelming urge to protect her. He could never exchange her life for Abigail's neither could he leave Aby to suffer in the hands of Chief.

When she asked what was wrong, he didn't know what to tell her. He didn't want to give her a reason to panic or worry so he settled on evasiveness. Sisi wasn't having any of it. What was the point of lying to her anyway? He stared at her then nodded his head.

"Chief called" He said, noticing the look of horror that flashed in her eyes. "He abducted Aby"

"What?!"

"Sisi, please don't panic"

"I have to go" She rose up and made for the front door.

"Sisi!" He went after her and grabbed her arm. "Let's calm down and think of what to do"

"Think?! We don't have time to think, Remi. I have to go!" She struggled against his grip but he wouldn't let go. "Leave me alone" She wailed and he embraced her. Her body trembled against him. "I know it's me he wants. If I return to him, perhaps he would let her go. Remi" She glanced up at him, her eyes red. "Chief might be a monster but he won't kill me. He'll abuse me but won't kill me. I have to go back to him"

"There has to be something that can be done. We just need to pray and ask God for help" He smoothened her hair. Truth was, he had been praying for more than two hours after the phone call and had heard nothing from God. He was as weak and confused as when the call first came in.

"God" She pushed away from him. "Forgive me if I do not share your faith, Remi but I have nothing to say to your God" She turned around and made for the front door once more.

He reached for her once more and gripped her arm. She turned around and hit him hard across his face. Then, as if realizing what she had done, she put her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry" She whispered. She placed her palm on his face, as if to ease the pain. "Remi, you do not understand the danger your friend Abigail is in. Chief will kill her. He doesn't take prisoners of war, he kills them all! If I don't leave now, he'll do something worse! And no, praying will solve nothing." She tried to reason with him. "Ask God, Ask him how many times I prayed and begged for his help. Ask him how many times I cried. Ask him how many Children he took from me!" She cried. Placing her hand on her face, she ran a finger down the scar. "See this scar? Chief gave it to me when I was ten years old! He took a knife and ran it down my face. He was branding me, marking me as his. At ten, I screamed for God. I begged him, I pleaded. If he ignored me then, what makes you think he will hear me now?"

Tears stained her face as she reached for her shirt and pulled it over her head to expose her bare back. As he stared at her, he could see, plain as day, lash marks, too numerous to count, running across her back.

"I can't tell you how many times he would take a belt to me" She whispered. "There were times I passed out from the pains and would wake up calling the name of your God" Hurt laced her voice.

She turned to face him. "Every inch of my body is covered in scars. Every scar tells a story of it's own of Chief's constant, brutal abuse. A point came in my life when I thought I actually deserved it. My own parents turned their backs on me. My childhood, my life, my hopes, my faith... It was all taken away from me. So please, forgive me but I'm experienced enough to know that when it comes to the real world, God does not care" She said, grabbing her shirt and pulling it back on.

His face still stinging from the slap, he stared at her, compassion filling his heart. She was broken and lost. Life had turned her against God and there was nothing he could say that could change her mind. And what did he know anyway? He had had a good childhood and a good life and had married a good woman. While life wasn't completely smooth, while he had had his own fair share of grief and loss, his pain was nothing compared to hers. Still, he wanted her to know she could get over her past and experience a good future; a future he wanted to be a part of.

God, he cried out in his heart. I'm confused and lost and afraid. I'm afraid of losing two important people in my life. I'm afraid of making a mistake that could cost me everything and more than anything, I'm afraid that Sisi will never get to experience you the way that I have. Father, you know my needs even before I have them. You see my fears and my doubts. You understand Sisi's grief and her loss more than I do and I know you were with her through it all. I know there were situations where she should have died but you kept her alive and I know you kept her alive for this long for a reason.

He fell to his knees and closed his eyes. "God, show us a path in this darkness. Help us defeat this giant"

"Media" He heard a soft whisper.

"What?" He looked around but he was alone. Where was Sisi? He panicked and rose up. He made his way to the front door and found it unlocked. He ran outside in search of Sisi but she was nowhere in sight.

Author's note:

I apologize for not posting any chapter last week. It was a really long week and I struggled so much with this chapter. Struggled in the sense that I could not connect, emotionally to Sisi or Remi. And I didn't want to write if I couldn't feel what my characters were feeling so I took a break and retreated into my mind and prayed too. I wrote three different versions of this chapter. Thank God I finally settled on one.

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Xoxo