Page 116 of For I Have Sinned
I don’t address his comment; instead, I ask, “What were you and Sister Alice speaking about?”
A small smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth at my deflection. “We were just discussing the plans we have for the event in a week.”
“At two in the morning?” Celine asks from behind me.
Father Keaton’s eyes find hers. “Sister Alice is a night owl, like me, and I couldn’t sleep. I figured it would be a good time to review the plans we have.”
“What plans?” Celine pushes.
“Well, it’s a surprise, Celine,” Father Keaton tells her. “And I’d hate to ruin it. Just know that it will be mandatory, and I believe you’ll benefit from it. I’m not sure if Father Alexander got the chance to tell you between your… extracurricular activities.”
“The tone of your voice sounds awfully judgmental for someone who also has extracurricular activities.” Celine holds a bite to her tone.
I glance over my shoulder at her, and in a sharp tone, I say, “Enough.”
Her mouth clamps shut, and her arms fold over her chest. We hold eye contact for a moment, and I silently try to tell her to keep her words to herself. Now is not the time to fight back. Not when she is trying to get out of the convent.
Turning back to Father Keaton, I ask, “Is there a reason you came to my bedroom at this hour?”
He shrugs nonchalantly. “I saw your light on, and I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“You wanted to see if I was okay?” A hollow laugh leaves me.
I know I shouldn’t bring it up given the extent of the threats he’s made, but at this point? Fuck it. If he follows through with his threat of planting drugs in my room, I’ll figure out how to deal with it. I’m tired of walking on eggshells around him. Plus, my mom should still have the lawyer’s contact information from the last time I was in that predicament.
“That’s rich coming from someone who threatened me.” A slight gasp comes from behind me, and I know that Celine wasn’t expecting me to bring this up.
“Threaten you?” Father Keaton’s eyes grow dark as he looks from me to Celine. “Is that what she told you?”
My jaw tenses, and I place my hand on the door frame, positioning my body directly in front of him so he can’t see her anymore.
He meets my eyes, and his gaze has slightly softened. “Alexander, that’s absurd. I would never threaten you.”
“Just like you’d never sleep with the women here?” I question.
I don’t miss the way his mouth twitches before his lips flatten. “She is trouble, and she is filling your head with lies.”
“The only one lying here is you.” My fingers tighten around the door frame. If I didn’t know what I already knew, I would have believed him.
“You’re accusing me of lying?” He dares to look appalled.
“It’s not accusing when I’ve heard you in your office.”
It’s small, but Father Keaton’s eye twitches at my words. He swallows hard, calmly nodding. What is going through his mind right now? Is he thinking of a way to spin this to make it seem like I didn’t hear what I did?
As I stand in the doorway watching his expression closely, my heart continues to pound in my chest.
After a beat of silence, Father Keaton finally says, “We can save this discussion for tomorrow when there aren’t unwanted ears.”
“Why?” Celine speaks up again, causing me to sigh. I’m fine with confronting him, but I begged her to remain quiet for her safety. “It’s not like you, and I haven’t had this conversation before.”
Peering over my shoulder again, I give her a look of warning, to which she rolls her eyes and looks down at her feet.
I glance back at Father Keaton and agree to do this another time. “Tomorrow.”
He gestures towards Celine. “Get her back to her room.”
I bite my tongue because I want to tell him not to tell me what to do with her, but I hold back. I want him gone, and if I open my mouth again, it will only keep the conversation going. So, without a word, I shut the door in his face. A heavy breath leaves me as I rest my forehead on the door for a moment before turning to Celine. Her foot is tapping rapidly on the floor, and her arms are still crossed over her chest.
