"You can only have a boyfriend when you are under eighteen."
"Women need to be pure for their husbands, so no sex before marriage."
"Impure women will go to hell and burn forever."
Those were the words Elaine's mother and the priest kept repeating, over and over, until it became something normal to hear.
It wasn't until she turned eighteen that she realized something was wrong with all of it. That was when she understood they were in a cult, and she chose to leave, taking a college far away in another country.
Even after knowing all of that, her body never really followed her thoughts.
She still couldn't stand being touched. Even something simple like a kiss on the cheek from her own mother felt wrong.
But Gideon was different.
She felt excited when she kissed him. Her heart was beating so loud that she couldn't focus on anything else, and instead of disgust, there was warmth spreading through her chest when their lips touched.
