Outside by Nicole Sewell Read Free Book Online

The door swings shut.
    I hurry off his porch. Papergirl ? I’ve been called names before. Naomi and some of the other girls called me all kinds of things. Papergirl is a new one.
     
    After three days of delivering papers in the heavy navy skirt Holly says she wore in a school play last year, I agree to let her take me shopping with Beth’s money.
    “For some light-weight skirts,” I clarify as I fan myself with a leftover newspaper in the living room. “And only because it’s so hot.”
    “Whatever,” she says, smiling. She takes off toward Beth’s office as I head for the stairs, eager to splash some cold water on my face.
    Holly knocks on my door while I’m reading my bible in my room. “Ready to go?”
    I open it a crack, still holding the little bible she gave me. “Did you tell your mother I’d pay her back?”
    Standing on her tip-toes, she peeks around me at my bed. “Oh my god,” she says, pushing past me. “I haven’t been in here since Gramma lived with us.” She falls forward onto the orange cover, burying her face in the pillows before rolling onto her side. “This was her room. Mom did a good job brightening it up. I love this comforter.”
    Hesitantly, I walk over and perch on the bed. Holly takes the bible from me and puts a rainbow striped device in my hands. A phone. A cellphone. Portable evil.
    “This is a phone. It lets you talk to people who are far away if you need help,” she says, sitting up.
    Waiting for my hands to start burning, I stare at the black screen. “I’m aware of how a phone works.” I frown at the garish thing in my hands. This is nothing like the phone we had in Shiloh.
    “You don’t know how to use a cellphone, do you?” she teases.
    Looking up at her, I ask, “Where’re all the buttons?”
    She bites the inside of her cheek to keep a straight face. “Back in nineteen ninety-six where they belong.” Grabbing the phone from me, she presses a button and explains how to access what she calls “the basics”: phone calls, text messaging, and a strange sounding woman named Siri if I can’t figure something out.
    She hands it back, but I don’t take it. “I can’t have this. It’s-”
    “Evil?” She rolls her eyes. “Alaina, it’s not evil. And I’m not evil and my mom’s not evil.”
    Peeking up at her, I say, “Everything you do and say is against the bible. It’s against what the Lord has commanded of his women.”
    Standing up, she grabs my bible and waves it in front of me. “Says who? The bible? Or your cult people? Have you read this whole thing, front to back, in context?”
    I shake my hair away from my face. “The elders at Shiloh forbid people to interpret the bible without their assistance. They are prophets of the Lord and understand things that we could never hope to comprehend.”
    Holly laughs and I jump to my feet, reaching for my bible. “Do not mock the Lord’s prophets.”
    “I’m sorry,” she says, holding the bible just out of my reach. “I just…” Taking a deep breath, she regains her composure. “I’m trying to understand you and trying to make you understand me.”
    Tilting my head, I scowl. “Why?”
    Sighing, she tosses the bible on the dresser and motions to the bed so we can sit down. “The truth is, Alaina, whether you like it or not, you’re out of your cult. You’re stuck out here with us and it’s sink or swim, you know? You can have your beliefs and stuff. I totally respect that. But if you don’t learn to adapt, even a little bit,” she pinches her fingers together in front of my face. “A smidge , you’re going to be screwed for the rest of your life.” She hands me the phone. “You don’t have to use it. Just take it so I don’t get in trouble with my mom.”
    Nodding, I accept it. After a moment, I look up at her. “Thank you.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER SIX
    ALAINA
     
    “We’re going out,” Holly calls to Beth, slinging her bag over her shoulder before thundering down the