Faking Faith by Josie Bloss

and come work for him, and that he wasn’t to be trusted alone with any girl except his sisters until he was married.”
    “Oh my word!” I said.
    She sighed. “Daddy said that none of his children would ever set foot in a government institution again, if that’s the sort of thing that went on there. Asher was heartbroken. He said that he really cared about this girl, and she cared about him. But Daddy threatened to throw him out of the house if he ever spoke to her again. I mean, of course I understand why Daddy did that, but it was awful to see Asher take it so badly. ”
    Gross. It seemed so controlling and cruel. As if a nineteen-year-old guy should be ashamed of being attracted to someone, and made to feel guilty for having a normal desire to hold hands and make out. And it was just unfair that jackasses like Blake were free to be awful to girls, while a guy like Asher, who seemed decent and kind (if disturbingly cute), was kept under lock and key.
    The world needed more guys like Asher.
    “Daddy was a little doubtful about you coming to visit,” Abigail continued. “Because he still thinks the devil has a hold inside Asher. We all had a big talk about it, though, and I think you’re even a bit of a test for him, to see if he can act appropriately around you.”
    So that’s why he’d been so awkward around me. That’s why the whole family got weird and silent the night Asher said he was thankful for meeting me. They were afraid he was going to lose all control and try to defraud me or something.
    Too bad I was coming to the uncomfortable realization that part of me wouldn’t mind getting defrauded by Asher.
    “How does Asher feel about all this? Does he ever talk about it?”
    Abigail looked sad. “He really hates to talk about it, and I think he still feels awful. Daddy told him he’d visited sin upon the family. Asher is pretty sensitive, for a boy, and Daddy’s always been on him about being a real man. Asher prays and tries to be upbeat, but I think he’s still confused. It probably would have been better if he’d never gone to college at all and never even had those thoughts put in his head.”
    “Probably,” I said, my thoughts spinning.
    As much as I didn’t want to admit it, Asher was becoming more fascinating by the moment.
    . . .
    Later that evening, I went up to Abigail’s room and dug my cell phone out of my suitcase to call my mom. She probably didn’t even remember that I told her I’d call to check in, but I didn’t want her to try and get ahold of me and freak out because my phone was off.
    “So, how is it?” she asked briskly. I could tell from the city sounds in the background that she was walking from her office to the train.
    “It’s fine,” I said. “Lots of interesting people.”
    “It’s just girls there, right? And they’re keeping an eye on you all?”
    “Yes, Mom,” I said, half rolling my eyes. I almost wished I could tell her where I really was, but only if I could witness the look on her face.
    “Well, good,” she said. An ambulance went by her, wherever she was, and the siren was all I could hear for a few seconds.
    “Anything else?” she asked. “The food is okay? You have everything you need?”
    For a moment, my throat swelled and I almost burst into tears. I couldn’t believe how much I missed my mom. And my dad and my brother and our house. My family was ridiculous and weird and all of us barely knew how to communicate our way out of a paper bag, but at least they were mine.
    And no one there talked about the devil being inside anyone else. And no one expected me and my mom to cook and clean just because we were the women.
    “Yes,” I said, hoping she couldn’t hear my voice break. “I do.”
    “Okay, Dylan,” she said. I heard the call waiting beep. “Sorry, honey, there have been some big developments with the case and I have to take this. Call if anything comes up, okay? Stay out of trouble and I’ll see you soon.”
    “Sure, Mom,”