The Forsaken (The Chosen Series Book 2)

Shelly’s words. She’d never have thought to “ditch” the doctor, but now that she mentioned it, it wasn’t such a bad idea.
“Hi, do you have an appointment today?” the friendly middle-aged lady at the window asked.
Too late. “Yes. Rachel Pence.”
The woman checked her computer screen. “There you are.” She looked up with a smile. “Have a seat, Rachel. Dr. Paine will be with you shortly.”
Rachel smiled, nodded, and headed to a seat next to another girl about her age.
“What you in for?” the girl asked. She wore all black, and her hair was spiked high on her head. Her lips were painted black to match her outfit, as well as the thick dark line that was drawn with precision around her eyelids and curved up into her temples.
Rachel realized she was staring at the girl and turned to face forward. “Bad dreams,” she answered.
“Oh, yeah?” the girl said. “Brutal.”
Rachel nodded. She didn’t ask the girl what she was “in for.” She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
The door opened, and the same bouncy girl peeked her head out. “Victoria?” she called.
“I’m up.” The girl bounced out from her seat and headed to the waiting door. “See ya around, dream girl.”
Rachel offered a hesitant wave.
Jenn gave Rachel a questioning look, and she shrugged. That seemed to be her answer to everything. Jenn shrugged back as Victoria followed her through the door. Within minutes Jenn was back for her.
“Rachel,” she called. “Come on back.”
Rachel sighed and got up to follow Jenn to the office of Dr. Charlotte Paine. Or Char, as the woman had informed her in their last session. Rachel had no intent on calling the woman by Char or any other name.
“That girl is a bit spooky, huh?” Jenn said as Rachel followed behind.
“Yes. Quite.”
“Well, here we are again,” Jenn said as they stood before the familiar door.
“Thank you,” Rachel answered although she wasn’t sure exactly what she was thanking the girl for. Escorting her to a door that she already knew how to get to?
Just like the last time, Jenn peeked her head in the door to announce their arrival.
“Come on in, Rachel,” the woman on the other side sang.
Jenn smiled and left Rachel in the doorway. Rachel hesitantly walked into the office and sat down in the seat across from the desk.
“How are you doing today?” Dr. Paine asked.
“I am well.” The lie seemed to roll right off her tongue as if it were the truth. She was not well. Not even close. The closer she got to her due date, the worse her nightmares became.
“You look tired. I bet you can’t wait to deliver.”
Rachel nodded.
“Well,” the woman leaned forward in her chair. “I appreciate you talking to me about Jacob and the baby, but I am hoping this time we can talk more about something a little different.”
Rachel hadn’t spoken much about Jacob. Only that he was gone and she was left to give birth to his child without him. “Okay?”
“I understand your anxiety has little to do with the loss of the baby’s father and more to do with the community in which you were raised. Would that be a fair assessment?”
The last thing Rachel wanted to speak about was her community. The English did not understand their ways, and Rachel had come to realize that people often belittled what they did not understand. Before she could answer, the doctor spoke again.
“I’ve done a bit of research on The Chosen, and I want you to know, as a Christian, I won’t talk bad about them or belittle their beliefs. Your beliefs. But I do want to talk about them so we can get through the memories that are most likely triggering your nightmares.”
Rachel blinked, and a tear fell down her cheek. Her biggest worry was that this woman would look down on her for being ignorant. Uneducated. Would bash her people for their ways and treat her as though she was a victim.
“Tell me about that day. What exactly happened to make them kick you out onto the street?”
“I was late. My cycle had not come for three months.” Rachel hated talking about such things, but it was the only way she could explain it. “I requested Jacob to meet me in my barn that night. My sister, Abigail, she overheard the conversation and thought she was protecting me. She told my father. It is not the way of The Chosen to have relations outside of marriage. I had sinned against my community and my God.”
“I see.” She nodded her understanding. “It is a commendable ordinance and Biblical, I might add. Are you upset with your sister for telling your father?”
“I am not upset with Abigail. She only sped up the process. Sooner or later, my father, along with the rest of the community, would have found out. There was no changing that.”
“And that’s when your father made you leave?”
“My father did not make me leave. The High Prophet did.”
“Hm.” The woman scribbled some notes on her notepad. “The High Prophet. I read a bit about him in my research, but there’s really not a whole lot of information available.”
“We are a private people.” There she went speaking as if she were still chosen. “We – The Chosen do not live in the world.”
“Second Corinthians, right?”
Rachel nodded. She knew the verse by heart. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness. “Six fourteen,” she quoted. And The Chosen, they were light. The English were darkness, evil, sinful, unrighteousness. At least that is what she had been told all her life. Now she wasn’t so sure.
“That’s admirable, Rachel. There is nothing wrong with separating yourself from the ways of the world. I am inclined to agree with the simplicity of your people. Life is a lot less complicated when the rest of the world is not around to crowd it up.”
“Agreed.” Maybe the woman wasn’t as bad as she had initially thought.
Abigail explained