She read the text message.'U deserve it. Luv u too.'Could her birthday get any better? A thoughtful, gorgeous present from Seb and he loves me. Oh! He...loves me! Seb loves me!Keira threw herself on her bed, one hand fondling the necklace, the other pressing the screen of her iPhone. She found the number and called."Jenny," she said breathlessly, "You'll never guess what just happened!"Absorbed in confiding with her best friend, giggling, laughing at some of Jenny's comments, time flew. A knock. The last one she was sent to (the reverend seemed to act only as an observer) was in his early thirties, about her age, with a friendly smile. He looked at her for a moment, reached up to her face, then thought better of it.?Kneel!?She knelt slowly.?Look at me.?She looked up into his friendly face.?You are a filthy whore.?The words were accentuated by a hand hitting her left cheek.?A dirty fuckslut.?Another blow hit her other cheek. He kept smiling all the time, while he slapped her face again. “What did ya think of seeing your mother treated like a slut?” He asked specifically. “I thought…” I hesitated in answering. I wasn’t sure what I should be saying and that scared me. “I thought it was a little weird at first. I thought she’d be… I don’t know unhappy being made fun of. She seemed VERY happy though so it made it fun.” Daddy looked deep in thought for a bit before taking a drink and another pull from his pipe. “That’s the thing Bud. Different people like different things. . Thanks for staying calm. Colleen and I will finish up with Jack. You stay here and get yourself under control."They left me alone, which allowed me to show some emotion. I'm not sure which was more profound, the unresolved violence in my heart, or the sadness as I thought about Beth Ann. The one thing I was sure about was that Mr. Bell was a genius. He knew exactly what I was going through and acted perfectly to help me deal with it.I went somewhere in my head because the next thing I knew.