Rome

I always hated when my parents told me “Rome wasn’t built in a day, you know.” Clearly. All I wanted was to be able to live my life without them hovering over my shoulder with every decision I made. All I wanted to do was to go on a vacation by myself. All I wanted was to just live life on my terms without my parents trying to make every decision for me. 

Usually my only escape from their watchful eye was to either say I was going on a run or going to the library. Running and reading were two of the main things they never wanted to join me in. Or really watch me. I spent hours each week ‘running’ and ‘visiting the library’ when often I snuck off to go to the mall or hang out with my friends. I was always expecting my parents to figure out what I was doing, but somehow they were fooled. Or just didn’t really care as much as they said they did. 

Everything came crashing down the day I got caught leaving the mall. Leaving the mall with clothes I was technically not allowed to wear. But strangely enough, I wasn’t caught by either of my parents, I was caught by my sister. My sister who had moved out three years before and had yet to come home. Until today. I never knew she had been in a cult. A cult started by our parents. I knew I was doomed.