Alice's POV:

When I finally took the test I realized that I had been worrying about nothing because the test was ridiculously easy compared to the AP tests taken in the past. The hours of studying had finally paid off, and I had finally been able to feel proud of myself. When the results came out my first period teacher gave me a note informing me that I was wanted at the principal's office after attendance was taken. When I pulled up the scores on my phone my body was filled with shock when I realized I got a perfect 1600. Anxious thoughts filled my brain as I walked to the principal's office. What would my parents do? Will they try and take me out of school? I just needed to push through. 

"Hello there Alice. Come take a seat," the principal gestured with a slight grin on his face. I sat down analyzing every emotion on the faces of the people around me. Thank god! My parents weren't there, and I thought that the door behind me flew open. Mrs. Davis walked through the door with a large smile and a box of my favorite candy. I was saved, for she knew everything my parents had been putting me through for the last couple of months. She was the one who helped me paste the study sheets into an old Bible I brought in.

"Congratulations Alice! You are on the perfect track to be valedictorian of your class, and I just got the news that you got a perfect score on the SAT. Your parents must be very proud of you," he exclaimed. My face grew slightly dark and Mrs. Davis gave him the look to cut it out with daggers in her eyes.

"Please Mr. Crawdad don't tell my parents about my status. They will kill me if they find out I did good. They went out of their way to try to stop me from taking the test," I cried softly. He looked at me with the compassion of a father. 

"I will not tell them for your safety, but it is hard for me to stand idly by knowing that the parents are not proud of their daughter for excelling in school," Mr. Crawdad boomed. I was shaking in my seat as Mrs. Davis put her hand on my shoulder.  He could tell that I was shaken, and he started to talk quietly.

"I am sorry for crying sir, but I know what they will do if they learn about my aptitude. They want me to be a dumb obeying housewife that will spread the word of Jesus Christ and bear a lot of children. That is not the future I want sir. I want to leave Fishers, so I can finally be free," I explained with tears burning my eyes. 

"Alice, I know you have been through a lot, but let's turn that frown upside down. The true reason I wanted to call you in here was to let you know you won a scholarship from our school donors. It totals to be $10,000 a year for whatever university you end up choosing," the principal beamed. The room went from somber to really hopeful. This money would be a large milestone in allowing me to afford college. Plus, it is only near the end of my junior year, so who knows what scholarships I will get moving forward. All the fear of my parents was put to the side as I was allowed to take a breath of relief. Even if my parents weren't supportive, I started to build a foundation of people that I could call on in a time of need. When I returned home my parents asked me how the test went, and I silently went to my room. Grins littered their faces as they believed I had failed, and I would fit into the perfect mold for their Christian straight girl. Over the next few months, Mrs. Davis helped me write college applications along with scholarship applications. There was a university that interested me the most called Treecrest University. The biggest flaw of the university is that it was out of state meaning I would have to pay a crazy amount or take life-altering loans to afford it. However, the college was known for being LGBTQ+ friendly, and it would allow me to go into technology without any questions. Thankfully there was a scholarship I applied for that would allow me to go there for free with room and board covered as well. 

Winter rolled around and I hid in Mrs. Davis's room during lunch anxiously hovering by the computer to see the results of both the acceptance and scholarships offered by the universities. She offered to click the results for me, and her squeal meant something good must have happened. On the screen, I got a welcome to Treecrest email stating I would be a part of the next incoming class, and I had been offered the full-ride scholarship. It felt like a ton of bricks had lifted off my chest. I was accepted to the other universities as well, but none of them offered a scholarship that was compared to Treecrest. Mrs. Davis offered to help move me to the university knowing my parents would do anything to get in my way of attending and escaping. In the same month, I passed my driver's test, so I had the necessary identification forms I would need to be independent. Also, within these months my parents were trying their best to get me to go on a date with the pastor's boy. To not raise any suspicion, I complied and went to the local diner with David. Let me tell you he was the most basic white guy you could think of when you think of your local church boy. He went off on how he was going to be the next pastor of the church, and he dreamed of finding a submissive wife to be by his side. It took every ounce in my being to not lash out at him, but I pretended to be interested as he went on. My grip increased on the coffee cup, and the coffee started to boil rapidly like it was put to a flame. My hand was unscathed from the cup, but of course, David called our poor waiter over berating him on how he almost burned his future wife with his insolence. What did he mean by future wife? Maybe he was just being cocky about how he thought the date was going.

When I returned home my mom was sitting at the kitchen counter reading some bible weekly magazine holding a hidden grin on her face. As I walked into the room my dad arrived from the shadows with a similar grin on his face. To not alert them I held a fake smile that burned my lips. 

"Hello there Alice. How did the date go?" my mom cooed with a hopeful expression on her face. 

"It went fine. David is a nice kid," I replied trying to not gag at my own words. God even if I was straight there is zero way I would be into a narcissistic asshole like the pastor's son.

"Your mom and I wanted to let you know we set up an arranged marriage with David on your 19th birthday. He is perfect for our baby girl, and he will mold you into the perfect housewife god wants," my dad explained as fear filled every inch of my being. What the fuck? Is that even legal? Calm down Alice, they can't enforce this because once I turn 18 I am out of this joint. My smile was so fake my parents almost caught on.

"Mother, what if we don't get along in our next few dates?" I asked to show a bit of concern. If I was perfectly okay with this they would catch on to my lies. 

"Don't worry dear, we have already heard back from the pastor and his son has taken an intense liking for you. Also, think about your father. If you married the pastor's son he would get more power in the church," my mom explained with such confidence. I had to lie and pretend to accept and like this idea to calm and appease my parents.

The day I turned 18 was the most terrifying yet monumental day of my life. It was when I legally was allowed to leave the house, and my parents couldn't do anything. Over the last few weeks, I have been slowly moving my stuff to the guest room in Mrs. Davis's spare bedroom to not draw suspicion. I did not have much to bring, but I threw the remaining things into a suitcase I had purchased for this situation. I threw the rest of the cash into my suitcase I had earned along with some belongings that reminded me of my days with my brother. My savings now totaled $32,000, not including the scholarship I received from my high school. It was a total of 5 hours until I graduated from high school, and I would be able to move to the next chapter of my life. For my graduation, I was allowed to give the speech as valedictorian, and I knew my parents would show up even if I left. In the speech, I made sure to not attribute any of my successes to them, and I thanked the people who were monumental for bringing me to who I am today. 

The rest of the summer was relatively relaxing to the rest of my life despite my working overtime in the coffee shop. Mrs. Davis told me that I was free to go to her home for holidays, and I was allowed to take the guest room in the summers. My parents still tried to reach out to me in letters, but they never would convince me to return. Since it was a small town church members would look at me with disdain if I was spotted, but thankfully I was able to stay clear from my parents. The only letters I ever looked forward to were the ones from my older brother. In college, he was able to find a boyfriend and a group of friends that loved him. He sent me Polaroid pictures, and I held them close. Ever since my 18th birthday, I have been having weird dreams of two vastly different women. The main theme of them was heaven and hell, and I put it off to having trauma from my childhood. The first woman was around 5'11 and she had crimson horns with ebony hair. In her hair, she had purple highlights that matched the purple and black feathers on her wings. Her eyes were a bright violet, and her ears were pointed like an elf. She had a tanned and toned body which was accentuated by the violet crop top. She also had a red tail that matched the red of her horns that looked like a classic devil's tail. She smelt of burnt marshmallows and campfire smoke. The second woman was around 5'9 and she had curly dirty blond hair that was put into a braid. Her eyes were a piercing blue, and she had white angel wings protruding out her back. She wore a cream cold shoulder halter top that showed off her toned body as well. Whenever she showed up you could hear peaceful harp music, and she smelt like the dew on the trees mixed with lavender. I would get these dreams every night with more and more detail being shown in each one even though they were cryptic messages. Well, now that I caught you up on my past let's move to the present day, my first day at college.