Free The Purgatorium by Eva Pohler

getting your body hair shaved off be a rewarding experience?”
    “You’ll see.”
    “Not in this lifetime.”
    When Cam said nothing more, she asked, “They won’t force me, will they?”
    “I don’t think so. They don’t do it until the end of—” he stopped, looking past her. “We’ll talk later.”
    Daphne looked around but saw no one close enough to overhear them. Then she realized, as they walked through the grounds, that there could be surveillance cameras hidden in the nearby buildings.
    After an uneventful dinner, Cam asked her to walk down to the beach with him.
    Far off to their right, the sun was setting, and at the top of the wooden steps, Daphne stopped to take in the beauty. Whatever else the resort was for the people who came here, it was first and foremost a beautiful place that brought much pleasure. Daphne suspected this was an important part of the resort’s therapeutic qualities. She and Cam followed the boardwalk down to the sand, where they abandoned their shoes and strolled to the edge of the water. One other couple sat together in the sand by the hill of poppies and a lone woman stood at the top of the chalky bluffs gazing out to sea.
    “They can still see us down here, but they can’t hear what we’re saying.” Cam faced the sea.
    The sun nearly touched the horizon and sank further by the minute. Orange hues reflected on the graceful waves. The wind was less violent down here near the water than it had been on the boardwalk.
    “So my mother put me up to this? She set me up? And my dad?”
    Cam nodded. “They’ve been worried about you.”
    Daphne hadn’t looked her parents in the eye in months. It had been just like the words in Larry’s song. “How did you find out about this place?”
    “My mom knows someone who knows someone who knows Dr. Gray. I’m sorry I lied to you. I was told it was necessary to your therapy.”
    “I don’t see how lying can ever be a good thing.”
    Cam said nothing.
    As they continued down the beach toward the sunset and the chalky bluffs, Daphne asked, “So what was your rough time? Did you try to, you know...”
    “No, but I came close. I guess I wasn’t as brave as you.”
    Daphne sucked in her lips. It hadn’t been bravery.
    “I wasn’t dealt as tough a hand as you,” he said. “I never told you this, but I got into drugs and failed my first semester of college. My step-dad cut me off, even though the money comes from my mom. She supported his decision. I had nothing—no one, no friends, no job, no life.”
    “What about me?”
    “Kara had just died the year before. I didn’t want to bring you down again.”
    “Cam…”
    “Anyway, it was a hard time. I finally agreed to go to rehab. This place was part of it. It made me realize how much I wanted to live, and how great life can be if you let it.”
    “I knew it. Getting trapped in the elevator and the cave, those things were therapeutic exercises, weren’t they?”
    He nodded. Then he faced her. “You have to admit they were exhilarating, like a roller-coaster ride.”
    It had all been creepy, but now that she knew for sure that she’d never been in any real danger, she was filled with relief. “I’m not much into roller-coasters.” She gave him a smile. “But if this place helped you, then it can’t be all bad.”
    “Then you’re not angry at me?”
    She shook her head.
    “The whole bit in the valley with the woman being raped and killed was part of it too.”
    Daphne knew it. It had been a cruel trick, but she was glad it hadn’t been real.
    His smile quickly became a frown. “After tonight, Dr. Gray doesn’t want me to interfere with your progress. She’s putting distance between us.”
    “I don’t like that.” She grabbed his hand and filled with anxiety. “What are they going to do to me?”
    “Trust me, Daph. Do you trust me?”
    She nodded.
    “It’s going to be okay. You’ll see.”
    Then she asked, “Was Stan in on the elevator incident?”
    “No.