Page 40 of Forgive Me Father

"I s-swear, Lord," He sobs. "I swear, Father-"

I look down to see his blood on the hand I have fisted into the neckline of his shirt. A familiar feeling threatens to bring my past to life. I take another deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. Shoving him to the floor, I take a step back, grabbing the portfolio that had fallen to the ground a few feet away.

"Get the fuck out of this cathedral, and take your dirty ass clothes with you. I'll be seeing you on Sunday. Open your mouth about any of this, and I'll say you attacked me first. I'm sure your track record will make that story pretty fucking believable."

Clutching his bloodied head, Zack stumbles to his feet, bending over to grab his clothes and backpack without saying anything else.

As he straightens his back and turns to face me, his whole body freezes. The muscles in his face go taut. "E-Eden."

Shit.

Turning around, I see her standing in a white robe in the doorway to the altar room. Her fists are clenched around the rope at her waist. Her hair spills over her shoulders and down her back, a few locks falling in front of the eyes that are currently locked on the two of us.

Lowering his head, Zack pushes past her, brushing her shoulder on the way out. I can still hear him sobbing as he makes his way down the corridor.

Eden remains in the doorway, shaking as she surveys the room, the blood on the floor, and the portfolio under my arm.

She creeps closer, her skin flushed with a fierce, uneven heat, patches of red blooming across her face and neck, while a cold sweat clung to her brow.

Words caught in my throat as she stood before me.

I watch as she dips her finger delicately into the holy water.

"In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit," She whispers, nudging past me without another word.

Chapter 11

Eden

Iwas able to make it home just in time to change after my shift at the coffee shop. Thankfully, Mom finished the laundry, which meant I had a few warmer, and frankly way more comfortable, clothing options to pick from to get me through the rest of the night. I’d found her in the house, already drunk off a bottle of wine, tuning out the world around her in front of the TV.

I prop my feet up on the dash, blasting the heat in Aiden’s car as I wait for him. I look over to see my father’s car isn’t in the driveway.

Odd.

He's typically home from work by now, ready to get my drunk mother to bed before enjoying a glass of scotch for himself.

Where the hell could he be-

Sliding into the driver's side door, Aiden slings his bag into the backseat, its contents clacking together, clearly filled with a few swiped bottles from our parents' wine cellar.

"Do you knowwhere Dad is?"

"Who gives a shit. I'm sure he’s still at work, or at a bar somewhere with his coworkers.” Aiden scoffs, backing out of the driveway.

"I need to tell you something about the party tonight. Zack was hanging around Nathan earlier and saw some texts about it on his phone. He invited himself to Luca's bonfire since he knows one or two of Luca's friends. I told Luca you probably wouldn’t show up if Zack is there-"

"It's fine," I say coldly, cramming my hands into the pocket of my hoodie. "It's not like I can avoid him forever."

"Trust me, I’m trying to," Aiden sighs, looking over at me.

"You know you could ditch this whole service hour thing. We could go grab some food, talk about how shitty this semester is going to be for me. I know you love pointless high school drama.”

"As much as I want to say yes, I think it's best that I go. I don’t want to disappoint Dad, now do I?

Or Roman, for that matter. Although skipping out on altar server services hours after what happened at the coffee shop might be needed to douse the flames still burning under my skin every time I think about his stupid hands on my body. I’m not willing to risk the outcome of rebelling against him or my father so boldly.

Getting these service hours done will be one step closer to never having to be alone with him again.