AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Also," he adds. "I think you should know that Teddy believes you have taken your vows."
"He does?" I ask, lifting my head up. "How do you know?"
Father James just smiles at me in response.
I put my head back down. That obviously explains why he all but ran out of my room yesterday evening.
"I'll admit that I feel even more confused now than I did when I arrived here, Father," I say.
Father James lets out a gentle laugh. "Confused is okay, child. But, tell me, do you feel calmer than when you arrived?"
I think on his question. He's right. When I got here, I felt very anxious. Now, I feel renewed in my need to pray on my beliefs and actions.
"Yes," I reply. "Thank you."
Father James stands. "I'll give you some time," he says. "If you need me, you can knock on that door there," he says, pointing to the door to our right.
"Thank you, Father."
He leaves, and I take another few minutes to sit on the pew and stare into the candles, trying to make sense of everything he just said to me.
It was as if my entire world had been flipped upside down.
I just wasn't sure if that meant that I was finally seeing things the right way now.
* * *
I begin the slow walk back to my quarters. I don't know how exactly I got to the chapel, so I don't know the most direct route back, either.
The halls are empty. Despite the long walk back, I pass no one. I stop on occasion to look at the tapestries on the walls.
Interestingly enough, some of them are Bible scenes, some of them are paintings of family members, and some of them are photos of people eating and laughing at restaurants. Those last photos almost give this place a feeling of normalcy.
"That's my Granddad along with his three brothers."
The voice comes up beside me, and I jump.
"Sorry," Teddy says, lifting his hand up to rub the back of his neck. He always does that when he's regretful about something. "Didn't mean to scare you."
"It's okay," I reply, not turning to look at him.
"About last night," he starts to say, but then I turn to him and grasp his hand.
He looks down at where I've touched him. I shouldn't have done it because the spark that shoots through me from just that one point of contact is almost too much to handle.
Then he looks back up at me, and we're holding one another's gaze again.
"Let's not talk about it here," I say to him.
"Where?" he asks.
"Somewhere private?" I suggest.
His cheeks flush with a bit of red. For the first time, I feel like I'm really looking at him as a man again.
Not as some demon.
Not as Satan trying to tempt me.
