Chapter Nine

I heard the doorbell ring after Bradley and I had ordered pizza. I rushed to open the door. The pizza guy handed me the box, and I could smell the food. I closed the door after telling him to have a great day. When Bradley came out of his room, I laid the pizza on the counter, "Dude, I just won tickets to see LORDE!" I chuckled, "Wow, that's surprising." Bradley was excited, he's always been a fan of LORDE. I was asked if I wanted to come to the concert. I I opened the pizza box and shrugged. "I mean, that sounds good." I grabbed a pizza and put it on top of my plate.

Having taken the day off from work, Bradley asked me how my book was coming along. I told him that I hadn't started one since last year. I have written three other stories, but they have never been published. "Have you considered publishing a book?" he asked. The thought made me sigh.

Sarah asked me the same question a few days later. The idea of writing a Christian book appealed to her. When she said that, I was a bit offended. But I didn't know what to think. I didn't want to tell her that I wasn't a Christian anymore.

I don't know why, but ever since we started dating, she has been questioning me about God. How do you feel about God? Do you believe in the existence of God? It's like being put on trial.

This weekend, Bradley and I had some friends over. In high school, Bradley and I never had that many friends. Our popularity wasn't that high. It was sad. I met Hank, Johnny, and Mike in college. Bradley and I have known them since then. We decided to join them for dinner.

Hank said, "I heard you have a girlfriend."

"Yes," I sighed deeply.

"Oh, that's nice. "But I thought you were going to move on since Rebecca passed away."

As I laughed, I said, "She's great, thanks for asking."

Rebecca had always been a favorite of Hank's. However, he doesn't seem to understand that I have moved on. I like Sarah. It seems like he misses Rebecca a lot. Rebecca dated Hank before she started dating me.

Hank was clearly still in love with Rebecca. Once we began dating, Hank became very jealous. Despite the fact that Hank says he thinks I'm moving on, I pretended it didn't bother me. Because he asked, I told him that Sarah was my new girlfriend's name.

Johnny then asked me what Sarah is like. I just shrugged and told him she's sweet, funny, and kind. Then Bradley informs them that Sarah is a Christian. Johnny and Hank looked at me strangely, I knew Bradley was going to say something about Sarah's beliefs.

I went to the mailbox and sorted through our mail. Nothing too interesting, as usual. I went back into the apartment and laid out the mail on the kitchen counter. I then recieved a phone call, it was from Sarah.

The two of us decided to visit my mother this time. I would have liked Sarah to meet my father as well. But he has been gone for quite some time. The previous time, Sarah and I went to my mom's house. Her excitement was palpable.