Thirteen

I leaned against Keith's car as I tried to catch my breath. With the unsteady rhythm of my heart, and my panting, I felt like I was about to pass out.

I had just been chased by security, pressed against a guy I was now sure I was attracted to in a dark wooden cupboard, and then I was chased again.

It was kind of ... fun ?

It was fun. I had never done anything thrilling before in my life. Always church, school, home, repeat. I didn't have friends I could play with. Anytime I wasn't doing any of the mentioned, I was painting. And even though it made me happy, it didn't thrill me this way.

Didn't excite me the way knowing I was doing something that wasn't right for once did.

A smile graced my lips.

"Why are you smiling ?", Keith's voice felt like a caress on my warm skin.

I chuckled. "Nothing".

He observed me for a second. " Why does it look like you just enjoyed our little Temple run moment ?".

My brows furrowed slightly.

" What's Temple run ?".

He didn't look surprised at my question, even though the Temple run sounded like something popular for him to throw it in his sentence like that.

"It's a game where your character gets chased by a monster", he explained.

I tilted my head, absorbing his words.

" What happens when the monster catches up with the character ?".

His broad shoulders flexed, " It kills your character, but that's the point of the game. Make sure you don't get caught, or killed by the obstacles on the way".

My nose scrunched. " It sounds hard".

He laughed shortly, and opened the door of the driver's side extracting two bottles of water one which he handed to me, and I mumbled a thanks, before I took a long swig of water.

He also brought out a pack of chips which he offered me.

I stared at the pack as he shut the door, and leaned against it.

"I don't think you had anything to eat after the long service", he said, "It's really good, try it".

I shot him a smile, and I took the snack my heart fluttering at his nice gesture.

I opened the pack, and just like he said, it tasted good.

I nodded in appreciation as the flavors teased my tongue as I chewed.

He chuckled, "like it ?".

I hummed. "It's really good, thanks ".

"Told you", he said, and opened his bottle of water. The silver rings adorning his long fingers that had felt cold pressing against my face when he had covered my mouth gleamed.

I looked away, suddenly feeling a wave of heat.

When he started to drink, I turned my eyes back to him. His adam's Apple bobbed up and down as the liquid went down his throat, a trail of water sliding down his neck.

Even when drinking water, he was effortlessly sexy.

He stopped drinking with a satisfied sigh, and his eyes landed on me.

I looked away.

"Can I ask a question ?", I filled in, not wanting him to have the opportunity to ask why I was staring at him that way.

It worked.

"Sure ", he replied.

I looked up at him. "Why is the monster chasing the character in the game ?".

He seemed to think for a while.

" I think the character stole something from the temple, and the monsters guard the temple so it's their duty to retrieve whatever it stole".

I thought over his words, and then decided to ask.

"Why were you in the offering unit ?".

He heaved a sigh, " I'll explain later Eva".

" This is later, so explain", I demanded.

He lifted his head up to the sky, and mumbled fuck.

I waited.

He shoved a hand into his pocket and pulled out not an excessively large wad of cash, but still a large amount of cash.

"This is why I was there ".

I stared at the money with wide eyes, then my eyes glided to him, back at the money, back to him. His eyes held mine, no guilt, no shame, no remorse for what he just did.

"You stole money from the offering unit ?", I asked, more shocked than ever.

He put the money back in his pocket. His voice hard and cold. "I didn't steal, I took it".

I opened my mouth, closed it.

"Why would you do something like this ?".

The dark look that had shadowed his eyes when I had asked him why he didn't believe in God earlier during service, surfaced again.

His words were laced with ice. "I don't owe you a fucking explanation".

I was taken aback. "Of course you do !", I fired. "Do I need to remind you that my father is the resident pastor of this church ? That money had already been counted, and most likely will be transferred to the main church account tomorrow. Do you know how this will affect my father if they recount and find out money is missing ? Have you lost your senses ?!".

His jaw clenched.

" He hasn't even been the pastor for a month ".

Keith scoffed, throwing in a chuckle that was anything but humorous.

"Do you think this is the first time I'm doing this ?".

I took a step back, away from his presence shocked.

More shocking words fell from his lips. " I've been doing this for years. Before your father became the resident pastor, and I'll keep doing it for as long I can".

I shook my head, the coldness of his voice worse than the words he uttered.

"That's the money people offer to God. You're not just stealing from the church, you're stealing from God", I snapped, my temper slipping out even as I tried to rein it in. "What's wrong with you ?".

"Do you personally take the money to heaven where you claim God is ? Tell me Eva, do you hand the money over to God with your own two hands ?".

Disgust curled in my heart. Keith Johnson might be beautiful on the outside, but inside he was so ugly.

"You don't get it, and you don't even want to. The money doesn't matter to God, it's their effort that matters to him, and you're just ... You're just ...".

" Listen Eva", he cut me off, " I don't give a fuck about you or anybody else in this stupid church. I don't care about what you think is right and what isn't. Hell ! Have you taken a long good look at yourself ? You're fucking miserable ", he said his words slicing through me.

"Each time I look at you, I see someone that's so lost that they don't know who they are, or what they want. I see someone whose life has been orchestrated by people who don't even see you as a priority.

I see someone who's just alive, but not living. That's who you are Eva".

" So instead of wasting your time preaching to me, and trying to bring me back to God, focus on fixing your damn self ", he fired, each word hitting me like bullets. And it hurt.

His phone rang, and I saw Stella as the caller ID. No mom, not even mother, just Stella.

He ignored the call, and returned his gloomy eyes to me.

"She's been sending me messages asking me to take you back home. Go back, and tell her I have more important things to do".

He turned around, and entered the car.

I stared lifelessly as he started the engine, and drove off.