Bound by freckles (Sebastian Sallow x Garreth Weasley x f!MC modern AU)

12th Chapter - Faith

"Are you serious?" Grandpa asked from the background, looking at us angrily.

Grandma's look was shocked and her eyes filled with tears, but when I tried to take her in my arms, she pushed me aside and walked out the front door. I looked after her in irritation, but she was standing in front of the house waiting. Grandpa put on his jacket and with Grandma's jacket in his hand went outside.

"Edvin, push the children out. We have to hurry, Father Daniel won't be around much longer today," Dad took a deep breath and gave us a look that showed well how little he wanted to do.

"Sorry, but you'll have to endure this on your own," Dad said as he shoved us outside and smiled pityingly at us.

"How dare you do something like that? As if it wasn't bad enough that you two were blaspheming anyway, now this? Sebastian, when was the last time you went to church?" "When I was eight years old, just before the awesome God stole my parents from me," Sebastian said, a trace of anger resonating in his voice.

"Everyone has to endure trials in their lives that God sets. That includes sickness and death. And if you overcome these trials in a God-fearing way, you will see all your loved ones again in heaven," Grandpa said. I saw Sebastian's jaw tighten and his veins become more visible.

I took Sebastian's hand again and squeezed it tightly. It was easy to see how much he would have liked to scream out, while Garreth just watched curiously. He already knew all the chatter, after all.

"And why is what we feel for each other not right?" asked Garreth after a while. "Because God created Adam and Eve. And not Adam, Eve and Peter." "So now I'm supposed to confess something I'm not ashamed of just because a God I still don't believe in is a prude?", I asked further, catching two very angry looks.

Without further conversation, they pulled us into the church in Inverness.

The Sunday service had apparently only just finished and so there were a correspondingly large number of visitors. Grandma went straight to the priest, explaining that it was a terrible emergency and that we needed to confess urgently.

Garreth and I looked at each other annoyed, while Sebastian's anger gave way to a sardonic grin.

The priest looked at us in horror as we continued to stand hand in hand in hand, with Garreth in the middle, in his church. He hurried to his confession booth and Grandma directed the first of us to make our confession.

Sebastian went into the booth bobbing happily. Grandpa smiled, probably due to the joy of Sebastian wanting to confess voluntarily.

It took a while for Sebastian to come back outside. Grinning broadly, he ran to meet us as the priest walked out of his booth, apologising to us but saying he had to get home urgently because of an emergency.

"I feel really relieved. Confession is a wonderful thing. Knowing that God forgives me. Amen." said Sebastian, still grinning broadly. Me and Garreth looked at each other, knowing that Sebastian had something to do with the priest's hasty exit. Granny didn't look too happy, and forced us to pray with her some more.

During the time I was 'praying', I was singing the song "Year Zero" by Ghost in my head. I had no connection to a god. Why should I have taken all this seriously? I just didn't leave so as not to disappoint my grandparents.

After we finished, we were finally allowed to leave, but Grandma and Grandpa were watching us closely and wouldn't let the three of us walk together. After dinner, when my parents announced that they had to leave again, we took the first opportunity to run off as well.