Were-Vamp Anthology

Confession

Christian speaks to a priest.

Christian was tossing and turning in his sleep when someone was shaking him awake. "Hey." He looked up to see Jason looking at him concerned.

"I did it again, didn't I?"

Jason took a seat on the bed. "You've been restless lately. Why?"

"I'm not sure." Christian spoke as he sat up. "I keep dreaming about church, but I don't know why it unnerves me."

"Maybe you miss going there." Jason guessed. "You haven't gone in a while." Christian looked down when Jason lifted his chin to have him stare at his light blue orbs. "I think you should go." He told him. "I think it'll do you some good. I'll even go with you if you want."

Christian smiled a bit. "I think it'll be a lot of help. And thanks for the offer, but I think you should join my family. That way they don't go too stir crazy with me there."

Jason kissed Christian's forehead tenderly. "I'll do my best."

Sunday arrived, and Jason arrived at the family Manor. "Hey Jason." Sarah greeted him when he followed Troy into the dining room. "Where's Christian?"

"He went to church." Everyone stared upon hearing his answer.

Calvin gawked. "Why does he insist on returning to that place? It has holy water, crosses, prayers, and holy personnel."

"Oddly enough he finds that place comforting." Jason said when he took a seat at the table. "Besides, he has been dreaming about it and figured going would make him less restless."

"Why didn't you join him?" Jessie asked Jason.

"He wanted me to try keeping you guys company while he visits there."

"We're not that bad." Jacob spoke.

"You guys snuck in wearing earplugs and snatched him when they were waiting in line during the daily bread segment of mass last time he went." Jason reminded them.

"We thought he was going to eat and drink the body of chr-chr." Jacob was struggling to say the word Christ. "Anyways, how were we supposed to know it was just crackers and grape juice?"

"This is going to be an agonizing hour." Jason grumbled out.

At the Holy Rose Parish, Christian entered a booth and took a seat. "Thanks for hearing me out father. I don't know if this counts as a confession, but I have sinned and would like to confess."

"Your sins shall be heard, my child. What are your confessions?" A priest's voice emanated to Christian's right.

"I have been having this dream that's been making me toss and turn in my sleep." Christian began. "And I told my fiance that it was about church. But I didn't tell him that it's about us having a church wedding. You see, I wanted a traditional church wedding, but my long-lost family are not really religious. My fiance supports my beliefs but he's impartial about them. Not wanting to upset them, I agreed to an elegant ceremony in a nice garden where we found someone that can marry us that's qualified but isn't a bishop. Most of the time I am the go-lucky happy one in the family, but there are times I feel so closed off with them. Even my betrothed seems to blend in better with my family. It hurts because I know they love me, but don't always accept my, life choices or what I do due to my life before I was reunited with them."

"Relationships require open communication." The priest told Christian. "Even a relationship with the Lord requires openness. If you hold yourself back; it could become a huge burden to bear."

"But I'm afraid they'll just block me out if I bring religion up as a subject."

"You must put trust and faith in them in order to get what you seek. You are not alone, for Jesus is always there to guide you."

"You are right, father." Christian mumbled. "Even if we don't see eye to eye, I gotta tell them how I feel. Thank you. This helped me a lot." He got up and exited the booth.

When he was heading outside, Christian noticed Jason and his family waiting for him in the front of the church. Taking a deep breath, Christian walked to them. When he got close enough, they spotted him.

"My baby." Tracy embraced Christian tightly.

"You guys didn't have to come. As you can clearly see, I am fine."

"We were worried about you." Calvin told him.

Christian wiggled out of his mother's grip to see Jason look at him apologetically. "I tried reassuring them, but it didn't work out."

"That's why I've been having these dreams." Christian blurted out. "It's because you guys don't support me regarding religion."

"We trust you." Sarah told him. "Why would you think otherwise?"

Christian waved his arms around. "For starters, you guys keep coming to check up on me. And when I try bringing stuff like this up, you guys change the subject."

"Excuse us for worrying about your sorry danger-prone butt." Roger sounded harsher than intended.

"We don't mean to seem ignorant." John chimed in. "But supernatural beings haven't had the best track record when it comes to churches and priests."

"I get that." Christian told them. "But you guys don't realize that you make me feel so guilty for believing in this stuff. And I want you to be open-minded about this. I know it's odd, but I like going to church once in a while and I'd like to share this stuff with you without you guys shutting me down."

"Christian." Jason muttered.

"We're sorry we made you feel this way bro." Jacob spoke for everyone. "We just wanted to keep you safe, but never wanted to face the fact that this is a part of you and your life, and we'll do our best to accept that. Right dad?" Everyone stared at the twitchy count.

"I shall do my best, but it'll take some time to not cringe with church and psalms."

"I'm not making you go into church or reading prayers to you." Christian exasperated. "I just want you to hear me out and not drag me out of mass."

"Oh, well that is acceptable." Calvin pulled himself together.

Christian sagged. "Can we go now that's settled?"

"Of course." Calvin beamed. "Let us have lunch at the nearby cafe."

As everyone was heading out, Jason held hands with Christian. "You know I would always support you no matter what, right?"

"I don't know." Christian told him. "You wouldn't let us get married in church."

"You didn't seem upset about it."

"I am." Christian said. "But I also was afraid you guys would burst into flames if I forced you guys to have a wedding in one."

Jason scoffed. "Like that'll ever happen." His grip tightened. "We could still arrange that if it's what you want."

"I thought about it, and I'm okay with the way our wedding is going. As long as you attend church with me here and there. And if we have vow renewals in the future, we'll have it in church then."

Jason smiled as his grip lightened. "It's a deal." They kissed as they followed Christian's family down the street to the cafe to have Sunday lunch.