A Priest's Deadly Obsession

Chapter 1 - A Struck Nerve

** Please note: this is for MATURE readers only. This story contains graphic sexual content and other content that may be offensive to some people (sexual harassment, underage, rape, murder, suicide etc.) in some chapters (not all of them) if things like that upset you please refrain from reading.

This story has taken me a long time to write and it's still not finished. I may go back into chapters and adjust / update details or fix grammar while it's published. I will try to update as much as possible. Also, I know very minimal things about the catholic church, I did a little bit of research if I got something wrong please forgive me, you can let me know in the comments or messages. Feedback is always welcome! Thank you for reading.**

James held up his hand as he arched his neck back looking towards the sky, the warm July air made his pores open and sweat. Droplets clung to his skin and skidded down. It smelled of sunblock, smoke and grass. The church picnic was once again lively this summer and filled with laughter, cook-outs and his fellow church-goers.

He grabbed his water bottle and took a quick swig of water, lukewarm. Yuck.

"Hey, you coming to play volley ball?" his 21 year old roommate Albert asked spinning a white ball in his hands. The teens were setting up the net in the middle of the park, where the sun had begun to beat down on them in high noon.

" It's too hot I think I'll just sit for a bit. I'm sweating bullets," James plopped himself on the wooden bench.

"Fine suit yourself then," Albert ran off to the net and soon the match began.

As James sat there watching his friends play, he felt another presence beside him. It was Juliet.

"You're not playing?" her blue eyes sparkled at him. Juliet was a pretty girl with light fair skin and short wavy brown hair that gently grazed her shoulders. She wore a cute modest yellow romper with small blue birds printed all over them.

"It's too hot," James forced a smile at her. It was no secret to the rest of the church community that Juliet had her eyes on James. Although she barely knew him, although he was 5 years her senior, the 26 year old James was enrolled in the Priesthood Seminary studying for his life as a Priest; she was still hopefully that somehow he would divert from that path, settle down and start a family with her. Her friends and family advised her to give it up, there's no way, he's made up his mind, but to Juliet she knew in the bottom of her heart that they were soulmates.

"How about you, not going to try out for the team?" he squinted his eyes at her slightly, the sunshine was bright and bouncing off her wavy locks.

"And ruin my new sandals? No way," she giggled, her gaze absorbing all of James' features. Her eyes scanned his side profile, his chizzled cheekbones with just a small amount of brown scruff from not shaving this morning. His perfectly slick nose that hung above his curved cupids bow and pink soft looking lips; everything from his neat blond hair which gently nestled above his thick brows was perfection to Juliet.  There was no denying that this man with broad shoulders, long lean legs and strong arms was the ultimate charmer and heart throb of the community. Even the older wives with their husbands would stare at him from time from time to time with simple day dreams of if I was young again, but to James' he was completely blind to the attention. Not only did he appear asexual to the rest of the community, but James never had a girlfriend before. He seemed to have no interest in dating, or starting a family as much as it broke his parents heart, for they had to accept the fact that their only son would not carry-out their family name. In truth, to James he had no interest in women mostly because he saw them all as 'sisters' and had no desire to take in the responsibility of a husband. To him all women looked too similar, sure they come in different sizes and shapes and ethnicities but none had ever struck a nerve in his heart; the only thing he felt in his heart was the calling to serve God and that a career as a priest would be much more worthy than being locked into marriage.