Southern Gothic // Joshler

4. Church

Implied gore / General horror relating to the church and Christ themed elements.

Tyler was terrified for the rest of the week when Josh didn't show up to school. He had only talked to him for an hour, tops, and here he was worrying whether or not he was even alive.

When Sunday morning rolled around, Tyler woke up, still in a blind, aching panic to get ready for church. He dressed carefully, wearing all neutral colors like he did every weekend. No blacks, no colors darker than a medium beige. He dressed in a long sleeved white shirt, buttoned, to discern from the other days of the week, and a tan pair of dress pants along with black shoes.

He looked at himself in the mirror as he brushed his teeth in the bathroom, his eyes heavy with dark circles and bloodshot from the lack of sleep. It took everything Tyler had to not just go back to bed.

Walking down the stairs finally, his family sat in silence around the dining room table, all eating without speaking to each other. There was rarely a word spoken before service, the entire family knowing that unless it was good news that it wasn't worth risking whatever was listening hearing them.

The entire town was silent on Sunday mornings. They all knew that He was always watching.

Every Sunday, the entire day just felt wrong. It felt too bright out, too eerily quiet to be a real day. It felt like every Sunday repeated on loop.

Tyler chewed on a lukewarm piece of bread, studying his siblings. Both of his brothers always dressed in the same outfit he did, white shirt, tan pants, black shoes. His sister was always in a white dress, something she didn't much care for, but knew better by now than to complain about. He hated the way it looked vaguely like a wedding dress. His mother wore the same dress every week, what he presumed was cotton - he had never actually asked - and was the same color of his pants. She wasn't allowed to wear white to church, since marrying to his father. It came down to her ankles and she wore the same tan colored shoes to match.

White symbolized purity, and he knew his mother, after four children, was most definitely not pure any longer. His sister was, obviously, and he dreaded the day that she would no longer wear white. He had heard rumors growing up that on one's wedding night that the bride would lose her virginity, either agreeably or by force. The thought of that sickened Tyler to his very core.

He remembered his father had always tried to set him up with this girl named Jenna, a lovely young blonde girl that was four years younger than he was. He had always hoped the two would get married on Tyler's eighteenth birthday, a common tradition in the town.

Tyler couldn't even entertain the idea of having sex with a fourteen year old on his wedding night.

Placing his piece of bread down, he noticed his mother was watching him with worried eyes. He gave her a small smile and stood up, taking his plate over to the trash and dumping the rest into the bin. He placed the dish in the sink.

His mother followed suit, motioning for the children to follow her lead after she cleared their plates from the table. All of the family made their way out to the old minivan and all piled in, his mother looking panicked in the driver's seat. His father had always driven them to church, something that she had taken for granted before he disappeared.

Starting the car, she pulled out and started heading towards the church. Tyler stared out the passenger seat window, losing himself in the people that walked to the church instead of driving. He never understood why they would risk being late on such an important day, but he didn't dare question it.

The entire car ride was silence until they arrived.

"I'm sorry your father can't be here for service today," His mother started as she turned off the car. Her voice was quiet, filled with fear. "You all know he loved you very much."