Lies #5: Sanders

Chapter 5

Patton:

When Patton went over to the table, the only thoughts in his mind were about his father. About what his test could be. About what God's thoughts were about him. What if I've sinned too much? What if He's angry at me? Patton's thoughts about Logan were unacceptable- his attraction, no, it wasn't real. God had ordained it to be a man and a woman, not two men. Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. Patton wished it would go away- he'd never wanted it or asked for it. Why did Logan look so good-looking to him? What about him made Patton want to kiss those soft lips? What about him was better than any woman Patton had ever met?

"Hey," Logan's familiar voice spoke from beside him. He glanced up at Logan, his heart stopping for a beat just by looking at him. What is wrong with me? Logan sat down in the chair next to him, "I may not be good at recognizing or helping with emotions, but you helped me during my test. So, I'll help you in the same way. What are you upset about?"

Too many things. Deciding against, 'I have an unreal attraction to you', he went with the other problem. "I... I don't want to see my dad again. I know the dream will have something to do with him. I've been trying to escape him for more than a decade, but just when I thought I could finally forget about him, all of this happened." Patton paused, wondering if he should admit who his father was. Logan deserves to know. "When I heard his voice in the lobby, all of this became so real. I tried so hard to forget about what happened in the woods but doing all this just makes me see it more clearly." His throat choked up as he remembered the scene he'd tumbled across at the bus. Everyone massacred- Camden's body crucified, and Gabby's body laid against the back door as a trap. Thinking about it made his stomach churn. All that blood, all that gore... I can't think like that. God is here, He'll protect us. "I- I know God is here with us, but this is all so scary." He clenched his hands into fists, not looking at Logan. "I will obey Him."

A look of confusion crossed Logan's face. Hesitating for a moment, he finally said, "Patton, even if there is a God- which I do not believe in myself- they would accept any choice of yours. Did they not give mankind free will? Do they not love you in unbelievable ways? If they really are a good God, then they should love you unconditionally. If they don't, what is the point in listening to them? The Bible is extremely contradictory- you must choose to obey God or to love like them."

"I..." That... that is true. The Bible says to love everyone, including your enemies. Maybe so long as I don't act on what I'm feeling, it's not sinning. "Thank you," Patton finally managed to respond, making eye contact with Logan. Logan's eyes were a sparkling green, twitching left and right. Logan was the one who broke their matching gaze. "Do you think you're ready for your test now?" he asked, looking away.

"Oh!" A slight feeling of disappointment wormed its way into Patton's heart before he steeled himself. We can talk more later. "Um... yeah. I'm ready- I think." Before he could say anything else, there was an indignant yell from Roman and then he started ranting off about acting and Disney movies. Both Logan and Patton stared at him and poor Virgil, who looked like a deer stuck in the headlights. Patton chuckled nervously, "We should probably go before Virgil has a heart attack."

The two of them stood up and made their way over to the other pair. When Logan opened his mouth to speak, Roman held up a hand. "Save it, Microsoft Nerd! I know there are better things to argue about than Disney movies- to you! But I will surrender anyways- I'm guessing Patton's ready to go now." Wow, he seems so much more... vibrant. This man, who had previously been a quiet blank slate, was now emitting waves of confidence. There was a grin on his face- the first one Patton had seen this entire time. I wonder what Virgil said to him that made him this happy? Patton nodded, "Yeah, I'm ready now. Thank you for waiting."