Jesus Freaks: Sins of the Father

Matt says nothing, but picks up his pace until he’s in nearly a run for the dorms. I feel like some prop used at football practice. You know, the ones the guys push across the field—only I’m being carried. And he doesn’t put me down until we’re standing in front of a door inside Matt’s dorm.

“Oh, perfect. The boys’ dorm. What’s a few more demerits at this point?” My teeth start to chatter and I wrap my arms around my body. It’s no comfort—everything is soaked.

Not really the baptism I’d planned, frankly.

“Just…shh.” Matt knocks on the door in front of us, which I take to be his RA’s door, given it’s in the same placement in the hall that Maggie’s is in ours. “Jack, it’s Matt. Open up if you’re in there.”

A second later, the door opens. Jack looks at Matt, then at me, and then back at Matt, who rolls his eyes.

“I know, I know,” Matt says in a huff. “Let us in and we’ll explain.”

“Can’t wait,” Jack grins through his reply. It seems he’s well versed in the inner workings of Matt. “Who’s your RA?” he directs to me.

“Maggie,” I say, voice shaking through my frozen throat.

I walk in and am offered the desk chair. Matt says he’ll be back in a minute, and returns exactly forty-five seconds of silence later with sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt.

“Here.” He dumps them on my lap.

“K…I, uh…where?”

Matt and Jack look at each other in a moment of silent conversation before Jack turns to me and speaks.

“We’ll wait in the hallway while you change,” he says.

Once the door clicks, I peel my drenched clothes off my body and revel in the warmth of Matt’s soft cotton sweats. I have to roll the waistband over twice, and the bottom of the pants up three times, but they’ll do. And his shirt, while clean, smells just like him. A fact I’m alarmed I know. It smells like a combination of some Armani cologne I’m vaguely familiar with and Tide Sport laundry detergent.

“Okay,” I call after one more deep inhale of his CU Football shirt. “I’m ready.”

Once back in the room, Jack sits on his bed and Matt stands next to me with his hands in his pockets. I heard them talking in the hallway, so I’m not surprised that Jack seems to be finding it difficult to look me in the eyes.

So, I wave and smile like I’m in a parade. “Yep. That’s me. Roland Abbot’s illegitimate child.”

Matt sighs. “Kennedy…”

“Oh,” I turn to him and tilt my head, “do you know something I don’t? Well, really, you do, don’t you?”

Matt looks down and shakes his head, which makes me feel bad. For a second.

“How’d you know?”

He shrugs. “I told you that he knows my family.”

I nod, barely, because that’s not an acceptable explanation.

“They worked together at the last church Roland was at,” he continues.

“They?”

“Roland and my dad. They pastored together.”

I lift my eyebrows and my mouth falls open a crack. Momentarily ignoring all of the cards that were thrown on the table in Mission Hall, I’m stricken by the revelation that the borderline vile football player who no one seems to know is Christian is, in fact, a Preacher’s Kid.

“Skeletons,” he mumbles with a grin, referencing our conversation from earlier in the day. “One day,” he continues, “Roland was down in Georgia for a visit, and I heard him talking with my dad about Kennedy enrolling at CU. I hadn’t ever heard your name before then. I don’t think they knew I was in the next room.”

“I didn’t know Roland shared my name with anyone,” I remark.

Matt jumps to Roland’s defense. “I don’t think he did to anyone but my dad. They’ve been friends for a long time. Met at some retreat ten years ago, I think. Come on, you couldn’t have expected Roland to never utter your name—” he cuts off when he sees my forehead crinkle. “Sorry,” he says. “I guess I shouldn’t presume to know anything about you and Roland.”

I shrug. “It’s okay. What’d you do when you heard my name?

Matt chuckles and arches an eyebrow while looking at me, amused. “Stopped fighting my dad about going to CU. I’d already been recruited for the football team, but you piqued my curiosity, K. Sawyer.”

There’s a knock on the door, and a second later, Maggie enters. Jack has been silent since I changed, but is more interested in me and my situation with Maggie present. I’m certain on a number of levels that he’s never had a soaking wet, distressed girl in his room before. He’s clearly relieved to have Maggie here.

I take a few minutes to catch everyone up, probably filling in some details for Matt. I keep it short and sweet, starting with my enrollment in CU and continuing through my meetings with Roland, problems with Joy, and ending with the events moments ago at Mission Hall.

Maggie nudges Matt—who has been kneeling by me the whole time—out of the way and gives me a tight hug. “Honey, you should have told me.”

“Why?” I sniff and wipe under my eyes. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell myself some days.”

She wipes a tear away from my cheek. “I could have helped you. Especially with Joy.”

“Yeah.” I snort. “Who’d have thought she was out for blood?”

“I get where her suspicions arose from—” Maggie starts.