Page 8 of Tis the Season to be Bullied

A man in his late thirties stands at the threshold, his mouth set in a gentle curve.

“Good to see you again,” he says, his warm chestnut brown eyes wrinkling in the corners as his smile inches up.

“Father Gabriel! It’s?—”

A wave of emotion crashes into me, choking the words. His is the first familiar face I’ve seen in weeks.

I’d never known what loneliness was. The longest I’d been apart from my parents had been a few hours. But from the moment my parents left for church that night, I was alone.

As soon as their car impacted that barrier, Ihad no one.

A week later I realized the policeman who knocked on my door that night hadn’t come to tell me my parents had died in a car accident. He’d actually come to say that nothing would ever be the same again.

I was destined for a dark, lonely future where flowers didn’t bloom, the sun no longer shone, and food had lost its taste.

For weeks, I’ve been handed from person to person like a goddamn parcel with no return address, the receiver simply marked as ‘To Whom it May Concern’.

Until now.

Finally, the other shoe has dropped.

Strong arms wrap around me, squeeze me, warm me as I break down into ragged sobs.

Cigarette smoke and candle wax waft up to me in a familiar and oh-so-comforting smell.

I cling to Father Gabriel like I’d fall if I were to let go.

When he murmurs, “Hush, child. You’re safe now,” I can barely hear him over the sound of my own anguish.

Hush, child.

You’re safe now.

Chapter 3

Trinity

Pulling away from Father Gabriel is one of the most difficult things I’ve had to do in weeks, and that includes identifying my parents at the morgue.

But I’m behaving like a kid, and he’s the last person I want to disappoint. So I suck up my sorrow, and push against his chest to break from our embrace.

My smile isn’t as steady as I want it to be, but at least it’s there.

I should tell him about the guy who was just here. What he’d been about to do. But even thinking about saying such awful things out loud makes my stomach shrivel up with humiliation.

What’ll it change, anyway? It might just make the hallway monitor decide to take revenge.

“Are you getting settled in?” Gabriel asks, using a knuckle to swipe a tear from my cheek.

“Yeah. Didn’t have much, so it took literally five minutes.” The last comes out with a chuckle that makes Gabriel’s smile crease the corners of his eyes.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, but rather treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

My smile fades. “Yeah. I know.” As wonderful as it is, seeing Gabriel again, what I don’t need is another reminder that I was the black sheep of the family who only went to church because my parents commanded me to.

“Then let me show you around.” He holds out an arm, his smile growing even wider when I slip my hand into the crook of his elbow.

He looks odd in his pale, cable-knit sweater and dark slacks. His loafers barely make a sound as he leads me out of the room. I guess it’s impractical for him to wear his clerical garb all the time, but that’s the only thing I’ve ever seen him wear.

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