I never got to learn about his other half, since he always had an excuse revolving around perfect timing when it came time to show a glimpse of his growing potential. Either way, he was a good once in awhile fling to have, and I gained the experience I needed.
Or lost my purity that seemed to be a valuable possession to this sicko priest and others wearing the holy garments of our Savior.
"Let's pretend this never happened," I concluded, moving the blood-shift blade from his neck and allowing it to float from side to side in front of his face. "Don't play with me, Hendrick. You can try and make my life a living hell, but you can't get rid of me. I'll be of age in a short few days, and then I'll make my way out of your life, like everyone else in this place. I suggest you begin to be a little nicer. It would be sad to hear about a priest being arrested after years of rape and sexual assault."
I innocently smirked and flicked my hand to the side, the blade stabbing into the wooden wall before it faded into red smoke.
One thing I'd learned was to ensure I never left a trace of my blood. I didn't need these power-hungry addicts trying to find any sort of weakness of mine to use against me.
Rising up, I stretched and looked over to the plant.
"I like this one." Picking it up, I held its dark red pot and looked back at Hendrick. "I'm keeping this."
He knew I wasn't asking for his permission, but he nodded his head while beads of sweat ran down the side of his face.
"Thank you, Hendrick. Don't worry about next week's confessional. I won't be around."
With those words, I walked out and strutted down the aisles of the church, staring at the black pews and red carpet below. No one had even been able to answer my question about why our church was the unique one with black benches, but I was positive there was a hidden meaning behind it.
I just wasn't going to be the one to stick my nose in that box of not-my-business.
Kicking the heavy wooden doors open, I entered the quiet hall and took a deep inhale of the less stale air. Letting it out, I sighed in relief.
"Feels good to be a confident bitch," I praised. "Thank you, my Savior, for adding a little spice in whatever concoction you mixed to create me. You knew your girl would be dealing with some trifling men that are still called your children. Too bad they can't be spanked with some thunder. Maybe then they would fear those commandments you wrote."
With a shake of my head, I began to skip down the hall, carefully holding my new plant that I was going to place next to my bed.
Now that I reminded myself of my soon departure, I'd have to figure out how to fit a plant in my bag.
I sang a recent hymn we'd learned last night as I made my way back to the sleep corridors. I hadn't reached our door before it opened and my blue-haired friend popped her big head out to see me skipping towards her.
"Do you sing loudly on purpose so the whole hall can hear you?" she inquired, not looking the least concerned about the volume of my singing.
"I was whispering," I replied. "And no, I don't."
"Whispering to you is like being in the back row of the church choir. I can only imagine what loud singing would be for you. Oh, wait! I recall that. You shattered the two-thousand-dollar stained glass window and blamed the predicted apocalypse that never happened! Right, right."
I came to a stop in front of the door, my grin so wide it showed my white teeth.
"Pearly, my dear. You know everyone thought the world was going to end that time. It was a foolproof plan that worked, and I got out of working for sleezebags that want sex to cover up an accident. God will forgive me."
"I'm sure he will." She lowered her eyes to my plant. "Did you steal the confession plant?"
"Uh." I thought about whether my actions just broke a commandment or not. "Does it count as stealing when Hendrick sliced me with a blade after I pissed him off?"
Her pink eyes grow wide before she grabbed my arm, tugged me inside, and slammed the door behind us.
Before either of us spoke, her blue locks began to glow, the ends of her shoulder-length hair beginning to change to purple as she whispered, "Conceal our words from the enemies that lurk in the dark."
That was one of the forbidden spells we'd learned after secretly breaking into the spell library, 'borrowing' a bunch of books, and studying them thoroughly before returning them back to their rightful places.
That was around Christmas time, which was usually the time when the church was extremely busy. Everyone would come and give praise, especially before New Year's Eve since we all knew things were a little sinful during those times before we all vowed to change our ways in the new year.
Do we ever keep our resolutions? Nope.
"What?!" my best friend, Pearl Indigo exclaimed. All I could do was grin, admiring her extremely loose white gown she wore to follow the rules of the church.
Pearl wasn't as lucky, like me, when it came to family circumstances.
She didn’t have two dead parents that left their massive inheritance behind with a note that stated she’d claim their entire legacy at eighteen. I did.
She was a wolf shifter, a rarity in these times since our world was dominated by two strong forces: vampires and fae.
The wolf race was dying out, and her pack had to make the decision to go into hiding or fight for a rightful place in the supernatural war of dominance.
Sadly, the wolves came third, and their defeat was why they were near extinct and hiding in the mountains, attempting to grow their numbers once more.
Pearl's pack had gone into hiding but decided to leave Pearl behind. She was only ten at the time, and all she could recall was waking up at the door of the church where Sister Ara found her.
Her last name, Indigo, was given to her since no information was left about her last name. Whatever her family had done had left Pearl with no memories of who they were.
It was like having a blank slate, but Pearl had never asked for one.
Nor did she deserve to be left orphaned and in the church's care.
Thankfully, we were the same age, and I'd arrived only a few days later. Since then, we’d been practically sisters, and no one dared mess with her.
The last guy who tried died a horrible death...by accident.
She was 5'3" with caramel skin. You'd think she was Native Indian, but her striking, abnormal blue hair made many question what her cultural background was. Her pink eyes only added to the peculiar combination, and when she used magic - something wolves shouldn't be able to do - her hair would begin to shift into a plum purple.
Her weapon of choice was a bow and arrow, and she definitely knew how to shift, but she didn't do it often unless it was the full moon. Her wolf was lovely, protective in nature but loved cuddles, making her a fun cuddle buddy during winter when she felt like shifting.
She'd become my ride-or-die within these walls, and with my approaching exit and ownership of my family's fortune, I knew she was coming with me.
That was non-negotiable.
My longer-than-average silence time rewarded me with Pearl's analytic gaze while she placed her hands on her hips and tapped her right foot to emphasize her impatience.
"See, what happened was I had to deal with weekly confession at this ungodly hour of the evening, and Hendrick, as usual, decided I was getting on his nerves when he insisted that confession was going to be a little longer this evening."