Best-Friends with Issues

Chapter 16- Confessions of a Runaway Prisoner

"Ow!" Conner yelped. His glare turned to me.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm like, 80% sure that threatening a priest is a sin."

"Only 80%?" I heard the priest mutter to himself.

Conner huffed, crossing his arms over his bare chest and facing forward, looking an awful lot like a pouting kid. "Whatever."

I couldn't resist ruffling his hair affectionately, until he snorted and batted my hand away.

"Excuse me...." A small voice came from the other side as the priest spoke up. "Would you like to...?"

"Make out? Don't mind if we do-" Conner was cut off when I harshly elbowed him in the gut, and he bent over, gasping for air.

"Yes, of course." I replied politely, ignoring Conner. I cleared my throat, thinking back to all of the... well, immoral things I've done over the years. "Forgive me for I have sinned. Or something. I've done many...... unethical and not entirely legal things in my life. And I'm truly sorry that I........ ever listened to this idiot's ideas."

"Excuse me?" Conner piped up, thoroughly offended.

"Breaking and entering, underage drinking, vandalism, evading arrest, public disruption..." I listed off, shrugging. I turned to the priest. "Is lying still a no no?" He nodded, looking disbelievingly like he wanted to speak but holding back. "-Lying. I'm just saying that the only reason I've done anything bad in my entire life is because of you. Just saying."

"Hey!" Conner protested. "I did not-!" He looked back at where the priest was sitting, pointing at me accusingly. "She's a big fat liar!"

"Tsk tsk." I wagged my finger in his face admonishing. "Slandering an innocent young female, in a church no less! That's low Con, even for you."

"Wha-" He turned back to glare at me. "I'm just saying that I've never made you do anything you didn't agree with! And now you're pinning all of the blame on me!"

"Denialllllll." I sang out with a triumphant smirk.

He turned back to the priest, opening his mouth in what I knew would be his defense. Naturally, I interrupted him before he got the chance. "Is there anything else you'd like to confess, Concon? Like say....." I tapped my finger against my chin dramatically. "Committing acts of indecency before marriage?"

The priest on the other side audibly gasped, and I smirked as Conner's face heated up. He glared at me, emerald eyes shimmering with frustration. "Like you're one to talk!"

"Oh dear..." The young priest murmured to himself, and he cleared his voice to speak up. "Th-thank you for confessing your sins. God offers you his forgiveness th-through kind deeds and self-reflection. I-is there anything else you'd like to mention?" He sounded afraid to ask.

"Actually, there is one more thing." Conner cleared his throat, grabbing my hand. I looked at him in surprise. He was still blushing a little bit, but he seemed to be speaking seriously, and was making an effort to be composed.

I could see traces of sorrow appearing in his eyes, and I squeezed his hand comfortingly, letting him go on.

"This girl-" He raised up our joined hands. "This is the girl that I'm in love with- the girl that I will be in love with for the rest of my life. And I've done everything I could to protect her and make sure that she's happy. But I....." He trailed off, squeezing my hand tighter and looking down at his feet ashamedly. "I let her down recently. I was irresponsible and naive and I got her pregnant, but by the time we found out-"

His voice cut off, and his head turned to face the wall opposite where I was sitting. I realized with a pang that he was trying not to cry.

My heart clenched painfully in my chest. I gripped his hand just as tightly and faced forward with what little determination I had left. "I was just as at fault as he was, if not more. Perhaps if I had realized that I was pregnant sooner-" I gulped down my emotions and stormed on. No way was I giving up this time, especially when Conner was clearly so upset beside me. "Then I wouldn't have had a miscarriage. I irresponsibly went to a party, and got drunk, and got into an accident. And for that, I'm truly sorry."