Joseph drove up to the church and parked outside. He gave her, yet another, reassuring smile before they both climbed out of he car. Evelyn looked around and was surprised to find he compound quiet and empty, perhaps they knew this was happening. There was nobody walking around or groups of Project members talking between themselves, it seemed completely different.
Jospeh opened the church door and let Evelyn walk in first before following her inside and closing the door behind him. Once again Evelyn has to get used to the strange change. The church was empty apart from her and the Father, it was dimly lit, the only light coming from the sun through the windows. She didn't like to think it but the church was actually a little eerie right now.
Evelyn followed the Father down the aisle until they reached the front row of pews, Joseph day down and patted the seat beside him. The woman nodded before sitting down, finding herself even more nervous than before.
"You can start whenever you are ready" Joseph told her, letting her take her time but there was no point delaying the confession.
"I...I don't even know what to say" Evelyn admitted. What was she supposed to say? What was she supposed to confess? She didn't really think that she had anything to confess.
"Evelyn, please don't take this the wrong way but you have been hiding something ever since I met you...you are ashamed...you have nothing to be ashamed of. Why did you come to Hope County? Why were your parents so insistent on you finding a church? What's your story, Evelyn?" the preacher asked and Evelyn looked him in the eyes, only seeing kindness and curiosity in them.
"It was all...a misunderstanding. I didn't know...I didn't do anything...but nobody would listen to me" she sighed, more like she was talking to herself than to him.
"What happened, child?" Joseph asked, knowing that whatever happened before Hope County continued to bother her.
"Before Hope County, I was dating this boy. He was a little older than me and my parents never liked him but he was a good man, he cared about me and treated me well. He was never anything but wonderful to me. He was over at my house one day and had to rush out when we heard my parents coming home early, he left his bag in my room but I didn't even notice it" Evelyn started her story and Joseph listened intensively.
He wanted to know about this woman. He knew that he shouldn't feel this way, that he shouldn't take what she was saying personally, but the thought of Evelyn being with another man made Joseph shiver. He knew it was wrong, it was the past and it was over, but he couldn't control his feelings.
"The next day I went to school, came home and my parents were waiting for me. They found his bag and they decided to look inside...it turns out my perfect boyfriend was selling drugs. He wasn't using but he was selling them. They thought that I was using them or something but I didn't know anything about it. They were angry...but then it only got worse" she sighed, looking down at her lap. She knew that she wasn't to blame for what happened but her patents continued to blame her for it to this day, they continued to call her a liar.
"I broke up with my boyfriend because of the drugs but it was a small town, everyone knew everyone and rumours spread fast. People were saying that I...that I was sleeping with him for drugs" Evelyn hesitated before speaking. She had been so embarrassed and ashamed when those rumours began to spread. It was rough to relive it. "None of it was true but my parents wouldn't believe me. I was a disgrace and my parents decided that we had to leave. Then we came here" she finished with a tiny shrug.
"You are not to blame for what happened. It was your boyfriend's sin that started this, his greed for tainted money. It was your parents' sin, their pride over their image, blaming you and refusing to listen to you" Joseph assured the young woman as he took her hand in his, caressing her knuckles gently with his thumb as an effort to comfort her. "But you must tell me...was any of it true?" He asked. It felt wrong to be asking but he...well, he was interested in how intimate Evelyn's relationship was with this boy.
"None of it was true...I never even knew about the drugs and we never...we never even slept together. I don't even car about him or the rumours anymore, I just wish my parents would believe me. The way that they look at me...I can never forget that" Evelyn admitted, still looking down at her lap. Not meeting Joseph's gaze.
"I believe you. I believe that the rumours weren't true" The Father assured her with a small smile.
"Thank you, that really does mean a lot to me...coming from you" Evelyn smiled back as she looked up at him. Why was he so kind, so good, to her?
"I knew from the moment that I saw you that you were free from sin, or at least as free from it as anyone could be. You're pure...innocent...you're perfect" Joseph spoke quietly now, like it was a secret meant just for the two of them, untainted by the outside world.
"...I'm not perfect" Evelyn whispered, not trusting her voice to speak any louder, but she found herself unable to look away from him.
"You are..." Joseph whispered back, admiring the pink tint on her cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes when he complimented her.
She was beautiful. That was the simplest way to put it. Absolutely stunning. A man couldn't imagine up a more perfect creation. Only God could manage something like this and Joseph knew that he did, that God had created Evelyn and sent her to him. She was pure, angelic and Joseph found his infatuation with her growing. It's a little cliche, a trait that Joseph wouldn't use to describe himself, but he was pretty sure that he had fallen in love with her as soon as he saw her. He knew that she had to feel the same, she just had too. Otherwise this was a very cruel joke from God himself.
Joseph would never force himself on Evelyn, he couldn't even begin to contemplate the idea, and he would never ask her to do something that she didn't want to do, but he knew that they were meant to have met. He wanted her, her mind, soul, and body.
And now that he knew about where she came from, about what brought her to Hope County, Joseph could confirm what he thought. She was perfect. Now that Evelyn was part of the Project, officially, Joseph felt even closer to her.
Evelyn watched Joseph as he lifted a hand and used it to caress her cheek, tucking her now dry hair behind her ear. She subconsciously leaned into his touch, staring into his deep blue eyes. Once again, neither of them noticed that they were leaning towards each other. Evelyn couldn't wrap her head around it but she couldn't see her life without Joseph now. She thought about him more than she liked to admit, his gaze made it hard for her to breath, his touch made her body heat up, and his voice alone sent shivers up her spine.
Her breath hitched as Joseph's nose brushed against her own. The woman froze, letting Joseph make whatever move he was going to make. The closeness of the preacher, the warmth he was emitting, made her relax and her eyes fell shut, both excited and terrified of what might happen in this church.
"Father...I think I have a confession to make..." Evelyn voice came out quiet and small, Joseph feeling her breath fan against his lips, reminding him how close they both were.
"What is it?" Joseph asked, scanning her face and noticing the pink tint to her cheeks.
"I've been feeling...different. I have this feeling that I've never felt before. I feel...lust, I think...for a man that I shouldn't feel such ways about" the young woman spoke, her eyes still closed. She couldn't open her eyes, afraid of what she might see.
Evelyn was sure that Joseph had some sort of supernatural ability to put her into a trance, were she would be perfectly honest with him. Despite their proximity and the air around her becoming suffocating, he made her feel comfortable and she felt like she could trust him with anything.
Joseph was sure that she was talking about him, that she felt lust for him. He knew that it wasn't something that should excite him necessarily but it did. To learn that his attraction was reciprocated by Evelyn was enough for him to give up control over his body.
Then...his lips where on hers. Both of them still, neither moving, just trying to wrap their heads around what was happening. Joseph's thumb brushed against her cheek as his lips grazed hers, Evelyn slowly lifted her hand and placed it on Joseph's. The Father slowly began to move his lips against hers and that when Evelyn snapped out of the dream she was having.
Evelyn dropped her hand and pulled away, completely standing up and nearly tripping over in the process. She looked down at the startled and concerned Joseph, her eyes wide and her mouth agape, she couldn't believe that just happened and that she liked it so much. She stumbled over the words that she couldn't speak.
"Evelyn" Joseph spoke carefully as he stood up from the pew, rising slowly and holding his hands out in front of him like he was trying to show that he meant no harm. He didn't want to scare her away, he never wanted her to feel threatened by him.
"I'm sorry, that shouldn't have happened. I don't know that I was thinking" Evelyn apologised, how could she do something like that?
"You don't have to apologise. I take full responsibility for that, it's my fault. I'm sorry, I've never done anything like that before" he apologised, trying to take the blame for this.
"I...I've got to go. I'll...see you Sunday" Evelyn stuttered out before turning around and walking out of the church. Joseph watched her and sighed as the door closed behind her. She has just ran away from him, there was no argument about that, she was scared and she ran away.
Joseph sighed as he sat back down on the pew, his head in his hands. He knew that he had messed up, that he had pushed her too far too quickly. It was an accident but it was an accident that he couldn't have afforded to make. Silently, Joseph asked the voice for guidance, for some sign that the the future would be carried out the way it should be, with Evelyn by his side.
As Joseph thought about the woman, something that he had been doing a lot since he first saw her, there was one thing that he knew for sure:
This was only the beginning.