A/N: TW: all the normal TWs I've used in this book, refusing to eat, throwing up, queer as a slur.
Anthony ran into his house with the tub of ice cream he went out to buy. He carefully put it in the freezer, then went to Beezy's room.
"Beezy, wake up!" Anthony whisper-yelled. It was that kind of annoying, loud whisper, that is essentially purposeless in human interaction.
Beezy woke up. "What?"
"I saw Azira! He was at Walmart!'
Beezy groaned, "Talk to me like a normal human being. You can not just wake me up to tell me you saw Azira- Wait! You saw Azira?"
Anthony turned on the lights and nodded. "I kissed him too. He's different."
"Sit down, tell me what's going on."
Anthony plopped down on Beezy's bed and said, "Okay, so I snuck out to Walmart because I was really tasting ice cream. Well, I was walking to check out, and there Azira was, buying honey. -Honey is what they're going to have while they poison themselves. -Anyways I go and stop him. He was so confused and scared. It was like he was scared I'd get him dirty. I tried to tell him to come with me but he refused. Also I guess he ended up have a son who died. Well Azira ends up crying. He asked me to kiss him, which I did. I no longer crave ice cream, I crave his sweet lips again."
Beezy said, "That's surprising. I guess he has hope but there isn't much time. Like if they're going to die in a month there's not much time to rescue him."
"I thought you didn't want to rescue him."
"Well now I do," Beezy said, "Go get some sleep and we'll figure something out. Turn off the lights on your way out."
Anthony shut off the lights and ran to his room. He jumped on his bed and hugged his pillow. "Azira I'm coming."
Friday
"Anthony, I need you," Azira mumbled as he looked up at the ceiling, "No, I don't. I need the Lord. That's all I need. I don't need Anthony. I just want Anthony. I want indulgence. I can't have that sweet sin."
Azira got out of bed and got ready for the day. Anthony lingered in his mind. The kiss was too sweet. The hug was too warm. It tempted him too much.
"Oh Lord please release him from my mind. I can not stand this. He haunts me every day! Help me! Help me!"
He fell to his knees as he cried out. He was so desperate. It was pure turmoil inside him.
The rest of the day he read his Bible. He prayed. He refused to eat. He threw up a few times. He was so sick with himself. The quicker he could be in Heaven, the quicker he could be free from this horrible sin.
"I'm a sinner. I am a sinner. Oh help me Lord I'm a sinner," Azira softly sang as he cried on the bathroom floor, "Help me. Help me. Oh for I am a sinner."
He threw up again. He continued singing, "In your arms I will be free, but now help me Lord, for I have sinned."
He leaned over the toilet and let the contents of his stomach fall out of his mouth. "Let this sin be free of my body!" Azira cried, "Let me be free! Please!"
He then passed out. Later his father found him on the bathroom floor, and brought him to the church. Azira woke up in the pews.
"You were singing," his father said, "The song."
Azira rubbed his head as he woke up. "I was. I did something sinful last night father. I spoke with a dirty sinner. He made me feel impure. I know I've already been forgiven, and that it's not my fault, but I feel like I'm to blame. I feel nasty."
Azira's father rubbed his back and said, "That's understandable. You are clean though. The rest of the world is dirty. As long as you stay right here, you don't have to be scared of anything. You're alright."
With that Azira didn't wonder anymore about the outside world. He felt clean again.
After a while Azira and his father prayed together. Others who walked into the church also prayed with them. This made Azira feel so pure. He knew that people loved him. He had a family who cared for him. He didn't have to be scared, when he was cared for so well. He had complete trust in everything around him, which was completely different from how he felt last night. He slipped further into believing.
»»-----♡-----««
Down in the basement Gabriel was with his father.
"Father, we're actually going to get away with this. We'll be rich. Oh poor Azira he's just so willing."
Gabriel's father counted the money he had made from the church. "The boy is going to have the blame on him. He'll be dead though. Dead men can't take their money back."
Gabriel laughed, "The police will never know."
Gabriel's father said, "Cheers son. We are wonderful."
"Wonderful," Gabriel snorted, "That's a stupid, bland word."
"They love it."
"They do."
Gabriel put a hand full of money down on the table. "I can't believe you came up with this."
Gabriel's father said, "Without your help, son, we never would have went this far. Your mother would have ratted us out."
"But she's dead. Don't speak ill of the dead."
"Who cares? She was a bitch."
Gabriel said, "I didn't know her. She was my mother though. You are my father, so obviously I trust you. I hope I'm enough for you."
"You are, son. You are. You're also going to college. Right as soon as we get out you're going to an Ivy League school."
Gabriel laughed, "That's why I'm the only one allowed to get proper schooling. They all have to deal with our arranged school. Private school. They learn things, but all of them are too dumb to really know anything."
"None of them are smart enough to realize what this is."
"Mmhm. It's so good, father, so good."
Gabriel's father asked, "What ever happened to Anthony and Beezy? Have you been keeping tabs on them?"
"Uh, yeah, they were both adopted by the same set of parents. Last night Anthony met up with Azira at Walmart, and they got mad then hugged and kissed and got mad at each other all over again."
"Huh. At least we still have Azira. What ever happened to his eldest sister?"
Gabriel said, "She changed her name to Lillian and moved to Maryland."
"Interesting. She would have been a fine member if she didn't think so much."
Gabriel said, "That's common of the Phales. They think. I'm worried Azira will eventually start to think, but that is being fixed upstairs."
"That's good. As long as we still have him, he's good."
Gabriel nodded and said, 'I'll make sure he doesn't do anything to ruin this."
"Ah yes, if he does start acting up, remind him of who he is. Show him that he's branded, then tell him that's a symbol of God's love. He'll buy it."
"I know he will. He's so stupid. And friendly. Oh my Lord he's friendly. It makes him seem queer and soft. He is queer and soft."
"Is he?"
Gabriel shrugged and sighed, "Definitely queer. Mention Anthony once and watch him. He freaks out and starts sweating. He has nervous patterns and he does all of them. I have no doubt they've banged before. That whole thing last night with the Holy Water was just an act."
"Interesting. He's a good actor. Either that or he's a strong believer, or possibly both."
"I say both. He screams about it all the time. Bible Discussion and Study Meetings are more like public confession when he's around."
Gabriel's father laughed, "Bible Discussion and Study Meetings. Nobody knows what BDSM actually stands for."
Gabriel said, "They can't be having sinful sex, father, for that is... Well a sin. Sodomy."
The two laughed about that and continued to count money. This was all their big happy plan.