Jesus Freaks: Sins of the Father(73)

Once back in the room, Jack sits on his bed and Matt stands next to me with his hands in his pockets. I heard them talking in the hallway, so I’m not surprised that Jack seems to be finding it difficult to look me in the eyes.

So, I wave and smile like I’m in a parade. “Yep. That’s me. Roland Abbot’s illegitimate child.”

Matt sighs. “Kennedy…”

“Oh,” I turn to him and tilt my head, “do you know something I don’t? Well, really, you do, don’t you?”

Matt looks down and shakes his head, which makes me feel bad. For a second.

“How’d you know?”

He shrugs. “I told you that he knows my family.”

I nod, barely, because that’s not an acceptable explanation.

“They worked together at the last church Roland was at,” he continues.

“They?”

“Roland and my dad. They pastored together.”

I lift my eyebrows and my mouth falls open a crack. Momentarily ignoring all of the cards that were thrown on the table in Mission Hall, I’m stricken by the revelation that the borderline vile football player who no one seems to know is Christian is, in fact, a Preacher’s Kid.

“Skeletons,” he mumbles with a grin, referencing our conversation from earlier in the day. “One day,” he continues, “Roland was down in Georgia for a visit, and I heard him talking with my dad about Kennedy enrolling at CU. I hadn’t ever heard your name before then. I don’t think they knew I was in the next room.”

“I didn’t know Roland shared my name with anyone,” I remark.

Matt jumps to Roland’s defense. “I don’t think he did to anyone but my dad. They’ve been friends for a long time. Met at some retreat ten years ago, I think. Come on, you couldn’t have expected Roland to never utter your name—” he cuts off when he sees my forehead crinkle. “Sorry,” he says. “I guess I shouldn’t presume to know anything about you and Roland.”

I shrug. “It’s okay. What’d you do when you heard my name?

Matt chuckles and arches an eyebrow while looking at me, amused. “Stopped fighting my dad about going to CU. I’d already been recruited for the football team, but you piqued my curiosity, K. Sawyer.”

There’s a knock on the door, and a second later, Maggie enters. Jack has been silent since I changed, but is more interested in me and my situation with Maggie present. I’m certain on a number of levels that he’s never had a soaking wet, distressed girl in his room before. He’s clearly relieved to have Maggie here.

I take a few minutes to catch everyone up, probably filling in some details for Matt. I keep it short and sweet, starting with my enrollment in CU and continuing through my meetings with Roland, problems with Joy, and ending with the events moments ago at Mission Hall.

Maggie nudges Matt—who has been kneeling by me the whole time—out of the way and gives me a tight hug. “Honey, you should have told me.”

“Why?” I sniff and wipe under my eyes. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell myself some days.”

She wipes a tear away from my cheek. “I could have helped you. Especially with Joy.”

“Yeah.” I snort. “Who’d have thought she was out for blood?”

“I get where her suspicions arose from—” Maggie starts.

“You do?!”

She smiles, unaffected by my outburst. “Well, of course. A girl with no evangelical history suddenly very friendly with the pastor? Sure. But her actions were not okay. You can be sure I’ll deal with her. Like, right now. I just wanted to come make sure you were okay. Have you talked with Roland? Or your mom?”

I shake my head.

Matt places his hand on my shoulder. “I can take her over to Roland’s house and we can kind of deal with everything there. I don’t want her going back to the dorm, and I especially don’t want her going anywhere alone.”

I twitch my eyebrow. “Protective much?”

Matt clenches his jaw. “You have no clue how big this is, do you?”

His tone seems a bit dramatic, but looking at the other two people in the room, I see the situation is quite serious.

“Big how?” I ask, my voice feeling infinitesimally small.

“Everyone will have questions,” Jack answers. “And they won’t stop until they get them from you and Roland.”

I turn to Matt. “That’s why you brought me here and not to my dorm, isn’t it? Because no one would look for me in the boys’ dorm. Smart.”

He makes a clicking noise before putting his hand on my shoulder. “K. Sawyer, you just became the most popular girl at Carter University, and probably the whole evangelical community if we give it a day or two.”

He must be joking.

Reaching for my cell phone, which I left on vibrate when I went to intercept Eden and Bridgette at Planned Parenthood, I wonder how “big” this situation could possibly get. A quick look at my “Missed Calls” shows the potential for really big. There are five from my stepsister, three from Dan, ten—ten!—from my mom, and an equal number from Roland.

Shit.

Maggie stands slowly and places her hands on her hips. “I’m going to go track down Joy.”

“I’ve got to get to Roland,” I say, standing on freshly wobbly legs.