Too far gone to pray

Chapter six

Louis' POV

He woke up at four in the morning like he always did. It was early, but it's not like he had a choice. His father forced him to get up that early. He had to very rigid mandatory schedule that he had follow. He woke up and changed into his running clothes.

This was part of what made him such a good runner, he ran every morning no matter what. Another thing that made him good at running was that he was running from something. When he ran, he liked to imagine that he was running away from all the problems in his life.

He put his running shoes on, grabbed his house key, and left the house. He ran around the neighborhood just like he did every day. The cold morning air whipped through his hair making him feel alive, something he doesn't feel often. He ran around for an hour before he knew it was time to go home.

He got home and walked into the buy bustling house. All his siblings were up and getting ready for school. Like him, they were forced to wake up early. They didn't have the mandatory exercise that was mandated by his father though. He rushed up the stairs and went to his room to get ready for school.

He showered and fixed his feathery brown hair. He made sure that his uniform was perfectly ironed and that his tie wasn't crooked. His father got mad when he or his siblings didn't look 'proper' enough. When he decided that he looked adequate he went downstairs for breakfast.

Breakfast in his home worked differently than most. His mum made breakfast for his sisters, but he had to have the same bland cereal every day. He once asked if he could have what his sisters were getting, and that didn't go over well. For a week he wasn't allowed to eat breakfast.

He grabbed his bland cereal and some milk and put it on the table next to his bowl. They all prayed before they were able to eat breakfast. Unlike during dinner, at breakfast they talked. Not meaningful conversations about the day or how they were. No, they were quizzed on facts about the Bible by their father. They won points for every write answer and lost them for every wrong one. The point system sucked to say the least. The prize for gaining enough points was being able to have a friend. The only way to be allowed to have a friend was to gain enough points. The only one out of all his siblings who has achieved the point goal was Lottie. She was only allowed one friend until she reached the next point goal. It was ridiculous and just another way his father controlled every aspect of their lives.

He would never get a friend. He was in the negative points and was so low that it was unredeemable. No matter how hard he tried to get enough points he couldn't. He had been in the negatives for years. When he was younger, he was the perfect child, he had many points and was once close to the point goal. This all changed around the age of thirteen. He started to feel different, and his father took notice of that. His father made him work harder and punished him even more. It wasn't his father's fault though, it was his own, he was the shameful sinner. He tried everything to take away the sinful thoughts and feelings, but nothing worked. His father sent him to camp and even that didn't work. No one knew about the camp but him and his father.

He answered a few questions at breakfast gaining him a few points. All the questions that were directed towards him were about homosexuality. He knew what his father was doing, and he had no choice but to play along.

After breakfast he put his shoes on, grabbed his packed backpack, and left the house. School wasn't far away so he walked. He was also not allowed to drive a car, another one of his father's rules. His father didn't want him to be able to go too far away.

He walked to school and arrived early like he always did. Because he arrived early at school every day, he went to the chapel to pray. He did this every day, his father said it was sinful not too, but he never really believed that. He prayed his normal prayers, and also prayed that the day would go smoothly.