Inaspirical >>>(Young Justice/Dick Grayson)<<<

Chapter 7

Team: Year One
April 24th, 05:35
Gotham Baptist Church

Parker sat in a random pew in the middle of the right isle. Her Bible sat on her lap open to a Psalm. Many other people had come out to worship their Lord and Saviour that Easter Sunday. None of them had introduced themselves to her, more had any even bothered to speak to her. She had come in an Easter dress that was perfectly appropriate for the sunrise service, but she got a few odd stares from some of the church members.

Still, she was present for the long sermon before the sun rose. The pastor spoke of Jesus being the Lamb of God, a rather over-preached and cliche message for an Easter Sunday. Her attention had been drawn to the beautiful stained-glass window behind the preacher, a depiction of the death of Jesus on the cross.

As the preacher raised the congregation to their feet, Parker saw a figure move to the empty seat next to her. She looked up to see Bruce listening to the final words.

"What are you doing here?" Parker whispered.

Bruce's gaze remained fixed on the pastor, but he acknowledged her question. "I figured you wouldn't want to be alone."

The pastor asked one of the deacons to lead them in prayer. As the old man stood behind the podium, he closed his eyes and lifted his head up to God and prayed.

The prayer itself lasted about a minute.
When he was done, the sun was about to rise.

The pianist played, and Parker did not realize she was singing until the chorus. She could not help noticing the part that faith in Jesus meant no suffering or pain. That was almost laughable. As far as she knew, she had worshipped God her whole life, and look how she turned out.

Her fingers grazed over the fading cuts on her wrists. Her sweater covered them, but she could feel the marks through the fabric. Would that good of a God really allow her to experience all the things in her life?

The sun beamed through the stained-glass window. Colors of all sorts reflected onto the white coloring of her dress and sweater. She looked up at her foster father. He was not singing the song so much as mouthing the words, but the colors had entranced him as well.

The rest of the service was a blur. There was a prayer, then music, then, next thing she knew, she was in the back of a limousine.

Bruce sat opposite her, looking at her as if wanting her to speak. When he took the hint that she did not want to speak, he prompted her by starting conversation. "That was a decent service."

Her eyes flicked up to him. "How much of it were you there for?"

"Most of it." He replied. "Alfred told me where you had gone, and I didn't want you to spend Easter alone." Bruce waited for several moments before continuing. "You don't look so well."

Parker found no reason to not tell him about her moral dilemma. "For the first time in ever, I'm beginning to doubt." Her arms crossed unconsciously. "I know you don't believe in any god, but I always have. Lately, especially after I discovered all those things about me, I cannot accept that God could exist and still let all that happen."

Bruce may have been biased in his opinions, but she doubted he would try to sway her one way or another. "I can't tell you what to think. I know what I believe, and that's all I can tell you. Only you can decide what you accept as fact and opinion."

She was silent for a moment. "The Founding Fathers claimed to be Christians, but they disagreed on many of the major aspects to Christianity. Thomas Jefferson did not like the idea of hell and miracles and cut out pieces of his Bible having to do with that. Most of the others would be classified as Deists. I think that I believe something similar to that." Her eyes met his expectantly.