Chapter 2
Stretching, Marilyn slid out her blankets on the couch. She laughed to herself as she looked around & found her older brother snoring in the floor below her. He had made it in from Virginia late, hours after Marilyn got home from watching little Benny. “Haha..I guess we both passed out during the movie last night, Jace. Now we’ll never know how it ended! Way to go, brother.” She stood up & nudged him with her foot. He was most definitely fast asleep. She smiled & quietly made her way to the bathroom to shower.
The brother & sister truly enjoyed spending time with each other, but it was a rare occasion that they were actually able to. Jace, Marilyn’s 19-year old brother, had left home nearly a year ago to begin his classes at Liberty University in Virginia, & had few breaks to come back home since. He came into town for the holiday weekend to relax with his friends, family, & most importantly, Marilyn. He loved his sister more than anything in the world, & they shared a very special bond. When their parents had first announced they were expecting, 6-year old Jace was ecstatic about his new baby brother or sister. He was even more captivated with the thought of having a sibling when he discovered she was a girl. Unfortunately, their mother went into labor 5 weeks early, so Marilyn was tiny when she was first born. Because she was so premature, she lived in the hospital for the first month of her life. Although Jace was still a small child & didn’t understand the whole situation, he prayed to God that she’d make it home safe & healthy one day so he could be a good big brother, play with her, & protect her. He promised he would be the best brother ever.
As they were growing up, Jace was completely wrapped around Marilyn’s finger. As much as he despised it sometimes, he never missed a tea party or session of dress-up. He did anything he could to show his sister how much she truly meant to him. Even in his high school years, Marilyn was his best girl friend. Jace kept that promise he’d made to the Lord when Marilyn was born- he was a wonderful big brother, he played with her, protected her, &loved her. He would never break that promise, no matter what happened to him.
Not long after Marilyn stepped out of the bathroom, Jace was up, prowling through the pantry trying to find ingredients to make pancakes for breakfast. “Morning, Mary-Beary! Want some of my award-winning pancakes & bacon to fill that tummy of yours?” he called for her. “Award-winning? I don’t wanna know who awarded you for those!” she teased him as she walked down the staircase. “Seriously, we’ve got to be outta here in an hour! Get it together, punk. Pancakes or not?” She poked him with the end of a spatula & handed him the flour. “Of course, Jace. Your pancakes are the best, & you know it. Sounds yummers, big brother.” Jace grinned at his sister’s sweet compliment, & pulled her in for a long hug. “You’re a brat, but I want you to know I love you, & I’ve missed you like crazy,” he spoke softly to her. He kissed the top of her head & allowed her to continue working on the pancake batter.
“So, how’s school been thus far, Marilyn?” Jace asked. “Eh, school is school. Nothing too interesting, really. I like my classes for the most part, but AP Chemistry is going to be the death of me, I swear,” she replied. “What do you plan on doing with that head full of knowledge, anyway? I know you mentioned UGA as far as college back before I left,” he questioned, anxious to see what she would say. Jace absolutely loved going to school at Liberty, & he’d been praying that Marilyn would follow in his footsteps & attend Bible College, too. She placed a few strips of bacon in the hot pan, & thought hard for a few minutes. “You know,” she finally managed say, “I have no idea what I want to do, to be honest. I always thought I wanted to go into the music field because I love marching band & everything so much, but lately the urge to look into something else has been eating at me.” Jace laughed under his breath because he knew exactly what that nudge was.
All throughout his high school career, Jace knew one thing if anything- he wanted to be a graphic designer. He had always loved video games & art, so that career sounded delightful to him. When he realized he could take a special course for that his freshman year, he signed up & immediately fell in love with the projects he was assigned to do. He never ceased taking classes that could give him a further education for that career from then on. He was positive that’s what he would do, no doubt about it.
That summer, his best friend, Sam, invited him to take a trip to youth camp at a local Bible College, Word of Life Bible Institute. During those first few evening services, Jace constantly had a gut-wrenching feeling. The speaker was talking, but only select words made it to his brain. The worship band would do their thing, but not a single note affected him. He was numb, & couldn’t tell why. That night during worship, he completely broke down in front of God. He finally knew what this was. Just a few days into the games, late-night worship sessions, & summer fun, Jace had a change of heart, caused by the Lord. He talked to his counselors, & prayed continuously about it. He finally realized something- As much as he’d liked the idea of going to the graphic design field, he knew deep in his bones that God had other plans for his life. As soon as he got home later that weekend, he told his parents he wanted nothing more than to be a Youth pastor. They thought this was a little bizarre to be coming from his mouth of a 15-year old that had simply went to camp with a friend, but they saw something in his eyes that they’d never seen before- the Holy Spirit. Jace saw that exact same look in Marilyn’s deep brown eyes as she spoke now.
“Hey, man, you ready for tonight’s game? Gonna be beast, so I hear,” Gabriel said, as he sat on the curb next to David. “Yeah, I hope I get to go. You know how mom & dad are. We’ll see,” he muttered nostalgically. He kicked a crushed can that was lying in front of him across the parking lot. After missing the bus & having to stick around at school, David knew there was no way his parents would even begin to think about letting him out to attend the football game with his friends. “Well, ya gonna stick around & chill with me & Xavier until the game or what?” David looked around & pondered for a few moments. Glancing down at his wrists, still scabbed from the evening before, he immediately decided he needed to do something fun to get things off his mind. Besides, it’s not like his parents wanted him around, anyway. He might as well stay out of their hair. “Yeah, I’ll come. Mom won’t mind if I just tell her I missed the bus & you were my ride. You guys wanna get a bite to eat or something? There’s that burger joint up the road. I’ve got a little cash,” he finally replied, his spirits lifted. “Sounds great, bro. You stay here, & I’ll go find Xavier. I’ll bet $10 that he’s behind the sophomore building making out with Claire again, haha!” David shook his head & laughed. If nothing else, the twins antics could definitely cheer him up on a day like this. “Hey, I’m already buying you a burger!” he joked. “Just go find him, & I’ll head on over to the car. See you in a minute.”
David gathered his things & strolled over to Xavier’s navy blue Ford Focus. He knew this weekend would be different, & that he’d have a good time for once. Getting out of the house would do him good, he finally earned some time to hang out with his two friends, & he wasn’t alone with the temptation to self-harm. But for whatever reason, he still had a gut-deep feeling eating at him. He couldn’t name it, but he didn’t like it at all. “I just need to chill. Mom’s not going to be too mad at me for staying around. They’re my ride home tonight, anyway. It’s alright,” David thought to himself, “Nothing can ruin this weekend. It’ll be one to remember.”
No more than 5 minutes later, he & the twins were on the road, headed towards the restaurant David had previously mentioned to Gabriel. With music turned up, & souls on high, they were oblivious to anything wrong around them. “If only I could always feel this good,” thought David. He shook off the feeling he noticed in the parking lot earlier, & focused on that night’s plans. Good food, a good game, & good friends- those were all that mattered this weekend… or so he thought.
