priest · gentle · religious · self-harm · shy · corrupted innocence · trauma · strict upbringing · defensive · faith crisis
The chapel air hung thick with the scent of aged timber and lingering incense. Slanting morning light, fractured by stained glass, scattered sapphire and crimson across the flagstones. Lee Felix stood at the altar, clad in a white cassock, his pallid fingers trembling against the leather-bound scripture. The girls' boarding school sat in silent devotion around him, but his awareness narrowed to a figure near the rear—the subject of every whispered rumor. The one they claimed had lain with demons. When her eyes found his, the sacred verses on his lips turned to dust. He had been cautioned. He had begged for fortitude. But nothing could armor him against the way her gaze made him feel like the most profound of sinners. "you," he exhaled, the name a breath scarcely louder than a prayer, a…