The Male Luna (MxM) (Complete)

Chapter 23

Brayden

I bring a hand to my collar, pulling at it slightly trying to find relief from the scratchy fabric. The button-down shirt felt like it was suffocating me, and the long-sleeves were beginning to chafe against my scars unpleasantly. While it was only early morning, the sun was quickly heating the day and just the walk from the car to the building had me uncomfortable.

"It's too early for this Brayden!" Marcus complains from behind me, as I hear him drag his feet against the concrete.

"This is stupid, who cares about a stupid person in the sky and their stupid house anyway?" Charlie asks, crossing his arms.

I sigh, "It's only for today. We never have to go again after this morning," I try to calmly reply, but can't help but want to whine like the both of them at the predicament.

Kelsey scoffs from beside me, "I can't believe you signed us up for this," she says bitterly as she eyes the building with contempt.

"I didn't, not really..." I reply dejectedly. It wasn't necessarily my fault, but it was because of my job that we were being forced to do this.

Right after mom had passed, I had immediately started applying for jobs all across the country. It didn't matter where, it didn't matter the hours or workload, I had sent out hundreds of applications.

Nothing ever came back.

Apparently, nobody wanted to fill a beginner's slot with a person who didn't already have experience. I had become desperate when I saw an opening at a hospital in a little podunk town called Rocky Falls; however, there was a contingency. It was a private hospital and was under the affiliation of a religious group. On my resume, I had marked that I was a believer in their religion, and had gotten a call the next day.

I had forgotten all about that little detail in my contract until Dr. Monroe had called me into his office earlier last week to discuss my beliefs. After only a couple of minutes, it had been clear that I knew nothing about the religious organization the hospital was affiliated with or their corresponding beliefs. Thankfully, Dr. Monroe had said that I wasn't going to be fired, but he did want me to get familiar with the religion so that I could understand certain terms patients might use or if they requested abnormal treatment.

I didn't feel like I could complain, the only peeving thing was that he had also required that I attend at least one service at the so-called temple in town.

Which led to the now unfortunate predicament of this morning.

The six of us were now standing on the front stoop of the old wooden building, in front of two-thick doors waiting to enter. Kels was quietly observing the structure with some disdain, while the two boys were bickering. Evie was drinking a bottle in my arms while her bare feet kicked against my chest and Charlotte was currently clutching my leg as she sat on my foot whining about the heat.

Odd, this is a holy place yet I feel closer to hell...

Turning to the kids, I try not to let my irritation at the morning show.

"Alright," I proclaim, trying to get all the kids' attention, "when we enter we are all going to sit down and be quiet," disgruntled moans follow but I try to ignore them before I join in myself, "after the speaker is done we will leave as quickly as we can, so no running off after the service is over," I say, with a pointed look at Charlie.

I look up and make eye contact with Kels and notice her already giving me a dejected look as she mouths 'You owe me' from behind the kids.

I sigh as I grab the large, metal doorknob, 'I know' I mouth back in agreement, both of us realizing that our Sunday morning is only going to get worse from here.