I do not own any American Gothic characters, this is a work of fan fiction. This story is a continuation of my previous stories and follows on from Aftermath.
It was a dreary afternoon in Trinity South Carolina, the strong wind echoed throughout the cold Church and Caleb Temple tried to shake off the eerie feeling of intruding in a place that he did not belong.
Caleb had nothing against Churches or Religion, it was something he was aware of as this was a strongly religious community; however, he himself had not committed to that kind of higher power and it had never been something he had considered previously, except when Miss Holt had attempted to take him to a Sunday service. That had not turned out well for him in the past and the only thing he had gotten from that experience was a ruined shirt.
He put part of the discomfort he was experiencing now down to the reason he was here and the other part down to his Father. Merlyn had told him in the past that Lucas was not worthy or any kind of peace that a place like this could offer and he suspected the same went for him seen as they were bound by blood. Caleb supposed he was alright with that, providing he had his family around him.
Right now he was sat between Gail and Lucas, waiting for the service to be over. He leaned into his cousin, sick of listening to the Preacher drone on about the almighty heavenly Father and let out a relieved breath when he felt her arm come around him to pull him closer.
Gail had been like a ray of light recently when he felt himself being consumed by darkness, she had been the first person he saw when he got up every morning and the last one he saw before going to sleep. He had tried to act strong and pretend Poppy's death had not impacted him as much as it had; however, she appeared to see right though his facade and reassured him that everything would be alright.
While the Preacher droned on about how much Poppy had meant to the community and how tragic it was that she was taken away so soon, all Lucas could think about was the short black dress Gail was wearing and the fact that his access to her had been restricted with Caleb being between them. He knew these thoughts were disrespectful to girl; however, so were the false words from the Preacher and it amazed him that someone who had never even met her had so much to say.
Lucas had not wanted to subject Caleb to this charade, the boy had genuinely cared for Poppy and would deal with what happened in his own way. All this funeral service did was ponder to his townspeople's incessant need to insert themselves into each others business and it was unfortunate he had to be present for this spectacle. Poppy was gone; however, people felt the need to pretend that they had contributed to her life in some way and he found it all laughable.
'Careful sweetheart...' Gail leaned over Caleb and whispered quietly, '...If that grin of yours gets any wider people will think you're actually having fun at a poor girl's funeral'
Lucas inhaled her sweet scent and it caused his urges to go crazy. His love had not catered to his needs as much since the incident with Poppy, as she had ensured she was with Caleb each morning when he woke up. Although her desire to ensure his son was well taken care of should make him happy, it had started to cause a strange feeling of resentment for the boy as he was not used to sharing.
Gail sensed his thoughts and smiled. 'Now, now soulmate, it's not fair to put all that on a young boy. You're plenty taken care of and there's enough of me to go around' she whispered in a mock scolding manner.
'Who says I blame him, he's not the one that got us into this mess' he whispered in frustration and watched as her smile faded.
Caleb lifted his head slightly, forcing distance between them both and stared at Lucas curiously. His Father had been different with him recently and he wondered if it was due to his dwelling on Poppy's death. He hoped Lucas was not mad at him, he had attempted to remain unfazed by all of this and could not handle his Father being disappointed in him right now.
'Don't give that a second thought' Lucas whispered into his ear reassuringly, then shot Gail a disapproving look.
Gail exhaled deeply, sick of his constant need to reprimand her for what she had allowed and turned her attention back towards the Preacher. Although this funeral service was truly lovely, it was a sham and she wanted to get Caleb out of here as soon as possible.
'Before we lay this beautiful girl to rest, I'd like to invite you all to share a few words about what Poppy meant to you' The Preacher offered to the funeral goers.
When no-one moved, Caleb stood up from his seated position and slowly walked towards the small podium at the side of the coffin. He stared down at his hands nervously, then caught sight of his cousin smiling proudly at him and found his voice. 'Me and Poppy met about a year ago, when I was playin' in the Junkyard...She coulda told on me, but she didn't. She was nice like that and we became good friends...'
'You should be proud of his courage' Gail said quietly, when Lucas slid closer to her and placed his hand on her knee.
Lucas nodded for Caleb to continue when he sensed the nerves starting to get the better of him, then turned his attention towards Gail and ran his hand up her thigh. 'He knows what he means to me, he's a Buck and a pretty damn fine one at that' he whispered, then leaned in and kissed her neck softly.
Gail inhaled deeply and attempted to ignore the tingling sensation between her legs. 'He doesn't know that and it would be nice if you said it once in a while' she scolded and continued to focus on Caleb.
'That boy doesn't need to be babied, he's provin' right now that he can handle himself just fine' Lucas said, as he pushed his hand discreetly under her dress and began to stroke her sweet spot teasingly.
Gail attempted to remove his hand from it's current position; however, Lucas pulled her close with his free hand and quickened the movements with his fingers. 'This isn't right' she whispered seriously.
'And neither was this poor girls life endin' so prematurely, but that doesn't seem to bother you' Lucas berated quietly and felt himself getting excited as her breath quickened.
Gail closed her eyes momentarily at the surge of pleasure flowing through her and used all of her self control to force her demeanour to remain unchanged. She understood that this was yet another punishment for her actions and as they were in public, she was powerless to stop it.
She smiled reassuringly at Caleb, when he noticed how close Lucas was holding her and leaned into her husband to provide a united appearance. When her climax started to rise, she felt herself begin to lose control and did not know what to do.
Lucas sensed her impending climax and pulled her head to his chest, to stifle her moans. When he noticed the people behind them watching them carefully, he stroked her head tenderly and embraced her reassuringly. 'It's alright love, she's in a better place now' he said soothingly, then winked at Gail playfully when she lifted her head and shot him a disgusted glance.
Caleb saw Gail appearing to cry on Lucas' chest and felt himself becoming upset; therefore, he quickly finished his sentence and rushed down to be with her. He sat at the other side of her and situated himself under her arm, then hugged her reassuringly. 'It's alright cous', it's all gonna be OK' he advised, resting his head on her chest.
Gail held Caleb close and squeezed him tight, while Lucas still keep his hold on her possessively. This was turning into a nightmare, all the while Lucas remained untouched by his inappropriate actions. If anything he was being depicted as the loving, supportive husband and the thought sickened her.
'You married me Darlin'' Lucas whispered mockingly.
'And I can still divorce you honey' she whispered sarcastically.
The Preacher signalled for them all to stand up as the service came to a close and Caleb held on to Gail tight as people were ushered out of the Church. He gave one last sad glance at Poppy's coffin before being pulled away gently and followed his cousin obediently.
When he walked out of the large church doors, he stared up at the dull clouds overhead and closed his eyes as heavy rain began to fall. He stood still for a moment, letting the drops trail down his face, then spotted Merlyn at the corner of the Church and rushed towards her.
Gail watched as Merlyn hugged her brother and smiled when she nodded to indicate that she was OK. Matt was in work today and her cousin had made it clear that she wanted to be left alone at the back of the Church, to allow herself to deal with her emotions alone. Gail had not approved of this decision; however, she respected her wishes and had ensured Caleb remained with them. Now it appeared she needed her brother, so Gail nodded her approval of them wandering off for some time together and glanced around under the shelter of her umbrella.
This whole situation was strange, the loss of someone so young was always tragic and Gail knew deep down that this was on her; however, she felt a sort of detachment when she thought of Poppy and the only thing that affected her right now was how her family was coping.
Before she had a chance to ponder over the matter, she spotted two women heading in her direction and quickly turned her back to them. She glanced around for Lucas, as he always handled these awkward conversations better than her; however, he was no where to be found. Without a second thought, she headed back into the deserted Church and closed the large doors. She prayed the busybodies would just leave her alone and not follow her back in here, she had performed like the perfect wife for long enough today and it was about time that she had a break.
'And here I thought you were feelin' some remorse for your actions and wanted to say one last farewell to this fiery red head' Lucas said sarcastically, as he stood over Poppy's closed coffin.
Gail approached him cautiously, surprised that he had returned here when he clearly disliked being inside a Church. 'Remorse is for babies, adults are required to accept their actions and move on' she advised, when she reached the coffin and stood on the opposite side to him.
Lucas let out a small laugh and shook his head. 'We really are soulmates, you know that?'
'How so?' Gail asked curiously, as she watched him carefully.
'We both know what we have to do and just get on with it' he explained, as he closed the distance between them. 'You know this is the third Church we've been in together within the space of a year? I'm not accustomed to this and it makes me act in all kinds of colourful ways, as you've previously experienced'
Gail sensed his desire instantly and started to back away slowly. 'We both know how to act appropriately in a place of God Lucas, we will honour that' she advised sternly, not caring for the dark glint in his eyes.
'You think I wanna hurt you Gail?' he asked curiously, reaching for her arm before she got out of range and pulled her to him.
'I think you want to be in control of everything and want to smite anyone or anything that doesn't conform to your ways'
Lucas laughed, then led her past the coffin and to the large alter where two long candles stood parallel on either end. 'I don't wanna smite you wife, I'm too fond of you for that'
Gail felt a surge of excitement flow through her and attempted to push it down. She sensed what he wanted; however, this was inappropriate in their current setting and she had been raised better than this 'If you're that fond of me husband, you'll adhere to my beliefs'
'You don't believe in God love...it may have been drilled into you as a child, but you've made up your own mind since then' Lucas stated knowingly.
'I don't know what I believe in sweetheart, but I know what's appropriate and the look in your eyes right now certainly isn't' she advised disapprovingly.
Lucas smiled devilishly and pushed her gently down onto the alter. He was careful not to hurt her; however, he would remain in control. 'What we do isn't inappropriate, far from it. If anythin' it adheres to the Godly message of spreadin' love and all that garbage'
Gail felt her body start to betray her when he slowly removed her panties and parted her legs. She truly wanted to make him stop; however, her desire was too great and she yearned to have him inside of her. 'For the record, I'm stating categorically that is wrong' she said, then let out a loud moan when he gently pushed himself inside of her.
'Noted...but just so we're clear, you set your mutt onto that poor girl without batting an eye lid and you believe this is wrong?' he asked amused.
Gail rolled her eyes at his comment and chose not to engage anymore. She allowed him to take her tenderly and just hoped this would be over with soon, so she could get on with punishing herself for allowing this to act happen in this setting.
'For the record...' Lucas panted quietly, '...we're officially consummating our marriage under the eyes of God. That ain't wrong Darlin', it's actually poetic in a way'
Gail laughed in disbelief, then pulled him to her and kissed him passionately. She knew there was no point fighting him, it would only turn a loving act into something dark and the way they took each in that scenario certainly would be sacrilegious; therefore, she just relaxed and let him take her softly.
Lucas smiled when she did not fight him and kept his movements gentle. It had been a long time since they had been together in this gentle way and it was refreshing to know this side of her still existed. There may just be hope for his love yet.
Their climax started to build together and Lucas quickened his pace, sensing the last of the funeral goers had begun to leave. He thrust in and out of her, not able to get enough of the feeling of being inside of her and buried his head in her chest to stifle his calls when his orgasm hit. Gail bit her lip hard to stop from calling out his name, then held him close as they both attempted to regain their breath.
Lucas pulled out of her and cleaned her up with his handkerchief, just before the Preacher re-entered the Church and walked towards them. 'It was a great service Dale, you did the girl justice' Lucas smiled and shook the mans hand.
Gail approached the coffin and placed her hand on the top gently. 'You're free now' she whispered, then walked out of the Church without addressing the Preacher.
Lucas watched as she left, then glanced down at the coffin and let out a long exasperated breath.
'Did it hit her hard?' Dale asked, as he watched Gail leave.
'More than she cares to admit' Lucas advised then nodded towards Dale and left the Church, ready to head to his second funeral of the day.
-To be continued-