I just wanted to make it clear, that the first part that's italicised, is a flashback. Although, you may already have known that, lol. And thanks to those that reviewed! Sappho, I'm sorry if I came off as rude in my reply to you third chapter. I wasn't trying to be; I was just trying to be as clear as I could to make my point/help you understand what I was saying. Oh, and the part about the shroud, the monument of Jesus's crucifixion timeline, that's all completely true. I saw it myself. If I can find it, I'll put up a link to it in my profile.
"Zack, don't tickle me; I'll wake up my parents," Savannah said with a small laugh.
"Oh, come on; live dangerously."
"Having you in my bedroom is living dangerously in this house."
"Your parents need to lighten up on the God crap. They take it way too seriously."
Savannah looked at Zack for a few minutes. "...What, so we're just supposed to take God as a joke? Zack, come on; he's our Father."
"No, see; my father is the person that had sex with my mother and reproduced me."
"God is everyone's Father. He's the reason we're all here."
"No, he's the reason Adam and Eve are here. Adam and Eve are the reason we're here."
"Adam and Eve are part of God."
"Whatever. I don't care about all that crap. You need your own opinion, not your parents'."
"Zack, that is my opinion. I'm a very religious person. You know that."
"Everyone knows that, Savannah. You preach to people."
"I do not. I tell them what I feel."
"You're too religious for your own good, Savannah," Zack said, getting up from the bed.
"Wh-excuse me?"
"Everytime we talk, you mention God or Jesus."
"So what? They're an important part of my life, Zack."
"Well, they aren't in mine. I'll talk to you later."
Savannah scoffed, and she watched Zack leave the room. She sighed and ran her hand over her flat stomach, lightly. "Your daddy doesn't quite understand anything anymore..."
Marti bit her lip, listening to Savannah talk. Some how, they'd gotten onto the subject of Zack. She didn't mind it, but she didn't want Savannah to get too upset. "Wow... You know, it's pretty sad when a guy leaves you just because you're religious. I mean, I'm not the religious type, but I respect that you are. It's really special that you have such a strong connection with something that you truly believe in."
"Do you believe in God?"
"Uh... Well, I'm not sure... I mean, part of me does. Part of me doesn't. Miracles happen and we all know it's God, but then again, there's never been any physical evidence of him ever existing."
"Well, that's because God's not a person. He's a God. A spirit."
"Well, how did Jesus get wrapped up into all this?"
"Jesus is God's son. He was the first miracle to ever walk this earth. He's the son of God, but also the son of Mary and Joseph."
"Yeah, I don't get that. How do we know Jesus was real?"
"Well, no one did up until the shroud of Jesus was found."
"...The what?"
"The shroud."
"Okay, I'm lost..."
Savannah laughed a little, and she pulled her laptop out from under her bed. "The shroud is what Jesus's body was wrapped in after they'd taken him off of the cross."
"How is that evidence? They had to have found his body to find the shroud."
"No, no. Jesus was resurrected on Easter, remember? Just three days after his death. When he rose, and he escaped from his tomb, his shroud was left behind."
"That's crazy..."
"I'm sure if you were interested, my preacher could tell you all about it. You know, we should take a trip to Texas. They have an amazing time line of his death, and an exact replica of his shroud is hung up on a wall inside a small building. My parents took me and Charlotte there when we were little."
"Time line of his death?"
Savannah nodded. She typed a few things on her computer and found what she was looking for, then turned the computer to Marti. "There's statues from Jesus getting prepared for his crucifixion. It starts with him talking to someone, then progresses to him carrying his own cross, and then getting hung with the other two men that were crucified."
"What's that?" Marti asked, gesturing to the laptop.
"Jesus's shroud. It's really cool, actually; you can see the impression of his face, his hands, the thorn punctures on his head. It's amazing."
"Wow..."
"Mommy."
Savannah looked over to Leilani, and she smiled a little. "What, Baby?"
"I tuller?"
"Yeah, you can color. Wait just a minute, Mommy will get your crayons."
"Otay."
Marti smiled. "She's amazing, Savannah... You're really lucky."
"Yeah, I am... I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have her," she said, closing her laptop. "I mean, I wasn't prepared for her at all when I had her, but the second I held her, I knew my life was going to be better."
"She's not even my kid and she makes my life better. She cracks me up sometimes."
"She gets her sense of humor from her father. The only good thing about him," she said, putting her laptop down. She got into her nightstand drawer and got out a coloring book and some crayons. "Here, Lani. Do not color on the floor."
"I no tuller on foor," Leilani said, toddling over to Savannah.
"Yeah, that's what you said last time."
"She colored on the floor?" Marti asked.
"Yeah. Under your bed. Before we put it in here, she decided the floor needed to be a little bit prettier."
"Can't blame her for trying, Mommy."
"Yeah I can; it won't come out."
Marti laughed a little. She stayed silent for a few seconds, before looking at Savannah. "...You don't have to answer this; I know it's hard for you to talk about it... But, why did you stay with Zack after he raped you?"
"Um... Well, I... I thought it would be worse if he wasn't around when I had Lani... When he started telling me what I could and couldn't do, and tried to get me kicked of the Memphis Christian squad, I had enough."
"Enough of what?"
"Everything. The yelling, the hitting, the fighting. The sex."
"You still slept with him after he raped you?"
"He got me into the mood. After he raped me, he didn't force me. He was a tease. He messed around until I couldn't take it anymore. I gave in."
"Oh..."
"I was stupid. I don't even talk to him anymore unless it's about Lani."
"How come she lives with him and not you?"
"Well, this is a dorm. I don't think they'd let me have her here."
"You can't just tell them that she's just visiting?"
"I can't lie. Besides, Dan and I have something else arranged."
"Oh. Like what?"
"He said she could stay with him."
Marti's eyes widened a bit. "Have you ever seen him with a kid?"
"No. Have you?"
"...No, actually. Has he met her yet?"
"Yeah. He adores her."
"Hows the love life so far?"
"We don't have one," Savannah said, laying back on her bed.
"What? No way."
"Way."
"Seriously?"
"I'm not planning on having sex with him anytime soon."
"There is a fine line between having sex and making love, Savannah."
Savannah shrugged a little. "I don't know if I'll ever be ready to make love to him."
Marti nodded. "...You really love him, don't you?"
"I do... I just... I don't think I'll ever be able to give myself to him..."
"Well, that's between you and him. Look, don't make yourself do something if you aren't ready for it. I know for a fact that Dan's going to suggest it one of these days, but if you say 'no' he won't push you. He's not like that. He respects women. He's not gonna talk you into anything you don't want to do."
"Are you just saying that to make me feel like I can trust him?"
"No. It's true."
"He must be pretty special to you..."
"He is. He's been my best friend since we were kids."
"Does it bother you that we're dating?"
Marti shook her head. "No, not at all. If I could pick anybody for him to be with, it would definitely be you. I mean, you have all the right morals, you're in it for love, not the benefits..."
"Love is a benefit."
"Well, the bad benefits, like sex, and... You know, all the other stuff that's considered a sin to your people."
"Religion."
"What?"
"My religion, not my people. My religion. Christian. All the other stuff that's considered a sin to all the Christians."
"Oh... Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude, I just..."
"Didn't know how to word it. I know. It's fine. No worries."
Marti nodded. "So, what are you and Dan gonna do about the whole living situation?"
"I'm not sure. We still need to talk more about it. I'm just glad that he's accepting to Leilani. I could never be with someone that didn't respect her."
"Dan doesn't really care about things like that. He accepts people for who they are, secrets or not."
"Is that a good thing?"
"Totally. Most guys would get freaked out and would have left you on the spot. Dan understands. He knows you had a reason."
Savannah nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"I always am."
"Oh my goodness, you showed optimism."
"You're wearing off on me."