Chapter One

Amanda

"Rise up and pray for God's blessings" my dad; the head pastor said

The whole congregation stood up in obedience. Everyone closed their eyes anticipating the prayer my dad was about to say.

My dad is the head pastor and owner of the Chosen One's Church in the town I live in. I know what you're thinking and the answer to your question is ''yes, I am a pastor's daughter''

Pretty cliché, right?

"It’s finally over, I'm starving" my boyfriend, Jeremy said beside me

I silently chuckled

"Shut up, both of you" my mom scolded from behind us

"Sorry ma'am" he apologized

I rolled my eyes. As the family and close friends of the pastors, it’s mandatory to sit at the first three rows. They were reserved solely for us. That's why my mum gets all paranoid about our behaviour. She says people look up to us meaning we should act disciplined

Honestly, I just want to go home. As if sensing my bad mood, Jeremy held my hand in a comforting manner.

I smiled in return and squeezed his hand

His phone buzzed indicating he had a message. He brought it out and checked

I side glanced at it and I could swear I saw a picture of a naked girl

"Who's that?" I asked

He shook his head then put his phone back in his pocket

"No one important" he replied "just an old friend"

An old friend who sends you nudes?

"May the Lord guide us back to our various homes safely" my dad prayed from the altar. I quickly closed my eyes

"Amen!" We chorused

"May he provide us food to eat, water to drink and stability of mind and body"

"Amen"

"Go home in peace. Serve the Lord in reverence and respect. The service is over"

As soon as my dad finished his prayer the choir began singing a recessional song

Oh happy day

Oh happy day

After the service, my mom usually takes time to greet everyone she can. She helps my dad to run the church. She's the founder of the Christian Women Association.

It's a society for women in the church; teens have their own section too. It's an organization that is meant to empower women. The meeting is held once every month at church, sometimes at our house. Although my mom was thinking although constructing a building specially for that purpose.

They hold counselling sessions; discuss their feelings, marital or social conflicts and problems. It's basically a therapy group in disguise. They also contribute money to help charity, fix the roads and all that good stuff

My mom and I are the presidents of our various sections. We are always available to anyone who has problems in the church.

When I noticed my mom was busy with the parishioners I used that opportunity to go look for my elder brother; Tyler. I dragged Jeremy outside

"Whoa Amanda slow down" Jeremy complained

"Sorry love"

I used my eyes to search for him through the crowd of people, all to no avail. There was no sign of him at all.

I sighed in defeat. My parents are going to be mad at him for not sitting in the front row today. Where could he possibly be?

"I wonder where Tyler is" I said

"He'll be fine, okay?" He assured

"I guess"

"I'll see you in school tomorrow"

"Why? I thought we'd hang out a bit"

"I can't baby, I have plans"

With that old friend? Let's not dwell too much on that anyway.

I pouted

"Aww come on" he caressed my cheek "Don't be like that. I'll call you later"

"Okay" I nodded sadly

"I love you"

"I love you too"

He bent down to give me a peck on the lips before leaving

I walked down further still searching for Tyler

I found him in a hidden corner with two guys. I recognized one of the boys as Armon, he frequently hangs out with my brother. The other had his face down, cigarette in his hand and using his phone with the other

I've never seen him before but he looks pretty hot plus he's white. I never knew my brother had a white friend.

I doubt my dad would approve. My dad seems to think all white people are lazy privileged people who barely have to work for anything.

I totally disagree with his theory anyway. We're all the same, black or white. It doesn't matter about the colour of your skin but my father begs to differ.

"Tyler" I called walking up to him and his friends.

"Hey" he said

"Where have you been?" I pushed him playfully “You're in so much trouble when we get home"

My brother shrugged nonchalantly

"Nothing I can't handle" he said

I rolled my eyes. Trying to act cool in front of your friends Tyler? He was just putting up a front. Deep down he's really scared of my dad. We all are.

"Hey Armon" I waved at him

"Hey kiddo" he ruffled my hair. I smacked his hand away in irritation.

My hair is natural and we all know how hard it is for a black girl to maintain natural hair therefore I don't appreciate people putting their hands on it unnecessarily. I don't know where your hands have been.

"You've got to stop calling me that"

"I will when you're 18"

Armon and Tyler started talking, what about? I don't know

I was focused on the boy right in front of me that had one foot on the wall in a bad boy pose; he was still looking at his phone

Everything about him screamed trouble, from his shoulder length wavy hair to his sleeveless black leather jacket to his bright green eyes to his porcelain white skin down to his tattoos

I'm not a fan of body art but this boy made it so attractive. No doubt, he's hands down the most beautiful being I had ever laid my eyes on, even Jeremy couldn't compare.

My heart dropped when his eyes met mine. He eyed me up and down smirking. I looked away, suddenly conscious of myself

"Who's this mate?" He asked in a thick British accent. Oh Lord, he's probably from London. No wonder he's so fine.

"Oh yeah, this is my little sister Amanda, Amanda this is my childhood friend Harry" Tyler introduced us

"Hello" I managed to calmly say even though my heart is beating fast and I don't know why

"Hi, I'm Harry" he said "Harry Styles"

He held out his hand for me to shake which I took. It felt so warm in mine. My hands were small compared to his large ones. Instead of pulling away immediately when we shook hands, he made eye contact and held my hands firmly for a few more seconds before releasing. Only I noticed it. He did it swiftly but slowly, almost unnoticeable to anyone else

He took puffs of his cigarette still eyeing me

"So, how come we've never met?" I asked trying to ease the tension

"Cause your dad hates white people" Harry said "Tyler, remember that time I used the word 'nigga' while we were playing, your dad kicked me out and I was never to come to your house again. I was just seven"

Wow, that's no surprise at all . I can't believe they've known each other for so long. How come I have never heard of him? Tyler tells me everything. How come he never told me about Harry?

"But now I'm old enough to decide the friends I make" Tyler said

"True true" Armon agreed

"Your dad's a hypocrite. Christians aren't to judge or so they say. He's one of the reasons I questioned my faith" Harry said

"Um so you're British?" I asked, changing the subject

"Yeah I finished high school there a couple of years ago, got boring so I decided to come back. Tyler and I have kept in touch ever since"

"Fags" Armon teased

"It’s called friendship you fool" Tyler defended

"But you gotta admit it bro" Harry said "you're into me a little bit, aren't you?"

"Of course I am" Tyler played along in a girly voice "I've been in love with you from the start"

"Prove it then" Harry whispered "let's seal it with a kiss"

Tyler leaned in. Armon and I were laughing at their little joke until...

"Tyler! What on earth are you doing?" My mom shouted walking over to us

"Mom, we were just messing around" I said. She always has to ruin the fun

"Harry? Is that you?" She asked in disbelief

"In the flesh" Harry responded "What's up Mrs Watson?"

"I'm alright" my mom had a confused look on her face, as if not believing it was him "the last time I saw you, you were seven"

"Yeah when you and your husband kicked me out" Harry smirked

She cleared her throat. I could see how uncomfortable she looked.

Why so tense mom? Did she side with my dad on Harry's issue? Was she part of the reason Tyler and Harry stopped contact?

"How's England?" She asked switching topic

"Boring and cold" he took puffs of his cigarette not minding what my mum would think

I smiled. That was pretty hot to me. The whole bad boy demeanour was appealing.

"When did you get back?"

"Last week"

"Well it’s nice to see you again. Tyler, Amanda let's go" my mom ordered then walked to the car where my dad was probably waiting

"Bye man" Tyler told them

They did their man handshake or whatever they call it

"Bye Harry" I said

"Bye Angel"

For some odd reason I want him to call me that again

As I walked to the car, I could still feel his stare burning at my back

Was he intrigued by me just like I am with him?

The drive back was terrible. My mom kept rambling about how Harry is a bad influence on us

"I want him nowhere near your sister" she said

"Amanda has nothing to do with him and you know it" Tyler retorted

"He's a bad person Ty"

"How can you be so sure? You don't even know him"

"He's a dull white kid who committed crimes serious enough to show in the newspaper. That's all I need to know"

What? A criminal record? I knew he had a bad boy aura but I didn't know it was this serious. This only made me more curious about him. What sort of crimes did he commit? Armed robbery? Drug trafficking?

"To think you kept writing to him even when I stopped you..”

"Mom I'm 22 not 15. You can't tell me what to do"

"I can as long as you're living under my roof"

"I'll move out then!"

"See what this boy is already doing. He's been here less than a month and you're already acting unreasonable"

"It’s not because of him mum. You always say I have to do stuff because I'm living with you guys. I'm still with you guys because I work for dad's company and there are no apartments close enough. Besides, we aren't supposed to judge people"

My father hit the brakes so hard we were pushed forward with so much force. My nose hit the front seat

"Ouch!" I exclaimed

"Don't talk to your mother like that!" My dad said angrily

Tyler sighed in defeat. He couldn't argue with my dad like he did with my mom. He would be screwed for life.

"I'm sorry mom" he said

"Apology accepted" my mom said

"Number four of the Ten Commandments is what son?" My dad asked

"Honour your father and your mother" Tyler replied

"I'm glad you know. Don't ever let this happen again"

"Yes sir"

After that, the drive back home was silent. No one said a word after what just happened

"Sorry" I mouthed to Tyler

He nodded and smiled

One wish just kept running through my mind; I hope I'll see Harry again.