#a.intro

it was at twelve years old that adam first discovered the wonderful world of pornography. ironically, a big box of playboys had been hidden in one of the attic divisions of the church. but… it was strange. as he and the other boys flipped through the dirty mags, he found himself almost entirely uninterested.

it was on that same day that adam discovered that there are some men in this world who don't like (like… like like) women. they only like men. or worse, they like both. and those types are the ones who are spreading the AIDS disease that all of the news stations are talking about.

adam chose not to think about that day too much, instead focusing on his other tasks as an altar boy. and no, before you ask, he was not abused in the church.

in fact, the church was great for adam. it was really the only thing grounding him when his father began to grow more and more distant.

at twelve years old, his father made the executive decision to up-end their little life in dublin and move to the great city of Chicago. adam had only heard about the place from american movies and while it was exciting, it also meant leaving the one place he could feel safe.

but the move wasn't that bad. they found another strict, though not quite so irish, church and adam took up responsibilities where he could. in fact, he found something of a father figure in one of the priests that served there.

however, when adam came clean one day about his… well immoral thoughts, he was faced with a decision: quit being an altar boy and be damned, or never speak of it again. thirteen, he decided on the latter.

at sixteen, he knew he couldn’t keep it up forever. all of the boys in the church were looking at all of the girls, and all of the parents were acting as puppet masters behind the scenes. his da even brought up the idea of one girl–a very pretty, very sweet girl–named kelly.

the day after she was brought up, adam sat his father down and told him he had made a big decision. “Da, I’m going to seminary.” while his father did question whether he was sure (especially considering he still had two long years of high school left), the man was a type of pride that adam had never seen before.

and so he did go to seminary. and honestly? he really loved it. everything about the idea of devoting one’s life to christ and the church felt… right. even with a few setbacks of impure thoughts—which everyone experienced at one point or another—adam found himself somewhat successful and running one of the few “true” catholic churches in chicago.

at twenty-five, he had his first sip of booze. not communion wine, but tequila. it was supposed to be a friendly, but professional dinner with a man who wanted to make a hefty donation in the name of expansion.

that night, adam lost his virginity.

at twenty-six, adam began to understand the word doubt. truly, he felt the weight of the word sinking deeper and deeper into the pit of his stomach every day, until one day—

one day, at thirty, he was approached with an interesting opportunity. in the olden days, one could call for sanctuary and be protected from the law by the church, as long as they stayed inside. in modern day chicago, sanctuary entails safe passage for a family by the name of o'shea.

in the last six years, adam has become less and less careful hiding his poor habits. in his rectory, it would not be insane to find a stashed bottle of tequila or two. on his laptop, you wouldn't believe some of the shit in his search history.