Forgiven

by Fall, Carly

  She took the last bite of cheesecake and set the fork down with a loud clatter.

  “Let’s go, Annie,” he said, standing and putting his hand out to help her up. She stared at his hand for a moment, and then pushed it away.

  “I can walk by myself,” she replied indignantly. Liam followed closely to catch her in case she stumbled. She almost made it out of the restaurant without incident, but teetered on her heels as she turned the corner and nearly ended up head first in someone’s mashed potatoes.

  “Sorry about that,” Liam said, wrapping his arm around her waist, catching her before she fell. “Have a nice night. Let’s go, love.”

  “Don’t call me that!” she hissed, slapping at his hand. “You don’t love me!”

  A few tables were now staring at them and he smiled. It was obvious that she was plastered, he didn’t need to point it out to anyone. His irritation with her grew, and he felt like pulling out the ring and jamming it on her finger just to get her to shut up. However, she probably wouldn’t remember it in the morning, and he wanted the occasion to be something special, not something to placate her so she would quit acting like such an ass.

  “Next time I come in here, it won’t be with him!” she said to the waitress. “He doesn’t love me anymore, and I don’t think he ever did!”

  “Annie, knock it off,” Liam muttered under his breath, steering her toward the front door.

  “Don’t tell me what to do, Liam. We were supposed to get married and have kids. But you haven’t asked me yet! That means you don’t love me!”

  Then she turned angry. “You don’t have the guts, you don’t have the balls to love me, you loser.”

  He tightened his grip on her waist and looked at the hostess. “Dinner was nice. Thank you.”

  “Dinner sucked,” Annie hissed. Then she turned to Liam. “That’s it, isn’t it? There’s someone else! Someone else is sucking you off!”

  Liam glanced around at the crowded waiting area. All eyes were on them. It took everything in him not to tell Annie to shut the fuck up. Instead, he smiled and rolled his eyes, gently pushing her out to the door.

  He dragged her to the car and got her in the seat. His irritation and frustration with her was so great, he didn’t bother buckling her seatbelt. As he slid in to the driver’s seat, he mentioned that she might want to fasten it.

  “Leave me alone, Liam,” she mumbled. “Just go fuck yourself.”

  With that, he put the car in gear, and drove faster than he should to get her home and pour her into bed. He hoped she would pass out, but she kept railing on him.

  “Three years, Liam. Three years I’ve been waiting for you to propose to me. My mom was right. I’m nothing but a cow, and you’re getting the milk for free!”

  Liam had to suppress a laugh. Annie was anything but a cow. Standing at five foot two, she was very petite and thin. With her chin-length brown hair and her large, dark blue eyes, she could almost look elfin standing next to his large frame.

  “I think I’m moving out tomorrow,” she said.

  Oh, great. The tears started.

  “Annie,” he said, trying hard to keep calm, “I do love you.”

  “You’re full of shit, Liam.”

  As they approached the part of the road that narrowed, he stepped on the gas.

  God, he was so tired. Tired from the physical demands of his job, not sleeping much in the past twenty-four hours, and most of all, tired of listening to Annie. Where had all this come from? Why tonight? He made a mental note to check the delivery status on that banner.

  Both sides of the road were plush with vegetation needing to be trimmed back as the foliage blocked out some of the streetlights. It was just another thing the city was cutting back on to save a few bucks.

  A few minutes later, Annie had calmed down and the darkness and quiet had lulled Liam to the point where he was fighting to stay awake. The Dingo came from the left and Liam swerved. Annie screamed, and Liam realized he had overcorrected and was headed straight for a tree. He tried to wrench the wheel, but it was too late.

  The thing he remembered the most about the impact was the initial sounds, and then after the crash, the lack thereof. During the crash, Annie’s screams echoed around the car, mingled with the loud screech of crunching metal. When he woke, the silence was eerie. He couldn’t hear anything; not even his own breathing or the beat of his own heart. It was frightening coming to consciousness to such a heavy silence, and it was similar to what he was experiencing in Eternity.

  Liam opened his eyes and looked around, determined not to think of what happened after the accident.

  “Hello, Liam.”

  Liam couldn’t believe his eyes as Annie stood in front of him, dressed in a long white robe, looking as cute as she had while alive. Slowly, he got to his feet, wondering if this apparition in front of him was the first sign his psyche was cracking.

  “Annie?”

  She nodded.

  “I was told I would never see you again.”

  She smiled and waved her hand, bringing a swirl of greens, blues and browns to the white space. It morphed and spread, and after a few moments, the colors settled into a picture. The scene then came alive.

  It was as if he was immersed in the crash scene, but watching as a third party. The smashed car was wrapped around the tree to his left, the engine hissing with one headlight on, one off. His body sat in the driver’s seat, unconscious and bleeding from the head.

  Liam stood in the middle of the narrow road, looking toward where they had lived. Three miles and they would have made it home. Three lousy miles.

  He remembered thinking that they were so close to home, so very close. As he stepped on the gas, he’d been so happy for the silence, so relieved to be so close to home where he could put Annie to bed and finally get a decent night’s sleep himself.

  Hesitantly, he looked to his right. Annie’s mangled body lay on the pavement, her limbs bent in odd ways, blood everywhere. The yellow dress she’d been wearing twisted around her waist. Liam recalled that he knew she was dead before he had reached her, simply from the clouded, faraway gaze in her dark blue eyes.

  He turned to the Annie standing next to him in Eternity. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, feeling his throat constrict and his tear ducts burn. “I’m sorry that I killed you.”

  She stared at him, her face impassive.

  “You have to believe me,” he went on. “I’m so sorry. I was exhausted, and you were pissing me off by saying I didn’t love you. I did love you, Annie. I was going to ask you to marry me, but I wanted it to be a surprise. I was finally brave enough to do it, and then . . .”

  He glanced over at her corpse.

  “It is time,” she said.

  “Time for what?” Liam asked. “I don’t know how long I’m supposed to be in this blasted place. What is it time for me to do?”

  Annie smiled and Liam dropped to his knees, the pain in his chest was so intense. It was a mixture of guilt and sadness, with a good dose of self-hatred.

  “You’ll see, Liam,” she said.

  She turned to walk away, and Liam got to his feet, determined to follow her. “Annie—”

  She stopped, and looked at him. “I forgive you, Liam.”

  Liam shut his eyes, but it didn’t stop the tears. He felt her cool hand on his cheek, and he grasped it in his own. “Please don’t leave me,” he whispered. “I love you.”

  “It is time,” she said again, pulling her hand away.

  Liam opened his eyes and she was gone. He looked around, and the accident scene had disappeared as well. He was back where he had started out, nothing but the bleak whiteness and that unattainable faraway glow of a light. He wanted to scream in frustration, and for what should have been with Annie. Seeing her tore at his soul, having her touch him ripped at his heart. Her brief visit had left his tender wounds raw, open and allowed the old pain to flow freely.

  “Annie!” he yelled. “Come back!”

  There was n
o answer and Liam sunk to his knees, his convoluted mind swirling with the past of Annie, and the present of Adela.

  Chapter 31

  Adela went to the door and opened it. Jackie stood there, her eyes red, her arms crossed over her chest.

  “Jackie,” Adela said. “Please come in!”

  Jackie stepped into the house, but didn’t meet Adela’s gaze.

  “May I take your coat?” Adela asked.

  Gunnar came through the kitchen. “Hello, Jackie!”

  She gave him a small smile as she removed her jacket. “For two people who have been shot at, you seem very happy.”

  That had never occurred to Adela, and she questioned why she wasn’t more upset. She was human, and bullets did terrible things to the human body. She had witnessed it many times as an Angel of Death. After the initial shock of the incident, oddly enough, the thing she was most worried about was Liam and where he had gone, and whether or not he’d come back. It had been so disturbing watching him disappear into thin air after being hit by that orb Evangeline produced. Adela knew no one should ever lay a hand on an angel from the Inner Circle —it was a well-known rule. Besides, looking at Evangeline with her holiness and beauty, who would want to hurt her? Certainly not Liam. He may be an ass at times, but he treated women with respect. What had happened between Evangeline and him had been an accident.

  “Well, no sense dwelling in the past!” Gunnar bellowed.

  “Please, come in and sit down,” Adela said, taking Jackie’s coat and hanging it in the small hallway closet.

  They sat on the red couches in front of the fireplace. Just a little while ago, Adela had struggled for fifteen minutes trying to get the wood burning while Gunnar had prattled on about some Viking thing where they mixed their urine with some moss stuff, which had given them fire at all times. Thankfully, he finally shut up and Adela lit the fire. As she stared at the dancing flames, pride swelled within her that she had made fire by herself, despite being three hundred years out of practice.

  “How’s Jonathan?” she asked, turning to Jackie.

  Jackie let out a long sigh. “I explained to the sheriffs that he had a traumatic brain injury, and they were very understanding. One of them also served in Iraq and had friends who were also hurt. He said he knew some people who may be able to get Jonathan into a special hospital in California to help stabilize him.”

  “Well, that’s good,” Adela said.

  Jackie nodded, staring at her hands in her lap. “Yes. It’s so hard for me to see my son like he was today. I remember him as a child—so upbeat, loving, smart . . . and today he’s so different . . . “

  Jackie’s son? Adela heard nothing else as she tried to process the information. Her mind flashed back to the first time she had seen Jackie and Jonathan out on their deck. She hadn’t been close enough to actually see Jonathan’s features, but she’d assumed he was Jackie’s husband. He had then disappeared for a couple of days, and today, she’d been busy dodging bullets, not studying his facial features.

  Jackie’s son.

  Oh, no.

  Panic curled her stomach. They’d wasted four days thinking that their assignment was Jackie and Jonathan. Heck, even their names indicated that they belonged together.

  Adela wanted to cry and scream and throw things. She had been so certain that Jackie and Jonathan were their targets, that they were the ones who were supposed to fall in love.

  Adela tuned in again just as Jackie said, “So I guess we’ll be moving.”

  “Moving?” Adela asked.

  “Yes. If I can get Jonathan the help he needs, then yes, we’ll be moving as soon as possible.”

  Adela nodded, her whole body numb. They had wasted precious time based on her hunch. She should have put more effort into finding out more about Jackie and Jonathan. She had just assumed that because they were arguing and lived together, they were their assignment.

  “Do you have a husband?” Adela blurted.

  Jackie gave her an odd look, but nodded. “Yes, I did. My husband died about two years ago from cancer.”

  Crap.

  “I’m so sorry to hear that,” Adela said, hoping she sounded like she truly was. To some extent, it was true. She’d seen countless cancer deaths and it was never pretty. She was sorry for Jackie, but right now she was too wrapped up in her own turmoil to convey those feelings appropriately.

  Adela closed her eyes for a moment and thought things through. If their target wasn’t Jackie and Jonathan, and it wasn’t Jackie and her husband, who was it? The rest of the cabins around them were empty. Had they not ventured out enough? She glanced over at Gunnar, who stared into the fireplace. Perhaps he was supposed to fall in love with Jackie? He had shown up late, and was sort of a third wheel with Liam and her, so it was a possibility. However, he was an angel and that wouldn’t make any sense. He was living as a human for a short period of time. Their assignment was to help people fall in love, and the assumption was, the more couples who loved each other, the more love would spread. If Gunnar was supposed to fall in love with Jackie, it would only break her heart when he had to return to his angel form.

  “So, I just wanted to stop by and tell you how sorry I am about what happened. Jonathan’s a good boy, he’s just been . . . damaged.”

  Jackie stood, and Adela followed suit, despite her weak knees. “Thank you for coming by,” Adela said. “We appreciate it, and we’re so happy that Jonathan will hopefully get the help he needs.”

  They walked Jackie to the door and Adela helped Jackie with her coat, then said their goodbyes. Gunnar shut the door and leaned against it. “Now what do we do?” he asked.

  Adela sighed. She really had no idea, and again she wished Liam were around. He would know what to do, where to focus their efforts. Her frustration boiled. “I don’t know!” she yelled, throwing her hands up in the air.

  Gunnar studied her a moment, and then shrugged. “I don’t either, Adela. You’re more experienced in this than I am, so it’s your call.”

  She stared at his ice-blue eyes for a moment, and then down at the floor. Turning, she walked into the kitchen, wanting a cup of tea. She pulled out a black coffee cup from the cabinet—thinking how the color matched her mood—and filled it with water. As she put the cup in the microwave, she noticed the time. It was close to 8:00 pm, and she was exhausted, her mind foggy. Maybe what she needed to do was go to sleep and wake tomorrow with a fresh outlook on everything, and maybe, just maybe, the answers would come to her. “I think I’ll go to bed,” she said, as the microwave dinged.

  Gunnar was quiet as she dipped the chamomile tea bag into the hot water.

  Clearing his throat, she glanced over at him.

  “Would you like me to join you?” he asked.

  The shock rippled through Adela, and she took a step back. Why would he ask such a thing? “No, I wouldn’t,” she answered, picking up her mug. “Goodnight.”

  She hurried to her bedroom, shut the door, and turned the lock. A trickle of fear went through her, and she pulled the chair from the desk and put it in front of the door. It wouldn’t stop Gunnar if he wanted to come in, but at least the loud crash of it falling to the floor would definitely notify her if someone was in her room.

  Glancing over at the bed stand, she noted the pen she had stabbed him with before was still there.

  Adela sat down on the bed, wrapped her hands around the cup, then closed her eyes and prayed for some sort of serenity. She needed to calm the hum within her body, or she may never sleep. Bringing the cup to her lips, she sipped carefully, feeling the burn on her tongue.

  Gunnar would never hurt her … or so she thought. He’d been nothing but kind, but that last question of his didn’t sit well with her at all.

  Tears welled in her eyes as she realized that more than anything, she wished Liam were with her, in this present time, place, and day, and she hoped for his quick return, if that was possible.

  Chapter 32

  Liam stared at the light. He had n
o idea how much time had passed, how long he’d been in Eternity. Days? Hours? He didn’t know. Being in angel form, he didn’t need to sleep, so he walked around looking at the whiteness, his mind wandering.

  Annie had said she’d forgiven him, but his heart still felt heavy with guilt and pain. She had also said it was time, but had neglected to tell him what that entailed. He wished it was time to get the hell out of Eternity, but no matter how much he yelled and cursed, no one was there to listen. He’d been cast aside, an annoyance to be dealt with at another time.

  He wondered how Adela was doing, and he tried hard not to think too much about Gunnar being alone in the house with her. Certainly, Gunnar wouldn’t do anything to her, would he? If he kept thinking along those lines, he was going to make himself crazier than he was already feeling.

  His thoughts traveled back to his night with Adela. It had been a beautiful experience to make love to her, and he couldn’t help but smile as he replayed it over and over. He loved her little sigh as he kissed her breast and the way her back arched when she orgasmed. He shut his eyes and inhaled deeply, imagining that his face was buried in her hair and he could smell her wildflower lotion.

  The fact of the matter was that he had developed deep feelings for Adela, and those feelings scared him. After Annie’s death, he hadn’t wanted to ever care about anyone again. He didn’t deserve anyone’s love, and he didn’t want to experience the pain again if that love were to end. Even if he told Adela of his feelings, their futures were uncertain. They had no idea where they were going to be in a week, let alone trying to figure out a way to have a relationship. If they went back to being Angels of Death, there was a possibility that they would never see each other again, and then he would be left without the woman he loved yet again.

  For a brief moment he allowed himself the fantasy of both he and Adela being human again, and allowed to live human lives. Where would they live? They both seemed to have an aversion to the cold, so maybe they’d head down south again. What would they do for work? Would they have kids?