“And you haven’t been?”
“I didn’t say that.” I sighed. “I just didn’t want to discuss things through text messages.”
“You could have called.”
“The phone works both ways, Chay.”
He snorted a laugh and muttered something under his breath before telling me, “If I’d known that’s what you wanted, I would have called. Something you could’ve very easily told me through a text message.” He yelled the last few words.
I flinched. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” he said. “I’m not done being mad.”
“I am. I’ve been miserable the last twenty-four hours. I don’t want to be mad anymore. But you go ahead. I’ll wait until you’re finished. Just give me a call—”
“Wait.”
I smiled. “What?”
“I’m done being mad. I’m sorry, too,” he murmured.
“I missed not waking up to your voice this morning. Even though you wake me up entirely too early on the weekends.”
He laughed. “Yeah, I think you’ve told me that a few hundred times. But you don’t need it.”
“Need what?” His ability to change subjects so quickly was exhausting sometimes.
“Sleep. You don’t need any beauty sleep. You’re beautiful enough already.”
“Now see, if you’d just said something like that yesterday, we wouldn’t have had to argue.”
“Yeah, yeah. Nag.”
“I think they’re gone.” I listened to the quiet blanketing the outside.
“Nope. I see their little red bodies.”
“What are they doing?”
“Just standing in the middle of the yard, looking in your kitchen window. Wait… who’s at your house?” he asked slowly.
“Chay—”
He hung up on me.
Damn it!
I dialed him back and was booted straight to voice mail. He was denying my calls—and he said I was childish?
“Wait for the beep.” His digitized voice rang through the line.
“Chay, it isn’t what it looks like. Geez, that sounds so trite, but it’s true. I didn’t know he was coming over. I don’t even know why he’s here. I haven’t gone downstairs.” I sighed. “Call me back. Please.”
I waited ten minutes for the phone to ring. I wanted to scream when it didn’t. If I hadn’t been hiding from Xavier and my father, I may have.
“Milayna,” my dad called.
Oh, no. If Chay is still looking, he’s gonna see me downstairs in the same room with Xavier. That ought to make his day.
“What?”
“Can you come downstairs, please?”
“Um.” I licked my lips and stared at the phone in my hand. “Coming.” I blew a strand of hair out of my eyes and walked slowly down the stairs. “Yeah, Dad?”
“I have someone I’d like you to meet. Milayna, this is—”
“Xavier. Yeah, we know each other,” I said. “What are you doing here?”
“Milayna! That’s no way to speak to a guest,” my mother scolded.
“Sorry. What are you doing here, Xavier?” I asked in a little nicer tone. Not much, but some.
“We need to talk.” My dad pulled out a kitchen chair. It scraped against the wood floor, and I cringed. He motioned for me to sit.
I dropped into the chair and folded my arms across my chest. Whatever they had to say, I didn’t want to hear.
I want to go back upstairs and call Chay. Better yet, I want to run into the backyard, jump the fence, and keep running until I get to his house so I can look him in the eye and tell him I didn’t know Xavier was coming over.
My dad steepled his fingers and rested his chin on his thumbs. “Xavier is part of the family,” he said.
“What, like a stepbrother? A cousin? I don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me.”
“Not that family.” My dad raised a bushy eyebrow at me. He really should’ve thought about getting those things waxed.
“A demi-angel.” I nodded. It made sense now. Demis were drawn to one another. That was why Xavier sat with the group every day at lunch.
“Well, you’re half right,” Xavier said with a smile. “I’m an angel.”
I laughed. When my parents and Xavier stared at me, it made me laugh harder. “Yeah, okay,” I said between fits of laughter.
“It’s true. Xavier is an angel who’s decided to live life out on earth,” my dad said patiently.
“So you two are like, what, homies from back in the day?” I looked between the two and started laughing again.
“Something like that,” Xavier said, his lips twitching with the hint of a smile.
I laughed so hard my stomach started to hurt. Pulling my knees up to my chest, I looped my arms around them. I laid my cheek on my knees and looked out the window, taking large gulps of air to control my laughter.
As soon as I turned and looked at Xavier and my dad, I started to laugh again. I laughed so hard I snorted. I slapped my hand over my mouth.
“Why didn’t you tell me before now? You’ve been hanging around enough. You’ve had plenty of opportunities.”
“I asked Xavier not to introduce himself to you until we were able to sit down and discuss things.” My dad gave Xavier a pointed look.
“The school is the reason we were thrust together. I didn’t ask the principal to have Milayna show me around. Besides, once we’d met, I didn’t see the need to stay away.” Xavier looked at me.
“Didn’t see the need to tell the truth either,” I grumbled, earning a stern look from my not-so-angelic father. “I still don’t know what this has to do with me. So you’re an angel, big deal. So is my dad, Chay’s dad, Jen’s mother, Muriel’s dad, and Drew’s mother. Oh, and I almost forgot. My grandma is an angel, too. So it’s not like this is something new to me. Angels are everywhere in my world. What’s so special about one more?”
“Because I came to earth for you.”
***
“Chay, please call me back,” I said into the phone. It was the fifth message I’d left him. So far, I’d gotten nothing, not even a measly text message. Even though I must have sent a hundred texts telling him things weren’t what they looked like. That my dad had invited Xavier over because he knew his ‘family,’ which was sort of true.
After Xavier told me he came to earth for me, I bolted. I ran up the stairs, into my bedroom, and locked the door. I didn’t know what he meant by the comment, but all the stories I’d heard about angels coming to earth was because they were in love. My dad fell in love with my mom. Grams fell in love with my grandpa. If that was the only reason they came to earth, then that meant… Xavier was in love with me. But surely he knew about Chay. I was in love with Chay. Xavier wasted a trip. Too bad it was nonrefundable.
By my sixth message to Chay, I was getting desperate. So I blurted it out. “Chay! Call me back. Xavier came over because he’s an angel and knows my father. Ask your dad, they probably know each other, too. You’re acting like an ass, by the way. I really needed you tonight.” I clicked off the line and threw my phone on my bed, flopping down after it. My feet dangled off the end, and my arms were above my head. I lay on my bed and waited, staring at the posters pasted to my ceiling. In the middle of them was a poster-sized photo of Chay and me we had taken one day at the Waterway downtown. We were both laughing and happy. For some reason, that poster spurred my anger.
When my phone finally rang a few minutes later, I grabbed it, looked at the caller ID, and jammed the answer button. “It’s about damn time,” I said through clenched teeth. “You didn’t even give me time to explain before you hung up on me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re an idiot. You’re not sorry. You’re only calling now because I told you about Xavier. You didn’t listen when I told you I had no idea he was coming over or that I didn’t want to see him and was hiding in my room. You didn’t believe any of that. You jumped to conclusions and didn’t give me the ch
ance to explain. Now that you know he’s here because he’s an angel, you call—”
“He’s an angel?”
“Well, yeah. Didn’t you listen to my message?”
“No.”
“How could you not listen to my message? Did you listen to any of them?”
“No.”
“Why?” I asked quietly. It stung that he didn’t believe me, that he distrusted me so much that he wouldn’t even listen to a flippin’ voice mail message.
“I don’t know. I was mad.”
“But it wasn’t me.” I could feel the sting of tears behind my eyes and a lump constricted my throat.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
I didn’t answer.
“You’re mad at me.”
“Nope.” I sniffed, fighting off stupid tears.
“Are you crying? “ Chay asked, horrified. What was it about tears that got guys all stupid acting? So a little water leaked from someone’s eyes. Big deal. Unless you were the cause… and Chay knew he was.
“Nope. I gotta go, Chay. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I’ll pick you up.” He always drove me to school. His car was in better shape than mine. Everyone’s car was in better shape than mine.
“That’s okay. I’ll drive.”
***
“Why aren’t you riding with Chay?” Muriel pinned me with a look as soon as I got in her car Monday morning.
I twisted my hair into a knot at the base of my neck. “We aren’t on the best terms right now.”
“Don’t want to talk about it?”
I smiled. Muriel knew me too well. “No, I don’t want to talk about it.”
“‘Kay. I’m here if you change your mind.”
When we got to school, Muriel and I made a quick stop at our locker where Drew met us. They walked me to chemistry, because of that whole ‘not being alone’ crap. I was beginning to think the hobgoblins were high on sulfur fumes. Nothing had happened. No one had tried to kill me lately. Maybe it was all just empty threats. But no one was taking that chance. Not yet anyway.
When I walked into chemistry, I froze. Chay sat at our table, book open to the day’s lab assignment. Xavier sat on the corner of the table… on the side next to my chair.
“Hi,” I said to whichever one of them would answer me.
“Hey.” Xavier smiled and reached to pull out my chair. Chay’s hand snaked out and grabbed his wrist. He gave Xavier a dirty glare. Letting go of Xavier, Chay stood and pulled out my chair for me. I sat down, trying not to meet either of their eyes. Pulling my book from my bag, I skimmed through the pages until I found the day’s assignment. I pretended to be engrossed in what I was reading.
Xavier tapped my book with his finger. “I’ll see you at lunch.” He slid off the table and walked to his seat.
Chay looked at me, and I reached for his hand. He moved it away.
What the crap did I do? This is gonna be so flippin’ fun!
I spent my lunch hour in the library and spent the rest of the day trying to avoid both of them.
***
“Why is he here?” I asked my dad when he got home from work that afternoon. “Is he… is it like you and mom?” My heart beat double time waiting for his answer. I was sure I’d gag if he said yes.
“No! He’s your guardian. Something is going on in the underworld. None of the angels know what it is. So Xavier left to come here to protect you and the other demi-angels in the group.”
“So his move from there to earth is completely altruistic? No other motive? Because it feels like he’s flirting with me, Dad, and it’s getting in the way of Chay and me.” I followed my dad around the kitchen while he made dinner. He shoved the cutting board and a tomato at me, and I started dicing while we talked. I wasn’t sure putting a sharp knife in my hand was the best move on his part, but whatever.
“It may feel that way, but you have to remember he isn’t from here. How to act and what to do and say to a human, even a half angel, is all new to him. What you see as flirting, he probably sees as being friendly.” My dad picked up the cutting board and swiped the tomato into a salad bowl.
I wasn’t so sure I believed what he was saying. If they were the guardians of humans, then they had to see how humans acted. And if that was the case, he knew what he was doing. But I kept my opinion to myself for a change.
Later that night, I was watching television next to my dad on the couch when my vision started to fade in and out.
Me. Standing in the kitchen. My back is facing the person in the room with me. I see myself through their eyes.
I clutched my head to squeeze out the pain as the images scrolled through my mind. I heard my dad call my name. His voice sounded slow and deep, like someone had put time in slow motion. I couldn’t understand what he was saying.
A hand squeezed my shoulder and I screamed, the sound echoing in my ears, bouncing around in the painful chasm of my brain.
“Milayna,” he called. He sounded so far away. “Are you having a vision?”
I think I nodded. Or maybe I said yes. I wasn’t sure. The images were flashing so quickly through my brain that it made me dizzy and bile rose in the back of my throat.
Me. My back turned. The person is advancing on me. A hand taps my shoulder. I turn and smile. It fades, replaced by a look of shock. The person glances down. My hands are holding my stomach. I pull them away. Blood. So much blood. It covers my hands and drips to the floor.
Screaming, I put my hands to the spot on my belly I saw in the vision. I looked down; there was no blood. I gasped for air. One hand clutched my head, fingers fisted in my hair. My other clutched the place I was stabbed. I could feel the sizzling pain, the gushy, warm blood as it oozed between my fingers.
It’s not real. It’s not real.
Slowly, the pain eased, and I opened my eyes and saw my dad’s worried face.
“Are you okay? What did you see?”
Closing my eyes, I shook my head. I couldn’t speak; the pain in my skull was still too crushing. It seemed to reach into my lungs and suck out the air.
Breathe in… breathe out… breathe in… breathe out… It’s not real… It’s not real…
Finally, the last of the vision dissolved and with it, the horrible sight of my blood spilling onto the kitchen floor. The pain disappeared, and I opened my eyes again. My dad’s face came into focus. Behind him was another face. One I loved just as much, but differently, than my dad. Worry lines creased his forehead, and his blue-green gaze searched mine.
“Chay,” I said, my voice cracking.
My dad smiled and moved out of the way. Chay took two long strides and reached out to me, pulling me against his chest. He gently caressed my back, whispering to me.
“I love you,” he said in my ear, his warm breath fanning my hair against my neck. He kissed the hollow behind my ear, sending shivers through my body. Even after the horrific vision, his touch sent my body into a tailspin.
“What did you see, Milayna?” my dad asked from across the room.
“Me.”
“What happened? What about you?”
“Someone stabbed me.” I looked down at my stomach again to make sure it wasn’t real.
“Who?” The question was from a new voice. Someone else in the room. I recognized it—I knew who it belonged to, and I didn’t want to see him. Xavier.
I looked up, and Chay’s face was hard. Clutching his arms, I looked into his eyes. “Don’t.”
“What?” he whispered. If you could yell and whisper at the same time, that was what he did.
“There’s nothing for you to be jealous about, Chay. I love you, remember?” I held up my ring finger, showing him the commitment ring he put there just days before. “You.”
He smiled and kissed the tip of my nose. “Are you feeling better? Do you want something to drink?”
“Yeah, something to drink would be great.”
Chay started to stand to get it when Xavier said, “I got it.”
&
nbsp; Chay shrugged and settled back on the couch next to me, pulling me closer to him. I snuggled deep into the crook of his arm, soaking up the comfort he gave.
This is where I belong.
Xavier walked to me and handed me a Coke. “Thanks,” I said, reaching for the glass.
“Who stabbed you?” Xavier asked again.
I shrugged, taking a sip of the cold pop. Setting the glass on the coffee table, I looked at the three men in my life.
“I don’t know. I couldn’t see the person’s face. In the vision, I was looking at everything through my attacker’s eyes. I saw what they saw. But I know it was someone I knew and trusted.”
“How?” my dad asked.
“Because I smiled when I saw them, and they stabbed me right there.” I pointed. “Right in our own kitchen.”
The room buzzed with silence. They were all probably thinking the same thing I was. Who in my life would want to kill me? Who did I trust enough that I would never suspect? And, the most important question, why?
8
Initiation
“You’ve seen, haven’t you?” Scarface poked his sausage finger at me.
The hobgoblins had been running through my yard for twenty minutes. Chay had been there for eighteen of those minutes. Xavier seventeen. We sat in the sunroom, watching. It was too cold to go outside and sit on the deck, but I still got the faintest whiff of sulfur as they ran past the windows. Now that their playtime was ending, I stood at the door to hear what they had to say.
“Seen what?” I asked.
“How you’re going to die,” Scarface said with a twist of his deformed mouth.
“No, actually, I haven’t.” That was true for the most part. I’d seen visions of someone trying to kill me. But I didn’t die in any of them, and there was more than one way the person tried to make it happen. Choking and stabbing. I wasn’t sure of my preference. Although, I was almost positive it was neither.
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