Spark

by Angelina J. Steffort

  “How’s Sophie?” I made conversation, unable to hear the loud silence for one more second.

  “Alright. She’s fascinated with life at the hospital—guess she should be, wanting to become a doctor.”

  She had shared about Sophie’s internship in Indianapolis earlier. I could imagine her in scrubs, a sleep-deprived look on her face. It would be easier for me, with my improved physique and my stamina—if I ever got to finish my education. I laughed darkly at the prospect of having an eternal life to improve the conditions of mortal lives. “Yeah, guess so too.”

  Claire dropped her bag in a corner and looked around, emotions tumbling over her. Anxiety, gratitude, a sense of surreality, and grief above everything. She sat down on her bed and I watched her for a moment, letting her aura speak for itself before I followed her and wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

  “How are you?”

  “Not really fine.”

  “Understandable.”

  “You?”

  “Have been better—but I’m glad we’re here together. It’s what keeps us strong.”

  She leaned her head against my chest and my own concern about her silence lifted but was immediately replaced by a cloud of looming danger. No matter what happened, I wouldn’t leave her again. I wouldn’t act against my heart, my love, my soul—our soul. I was prepared to do whatever it took to protect her.

  Claire wound out of my arm and got to her feet. “Back in a minute.”

  “Sure.” My hand slid down her spine as she straightened up, reluctant to let her go.

  As she grabbed her things and disappeared into the bathroom, I quickly changed into my pajamas, my attention on every sound in and outside the house. There were a couple of cars going past the house, a dog was barking somewhere, and Claire was brushing her teeth in slow motion. Then there was a long silence, almost long enough to make me break down the door and check on her. When I got to my feet, driven by impatience, she opened it and stepped through, bringing more worries and uncertainty into the room with her.

  With a little effort, I managed to not grab her and inquire what was going on inside her head. I walked past her to the bathroom to get ready for bed myself. I brushed my teeth at lightning speed, and washed my face, ignoring the urge to run after her when I heard her footsteps echoing in the stairwell. There was some noise in the kitchen, the tap was running and something hit the floor. Her sounds were the only sounds, no other footsteps, no voices. She returned to her room with dragging feet, without a doubt tired from the past days and the physical and mental stress. Before I returned to her room, I took a good look in the mirror. My eyes were glowing lightly at the thought of cuddling up beside her. The way our time seemed limited made me want to be with her even more. But I needed to let her rest. She had to go back to some normality. If I figured correctly, the demons wouldn’t attack in plain view of the public. They would wait to catch us alone somewhere in a dark alley. It should be fine for her to go to school. I had yet to decide if I was going to classes or hide in the trees or in the parking lot and hover around to make sure Claire was fine.

  There was just one more thing to do before I joined her. I pulled my phone out and texted Ben: I’ll need that dress for tomorrow night. I added some numbers. I’d guessed Claire's measurements from touching her. I hoped my brother would hold his promise, even if he wasn’t exactly friendly toward Claire, I knew he had feelings for her. He would do the right thing. It would be wonderful to have something to give to Claire, something special for when I took her to Jenna’s concert. It would be the perfect distraction for her. Better than school and her friends. It would be something she loved—music.

  When I returned to the bedroom, she had already curled up in a ball, shivering and half-asleep. I couldn’t tell if she noticed I switched off the light and climbed into bed beside her, wrapping arms and legs around her to warm her up. She didn’t react anymore, neither with sound nor with emotion. She didn’t move for hours, breathing evenly, deep asleep, and I allowed myself a few hours of light slumber, hearing every sound around us and feeling every beat of Claire’s heart.

  The shrill sound of the alarm clock didn’t startle me. I had set it the night before and my inner clock had woken me before time. Claire, on the other hand, was successfully ignoring the ugly noise. I watched her bury her face in her hair for a minute before I kissed her and touched her shoulders, hoping to wake her as much as I was hoping to pull her into my arms.

  “Time to get up, honey,” I whispered through her hair, brushing strands aside with my lips. A longing for my nearness rose from her body, and I almost gave in and cuddled back into bed with her, but then my better judgment set in and I remembered that her time on earth was limited—even without the demons—and she needed to go to school, see Amber and Lydia and—I ground my teeth—even Gregory. Something that wouldn’t remind her of the torture she had recently gone through.

  Claire’s morning ritual was silent that day. No audible complaining about the time of day, no call for coffee, no roaming the cereal box in an attempt to catch up with the clock.

  She did the minimum and slid into an adorable flower-print shirt, pulled her hair up into a ponytail, and then looked at me as if it was my decision whether or not it was time to leave.

  She didn’t object when I insisted on driving her to school. All I got from her was perpetual waves of concern paired with a pensive look on her face. There was shame I couldn’t understand streaming from her for a moment as I pulled into the parking lot, not even remotely ready to see her walk away. But I put on a brave face for her.

  “If anything suspicious happens—”

  “I’ll call you,” she cut me off to let me know she had heard me the first million times.

  “Immediately.” This wasn’t a joke. Every little anomaly in her environment had to be reported so I could react.

  “Sure.” For some reason, it didn’t sound like she really was. My struggle over whether I should stay close by or go to campus was leaning toward staying.

  She was turning to get out of the car, but I caught her before her head had turned halfway to the window and pulled her face toward me, my lips craving to express what my heart couldn’t speak. If anything happened to her or to me, this would be the last kiss. The last look at her face.

  “I love you!” I called as I watched her walk away after a long minute, an image that was unbearable except for her smile as she looked back over her shoulder, mouthing love you, too.

  I waited until she got to the entrance. She would make it to class just in time. I, on the other hand, wouldn’t make it to classes at all today, I found I’d decided. As I steered the car away from the lot, looking for less suspicious parking so Claire wouldn’t see it, I found great comfort in the absurdity of the situation. I was looking out for the one I loved, for my fated partner. No longer did I have to deny myself the mere thought of her. Despite all the darkness, there was a spark of hope there inside of my chest, growing with every hour I could allow myself to love her wholeheartedly.

  On my way back to the school building, I dodged the open areas and stuck to the line of trees on the side until I was close enough to make out faces through the windows. I followed Claire’s voice with my attention when she spoke during the breaks, remembering the hallways of the school from my time at Aurora High. My eyes kept searching the school grounds for any movement which didn’t belong there. Any late arrival made me jump, every paper cup which was blown across the parking lot by the icy wind made my hair stand up on my neck. If I only knew Jaden was there to watch over her, too. Who knew where he had disappeared to.

  Nothing happened. No screams, no unexpected visitors sneaking up on me, or her. After a few hours, I felt safe to go check on Antonio and find out if Ben was going to deliver the dress or if I’d have to go shopping.

  When I entered my bedroom half an hour later, there was a note on my bed: Check your closet. I’m sorry I’ve been making things uncomfortable for Claire, but it’s easier for me
this way. Love you, Ben.

  I was surprised at the words. Was he pushing her away because of his misplaced affections for her? Or was it that other, strange emotion I’d perceived from him before? Something didn’t add up and I couldn’t figure out what it was exactly. With a shake of my head, I did as the note said and found the exact dress Ben had drawn a couple of weeks ago in my closet. Impressive, little brother! It was beautiful and fragile with a layer of dusty purple. It would look incredible on Claire.

  Ben wasn’t in his room when I headed there to thank him, but Dad was on his way downstairs.

  “Hello, son.”

  I smiled, almost forgetting the demons in the prospect of taking Claire out tonight.

  We made some small talk about school and the weather. As I headed out with Antonio for his walk, Dad called, “You’re still coming tonight, right?” There was a little bit of concern creasing his forehead.

  “Sure,” I reassured him. “ I’m bringing Claire.”

  A smile flashed over his face, smoothing the crease.

  “Lovely! We’ll take the limousine. Be punctual.”

  “Always am, Dad.”

  He nodded and relief and anticipation streamed through the room. He was looking forward to seeing me together with Claire again. It hadn’t escaped his attention how happy she made me. As for the fear of the demons, I was successfully hiding that. Nobody could even see a glimpse of it. It would only raise questions.

  Antonio barked beside me, impatient to get out. I waved, looking forward to having everyone I loved in one place at the same time tonight. If Ben had taken up the challenge to make the dress for her, he might be able to see past his aversion toward her at some point.

  The walk was longer than I had expected. With every step, I kept wondering if Claire was alright. Had I made the right decision to leave her there at school?

  I was a wreck when we returned to the house. Antonio gave me a yelp and trotted toward the kitchen where Geoffrey would have his food prepared, throwing me a disappointed look. I ignored the guilty conscience in the back of my mind. Ever since the angel-thing had started, I had neglected Antonio. Thank God for my family. They would always take care of him. I ran up the stairs and pulled a small box out of the dresser and set it on the desk. It held a piece of jewelry I had inherited from my mother. A reminder that she had existed. It was a necklace with a small, oval rosy stone in a silver frame on top of a white pearl as a pendant. It would complement Claire’s pale complexion and her slender shape.

  Before I pocketed it, I stripped out of my clothes and pulled my black suit from the closet. Jenna’s concert was one of the few occasions where even I felt comfortable wearing formal clothing. With a glance in the mirror, I ran my hands through my hair to tame it just enough so I wouldn’t have a fountain of black curls on top of my head. Then I headed downstairs, juggling Claire’s dress in one hand while putting on my woolen coat on the way out.

  “Not so fast,” Ben called as I was almost to the car.

  I jerked back, ready to give him a hug.

  “Thanks so much, Ben,” I said, knowing that words weren’t remotely enough to show him my appreciation for his efforts. “You have outdone yourself. How did you get it done so fast?”

  His emotions were surprisingly excited and ashamed at the same moment.

  “To be honest, Adam,” he looked to the sky for help with finding the right words. “I started working on it the day we first talked about it.”

  This surprised me. Had he been expecting Claire and I would be getting back together? The expression on my face must have been intimidating because he coughed quietly and shifted from side to side.

  “Not for Claire,” he explained but it was obvious that, even if he might not have expected her to ever wear it, he had still tailored it with the thought of her—and her body. On the other hand, this made me feel uncomfortable. Ben’s weird obsession with her and his hostility just didn’t add up.

  “I just wanted to see if I could really do it.” This I believed. It had been one factor I was certain he wasn’t lying about.

  “Thanks anyway,” I suppressed my displeasure and smiled. “You’ve done me a great favor. Especially knowing she’s not your favorite person in the world.”

  Ben shrugged and the brother I knew and loved shone through. “But she’s yours.” He held out a box. “She’ll need these.”

  As I took the box, he turned and walked away, leaving me behind in a mixture of gratitude and concern. He’d done this for me, not for her.

  “See you later,” I called after him and he lifted a hand and waved.

  With a glance at my watch, I saw it was time to rush back to the school. Claire would be done any minute and I didn’t feel at all at ease with the thought of her waiting in the parking lot by herself. Before I started the engine, I lifted the lid off Ben’s box and grinned as I found a pair of shoes the exact same color as the dress. Ben had really thought of everything.

  It took me too long to get back into the city and as I took the last turn into the parking lot, horror scenarios were playing before my inner eye. Seeing Claire standing near the main entrance, unscathed, not even distressed, let me breathe. What worried me was that she was standing there all by herself.

  “Hi.” She jumped into the car, brightening the interior with her presence, and buckled up.

  It took me a minute to convince myself that I hadn’t overlooked any signs of worry or pain and eventually I asked aloud, not trusting my verdict until she’d confirm it in words. “How are you?”

  “Fine, but you already know, don’t you?” She half-smiled and I felt marginally amused, but not enough to forget how much danger my delay meant for her.

  I gave her a nod. “You were alone—all the others gone already?”

  “Only for a few minutes.” She glanced out the window. “Most of the others went home already, and some still have activities.” She shrugged as if to prove a point.

  “I don’t want you to be alone for even a minute.” I fought back the anger at myself. Had I cut the walk with Antonio, I’d have been on time.

  “Oh, come on, Adam, I wasn’t alone—not really. There’s a big school building full of people and the street right over there is full of traffic. I’m not alone. Okay?”

  She was convincing when she was upset like this. “Sorry, I guess I’m overreacting. I almost lost you once…” I apologized, giving her a small win in this conversation. But my mind was drifting back to the night of the party in the woods.

  “Don’t think of that,” she dismissed my explanation. “I had a nice, normal day. Chatted with my friends the way I did before all this happened. No need to worry.”

  “Nice to hear you had a good day.” I counted the cars in the parking lot. Not nearly enough to make this a safe place. No students or teachers outside the building. As I glanced around the edges of the lot, everything seemed as normal as this morning. My mistake hadn’t fallen back on us this time. “I’m sorry I made this happen to you.”

  She eyed me from the side, incredulous.

  “No, no, no—you didn’t make this happen to me.”

  “Yes, I did.” How could she think I hadn’t? I had marked her. If I’d never had that vision of her, I would have never set out to find her. She would still be innocent Claire. Troubled by the losses of her past, but reasonably happy and safe.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “But it’s true,” I argued.

  “How?”

  “By searching for you and finding you and falling in love with you—it’s my fault they’re after you now. I’m a bad guy.” I might be even worse than the demons, putting her into a situation like this, where she had literally no control over the need to be with me. I had tied her to a grave.

  “That’s where you’re wrong.”

  Her tone forced me to look at her, and face reality.

  “You didn’t make me fall in love with you. It was out of your hands. It was I who fell in love with you. So if you want to
blame somebody—blame me.”

  With every word she spoke, my argument fell more and more apart and all the force of her emotions, her love, her devotion enveloped me and made my crime look even worse.

  I reached up with my hand, resting it against her cheek, and she let her head rest in my palm, eyes closed, expression peaceful. “I love you.”

  It was hard to watch. As beautiful the feeling, and as much as I aspired for her words, for her absolution, she was fault-free in this one.

  “I can’t blame you for anything. You’re the innocent butterfly that got caught up in the net of a dark spider. Now your wings are stuck to the fibers and you can’t fly away. My mark is what holds you there, and I can only stay near the net to keep the spider from swallowing you right away, but I can’t free you. And that’s what I regret—not meeting you, not loving you—but making you a target in a war that’s older than time.” The longer I went on, the more the wish was burning inside of me that I could release her from this nightmare somehow. If only I could give her wings and enable her to escape. In reality, it was my selfishness that had brought all the wrath of the demons upon her.

  “I want you to be free, to fly away from all this—from me. But it’s too late, and I’m sorry for that. If I had any idea what would happen, I would have stayed away from you from the beginning. But now it’s my duty to stay with you.”

  Claire’s face grew hard as she listened, denying the truth.

  “Shut up,” she mumbled, low enough that no human ears would hear it. My angelic ears did hear her though, and the rough way she pushed back my honest words stung. It was easy to rein in my urge to tell her how I was willing to sacrifice everything for her. For the first time, I regretted being so open. It meant I was also more vulnerable.

  “How was your day?” she asked, uncomfortable with my silence. I had considered sharing that I had stayed behind to check up on her. Now I was certain it would only push Claire into a corner where she might lash out again. “Okay.”

  “What did you do?” She was trying hard to keep me talking. Normally, she wouldn’t need to lure anything out of me, but right now…