Crossroads

by Mary Ting

  Suddenly I stopped in front of a huge, striking painting of an angel. She was painted standing with her golden wings expanded. Her long, dark hair accentuated her chocolate brown eyes. Her face stood out from the rest of the painting, and I couldn’t peel my eyes off of her. On the corner of the painting read, “Katherine.”

  “Who is she?” I asked.

  “No idea, but she is unbelievably breathtaking,” Davin replied, mesmerized by the painting.

  “That’s strange,” Caleb said. “That name sounds familiar. I believe Katherine was one of the Twelve Angels. I don’t know if that is her for sure, but I do remember the name.”

  “Well, let’s go. We need to be back by midnight, as Davin promised your mom,” Vivian said, her brow furrowed.

  “Claudia told me her curfew was midnight. I was only trying to be a gentleman,” Davin explained.

  I didn’t want Vivian and Davin arguing over what time we should be home. “That’s all right. I don’t want to be home too late, and plus I don’t know if we should be here without Michael.” I was having doubts about our decision, but it was too late. We were here and might as well make the best of it.

  As the elevator opened, I noticed that it was very elegant. Mirrors completely surrounded us, making the space look much bigger than it was. The elevator buttons and trimmings on the walls had gold borders. As we headed straight up, I felt my stomach drop to the floor. The ride seemed endless as I watched the numbers rise. The numbers lit up one by one as we passed each floor. The thirtieth floor couldn’t come fast enough for me.

  “Here’s our floor,” Caleb sounded so excited.

  The mere sound of the music lifted our spirits as we anxiously walked through the Grand View Room. What a view! The back wall was completely covered in glass from floor to ceiling. You could see all the vibrant lights reflecting from buildings, streets, and moving objects below. I felt like I was inside a rainbow, admiring the beauty from afar. What was even more amazing was the height of the ceiling. I had to tilt my head way back to get the full view.

  “Wow! Look at this place,” Vivian said.

  Before I had a chance to look for my friends, Kristina and Maggie rushed up to give me a hug. Then they eyed Caleb, Davin, and Vivian.

  “These are my cousins.” I lied. They couldn’t stop staring. “Heelllooo,” I said, waving my hand in front of their eyes.

  “Oh…hi,” Kristina finally spoke, her eyes still glued to their faces. Then she gave me a questioning look as to who they were and what they were doing here.

  As I led the way across the dance floor, which was in the middle of the room, I turned to Kristina and whispered, “I thought they could just blend in. Let’s hurry. I didn’t ask Ryan.”

  “You never told me you had cousins,” Kristina whispered.

  “You never asked,” I whispered back.

  “You never told me you were bringing them,” Kristina whispered again.

  “I didn’t have a chance. They showed up unexpectedly,” I said.

  “Oh,” she said quickly.

  Feeling bad for coming empty-handed, I asked, “How big is Ryan’s gift?”

  “I got him a gift card. Don’t worry, I already signed your name on the card. I didn’t think you would mind.”

  “Are you kidding? I appreciate it. I’ll pay you back.”

  “Don’t worry. I know where you live,” she teased.

  As I laughed, Maggie spoke, “Right here. Here’s our table.”

  We found our seats and sat for a while, just enjoying the music and the ambiance, when a waitress walked by. “Would you like anything to drink?” she asked, smiling and batting her eyelashes at Davin.

  “No, thanks,” Davin replied. “Perhaps the ladies,” he said, waiting for us to respond.

  “We already have our drinks, thank you,” Maggie replied.

  “Some water, please,” I said. Suddenly, my throat felt dry.

  When I saw Ryan, he was surrounded by his basketball team friends, along with a bunch of girls. I decided to stay hidden as long as I could.

  “So, which school do you go to?” Kristina asked my so-called cousins.

  I nearly flipped. I hadn’t anticipated my friends would ask questions. Davin, Caleb, and Vivian looked at me with uncertainty. I interjected quickly, “They go to a private school called The Guardian.” As soon as I spoke, I could’ve kicked myself. Couldn’t I have thought of a better name?

  “Oh,” Kristina said.

  “Where is that school located?” Maggie asked.

  Shoot! Why does Maggie have to be so nosey tonight? “Not too far from downtown. On a street called Crossroads,” I replied quickly, not thinking about what I was saying. Knowing they would ask more questions, I had to think fast, or I would be caught in a tunnel of lies. As I was thinking of what to do or say, I saw Davin swaying to the music. “Ask Kristina to dance,” I whispered in his ear.

  He smiled, nodded, and turned his face toward her. “Kristina, would you like to dance?”

  Kristina looked surprised. “Are you asking me?”

  “Your name is Kristina, right?”

  Still stunned, she replied, “Yeah…sorry…sure.” She stood up, smiling.

  Then Davin whispered to me, “Stay right here, and don’t move.” He turned to his friends. “Don’t leave her sight.”

  Although I’d rather be sitting than dancing, I saw the look on Vivian and Caleb’s faces. They looked like they wanted to join in the fun too. Hesitantly, I said, “Let’s all dance together.”

  Davin took Kristina’s hand. We walked to the dance floor and danced together in a circle. I spotted Ryan again and gave him a birthday hug. I was hoping to distract him from noticing my guests, but he was slightly buzzed and was unable to tell who was who. I wondered how he got an alcoholic drink. As I looked around, I saw that everybody was enjoying themselves. I could feel the vibrations from the bass of the music. I had forgotten who I was as we danced late into the night. It was so nice to see Caleb, Davin, and Vivian having such a great time along with my friends. What a perfect view. What a perfect place. What a perfect night. Although it would have been more perfect with Michael here.

  Suddenly the loudness of the music dimmed as the DJ announced that it would be a couples’ song. As we all headed toward our table, Kristina’s eyes were locked to something or someone behind me.

  “Kristina?” I questioned.

  She didn’t respond. Before I even had the chance to see who she was looking at, I saw Davin and Caleb take a few steps back. Suddenly, my heart stopped completely, out of fear, until I heard his voice.

  “May I have this dance?” he asked gently.

  I froze. “Michael,” I whispered his name, while my back was still to him.

  I was afraid to turn around to look him in the eyes. As I slowly turned, I was awestruck to see him looking so debonair, dressed in black slacks and a royal blue dress shirt. I had simply died and gone to Heaven. Still stunned to see him, I couldn’t move or speak. Michael led me to the dance floor, guided my arms around his shoulders, and placed his arms around my waist as we swayed to the music. I placed my head on his chest, listening to the lyrics. “Are you really here tonight or are you just a dream? Out of nowhere you appeared and captured my heart. I surrender all my love to you. Give me forever. That’s all I ask.”

  “This is surprising. You haven’t asked me one question. Lost your words tonight?”

  “I’m sorry,” I said apologetically, waiting for him to lecture me.

  “I should be extremely mad at you, but you look so beautiful that it is me who is lost for words.”

  He pulled me back and our eyes met. He gave me that killer smile as he spun me around. He made my heart flutter every time he smiled. He pulled me gently closer to him, and our eyes locked again. We couldn’t keep our eyes off each other.

  “Your eyes are twinkling,” he said.

  “They twinkle because they love what they see,” I said, flirting and relieved at the thought that he
wasn’t mad.

  He smiled again. “Promise me,” he said, in a serious tone, as we still swayed to the music.

  “It all depends on what you’re asking me to promise,” I answered.

  “Promise me that next time you’ll do as I ask. I’m only concerned about your safety.”

  I knew I was guilty, and he had every right to be mad at me. “Sorry, next time I’ll do better. Please don’t be mad at your friends, and especially at Davin. I’m the one who wanted to come, and they followed me to keep me safe as you instructed.”

  “For tonight,” he said.

  “How did you know I was here?” I asked apprehensively.

  “Vivian told me before she left to join you.”

  “That’s why you are dressed up. You knew I was going to a dance?”

  “Yes,” he confessed.

  As I was thinking that I was worried about nothing, we were suddenly bumped by someone.

  “Excuseese ve,” he slurred.

  It was Ryan.

  “Wee seeee…you got new voyfriend,” he slurred again, almost falling down. Effortlessly Michael held him up.

  Ryan almost fell again as he shoved Michael, but Michael didn’t even budge. Ryan tilted his head upward to meet Michael’s eye’s. Ryan’s eyes were filled with anger, and then curiosity. “You suuupeman or…sommiving?” he asked, giving a dirty look. Ryan didn’t wait for a response from Michael, and instead, turned to me. “Do I vet a bir-birday kiss?” He closed his eyes and puckered up.

  “Ryan, you’re drunk. Happy birthday,” I said and started to walk away, when Ryan grabbed me and swung me around to face him. I wondered how he even got drunk since alcohol was prohibited at the party.

  Michael grabbed Ryan’s wrist to free me and commanded, “Don’t you ever touch her again.”

  Ryan fell to his knees from the pain of Michael’s grip, and that’s when his friends huddled behind him.

  I gave Michael a look to let him know I was fine, and he let go of Ryan’s wrist. “He’s drunk and won’t remember a thing tomorrow morning,” I said loud enough for his friends to hear.

  “You stink like hell,” Michael said angrily to Ryan.

  “Let’s go, Ryan,” Jake said and pulled him away. Jake turned to me. “Sorry, Claudia. You know how he can get. He still cares for you.”

  “No, I vant…Clauvia,” Ryan slurred again, rubbing his sore wrist.

  “You’re making a fool of yourself. Good thing your parents left early,” Jake said, pulling him further away from us.

  Ryan looked at me, with sorrow in his eyes. I knew I had hurt him, but I didn’t realize how much until tonight. Michael continued to glare at him until he was out of sight. We walked toward the rest of our group. Michael held my hand, guiding me behind him in a protective mode, as usual.

  Chapter 22

  Michael didn’t say a word to the alkins. In fact, he seemed to be content. He sat next to me with his arm around my shoulders. I couldn’t believe we were here all together like everything was normal. With Michael here, the night was definitely perfect. Suddenly the ceiling started to open up. Everybody was admiring it, with their eyes glued to the starlight that gradually beamed into the room.

  “Now we know why they call this the Grand View Room,” Maggie said, as she continued to stare.

  I could only imagine what others were saying as they pointed to the top. As the roof of the hotel completely disappeared, the DJ played the “Happy Birthday” song and we all sang together. Singing and staring out into the open space, I spotted Orion and immediately thought about Austin. I hadn’t spoken to him in days. He was expecting my phone call after the hospital, but I didn’t bother to call.

  Suddenly, I became aware that I didn’t know what time it was. “Is it late?” I asked, panicking.

  “It’s midnight,” Kristina replied.

  “What!” I couldn’t believe it. “I’m supposed to be home.” I sank down further into Michael’s arm.

  Vivian looked at Davin with a worried expression.

  “I can take you home right now,” Michael said looking at me, waiting for my response.

  Then I remembered Mom was working the late shift tonight. Talking myself out of the guilt for missing my curfew, I told myself that it could happen just this once. After all, when would I ever get this chance again? “Actually, my mom is working late. She won’t know. It will be okay,” I said, hoping that it would be.

  “Are you sure?” Michael asked, uncertain of my decision.

  “Yes,” I answered back confidently.

  It was quiet at our table, and I hadn’t realized all eyes were on me until Kristina broke the silence. “Should we dance again?” Kristina asked, swaying to the music.

  Everyone stood up except Michael and me. “You all go ahead. Claudia and I need to talk,” Michael said.

  They all left for the dance floor and Michael turned to me. “I missed you every second,” he whispered into my ear as he gently caressed my hair. Then he placed his hands on my cheeks. “I’ve tried so hard just being the guardian angel that I’m supposed to be, but I can’t control the human emotions I feel. It drives me absolutely crazy when I’m not with you. Every thought of you awakens me. You’ve changed me in ways I can’t explain. I don’t know if you would call it fate that somehow our worlds have connected, but for whatever reason, our lives will never be the same.”

  All I could do was look at my guardian angel who loved me back. Many times I had to pinch myself to realize that this wasn’t a dream. Yes, I did believe that things happened for a reason, but this was too good to be true. He was right. Our lives would never be the same.

  “How were you able to come here when I’m not even in danger? Isn’t Phillip expecting all of you back soon?”

  “I told Phillip that we needed to be down here more often. He surprisingly agreed.”

  “That’s wonderful,” I said happily.

  Tenderly he cupped my cheeks with his hands again. “I missed you madly,” he said.

  “I missed you too,” I said back. “I know that our relationship isn’t normal, but there’s got to be a way we can be together, isn’t there?” I asked with a hopeful look.

  “Let’s talk about it later. Let’s enjoy tonight.”

  “About tonight, I just wanted to get away, and I thought coming to this dance would kind of take my mind off things.”

  “I’m glad you came. You could have danced with other guys if you wanted. Although if you had, it would have made me feel jealous.”

  “Seriously? You would be jealous?”

  “As silly as it sounds, yes.”

  “Do you know what it means to feel jealous?” I knew this was a silly question to ask, but there were many feelings they were trained to put aside for so many years.

  “I think so, like when I overheard Kristina tell Vivian something about Ryan being your boyfriend.”

  “Ex-boyfriend,” I said quickly.

  “I felt something strange in the pit of my stomach. It was hate and anger at the same time,” he said calmly.

  “Yeah, I know the feeling,” I said, remembering the nurse who was flirting with him. Then I laughed softly, thinking how strong this feeling was that could get anyone all worked up.

  He leaned closer. “Let’s not talk about other people,” he said, nuzzling my neck and then up to my cheek. Then he softly planted kisses on both my cheeks. “That one was for Monday and the other one was for Tuesday, when I wasn’t with you.” He kissed my forehead. “That one was for Wednesday.” He kissed my nose. “That one was for Thursday. This one is for today.”

  He leaned over to kiss me on my lips when we heard Davin clear his throat. We looked up to see Davin and the others giggling and waving.

  “Claudia, we have to go,” Kristina said. “Maggie and I came together, and we didn’t ask if we could stay out that late.”

  I stood up and gave Maggie and Kristina a hug. “Thanks,” I said to Kristina. “Thanks for talking me into coming. I really had a gre
at time.”

  “I’m glad, and I’m really sorry about Gamma,” she said and gave me a tight squeeze. Then she looked at me with a huge grin. “When did you hook up with Michael?”

  “Long story. Tell you later,” I said. At that moment I thought about Patty. Somehow I had to tell her about Michael, although I couldn’t tell her the whole truth. One way or another, she would find out that he was at Ryan’s birthday party, and she would be devastated that I hadn’t told her first. I just had to find the right time.

  Maggie gave me a tight squeeze too and said her good-byes to my so-called cousins. I watched them walk across the dance floor until they were out of sight.

  It was way past midnight, and all the guests had already left. The only ones left were the cleanup crew. Michael used his powers on them and they left. We had the room to ourselves.

  “I had so much fun. I’ll never forget tonight. This is one memory they can’t take from me,” Vivian said as she looked around the room. Then she said suddenly, “Michael, Claudia’s necklace is made from the crystal of our home, correct?”

  Michael didn’t say a word, instead he just nodded.

  I gently placed my hand on the crystal to confirm that it was still there.

  “That crystal turns black when danger is nearby,” Vivian stated.

  “I’ve never seen one before,” Caleb said.

  “That’s because we never needed one before, but this was Michael’s idea. Phillip doesn’t know. Pretty cool if you ask me,” she said.

  Caleb looked at Michael with a concerned look on his face. “Michael, where were you all this time? And were you able to find the answers you were searching for?”

  Just as Michael was about to speak, he suddenly glued his eyes on me. Everyone was looking at me, and that’s when I realized my crystal had turned black. The ceiling had almost completely closed when Aden and his followers slipped through the small opening.