by Mary Abshire
His reflection in the mirror revealed a nasty bruised eye. Black and blue were not good colors on a face, but at least he now matched Emily. Anger began to rise within him. Emily had fought her enemy, but she was still a vulnerable woman. He wanted to rip the heart out of anyone who harmed her.
Staring at himself in the mirror, he realized the strength of his emotions. He hadn’t felt such hostility and compassion since he’d been alive the first time. It was as if heaven had diluted everything and not just the food. Sure, it was a peaceful and euphoric environment with no worries, no stress, nothing to worry about, and plenty to do and enjoy. He’d cared about the women he’d had relationships with. He’d never wanted to see them hurt, but he also knew it was impossible. They would always be safe and protected. And while he detested the council for their ways, he’d never felt violence toward them. He’d never felt the need to be aggressive toward anyone. Since he’d returned, his emotions had been amplified. It didn’t make sense why the powers that be would water down things unless it was to keep the continuous harmonious state in heaven. Regardless, he had returned to the living. Everything had been renewed. He’d have to learn to control his way of thinking and behaving again.
He brushed his teeth before he shaved. The hair on his face hadn’t grown too much, but he wanted to keep a clean image for now. Maybe later he’d consider a small beard. A different look might be good for him. He tugged on his jeans and donned the white shirt he’d worn briefly the previous night. No new writing had appeared on his arm. Ready to get the day going, he strode from the bathroom.
Sitting upright and leaning against the headboard, Emily yawned. She rubbed the uninjured side of her face. Her one eye looked a little swollen still. She was going to have one hell of a shiner.
“Did I wake you?” he asked.
“I heard the water running.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I need to get up.” She pushed the blankets away from her legs.
“We don’t have to check out for a few hours. Why don’t you stay in bed and rest?”
She hobbled between the two beds. “I need to move around.” She pressed her lips together as she took slow wobbly steps.
He moved out of her way. “Are you sure about that?” He suspected she was in pain, but she probably wouldn’t admit it. Tough girls were like that.
“I’ll be fine,” she said as she headed to the bathroom.
“I’m going to get some food and coffee to bring back.”
She paused near the restroom door. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll go with you.”
“You need to keep as much pressure off that ankle as possible so it will heal faster. In case you’ve forgotten, I was a nurse once.”
She lifted her hand and waved it. “Yeah, yeah.”
He grabbed the keycard from the dresser. There was no way he was going to allow her to walk to the main floor with him, which meant he had to leave pronto. “I’ll bring up coffee for you.”
She paused near the sink. “Just give me—”
“Nope.” He opened the door. “Stay off your foot. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
He was out of the room before she could get another word out. While he admired her strength and determination, he recognized it could also be stubbornness. Working with Emily would have its challenges, but he was more than ready to tackle them. He hoped she was willing to do the same.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Emily stared at her hideous reflection. The swelling in her eye had lessened, but it hadn’t gone away completely. Her flat hair was a frizzy mess since she’d gone to bed with it damp. She looked like Medusa minus the snakes. At least Andrew had a pretty face like hers. Comfort in numbers, she silently chuckled.
Although she looked beaten, she felt much better. Her ankle and stomach were sore, but nothing she couldn’t handle. Andrew fussed too much about her walking. In her experience, it actually helped her heal. Moving around didn’t help the swelling, but putting pressure on and off her ankle seemed to encourage the bone to adjust. Pain had been part of her life for a long time, so she could tolerate it. This wasn’t the first time she’d taken a few hits, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.
She combed her rat’s nest and considered her future. As her life stood now, she was headed either for purgatory or a visit to the hottest place imaginable. Neither appealed to her, but heaven didn’t either. Why would she want to go to a boring place where the food tasted bland and television didn’t exist? There had to be something appealing about the divine fortress in the sky. She recalled he’d said there wasn’t crime, drugs, or illnesses. So people didn’t hurt others. He’d said there wasn’t any pain or suffering too. She had no way of knowing if the same was true in purgatory or hell, but she’d bet money the southern inferno likely had plenty of torment. She just couldn’t picture hell’s occupants as the friendly kind to hang out with at a movie theatre. She imagined they were the rough sort who enjoyed torture and bringing agony to others. That’s what evil people did. Demons were proof and she’d seen one with her own eyes. She tolerated pain because she had to, but she would prefer to live in a place without it.
Her life was a mess. She had nowhere to go, no job, and no home. Although she wanted to avoid demons, she fancied the idea of searching for them to have Andrew destroy them. It would be a noble thing to do, and she could possibly help save lives. Maybe it would make up for all the sins she’d committed. Maybe. The only way to find out would be to agree to work with him.
She brushed her teeth as she thought about his plan. The man seemed resolute to set her on a course for heaven. His strong determination and the weight he placed behind his words led her to believe he would fight hard for her. The only other person she knew with such devotion was Troy. She’d miss her non-blood related brother one day, but she knew he would never change. His final destination had been decided many years ago and he’d accepted it. Although the two men had different paths, their hearts were always in the right place. She found herself blessed to consider both friends.
She cleaned her face before leaving the bathroom. The clock on the nightstand showed 6:45. Since she still had a few hours before the normal check out time, she had time to hop online to review her email and relax for a bit afterward.
The photos she’d left were still on the table. Sitting in the chair, she shuffled them into her wallet. Once the table was clean, she opened the laptop. The door made a beeping sound. Two seconds later, Andrew walked into the room with a tray of coffee cups and two plates of food stacked on top. The door closed behind him. She rose from the seat.
“Sit. I’ve got this,” he said.
He strode toward her as she returned her butt to the chair. The drinks and food in his grasp looked ready to fall at any second. How he made it to the elevator and room without spilling anything was a mystery. She would’ve dropped the plates while trying to use the keycard. He set everything on the table, away from her laptop.
“I got small bites of different things for you,” he said as he handed her the top plastic plate.
She set the food in the space between her and the computer on the table. He lifted his shirt and removed two plastic utensils from his pocket.
“One for you.” He handed her a spork.
She noticed his arms were as blank as hers. “Thank you.”
He moved his dish to the back before he lifted one of the cups from the tray. “I added cream and sweetener the way you like it.”
She took the coffee from his hand and saw writing on his forearm. She gasped and the cup slid from her grasp. It fell onto the floor. Andrew quickly retrieved the drink. Fortunately, it hadn’t spilled much since the lid had remained on.
“Your arm,” she said excitedly.
He looked at it with her. “That’s so weird. I remember seeing it blank when I was at the door.”
She took hold of his wrist and moved it so she could read the words. “Michael Lazzari. 3244 Highland Park, New York City.”
“It should still be fine. Not much spilled.” He set the cup near her plate.
All she could do was stare at the ink on him. It hadn’t been there a minute ago, then poof, a name and address was stained on his flesh.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She swallowed and shook the marbles in her head back into their right place. “Yeah. Sorry. It happened so fast.”
“I guess this means they’re not giving me a break,” he said before he sat in the chair across from her.
She took a drag of coffee. The warm hazelnut flavor flowed over her tongue. He’d fixed her drink exactly as she liked it.
She set the cup down and continued to hold it in her grasp. His gaze remained fixed on her. She had a good idea of what thoughts were swirling in his mind.
“Do you think you can persuade…” She shook her head. “Whomever handles things up there, do you think you can convince them to let me in, or up, or…” She didn’t know how to phrase her question.
“I’ll talk to the council. I’ll plead for you. If they won’t hear me, I’ll send a written request to the higher ups. I won’t stop advocating for you. Even if I have to rally troops to support my quest, I’ll do it. I won’t let you down.”
She believed him, but everything still sounded like fiction. “Written request to higher ups?”
“The guard told me I could appeal my sentence. I’d have to send a request in writing. I’m not sure how that works since there’s no postal system and she didn’t give me a name or department. I was going to follow her instructions if I would’ve had the chance. Unfortunately, punishments get imposed very quickly. I was sent back here within an hour.”
“That’s some justice system.” Holy cow, if the one on Earth worked that efficiently, maybe there wouldn’t be so much crime.
“I’m willing to do anything and everything for you.”
“I believe you.” She lowered gaze as she pondered what to do. She could die tomorrow, in a month, or in sixty years. Did she really want to spend eternity in a state of misery? At sixty she might not be able to atone for all the wrongs in her life.
“Maybe heaven doesn’t sound too enticing to you, but it truly is the best place,” he said, breaking the silence.
“Do you really think so?”
“Yes, I do,” he said without hesitation.
Arm flat on the table, she brushed her thumb over the cup of java in her grasp. She was torn on what to decide. There were no guarantees for anything.
He reached over and placed his hand on her wrist. “Nothing is easy. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of struggles to face along the way, but we can kick ass together. We make a great A Team. And in the end…”
She inhaled a deep breath. Eighties TV reference aside, he had a point. Everything boiled down to the end. Where did she want to be? Which place would give her peace? She took another drink of coffee.
“All right,” she said. “Let’s do it. I’ll help you.”
A smile wide enough to reach Alaska formed on his face. “You won’t regret it.”
She hoped she wouldn’t.
The End
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Other Books by Mary Abshire:
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