The Rest of Forever: A Guardian Angel Paranormal Romance

by Carrie Pulkinen

  He swung open the door and rushed into the living room, but April wasn’t there. She wasn’t in her bedroom either. Closing his eyes, he focused on finding her, and when he did his heart dropped to his stomach. Why did she go back there? With a groan, he Jumped to The In-Between.

  There was April, standing in her old living room—in the Earthly Realm—while Jared made out with the blonde from his office. Her expressionless face told him nothing of her reasoning. She opened a drawer and pulled out a picture frame.

  “What are you doing, April?”

  Her eyes widened; she sensed his presence. “Damian. I’m sorry.”

  When she spoke, Jared looked up, his eyes bulging with fear. He scrambled to his feet, his back against the wall, while the blonde sat there and stared.

  “I can’t believe I wasted a year of my life on you.” She clutched the frame to her chest and Jumped home.

  Damian met her in her bedroom and watched her lay the frame face down on a table. She looked at the floor and toyed with the hem of her white sleeve. “I’m sorry. I know I’m not supposed to do that, but—”

  “What is this?” Acid laced his voice, but he couldn’t hide it. He picked up the frame and stared into the happy faces of April and Jared embracing on the beach.

  His heart shattered into a million pieces.

  A sickening feeling settled in his stomach as he set the frame on the table and forced himself to look at her eyes. “You’re not over him yet.”

  “No. Damian, it’s not that. I just...” She reached for his hand, but he jerked it away.

  “Don’t touch me.” How could he have been so stupid to think he would ever be good enough for someone to love him?

  “Damian, please let me explain.”

  “You know what? Don’t worry about it. Mira will have a Charge ready for us in the morning. I’m going to bed.”

  “But, it’s not even dark out.” Her arms dropped to her sides as she gazed at him with pleading eyes. A small part of him wanted to hear what she had to say, but he knew her words would only cut him deeper.

  “I’m tired.” He turned on his heel and marched to the door.

  “Damian, wait. Can’t we talk about this?”

  “Nothing to say.” He pulled her door shut and hurried to the refuge of his own bedroom.

  Once inside, his anger exploded. His fist plowed through the pliable wall over and over again. How could he have been so stupid? To think for a moment that she could love him was ridiculous. Her old life still consumed her. She hadn’t let go, and if she kept going back to Jared she never would. He was an idiot. His heart was in her hands now, and she was tearing it to shreds.

  He collapsed onto his bed and draped his forearm across his eyes, blocking out the light that filtered in through the glass ceiling. The brightest star in the sky couldn’t shine into his heart like April did. What in Heaven’s name was he going to do now?

  He’d do the same thing he’d been doing for the past thirty years: keep her safe and comfort her when she needed him. That’s all he could do. So what if holding her meant more to him now than it ever had before? He’d learn to deal with it.

  He linked his hands behind his head and stared up at the darkening sky as a tear slid down his cheek. He was unlovable. Juliet had seen to that. When she left, she took a piece of him so big, he would never be whole again.

  To think April might be able to fill the gaping hole in his heart was the most ridiculous idea he’d ever had. She had her own demons to deal with. She didn’t need to take on his, too.

  * * *

  April climbed into her bed and curled up under the covers. That wasn’t the reaction she’d expected from Damian at all. She’d expected him to be angry. She broke a rule, after all. And he was completely ticked off the last time she did it. She’d expected him to yell at her. To tell her how stupid she was.

  Instead, he acted hurt. She had betrayed his trust, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. She didn’t do anything. And Jared deserved to be freaked out after everything he’d put her through.

  Still, the anguish that filled Damian’s eyes when he looked at the picture made her wonder if his feelings for her ran deeper than the physical. She pushed the thought out of her mind as soon as it entered.

  No need to get your hopes up, April. He doesn’t love you.

  But she loved him, didn’t she? There was no use in denying it. She was in love with Damian, and nothing would change that. All she could do was enjoy the time she had left with him and try not to tick him off anymore.

  But how could she enjoy it when every time he touched her skin, he touched her soul? Every time his lips brushed hers, he broke another piece of her heart. She’d never known a love like this before. She never would again.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  From The In-Between, April eyed the man. He appeared to have sandy-blond hair and dark brown eyes, though she couldn’t be sure through the grayscale. He was attractive, but she could tell he was incredibly sad.

  “That’s Daniel.” The Guardian pointed to the muscular man in baggy jeans and an Abercrombie T-shirt. He trudged through the park like every movement was spiked with pain. Then he slumped onto a bench and stared at the sandwich in his hands.

  “That’s the Charge we’re relieving you of?” Damian rolled his eyes.

  “He’s the one. Good luck, April. He’s twenty-eight, so you’ve got him for two years. The main thing you have to do is protect him from himself.”

  “What’s wrong with him? Why’s he so depressed?” April asked.

  “His wife was murdered about a month ago. No one knows who did it. Her sister’s been trying to console him ever since, but he’s so distraught, you’ll be lucky to keep him alive till he ascends.”

  “Wow. Giving me a challenge right off the bat.” April’s voice cracked with nervousness. She was sure she was ready for a Charge. But now that she was responsible for the safety of another human, her confidence slipped through her fingers.

  The Guardian shrugged. “You’ll do fine. Mira thinks you can handle him, and you’ve got Damian to help you out.”

  She glanced at Damian, but he wouldn’t meet her eyes. He hadn’t said two words to her since he caught her taking the photograph from Jared’s apartment, and her chest ached at the distant look in his eyes as he stared at their new Charge.

  “Well, he’s all yours. I’ve got to attend to my other Charge now. Have fun.” The Guardian winked and Jumped out of The In-Between.

  She turned to Damian, who picked imaginary lint from his shirt. “What do we do now?”

  He shrugged and stared straight ahead.

  She put her hand on his shoulder, and he tensed at her touch. “Damian, please talk to me. Let me explain what I was doing yesterday. I went there to—”

  “You don’t need to explain anything. Come on. You can practice whispering to your Charge.” He strode toward Daniel without looking back.

  April sighed. She couldn’t spend the next two years with Damian like this. She’d have to find a way to make it up to him. To prove that he could trust her.

  “Are you coming?” He crossed his arms over his chest and fumed with resentment.

  She shuffled toward him and looked at Daniel, who still stared at his sandwich. Peanut butter and jelly. The scent of the sandwich wafted into her nostrils, and she took a long, deep breath. Peanut butter was one of her favorite foods. The only thing that could make it better was to smother it in chocolate. How long had it been since she’d eaten? Not since she was alive.

  “How come I can smell his sandwich? I thought we were supposed to be ghosts here.”

  “Smell isn’t affected by the dimensional shift.” He still stared straight ahead, his hands clasped behind his back.

  “What do I say to him?”

  “Anything you want.”

  Frustration irked her, but the cold shoulder he gave her tore at her heart. “Look, Damian. You can hate me all you want personally. But when it comes to our job I need your help.
Please.”

  He blew out a hard breath and finally looked at her. His pain-filled eyes held her gaze, and she wanted to run to him. To make the hurt go away. But he wouldn’t let her near him, and she didn’t know why.

  “See if you can get him to eat. He’s been staring at that sandwich for fifteen minutes.”

  “Okay, I’ll try.” She leaned over and placed her hands on Daniel’s shoulders.

  “Daniel? I know you’re hurting, but you need to eat. Go ahead and take a bite. You love peanut butter.”

  Daniel exhaled and bit into his sandwich. Without raising her head, April cut her gaze to Damian to gauge his reaction. He smiled and nodded his head, but when she straightened and faced him, the smile faded.

  “Good job. I think that’s all we can do for him right now.”

  “So, now what do we do?”

  He stared out across the park and lifted one shoulder. “We go home. Wait till he needs us. We’ll check in on him later.”

  “Okay. Can we talk when we get home?”

  He shook his head. “I’ll find you when it’s time to visit Daniel again.” Then he disappeared.

  * * *

  Damian settled into the grass on his favorite hill and gazed at the bright blue sky. The sun warmed his skin, but it did nothing for the chill in his shredded heart. April was right. He couldn’t let his hurt feelings interfere with their work. His duty to their Charge had to come first.

  He’d just have to get used to his arms aching to hold her. The yearning without the fulfillment of her touch.

  He should’ve gotten onto her about Jumping to Jared again. She needed to know how inappropriate her actions were. And to bring that photo back with her? He couldn’t even think about it, much less reprimand her for it. He knew what it was like to be betrayed by someone you loved.

  He needed to clear his mind, and an exercise in meditation might do the trick. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Focusing on nothing but his breaths, he slipped into a meditative state.

  When he opened his eyes later, he felt a presence beside him. Startled he had company, he cleared his throat and sat up.

  “Dude, I hope I didn’t wake you.” Eric flashed a smile.

  Damian rubbed his face and ran his hands through his hair. “It’s cool. What time is it?”

  “Five thirty.”

  “I must’ve fallen asleep. April’s probably wondering where I am.”

  “Nah. She’s all right. I saw her walking through the meadow with Trusten a few minutes ago. So, he’s her grandfather, eh?”

  “Yeah. He is.”

  “But he’s a Keeper. And she’s...”

  “Long story. How are things going?”

  Eric’s smile stretched even wider, and his eyes sparkled with excitement. “Ah, man. I don’t know what happened to Jared, but he’s starting to listen. He broke it off with that chick from work, and he even went to confession.”

  “Well, that’s a good thing, right?”

  “Dude, he’s not even Catholic. I don’t know what got into him.”

  Damian sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I do. April.”

  “April?”

  “Yeah. She’s been crossing over and messing with him. She even stole a picture of the two of them from his apartment.”

  “Why’d she do that?”

  “I don’t think she’s over him. She hasn’t let go yet.”

  Eric put a hand on his shoulder. “Aw, I’m sorry, man. I know you care about her.”

  Was it really that obvious? Was he so transparent with his feelings everyone else knew he was in love with her, when he’d only recently been able to admit it to himself? If so, why didn’t she see it? He shook his head. He couldn’t even form a response in his mind.

  “Well, whatever she’s doing, it’s working. I’m okay with it if she keeps it up. Even if it is against the rules.”

  “All right. I won’t try to stop her on your account.” Though he was definitely not okay with it.

  “Thanks, dude. And good luck with her. Just give her some time. I think she’ll come around. Catch ya later.”

  Damian stood and dusted the grass off his jeans. It was time he went back to April and made amends. She deserved better than the way he was treating her. He focused on her smiling face and found her reading a book in the meadow by their house.

  He appeared in front of her and sat cross-legged on the ground. “Where’s Trusten?”

  “He had to go.” She shrugged, her gaze never leaving her book.

  “Romeo and Juliet?”

  “Who can resist a good tragedy?” She still wouldn’t look at him.

  He let out a cynical laugh. After what happened with his Juliet, he’d had more than his share of tragedy. He scooted over to sit next to her.

  “I’m sorry, April.”

  “For what?” She licked her finger and turned the page.

  He sighed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “C’mon. You know what for. I was a jerk, and I’m sorry.”

  She finally looked at him. “What’s going on with us? One minute you hate me, and the next minute you’re making out with me. I need to know where we stand, because I can’t handle all this back and forth business. You either like me or you don’t.”

  I love you. Should he tell her the truth? He didn’t have anything to lose. His heart already belonged to her. He took a deep breath, and with his fingers on her chin, he lifted her face to his.

  “April, I...” An alarm went off in his soul. Daniel was in trouble.

  When April gasped, he knew she felt it too.

  “Take us to him.”

  She reached for his hand, and they Jumped to The In-Between.

  * * *

  Beer and whiskey bottles littered the living room of Daniel’s house, and a myriad of prescriptions lined the coffee table. Daniel sat on the edge of the couch with his elbows on his knees. A whiskey bottle dangled from one hand, and a container of pills sat in his other trembling palm.

  “Go whisper to him. Convince him he’s going to be okay.”

  But she knew better. She’d seen her cousin in this condition, and whispering wasn’t going to cut it. What Daniel needed was tough love, and she knew exactly how to give it.

  “I have a better idea. I’m going in.”

  “In? No. You can’t show yourself to him yet. He’s two years out.”

  “He’s trying to kill himself.”

  “So whisper to him, and tell him not to. That’s how Angels work.”

  She crossed her arms. “Not this Angel.”

  “Please?”

  She exhaled a hard sigh. “Fine.”

  Damian stayed by her side as she moved closer to her Charge and whispered to him. “Put the pills down, Daniel. Don’t kill yourself.”

  Daniel looked at the bottle in his hand and shook his head.

  “See,” Damian said. “It’s working.”

  “You don’t want to do this. You want to live.”

  Daniel set the whiskey on the coffee table. “I don’t want to do this. I can’t do this anymore.” He emptied the contents of the pill bottle into his palm and raised it to his mouth.

  “This isn’t working, Damian. I’m going in.”

  “April...”

  The tone of his voice was a warning she was about to cross a line, but she didn’t care. She was charged with keeping Daniel safe, and his life was in danger. Surely a life-threatening event was good enough reason for what she was about to do.

  “Trust me, Damian. Just this once.” She closed her eyes and replaced her hot pink top and jeans with a flowing white gown. She thought about throwing on a pair of wings for show, but she figured that was overkill.

  He reached for her hand, but she slipped away in time to cross over to the Earthly Realm alone. She half expected him to follow and remove her by force, but he didn’t. Maybe he did trust her.

  “Hey, Daniel.” She sounded more like a ticked off teenager than a Guardian Angel.

  Daniel l
ooked up and shot back on the couch, his drunken eyes wide with fear. Little white pills bounced across the hard wood floor as he tried to regain his composure. “Who...who are you?”

  “I’m your Guardian Angel, dimwit. Who the hell else would I be?”

  Daniel chuckled. “Yeah, right. You’re just in my imagination. You’re not really here.”

  She picked up a pillow and chunked it at his head. “Does that feel like your imagination to you?” Walking around the table, she slid onto the sofa.

  “We need to talk.” Yanking the bottle from his hand, she sat it on the floor, out of his reach. “Oh, God. What’s that smell? Did you puke on yourself?”

  “Maybe. But so what? I’m not gonna be around much longer anyway. I’ve got plans.” He reached for another pill bottle, but she slapped his hand and knocked the bottle away.

  “This is your plan? Listen, Daniel. God’s got plans for you. Big plans. And they sure as hell don’t involve you wallowing in vomit and self-pity. Now get your ass up and get in the shower.”

  She grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. In his drunken stupor, he stumbled into her, but she caught him under the arm. His breath reeked of stale beer and regurgitated Chinese food, and he smiled as he tried to look down her top.

  “For an Angel, you sure have a dirty mouth.”

  She turned her head to avoid the rancid stench of his breath. “What can I say? I’m new.”

  The man could hardly stand on his own, much less walk to the bathroom. She supported his weight as best she could, and they stumbled to the bathroom together. Damian still hadn’t crossed over, and she was beginning to wonder if he was still there. But when she focused on him, she felt his presence just beyond her plane. What was he thinking about all this?

  She leaned Daniel against the wall, peeled his disgustingly wet shirt over his head, and yanked down his pants.

  No underwear. Lovely.

  She shoved him into the shower and turned on the water. “Wash yourself off. You’re a mess.”

  “Will you help me?”

  What had she gotten herself into? She pulled back the curtain to find Daniel clutching the soap dish, with his back against the wall.