by Curd, Megan
That made two of us. I knew we were treading in dangerous waters, but I had no clue how to fix her. The only thing I knew was when I faced what I didn’t want to do – interacting with Hannah – I felt. Maybe it would work for her, too. Otherwise I was going to get into a lot of trouble with Clay and Ethan later. There were so many ways this could backfire, but for some reason, I felt like it could work.
I put my hand on her back, hoping it was more reassuring to her than it was for me. “Let’s go. You can do this.”
Angie closed her eyes and sighed. “Where are we going?”
I led her into an alleyway, where there were two men leaving a desolated bar. They stumbled out, laughing gruffly and exchanging drinks from a bottle covered in a brown paper bag. Angie shivered and moaned. “I can feel them.”
“You feel their souls. That’s the Hunter in you. What you need to do is turn that off. You want to find your humanity. The only way that’ll happen is if you can deny the urge you’re feeling.”
Angie was rocking back and forth on her heels, fighting to stay in place. I put my hands on her shoulders to keep her in place. “But I need them. I’m hungry. Look at them, they’ll never be missed!”
“That’s not the point, Angie. The point is – ”
But I never got to explain my point. In the blink of an eye, Angie whipped her head toward me and her crimson eyes held the same flames that flickered behind Owen’s. “I need them!”
She grabbed my arm and flipped me over her shoulder and onto the ground in a millisecond. I felt the wind blow my hair back as she closed the distance between her and the drunken men.
What had I been thinking? That she’d suddenly grow a conscience? I jumped up and sprinted to the end of the alleyway where the men had disappeared around the corner. Angie must be on them by now.
“Get off me!” I heard Angie screech.
Who had gotten to her? Who possessed the ability to stop her? I ran toward the audible scuffle to find the men in a lump by a trashcan, but still alive. Ethan was on top of Angie, wrestling her to the ground. “No can do, Angie. You’re really not supposed to be sucking the life out of random folks, no matter how stinky or drunk they are. Sucks, I know, but it’s just not in your cards,” Ethan grunted as he pinned her arms to the ground and looked at me. “Levi, care to help or explain what you two were doing? Either would be better than you just standing there like a lump.”
After the initial shock of seeing Ethan here, I regained the ability to move. I ran over and grabbed her feet, then the two of us took off with Angie thrashing against our grips. When we arrived back in Londonderry, Clay was on top of Hannah’s roof waiting for us. He had a look of amusement mixed with frustration on his face. I couldn’t look at him; it felt like I’d let him down. “Back from your experiment with a Hunter, Levi?”
There wasn’t much to say to that even if I could have mustered any words. Struggling against Angie took all my focus. How Ethan had pinned her, I’d never know. Maybe it was because he was older than me. He looked at Clay. “What do you want to do with her?”
Clay shrugged. “We should just eliminate her.”
Ethan blanched. “She’s my Call!”
“No, she’s not. She’s a Hunter. And if she’s your Call, why weren’t you the one sneaking around to meet her and try to help her?”
Ethan’s head dipped in shame. “I don’t know.”
Clay didn’t need to say any more. Ethan looked at me, pleading in his eyes. “Can she be saved?”
“I don’t know, bro. She can’t feel anymore.”
Angie had gone limp and quit fighting. To my surprise, when I looked down, she was crying. How could she cry? I looked up to find Clay’s expression shocked as well. “Clay, how can she cry?”
His mouth gaped open, but then he closed it quickly. “She’s feeling remorse. Maybe there’s still hope for her. I wouldn’t have her around Hannah, though, just in case.”
Ethan nodded and motioned with his head toward me. “Levi, let go of her legs. Let me deal with her, okay?”
I did as he instructed and before we could say any more, Ethan scooped her off and bolted off into the night. The whole thing was absolutely bewildering.
Clay coughed and jumped into the tree. “Come on, we have people to watch, just as Ethan does.”
“What do you think about it all?”
He didn’t answer my question. Instead he smiled at me and looked into Hannah’s room, where she slept peacefully through the entire debacle. “When are you asking her to homecoming? It’s only four days away. Bad taste to leave her hanging, you know.”
“Do you think she’ll want to go after all of this?”
His laugh was loud and caused Hannah to jump in her sleep. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the centuries, every girl likes a good dance. Just give her one night of normalcy after all this, and make Saturday memorable.”
“She’s living on borrowed time.”
“All humans are. Allow her to enjoy it the best she can.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
The next morning Hannah awoke to a single white rose beside her in bed. It had been Clay’s idea. I still felt a little bad about breaking into the floral store, but I’d left double the amount the rose would have cost. No harm, no foul, right? Besides, it was pretty fun to watch her expression from afar. The smile that lit up her face was one I hadn’t seen in a very long time. Actually, it had been before she met me since she smiled like that. I wanted her to be able to do that again.
Clay and I had waited up for Ethan’s return, but he never came back. Part of me wondered what he’d gotten into, but Clay kept telling me to mind my own business, so I figured I would. Seemed a bit one-sided, though, seeing as Ethan had followed Angie and I. Whatever. There was more to worry about than where Ethan had run off to right now.
I had to ask Hannah to homecoming. It sounded so easy, but in reality I would rather go toe to toe with another Fallen. Clay laughed as he watched me struggle through the internal battle. “Levi, she’ll say yes. It’s really not that hard, buddy.”
“Easy for you to say. I’ve never asked a girl to homecoming.”
“After over a century, I’d say your time has come,” he said, taking on the look I had come to believe was a fatherly expression. I’d never seen one directed toward me before now, so I couldn’t be sure.
Without another word, I snuck into Hannah’s window and wrapped my arms around her from behind while she was brushing her teeth. She jumped. “Hey there, angel,” I teased.
Once she was finished, she smiled. Her laugh filled the room. “I’m pretty sure that’s your description.”
“Nah, they’d give you wings if they could.”
Her smile faltered for a second, and I wondered what she was thinking. If only I could get into her head for a moment. It was probably a pretty scary place to be, though. Girls seemed to have way more going on than guys. She turned in my arms and kissed my cheek. For the life of me, I’d never get used to that. Her dad was downstairs and began calling about breakfast, so I kissed her quick. “Am I taking you to school today?”
She pursed her lips and looked torn, but recovered herself. “Of course! I’ll meet you back up here after Mom and Dad leave.”
With that she hurried out of her room and down the stairs. Something felt off, but I couldn’t figure out what. Girls.
“You know she’s hiding something from you,” drawled Ethan.
I turned to find him leaning against the windowsill with his arms crossed. He looked exhausted. “Busy night?”
“If you consider chasing Angie all over Southern Ohio and keeping her from massacring four small towns busy, then sure. Otherwise, just another night in paradise.”
“That good, huh?”
He sighed. “She wants to be good. I can see it. It’s just that I don’t know how to help her. I’m not good, so how am I supposed to teach her anything?”
“You could be.”
Ethan laughed, then began
to crawl out the window once more. “Whatever, dude. Some of us just aren’t cut out of the superhero mold like you are. Some of us just take it day by day and do what we can.”
“A bit morose, aren’t we?”
He stopped, but didn’t turn around. “Just tired, Levi. Tired of it all.”
Ethan didn’t seem to want to elaborate, and I couldn’t think of anything helpful to say. He dropped from sight and I was left with my thoughts. I was tired of it too, but that didn’t mean I could just leave Hannah hanging.
A couple minutes later she reemerged from downstairs, smile forcefully fixed in place. “Ready?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I started, but then stopped. It was dumb to let her play around whatever she was thinking about. “What’s up?”
She stopped gathering her things and stood with her back to me. “What do you mean?”
“You’re distant. I thought you’d like the rose.”
“I did,” she said slowly.
“Then what’s wrong?”
“It’s just, I know what’s coming.”
That didn’t sound good. “What do you mean?”
She turned around, sadness in her eyes. “You’re going to ask me to homecoming, aren’t you?”
Whatever air would have been in my lungs whooshed out. “Well, I’d been planning on it.”
“And I already told someone I’d go with them.”
“Who?”
“Justin. When I was wasn’t sure we could be anything.”
Well, that was a blow. “Why would you do that?”
“I don’t know, I’m sorry. If I could take it back, I would.”
“Then just tell him you’re going with me.”
Hannah huffed. “That’s just rude, Levi!”
“And it’s not to be in love with me, but go with someone else?”
Silence. Her eyes turned downward. “I never said I loved you.”
My arms felt unnaturally heavy. “Wow, okay,” I stumbled for words, feeling like a complete idiot at this newest revelation. “Well, that changes things I guess.”
“It’s not like that!” she argued, blood rushing to her cheeks. It gave her a rosy look, which was even more frustrating. She was beautiful when that happened. “It’s just, I didn’t know much about you. You’d just said you killed someone. What was I supposed to do?”
I nodded without saying a word. It was time to change the subject. “Well, do you still want a ride to school?”
She put her head down and stared resolutely at the ground. “It’s okay, I’ll call Angie,” but then she paused. “Angie won’t be at school, will she?”
I didn’t meet her eyes. “No, she won’t.”
“I don’t have anyone anymore, do I? Angie’s gone and you’re mad.”
“It’s fine, Hannah. Homecoming is a human thing. You should go with who will make you happy. I’ll be there to make sure you’re safe.”
She nodded once more and bit her bottom lip. “I’ll walk to school.”
“You’ll be late,” I said lamely.
“I’ll ask Clay.”
“You’d rather him take you than me?”
“I just don’t want to hurt you any more than necessary.”
It felt like everything was falling out from under me. She’d made me feel again and here she was now, making me regret it. Anger licked at the hurt. “I’m pretty sure I’ve felt more pain than a human girl saying no to a homecoming invite.”
She recoiled from the insult. “That’s not fair, Levi.”
“Do you want to be with me or not?”
Hannah didn’t respond. Instead she walked to the window and looked out expectantly. “Clay? You there?”
Thankfully, he ignored her. I could see him sitting in the tree, but he must have the ability to be invisible even after she knew his name. Too bad that didn’t work for me. I grabbed her bag and slung it over my shoulder, then picked her up with my free hand. “Let’s go, Hannah.” I didn’t wait for her to argue.
It was a quiet trip to school, but instead of setting her in the field behind the school, I landed on the roof and took her by the shoulders. She looked at me with those beautiful green eyes of hers. It was now or never. “Look, Hannah. I have guarded a lot of humans in my lifetime, existence, whatever you want to call it. None have touched me like you do. No one made me care. You do. You made me feel again. You deserve to live for so many reasons, but the reason above all that I saved you was because I’m in love with you.”
Her eyes widened at my declaration, but I continued before she could speak. “I love you, Hannah. I will protect you every day of my existence. You deserve the best, and that’s what I’d give you if you gave me the chance. If you want Justin, go for it, but know that no one will love you more than I do.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but I didn’t wait for it. I kissed her instead, and by the feeling of it, she kissed me right back.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Clay was laughing hysterically when I found him on the roof of Hannah’s house after my insane declaration. Where had all that mush come from? I racked my brain for one time that I had ever been all romantic with someone before. Never. If I’d have been watching myself, I probably would have gagged. I waited for Clay to gather himself. He grabbed his sides while smiling. “Levi, I have to hand it to you, you’re a genuine Romeo when it comes to the ladies.”
“Shut up, Clay.”
“No, really. I think that’s the best expression of love I’ve seen, and you know I’ve been around the block.”
“It didn’t matter,” I said, feeling even more like an idiot. “At least Ethan wasn’t there.”
“Oh, I was. I had to barf over the side of the roof,” chimed in Ethan as he landed beside us. “I thought I’d taught you better than that, but apparently not.”
Great. I’d never live this down now. Clay and Ethan sat chuckling to themselves, as I leaned back in frustration. “I need a date to go to the dance and watch Hannah.”
“Take Reina,” Ethan offered. “She’s a fox, and it’ll make Hannah jealous.”
Unfortunately, it seemed like the only option. I had no desire to go with some random human. At least Reina could help step in if something happened. “Yeah,” I said reluctantly. “That’s going to be a blast.”
“I’ll be there as a chaperone,” Clay added. “That way there’s three of us in the vicinity. Nothing is going to get past three Guardians.”
“And I’ll be busy stalking a crazed Hunter bent on becoming the first nice one of her kind around Ohio,” Ethan sighed, slapping a sarcastic smile on his face. “This Saturday should be a real blast.”
I groaned as I knocked on the door of Reina’s house. This wasn’t what I wanted to do, but it seemed like the only viable option I had. Her smile was radiant as she opened the door. “Levi! What do I owe this special visit?”
“Don’t get too excited, Reina. I’m not here because I want to be.”
She rolled her eyes as she gestured for me to come in. “You’re not too smooth with the ladies, Levi. You make Ethan look downright suave.”
“Whatever. I’m new to this mess. Anyway, I’m here about Hannah.”
Reina groaned and smirked. “I should have known. Human girl giving you fits?”
I didn’t want to give her any more information than needed. “I need a date to homecoming. You’re a girl.”
“That’s an insightful observation. I would have expected that from Ethan, though. Not much going for you yet that makes me want to say yes.”
“I need a date to homecoming so I can keep an eye on Hannah. You’re a Guardian. I’m transitioning. Clay will be there posing as a chaperone. Just do it. You’re supposed to be overseeing my transition, anyway. Isn’t this in your job description or something?”
Reina walked down the grandiose hall she’d created inside the small farmhouse. With me opting to be a vagabond, she made the house to her liking instead of mine. I couldn’t say I blamed her. She eyed me up and down. “
Please tell me you won’t be wearing those jeans and that hoodie.”
I rolled my eyes. She knew I’d do whatever she wanted, so long as she said yes. What a cheater. “What would you like me to wear, Reina?”
“A tux. And I expect dinner.”
“Fine. Any other demands?”
“Not at the moment. That’s subject to change. Where’s your little Guard friend going to be for this event?”
I bit back the mean things that could have been said. She hadn’t exactly been around since Clay showed up. There wasn’t much she could complain about with Ethan; he’d done more for Hannah and I than her. “Ethan will be keeping an eye on Angie.”
She nodded. “Probably a good idea. What about Owen?”
“That’s why we want as many Guardians there as possible. Just in case.”
Reina nodded, then winked. “Fine. I’ll go along with your plan, but don’t think I don’t notice that you only come around when you need help. You’ll make a girl feel like she’s being used.”
I hugged her in spite of myself. “Thanks, Reina. Just keep yourself under some kind of control, okay?”
She smiled mischievously. “Some kind of control. That’s all I can promise. Pick me up at seven.”
“Deal.”
I turned to leave, but she called out before I reached the door. “What are you doing the rest of the week?”
“Trying to convince Hannah to go to homecoming with me.”
Reina laughed. “That’s bad form, ditching your date after solidifying plans.”
I groaned. “So I’ve heard.”
The rest of the day went by without much of an ordeal, but I left Hannah to her own devices for the evening. She seemed morose, but I was determined to let her sort her affections out by herself. There was no need to get into a contest with Justin. She’d figure out what she wanted in due time. I could only hope she’d decide she wanted me.
Clay sat by me against the base of their house. “Taking the low route tonight, Levi?”
“Don’t feel like letting her see me right now.”
He patted me on the back. “You can learn to control that. She can see you because you feel so strongly for her, but if you work at it, you’ll be able to remain invisible even to her.”