Forsaken

by Keary Taylor

  “Jessica,” Alex whispered and his voice cracked.

  My lips found his and they trembled. My entire body shook and I would have collapsed to the ground had Alex not been holding me so tightly.

  “I’m so sorry, Jessica,” he said as he buried his face in my neck. “I didn’t know what was happening, I thought you might be…”

  “Shh,” I said as I ran a hand over his back. “I’m alright. It’s over now.”

  Alex pulled back to look me in the face. “He’s really gone?”

  I nodded. “It’s over.”

  He kept looking at me for a long moment before he released me and led me back to the rental car. He opened my door then got in himself. Putting the car into drive, he peeled away from the curb and hurtled down the road. I couldn’t blame him. I wanted to get as far away from this place as possible.

  Alex took my hand and kept glancing at me. I could see the questions tumbling through his head, unable to find one to start off with.

  “I’m fine, Alex,” I finally said for him. I had no intention of telling him that not long before I had had a six inch long blade sticking out of my chest. “Cole and I just talked for a while. We both had some things to say that each other needed to hear.”

  “You just talked?” Alex said doubtfully. “For a week?”

  “A week?” I said, shocked. “What are you talking about? I was only there for two days.”

  Alex’s brow furrowed. “You’ve been gone a week. Trust me I didn’t lose track. I can tell you how many seconds you’ve been gone.”

  I shook my head. It didn’t make sense. How could I not notice an entire week go by? How could I mistake a week for two days?

  I could if someone had never gotten out of my head completely.

  “Cole,” I hissed.

  As if this were explanation enough, Alex moved on.

  “He was messing with my head too. I tried coming to you,” he said. “I couldn’t find the property. The GPS kept shorting out. Even Cormack couldn’t find his way back.”

  “He kept you out,” I stated the obvious.

  Alex only nodded.

  “Is everyone okay?” I asked, wanting to change the subject. My feelings regarding Cole were too all over the place at the moment to talk about him any longer.

  “For the most part,” he said as he pulled into the parking lot of a small but well-kept hotel.

  We walked up to the second floor and Alex opened a door. As soon as we got inside I was attacked by Emily.

  “I’m so sorry, Jessica!” she started sobbing as she pulled me tighter into her. “I don’t know what got into me! I should have known better!”

  I patted her back, accepting her embrace. Happiness flooded through me. I was so relieved to see her. “It’s alright. Are you okay now?”

  Emily took a step back, wiping her eyes. I noticed the bandages that were still wrapped around her wrists. “Yeah, they stitched me up. I needed a transfusion but I’m okay now.” To my surprise she took another step back, joining Cormack at his side. “You guys got to me just in time.”

  I didn’t miss the way Cormack beamed down at Emily. I couldn’t help but smile back.

  Another person was sitting quietly in one corner of the room. She had dirty blonde hair and the most frightening looking complexion I had ever seen on a person. Her shockingly blue eyes made it obvious who she was though.

  “Jessica,” I’d like you to meet my mother,” Alex said softly. “Caroline.”

  I took a few hesitant steps forward. She extended her hand but I simply wrapped my arms around her. “I’m so glad to meet you.”

  Caroline seemed hesitant and uncomfortable as she patted my back twice then pulled away. I noticed how she would hardly look anyone in the eye. “It’s nice to meet you too,” she said in the husky voice of a heavy smoker.

  I smiled at her, feeling slightly sorry for her, and joined Alex again.

  “I suggest everyone gets some sleep,” Alex said as he looked around at us all. “We’re all going home tomorrow.”

  X

  We all crowded into a row of seats on the plane and everyone listened with rapture as I told them what had happened in what I had thought was two days. It was harder than I thought it would be, telling them of Cole’s final hours. I should have been relieved, and I was. But what surprised me was that I felt a little sad. It was unreasonable and ridiculous, but for some reason I felt an odd little twinge in my chest recalling the last few minutes Cole and I spent together.

  Everyone was relieved when we got home finally, especially Sal and Amber. Well, everyone except for maybe Caroline. Alex had insisted that she come home with us, but I could tell she was uncomfortable. I hoped that in the coming days and weeks she could learn to bond with her son and perhaps start to form some kind of relationship with him.

  As I suspected, it quickly became obvious that something had happened between Cormack and Emily in the time I was with Cole. She finally had her angel. But it seemed there were no perfect happy endings when it came to angels.

  Two days after we got home, Emily showed up on my doorstep at five in the morning. She was puffy eyed and her nose was running, but to my surprise there was a slight smile on her face.

  I didn’t even have to ask what had happened as I ushered her in and we sat on one of the leather couches.

  “He’s gone,” she said, her voice sounding small. “He wanted to stop fighting. He was ready to move on.”

  “I’m so sorry, Emily,” I said as I wrapped my arms around her.

  “Thanks,” she said as she sniffed. As she pulled away she wiped her nose with a tissue.

  “Are you going to be alright?” I asked, my expression concerned. “Don’t you dare lie to me.”

  To my surprise Emily gave a little smile. “Actually, I am,” she said as she nodded her head. “It’s harder than I could have possibly imagined, seeing him go. But… He gave me hope. He told me to never stop fighting. He said it’s worth it to reverse what I’ve done.

  “I’m going to have to work really hard,” she said with a sniffling chuckle.

  A smile spread on my face and I felt my heart flutter. “There’s always hope. You can’t give up.”

  “I’m not going to,” she said with a quivering voice through the smile on her face.

  “Things will work out,” I said, not only to her but to myself. “They have to.”

  She nodded with a smile. She then stood. “I’ve got to get going. The university called me yesterday. The other teacher they picked fell through. They offered me the job.”

  “That’s great!”

  She opened the door but hesitated for a moment. “Things really are going to be okay,” she said as she looked back at me.

  I could only nod and wave good-bye as she stepped out.

  If I hadn’t have been so tired of feeling so weak and like such a wimp I probably would have started crying. But I was sick of feeling like I was just succumbing to all my fears and uncertainties. I wasn’t going to let things be out of my control anymore. It was time for me to take charge for once.

  I walked back down the stairs to look for Alex. I found him standing out on the deck, looking over the water. The sun had started to rise, its morning glory sparkling on the water. His wings trailed softly to the ground, the sunlight starting to dance on the metallic surface. I wrapped my arms around Alex from the side, inhaling his wonderful smell. I closed my eyes in shear happiness.

  He turned and wrapped his arms around me. He was silent as he stared down at me, his gray eyes burning with intensity. I saw a million words running through them, unable to find exactly the ones to express the things he had to say.

  I reached up to my tip-toes and lightly pressed my lips to his. They tingled as I pulled away.

  Alex held my eyes again and my heart suddenly started racing for a reason I didn’t understand. He stepped away from me slightly, and very slowly, dropped to one knee.

  A single, pure white and perfect feather softly floated t
o the ground. My heart nearly beat out of my chest.

  “Jessica, will you marry me?”

  ACKWNOLEDGMENTS

  I owe some huge thank you’s to a lot of people. First to my family for always being supportive. I love you all and you all inspire me. A huge thank you to Jenni Merritt for always being there for me when I need to rant about writing and for her never ending support. And a huge thank you to her for helping me with the cover for Forsaken. Thank you to The Teen Book Scene and the entire blogging community for so much help and support in getting the Fall of Angels series out there. You have been awesome. And lastly, to you. Thank you so much for your support! It means the world to me.

  Keary Taylor is the independent author of Branded, Forsaken, Vindicated (Fall of Angels series), and Eden. She lives on Orcas Island in Washington State with her husband and two children. To Learn more about Keary and her writing process visit her at:

  www.KearyTaylor.com

  or

  http://kearytaylor.blogspot.com