by Mia Castile
“It’s really dangerous out there. I think we’ve seen that. So tell me what really happened?”
“I don’t even know. I told Sonny, and he just acted like I was crazy.” I didn’t look back at him but could feel his eyes still on me.
“Try me. If you’re crazy, I’ll pretend that I am too, so maybe they’ll lock us in the same cell,” he chuckled. So I told him. I even told him about my guardian angel. I couldn’t read his expression. He sat there silently for a few minutes.
“So you believe in angels?” I nodded yes. “Have you seen this angel before?” I shrugged. I didn’t want to share my secret with him. That was mine alone, and at this moment I felt like I was losing that secret just by telling him this much. I didn’t like the way it felt. “It’s not uncommon for angels to reveal themselves, but it is a rare occasion. You usually won’t ever see them again.” He shrugged. I had the feeling that he believed me, but also that he was hiding something from me.
“You think it was my imagination?” I asked, fearing his answer.
“I don’t know. I’m not really the one to ask.” He shrugged again. “But I’m just glad that you are better now. And I’m glad that you called me.” He smiled now. I couldn’t help smiling back to him.
Chapter 11
Ben liked to visit me on my days off and keep me company while Gideon worked. He called me every other night. He also started calling me his girl. I knew I had to talk to him, but I was avoiding it. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but I knew he was going down a road that I wasn’t. He was very excited about his playoff game that was coming up, but I couldn’t join his excitement. I was nervous. Ben’s mom really wanted to meet me for some reason.
Friday came around, and when it was time to go home, Gideon was MIA. I called him on his cell. It was 9:15, and I knew Sonny was ready to close up. He said he was stuck at work, so I was on my own. I told Sonny goodbye. He had paid me for the previous week and I was off. I began the three-block trek home. After the first block, I heard it again; it was the pitter patter of animal feet. I stopped, but the footsteps didn’t. My heart began to race, pounding in my ears. Just as I was ready to run, a furry head found my hand. I looked down; there, standing by my side, was Boss.
“Hey, you. Where’s Ben?” I looked around, but there was no one in sight. He barked and started walking in the direction of my apartment. “Are you escorting me home?” He jumped and barked and walked toward me and then back. I followed Boss toward my apartment. I took out my phone to call Ben as we walked. I didn’t know if he knew Boss was out. I got his voicemail.
“Hey, Ben. It’s Ellie. I’m on my way home from work and Boss is here. I’m taking him home with me since I don’t know where you live. If you want to come get him, let me know. Talk to you soon.” I flipped my phone closed and looked to Boss. “It’s you and me.” We made it to my building and went up four flights of stairs. “Are you thirsty, boy?” He barked. I made him a bowl of water, and he drank it fast. I patted his back. “You were thirsty, huh?” I went to my bedroom to get ready for bed. I got out my sweat pants and an old t-shirt and began to change. Boss stood in the doorway. He startled me as I stood there in my panties and bra. “Here, boy, up here.” I patted the bed. He trotted in and jumped up on the bed. He lay down with his back to me and faced the window. I finished with my nightly routine. Before I went to bed, I put one hundred dollars in Gideon’s top drawer where he was saving for our bills. “All the more closer,” I whispered as I closed the drawer. Then I went back to my bedroom and crawled into bed with Boss. He slept at the foot of the bed. I checked my phone, but Ben hadn’t called. I turned off the light and fell fast asleep—maybe because I felt so safe.
I woke up. The sun seemed to be too bright and my eyes adjusted slowly. I wasn’t in my bed; I wasn’t in my room; and I wasn’t alone. I was lying on my side, with my back against someone and his arm was under my head as we held hands. Suddenly I realized I wasn’t wearing my pajamas. I wasn’t the only one naked. We were lying on the softest, bright red sheets, which was quite a contrast from the white room. There were gold fixtures and gold trim, but the furniture was white. I looked out the window and saw desert scenery behind tall buildings. There were clothes that looked like something out of 1980 all over the floor. We seemed to be pretty high up wherever we were. I was too nervous to turn over and see who I was lying with.
“Good morning,” he whispered in my ear. I breathed a sigh of relief. I turned over and smiled at my angel. He looked a little older, like he was in his early or mid-twenties or something. His hair was longer. He had facial hair too. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it yet. “I was wondering if you were ever going to wake up.” I pulled the sheet up closer to cover myself as I suddenly remembered we were both naked. He smiled at my shyness. “So, not to state the obvious, but where are we?”
“You’re joking, right?”
“No, I’m not. Where are we?”
“You don’t remember insisting on driving to Vegas last night?”
“What? I don’t even own a car! Besides Vegas is across the country. How did we drive it in one night?”
“We stopped her. We defeated The Noctem. Our generation is safe, for now. You said you wanted to get away. Just me and you.” He looked at me pointedly before he continued. “You really don’t remember?”
“Again, no!” I sat up confused. He traced my spine with the tip of his finger. It sent tingles from my head down to my toes. I needed to think clearly and that was not helping. I pulled the sheet closer to me. He spoke softly, “I know you and your sister are close, but she made her decision. She chose The Noctem. You can’t bring her back. Now we have to defeat her. Tell me you remember bringing your last five hundred dollars and quadrupling it in two hours. And tell me you remember celebrating afterwards. That was some of my best work.” He put his hands behind his head in satisfaction. I turned my head and just stared at him blankly. He was so bold. He smiled, leaned up, moved my hair, and began kissing my neck. I pushed him off me. I grabbed the sheet and stood up. I tugged at it until I pulled it off the bed. The rest of the blankets fell to the floor in front of me. He lay there completely naked on the bed. It was a nice view. I tilted my head to the side, losing myself in admiring him. He raised his eyebrows and smiled at me seductively for a moment. Finally, he grabbed my pillow, stood up, and covered himself. “Why are you acting so crazy?”
“I don’t know. Maybe realizing someone so close to me is now the ultimate evil has something to do with it,” I stated sarcastically.
“I know.” He came around the bed to where I stood. He dropped the pillow, opened my arms and the sheet I held around me, and stepped inside. I wrapped my arms and the sheet around him too. I couldn’t help myself; I was pulled to him and had to be near him, touching him. “The six of us are soul mates. When one of us betrays, we all feel it.” I looked up at him as tears filled my eyes. “You are my destiny. Over the centuries, every Generation, we find each other. I am yours. We will always be. The Noctem will never win as long as we are together.” He trailed off. I pulled his face down to mine. I began to kiss him. He ran his hands through my hair, down my back, to my waist. He lifted me, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. The sheet fell to the floor around us. He stepped toward the bed and laid me down. I looked up and saw a large mirror over our bed. “How nice,” I thought. I looked at myself. I looked older, too. My hair was a wavy, light honey brown. My skin shimmered with a sun-kissed tan. He gently put himself on top of me and kissed my shoulder. He moved to my neck. He slowly moved down my neck between my breasts. I closed my eyes as he kissed my stomach. His hands were caressing me. His fingers were tracing all the curves of my body. He continued kissing me. In a breathy whisper he said, “I love you, Ellie.”
“What?” I whispered. We’d never said our names. I didn’t know his name. I didn’t think he knew mine. He paused, his breath warming my skin as his lips hovered above it. “What?” I whispered again. I opened my eyes to darkness.
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nbsp; I sat straight up. I was in my bed, in my bedroom, and in my pajamas. Boss lifted his head, and his eyes illuminated the room with a white light as he looked at me. I blinked; when I opened my eyes, the room was dark again. He lay his head back down. I rubbed my eyes and blinked again, wondering how my eyes were playing such a trick on me.
“Do you dream, Boss?” He didn’t answer me. “You’re lucky!” I threw myself backward onto my pillow and rolled over. I stared blankly at the wall until I eventually fell back asleep.
Chapter 12
My phone woke me up at nine a.m. I answered, still half asleep. “Hello?”
“Hey, sweets. You still got Boss?” It was way too early for Ben to be this chipper.
“Yes, he’s here in bed with me,” I yawned.
“Uh-mm, Boss is in bed with you?” I thought I heard his voice squeak.
“Yeah, why?”
“Uh, I don’t let him sleep in the bed; he has a spot on my floor.”
“Sorry. So what time does the tournament start again?” I wanted to change the subject fast.
“Well, since you have Boss, I thought my mom could pick you guys up, and we could go the field after we dropped him back home.”
“Sounds good. What time were you thinking?”
“About two hours. Our game starts at two, but we have to practice first. Can you be ready by then?”
“I think I can manage it. See you soon.”
“Hey, lock Boss on the roof while you take a shower.”
“WHAT?” I didn’t know why he said that.
“He needs some outside time; he’ll be inside at home all by himself when we drop him off before the game,” he said flatly.
“Um, sure.” I flipped my phone shut and looked at Boss.
“Ben is nuts with a capital nuts.” He barked in agreement. I didn’t send him out to the roof, but I did give him part of my breakfast eggs and toast. I didn’t know what else to give him to eat. He gobbled it down. I gave him some water. I closed my bedroom door, and decided on a cut-off jean skirt and a nice sleeveless, fitted toga top paired with my comfy baby doll shoes. Once I was finished getting ready, as if on cue, the door buzzed. It was Ben. He attached the leash on Boss, as I grabbed my purse and a jacket. As we descended the stairs, I became extremely nervous.
“Your mom’s gonna hate me, isn’t she?” I slowed as we rounded the final flight.
“Actually, she already loves you. I’ve told her a lot about you and Gideon, and she’s impressed.” I looked down at Boss. He looked up to us inquisitively from the door.I looked back up at Ben.
“Yeah, right. I’m with him.” I pointed to Boss. I started back up the stairs, but he grabbed my hand hard.
“No, you don’t, sweets. You’re with me, and there’s nothing to be nervous about.” He loosened his grip.
“Promise you’re not throwing me to the wolves.” I paused. “Figuratively speaking, of course.”
“I promise.” He opened the door and led the way to a mid-size, silver SUV sitting by the curb in front of my building. Sitting in the driver’s seat was a beautiful blond, slightly tan woman. She was waving to Ben. “Come on. We’ve still got to drop off Boss. We’re running late.”
I smiled. Ben opened the front door for me. I climbed inside, and he climbed in back with Boss.
“I can’t believe Boss ran off like that. If he were my son, he’d be grounded.” Ben laughed at her joke. Her eyes sparkled a blue I didn’t think I’d ever seen. They matched the blue blouse she wore with a pair of flare Capri pants and sandals. She was truly beautiful. “He’s usually very good about staying home. By the way my name is Hanna. You’re Ellie, right?”
“Yes, it was no problem. I was happy he was there to walk me home last night. I haven’t exactly felt safe these past few days.” I looked out the window as the scenery changed to suburbia. We had traveled only a few streets from our apartment when we pulled into a driveway. Their white house was smaller than the other houses on the block, but it looked very well-maintained. Wild flowers lined the white picket fence. Hunter green shutters surrounded each window. In front of us in the driveway sat a late model sports car.
“Please take Boss inside, and tell Zeke to hurry up. He will be late.” She patted Boss’s head as he walked by on the seat. Ben shut the door, and he and Boss jogged up to the side door and went inside.
“My boys are my life. You think you can prepare them for what’s ahead—college, life, for the good and the bad—but you can’t. There are no guarantees. Then someone with such a bright light inside her comes along, and you realize there is hope. That’s what you’ve done for Ben.” I smiled at her. She reached for my hand. “I am so glad I’ve finally gotten to meet you.” Ben came back out with a big bag on his shoulder. He jumped into the back seat and we were off. When we arrived at the field, there were school buses and cars everywhere. Ben headed toward the locker rooms while Hanna and I found a seat in the middle of the bleachers at one of the four fields. As we watched the other teams play, we talked about the weather, and she talked about Zeke and Ben when they were younger. She asked me about my parents and about growing up in foster care. I was surprised about how easy it was to share my life with her. She really seemed interested. She told me more about her sons, and as the game ended, she added, “They have always been so competitive. As they got older, they were able to work together as a team. Playing sports together is one thing they do well. Oh, here they come.” I turned in the direction she was pointing. I stood up with her and the rest of the people on the bleachers who were clapping and cheering. I clapped too. I saw Ben. He waved, and I waved back.
Then I saw him. There he was for real. He was a few boys behind Ben running out to the field, but my angel was there in the flesh. I leaned over to Hanna and pointed as I asked, “Who’s that?” She smiled at me.
“That’s Zeke.”
Chapter 13
I stopped clapping. He didn’t even look in my direction. I sat down. I’m sure all the color had left my face because Hanna sat beside me. “Are you OK, honey?”
“Yes, I need to go to the bathroom.”
“It’s over there.” She pointed toward the lockers. I excused myself and made my trek to the girls’ restroom. Entering, I went to the farthest stall. I sat down on the toilet lid and started to hyperventilate. All I kept hearing in my head was, “The moments we share together are life. We’ll be together soon. The moments we share together are life. We’ll be together soon.” Over and over again. I stepped out of the stall and looked at myself in the mirror. “I can’t do this. I can’t do this. He hasn’t seen me, I’m sure. I can just sneak out the back and walk home. I can’t do this.”
“Do what?” From the doorway, Hanna met my gaze in the mirror and smiled at me.
“I’m not feeling well. I should probably go home.”
“Let me see.” She walked over to me and placed her hands on my shoulders. She looked me in the eyes. It was like she was seeing into my soul. Suddenly my nerves calmed down, and my heart stopped racing.
“Just a case of the nerves, looks like,” she smiled and put her arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go cheer on the boys.” I followed her out of the restroom and just tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. We stopped and got sodas at the stand and when we returned to our seats, the boys were taking the field. It looked like Ben was the goalie and Zeke was a forward. They played well together; Hanna was right about that. Zeke was totally focused on the game. I realized there were hundreds of people here. He probably wouldn’t see me. I had time to pull myself together, so I shouldn’t have been freaking out like I was. I had been asking him to be in my life; this was my chance. I began to reason in my mind as I looked down at my hands: the things I dreamed about didn’t mean he shared the dreams. That would be impossible. So if we did meet, I’d just have to play it cool. When I looked up, it was halftime. The team was across the field, huddled up except for Zeke. He was standing beside the coach, looking directly at us. He nudged Ben and sai
d something in his ear. Ben looked in our direction, smiled, replied to Zeke, and punched him in shoulder. I became severely self-conscious. I made myself watch the rest of the game. Every time he made a good play, it looked like Zeke smiled right at me.