The sound of another human’s voice made me turn, spinning around to find Adam in the same outfit I had last seem him wearing, plain as day and very real.
And very handsome. More so than the last time I’d seen him or perhaps imagined him.
Those same eyes stared at me once again with that same intensity of roaring waves cresting against the cliffs at dawn. He was tall and broad shouldered; his build, undeniably strong yet lithe, the build of a man who never had to work out a day in his life but retained the same muscles he’d always had.
I stared at the face of the man who stared back, studying him for any sign of weakness. His chiseled features accented his face; his brow and jaw distinctly defined. I couldn’t help but stand there and contemplate what to say or do.
“Amelia.”
“Did you know the police are looking for you?” It seemed like a good enough icebreaker.
He nodded slowly. “I do.”
I extended my hands through my jacket pockets. “And?”
He shrugged. “And what?”
Another crack of lightning. “Did you have anything to do with those people on TV?”
He stood in front of me as the first bit of rain broke through the clouds that had taken hold of the afternoon sky. “Why ask me something to which you already know the answer?”
My body instinctively moved away. “So you did kill them?”
“I didn't say that, Mia.”
“Then what?” I snapped. “Why are you following me?”
“I came to check on you.”
“Came to check on me, my ass,” I snarled back. “You’re like a fucking stalker.”
“I’ve been called worse, Amelia,” he said, calling me by name for the second time.
I noticed he seemed as fazed by the rain as I was.
“I came to get away from everything, and next thing I know, you show up like a bad penny, so I’ll ask you again: What are you doing here, right now, at this very minute?”
He looked childlike for an instant as he stood across the sidewalk. “I’m waiting.”
“Waiting.” It was more of a comment than a question.
He nodded. “Yes, Amelia.”
“For me, right?” I mocked, though my sarcasm was lost on him by the way his eyes gleamed.
“You’re finally starting to get it,” he breathed in relief and grabbed ahold of me before I could resist. His strong, calloused hands latched onto my forearms. Adrenaline riveted through my body like electricity. I could barely catch my breath long enough to steady myself before he had already let go of me.
My clothes were already dry, my hair already back in place as if the storm had never broken over us.
“Do you know where you are, Mia?”
I spun about to find Adam barefoot and shirtless behind me. Long healed scars ran over his entire body like lashes of a whip.
As much as I hated to admit it, he was beautiful. And damaged.
Maybe more damaged than me if that were even possible.
“Should I?” I glanced around to find nothing distinguishable, nothing out of the ordinary. To me, it looked like the average public park in the city. Its winding sidewalks, a jogger’s delight as several paths crested at the top of a short hill.
He walked over to the wooden bench and sat down, signaling for me to join him.
My brows shot up at him. “Where are your clothes?”
He flashed me that same grin I had only seen once before in the hospital. “Don’t worry,” he answered. “I won’t need them.”
“Alright . . . if you say so.” I inched closer to the bench, pausing just out of reach. “You aren’t worried about catching a cold?”
He laughed so roughly that he nearly choked. “No, Mia. I can’t catch colds.”
It seemed a strange response, but I sat down anyway, once again stuffing my hands into my pockets as I leaned back against the wooden bench.
“It’s because we’re not really here.” He smirked at me.
My mouth twisted into a little O. “Then where are we?”
“Somewhere in between.”
Okay, I’d bite. “Between what?”
“Between life and death,” he said simply before staring back out across the wide plain.
We watched a couple walking their dog and another family throwing a Frisbee back and forth. Everything that seemed like normal, everyday life.
I sighed. This game was growing tiresome, but I had to know. “Adam?”
The beautiful, scarred man turned to me, his wondrous eyes meeting mine.
“Why are we really here? What’s going on?”
He didn’t speak, his jaw set firmly as he returned his gaze to the wandering folk.
“Why did you drag me here, wherever here is, despite my best efforts to avoid you,” I said as calmly as I could manage given the circumstances. “And then you freeze up like a statue and say nothing?”
His jaw muscles flexed. “Because you’re not ready.”
I snorted under my breath. All of this was insane, but he was right. I wondered what he needed me to be ready for, yet his presence strangely calmed me now that I had finally resigned myself to this insanity. “Hey, Adam?”
“Yes, Mia?”
I fiddled with the zipper on my hoodie. “So if you didn’t kill those people, then what did you do?”
He didn’t even meet my gaze this time, though I longed to see those eyes. That handsome face of his was apparently growing on me. “I offered them a similar deal to the one I offered you.”
“And what did they say?”
He smiled, his eyes aglow at my interest. “Well, I can promise you that they weren’t as excited about the options I gave.”
“I take it you didn’t promise them eternity.”
His smile faded instantly. “No.”
I had struck a nerve, and with it came his solemn gaze. Obviously, he didn’t want to discuss it, so I didn’t press further. My eyes shifted to the people who went innocently about their lives, unaware that we were even there. “Can they see us?”
“Not at all.”
“So is this what you do when you’re not stalking people?”
There was that smile again. At least he couldn’t stay depressed for long. “That, among other things.”
I shifted awkwardly in my seat. “I can only imagine.”
He snorted that time, the corner of his eyes lifting delightfully. “No, no. You really can’t.”
“Why don’t you try me?” I snapped. “The man who believes he saved me from death is afraid of telling me the truth?”
“I wouldn’t say afraid, Amelia,” he said, his tone softer.
I stood up and turned to face him. “Then what is it?”
“I don’t want you to leave me again.” His voice was barely discernible above the soft wind that blew past us.
He must have noticed the insane look I gave him because his head dropped almost immediately, his long wave of chestnut curls hiding his face from my scorn.
“Do you know how insane you sound?” I shouted. “How can I leave someone that I was never with?”
His face fell as if I’d killed his only puppy, a look that nearly broke my heart. It might have actually succeeded had it not come from a manic-depressive angel who was also my kidnapper.
He stood up from the bench, reached into his pants pocket, and pulled out a silver lighter and metal carrying case. Slipping a cigarette into his mouth, he lit it, taking one long drag as he stared up at the heavens for a few moments before finally exhaling.
“That seems a little ironic, don’t you think?” I asked.
“What?” He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.
“An angel smoking.”
A coy smile crept over his face. “Smoking doesn’t matter for someone like me.”
“Like you how?”
He looked at me, and this time my heart did break. “Someone who’s damned.”
CHAPTER SIX
I blinked and found mys
elf standing once again on the sidewalk, only this time I was on the walkway outside my house. The rain that had disappeared on the other plane had found me once again now that I’d returned to the real world. Or perhaps more adequately put, the world I perceived to be real.
With my clothes drenched and only a cacophony of questions bouncing around in my skull, I pulled the key back out of my pocket and slipped inside the warm shelter. I was nearly naked the moment I made it through the door, dropping my clothes wherever they landed, racing up the stairs until I thrust myself into the bathroom and into the old-fashioned claw-foot tub.
Steaming water poured in like a waterfall as I sank to the bottom of the cold porcelain, letting the blessed heat rush over my freezing skin until I, too, disappeared. I don’t know how long I lay there in the steam. The water sloshed over the edges when I moved too quickly, and I opened my eyes long enough to turn off the stainless steel nozzles to keep from overflowing the tub and cast myself into silence once again. Sinking back down to the bottom, I quieted my mind, as if only to forget my cares for the shortest time.
I silently wondered if I had somehow brought this on myself. In thinking that I had gotten a fresh start, I had only increased my burdens, strengthening the chains tethering me to the ground. What deal, I wondered, had Adam offered those people, and why had they declined it? Did they know something more than I had at the time? Did they know more than I did now? As much as my mind wanted to run away with me, I assumed their deals had been nothing more than the Reaper come a’calling.
But in all of my wondering, I never once asked myself why I was so afraid. Those people had died, and I had lived. They had not even been offered the chance. Perhaps Adam could have turned back the clock for the old the same way he did for the sick.
And now I sat here alive, and I wondered if it was because of Adam, or if I was alive because of something else. The nagging feeling in my gut told me things were only getting started.
Ω
“Tell me, Amelia,” the redhead Mary asked me as I sat across the wide mahogany desk from the forty-five-year-old freckled woman. “Why do you think you’d be a good match for Lake Charles Hospice?”
My gaze darted to the strange, brown glass bowl at the corner of her desk that could be more aptly described as an ashtray. I stifled a smile as Adam crossed my thoughts. As much as I hated to admit it, he was growing on me, strange as he was.
“Did I say something to amuse you?” I couldn’t tell if the older woman was offended or not.
My cheeks flushed. “No, no. I’m sorry, Ms. Mary. I was just admiring your bowl.”
Apparently this woman didn’t get many compliments because her entire demeanor changed immediately. “I got it at an estate sale last fall,” she gushed while quaffing her bangs. “Real bargain, it was.”
“So,” I began, once again trying to distract her from meaningless small talk, “how long have you been administrator here?”
“Almost seven years.” She made her way to the server and poured herself a cup of tea. “Would you like one?” She held up a small teacup.
I nodded even though I was never a tea person; I was up for anything that distracted me from the idea of Adam.
“Here you go.” She handed me a cup and saucer and sat back down across from me. “I have to be honest with you, Amelia. Working in a hospice isn’t for everyone, least not the faint of heart. You’re not a CNA, so I’m not going to make you help with bathing and feeding patients, but you can handle filing, visits, coordinating with myself and RNs on the floor, stuff like that. It’s decent enough pay, rotating shifts on holidays, medical, vision, and dental.
“You will mainly assist the staff on the floor and boost morale among our patients. Most of our patients are dying and won’t see Christmas. The few that are here long term are even worse—they see everyone dying around them and can’t help but wonder if they’re next and wish they were. They’re lonely, they’re depressed, and they’re spiteful, but more importantly they need company.”
I took a sip from the still steaming cup. “I won’t lie and say I’m a people person, but right now a job’s a job.”
“Honesty,” she laughed. “I like that. They’re not so bad once you get to know them. We’ve got an Easter egg hunt planned in the common room this month, and I’d love to see you there if you want to give it a shot. Eleven bucks an hour. Monday through Friday. Ten to seven.” She beamed at me like a cat waiting for a spoonful of milk.
Everyone had that same infectious enthusiasm around here. It was unnerving.
“Sure thing,” I answered my new boss, both of us standing up at the same time to shake on it.
“We’ll see you Monday morning then.”
“Alright.”
I made my way past the curio filled with photographs, my eyes taking notice of the man standing centerfold among a crowd in an old black and white one.
It was Adam.
Nearly stumbling over the coffee table between it and me, I rushed to the cabinet with Mary staring at me as if I had grown two heads.
“This man,” I choked as I pointed to the photograph. “Who is this man?”
“Who?” She slipped around to where she could follow my finger. “My grandfather?”
I nearly gagged. “I’m sorry?”
“The man third from the left?”
“Yes,” I gasped, my breath swelling in my throat.
“That’s my grandfather,” she repeated. “He was a UNICEF worker in Africa. He died in 1928. Why?”
“No reason.” The words rushed out of my mouth almost as quickly as I raced from her office. “I’ll see you Monday, Mary. Thanks again.”
Before she could ask anything else, I was out of her office, flying down the hallway toward the red glowing sign that signaled my reprieve. I slipped out of the building and leaned against the warm brick, desperately wishing I could slam my head against the masonry. I don’t know why it bothered me so much. If Adam was dead, it made sense that he had lived before. In fact, it was expected.
Actually, I think it made him more human, although realizing he was over a hundred deeply disturbed me. Perhaps he really was an angel, and if he was, then it made sense that he hovered around a hospice helping those closest to death pass over to . . . to wherever it was they passed over to.
Heaven, I guess?
I had never even thought about it. If I believed in him, did that mean I believed in Heaven and Hell—the whole God thing? When Adam had mentioned being damned, did he mean literally a fiery, burning pit of torture?
The pressure built at the front of my skull as I conjured more questions. What did it mean if I believed him? More importantly, what did it mean if I did have feelings for Adam?
I wanted to like him though the logical part of my brain tried to dissuade me.
The back door flew open, nearly bowling me over, as a large trash bin shoved through, pushed by one of the orderlies. The young blond man apologized profusely when he saw me nearly jump out of my skin at a time when my nerves already bordered their limits.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said as I waved that I was alright. “It’s my fault, really. I shouldn’t even be out here.”
The guy flushed scarlet, obviously not used to being shown such kindness. Or perhaps it was the fact that, as I leaned forward to steady myself on my knees, he could see down my shirt.
“I’m Matt.” He threw the overstuffed trash bags out of sight before wheeling the large container back over to the door. He pressed his photo badge against the security panel on the wall and waited for the little red light to flash green before reaching for the handle.
“Here let me help you.” I grabbed ahold of the door and swung it open for him as he eyed me suspiciously.
“No, it’s okay,” he huffed as he glanced me over one more time. “This door is for personnel only.”
I raised my hands innocently. “I start Monday.”
He nodded as he let the door swing back, all but closed, catching it with hi
s foot. “Well then, I’ll let you hold all my doors starting Monday, new girl.”
We both laughed. “I’ll try and remember that. The name’s Amelia, but I go by Emily.”
“Well then, Emily,” he said. “I’ll see you then, and again sorry about startling you.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I waved as he let the door clink shut behind him.
With Matt gone, I leaned back against the red brick and slid down to the ground, burying my head in my knees for what seemed like hours. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, a hand jolted me awake with a shake of the shoulder.
Adam stood a foot or so away, his perfect features hidden beneath a tan trench coat, staring at the sky as he took another drag off his cigarette. “Want to go somewhere?” He cocked his head toward me enough that our eyes locked as he waited for an answer.
I couldn’t even muster a response before he was in front of me, holding his hand out for me to take. He pulled me gently to my feet, and I felt myself transported somewhere again. It was like a rush of vertigo whizzing past me as we found ourselves a stone’s throw from the ocean.
The sky had taken on a burnished hue as it covered the horizon in an iridescent glow. It seemed as if the entire area had changed in color, all the way down to the sunset glistening off the ocean waters. Doubtful as I was by nature, even I could not deny the magic in this place.
Adam let go of my hand when he realized I was safe and took off down the white sand, which reminded me of the first snowfall in winter.
I didn’t think most people alive had seen such a sight, even in the places that resorts considered paradise.
This was Paradise, and Adam knew it.
And he wanted me to see this with him.
I noticed the thin, white linen shirt and pants that clung to the rugged contours of his body as he padded down to the waterline, the tide rushing up to meet him eagerly. I glanced down at my own bare feet and wiggled my toes in the sand, silently amused by my hot pink nail polish peeking out to meet me.
“Amelia,” he called, and it made my spine shiver. He was the only one who could say my name like it was something good, something sensual. I didn’t dread hearing him say it as I did with everyone else.
FALL FROM PARADISE Page 3