by S. J. West
“Ok second place,” he said, a pleased smile in his voice.
“You’ll probably think it’s childish.”
“No I won’t. Tell me.”
“I always wanted to go to Disney World.” I pulled away slightly to look at his face. He didn’t look like he was about to laugh; instead he looked curious why I picked such a place. “My mom said she would take me one day but she never did. I guess it became my holy grail of vacations.”
“I took Abby once,” Brand said. “Of course she was already an adult when it first opened but I’m not sure it matters how old you are there. The atmosphere is charged with the energy of children which makes you feel like a child too. Everything is so new to them the joy and wonder on their faces reminds you what life should be about.”
“Can we go?” I asked, getting excited now. “I mean, I know we’re supposed to be facing the end of the world but can we pretend just for one day that we aren’t?”
“Of course we can go. I’ll let Malcolm know where we are and he can contact us if anything comes up. I’ll make arrangements for us to stay on the property. You really can’t just go for one day. You would never see anything that way.”
“Could we take everyone with us? Make it a real family outing?”
“If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do.”
“I know I should be more scared about what will happen,” I said. “But, I’m not. I actually feel hopeful that everything will work out the way it’s supposed to.”
Brand looked at me in surprise. “The girl who was frightened to jump off my boat to prove she had faith in us isn’t scared to face Lucifer in a grand showdown?”
“I know. I’m completely twisted,” I said with a half laugh.
“No, you’re logical most of the time. Can you tell me what’s made you so hopeful all of a sudden?”
“I will if you promise to hear me out before making a reply to what I have to say.”
“Should I be sitting down to hear this?”
I smiled. “It would probably be a wise thing to do. I’m not sure how you’ll take the news, actually.”
Brand let me go and sat down on one of the stools at the kitchen island, bringing me in between his legs and cupping his hands behind my back, not willing to have me too very far away.
“All right, I’m listening,” Brand said with a degree of caution in his voice.
“Do you remember the dream I had, the one you were able to step into the first time you saw the home Malcolm built me?”
Brand nodded, keeping to his word not to say anything until I was finished.
“The little girl you saw, our daughter, I think she’s real or will be real sometime in the future.”
“Lilly…” Brand said, a warning in his voice.
I placed my index finger against his lips. “Listen.” I reminded him. “When God showed me Lucifer’s fall from Heaven, he also showed me our daughter again. He told me she was our wedding gift, Brand. Now, why would he say that if she wasn’t real?”
“Am I allowed to speak?”
I smiled. “Yes.”
“I don’t know why he would say that or show her to you again. But you know what happens when a Watcher has a child with a human.”
“Yes, a human. But I’m not completely human. I don’t think the same rules apply to me.”
“Maybe not, but it’s not a risk I’m willing to take.”
“When He let me see Utha Mae in Heaven after she died, Utha Mae gave me a message before I woke up. She said she had met our children. Is it possible? Could she have met them in Heaven?”
Brand looked confused like what I was saying might actually make sense to him.
“It’s possible. He could have introduced them to her if their souls have already been chosen.” Brand was silent for a while contemplating what I had just told him.
“Speaking of that time you made me prove my faith in us by jumping off your boat. I think you owe me the same courtesy.”
“Lilly, it’s not the same. You were never in any real danger then.”
“And I don’t believe I’m in any real danger now.”
Brand sighed, resting his forehead on my chest.
“Could we talk about this again when everything is settled and done, my love? I just don’t think I can take the added stress right now.” He pulled his head back and looked at me. “I promise we can revisit this topic later, and I will try to have an open mind about it. But right now, all I want to do is spend time with you and enjoy the time we have left until Lucifer acts on his plan.”
“I’ll drop the subject, for now,” I said, a warning of my own in my voice. “But you can rest assured I won’t let this go. I’ve met our daughter twice now, and I felt her little brother moving around inside me. I will have them,” I said in no uncertain terms.
“When did you become so feisty?” Brand asked, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, obviously thinking my newfound attitude cute.
“When I learned to let go of my fears and have faith in our future. I wish you could have the same faith, Brand.”
“It’s been a long time since I had a reason to have faith in something or someone,” he admitted. “I guess I’m just out of practice.”
“Then start with me,” I said. “Have faith in me to know what’s right. I promise you won’t regret it.”
Brand looked at me in wonder. “Why was I chosen to find you?” He asked more to himself than to me. “Why me?”
“Because of anyone in this world, you’re the only one I can give all of me to.”
“But you were in love with Will once and you still love Malcolm to a point. What makes me different? Did I just come into your life at the right moment? What if Malcolm had met you first? Would you be his wife instead of mine right now?”
“You can’t think like that,” I said. “I can’t even imagine my life any different than it is now. You’re like the other half of me. Yes, I do love Will and Malcolm in my way, but the love I feel for them is so small in comparison to what I feel for you. I don’t think I would have the will to take another breath if I ever lost you. That’s not something I can say for either Will or Malcolm. I could go on without them if I had to, but you? I might as well die the moment you do because I would be dead inside anyway. You are my everything. You are my life. Without you, I have nothing.”
In one swift motion, Brand pulled me into him, pressing his lips against mine so fervently it left no doubt in my mind he felt the same way I did. When we made love afterwards we were two pieces of one whole. Neither could survive without the other because that wasn’t how we were built. Destiny had pulled us together because neither of us would have lived the lives we were meant to otherwise. When I lay naked against Brand afterwards, I couldn’t help but marvel at how much my life had changed for the better since the first time I saw him walk into that physics classroom. Back then, I knew Brand was special on the outside, but now, I knew he was just as perfect on the inside too.
Chapter 21When I went to tell Tara about our plans to take everyone we loved to Disney World, she yelled and danced around me like there was no tomorrow, which actually was one of the reasons we were going.
“So I guess I can count on you coming?” I said, completely joking.
“With bells on my shoes,” she said.
“Brand is making the hotel reservations. We plan to invite Malik as well and wanted to know what we should do about the room situation with the two of you.”
Tara’s mouth formed a silent “O”.
“Well, to tell you the truth Lilly Rayne, we’ll probably just need the one room for the both of us.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “So, when did this happen? You gave me and Brand a ton of grief about not having sex before marriage. And now you’re having wild pre-marital sex? A little hypocritical of you wouldn’t you say?”
Tara rolled her eyes at me. “We are not cut from the same cloth, girl. I knew if you had sex before marriage you would regre
t it for the rest of your life. That’s just who you are. Now, me on the other hand?” Tara said pointing to herself. “I’ve already been around that block. There wasn’t anything to save because I’d already given it away to the wrong person. Now I know what it feels like to be with a man I love and there ain’t no power on this earth who’s going to take that away from me.”
“Maybe I should warn Lucifer,” I said. “I know how you are when you want something and it ain’t pretty.” Mentally, I was reliving the after-Thanksgiving mayhem caused by Tara’s unstoppable desire to get what she wanted for Malik.
“You think that might stop him?” Tara said with a smile.
“I know it would stop me,” I replied in all seriousness, before falling into a fit of laughter.
The next person I went to see was Will.
We hadn’t talked much since Utha Mae’s death, and I felt a bit guilty for not checking up on him sooner. When I knocked on his apartment door, I saw the curtain of the front window move and knew he had seen me standing outside. I waited what seemed an eternity until he finally answered the door.
“Hey, Lilly,” he said, looking a complete mess. His hair hadn’t been brushed in at least a couple of days. His facial hair was a good inch long and he smelled like he hadn’t bathed in a week.
“Are you ok?” I asked, immediately concerned. “Are you sick?”
Will shook his head. “No.”
We stood there silently looking at one another. Finally I asked, “Can I come in?”
I wasn’t sure Will was going to let me in but finally he opened the door wider and allowed me entry.
When I stepped into the apartment, I could smell the overflowing trash can and what remained of left over take-out coming from the kitchen area. I immediately found my phone in my pant’s pocket and called Tara.
“Get over to Will’s,” I told her. “I need your help.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Just come over. We need to clean.”
When I got off the phone with Tara, Will had already returned to his bedroom and pulled the cover over his head, apparently attempting to hide from the world.
I didn’t bother him. It was going to take a while to get his apartment back to normal and the less he was in the way the faster I could accomplish it.
When Tara arrived, she looked like she was ready for battle. In one hand she carried a mop and in the other hand she carried a bucket filled with cleaning supplies. As she stepped over the threshold, she gagged a little but stood fast against the mess and helped me clean our best friend’s home. Once we reached the bedroom, Tara used the wooden handle on the mop to poke at Will still underneath the cover.
Will peeked out with bleary eyes obviously not appreciating the disturbance.
“Stop it Tara,” he said, annoyed at her poking and prodding. “Can’t you guys tell I want to be alone?”
“Considering the way you smell?” Tara said. “You’re lucky they haven’t called the police to come and see if there’s a dead body in your apartment.”
Will pulled the cover over his head and mumbled, “Go away. I don’t want you guys here.”
In one swift motion and with more strength than I thought she possessed, Tara poked the mop handle under the comforter and slung it onto the floor. I snatched it up before Will could pull it back onto the bed and took it straight to the washing machine in the kitchen.
“Now don’t make me do to you what I just did to that comforter,” Tara warned. “You stink like the gates of Hell opened wide, Will Allan Kilpatrick. Get your butt out of that bed before you make me come in and snatch that pretty blonde hair of yours right off your head.”
“Leave me alone!” Will yelled, burying his face into his pillow.
When I walked back into the room, Tara was just about to pounce on Will making good on her threat when I stopped her.
“Give us a minute, Tara,” I said to her. “I have a feeling I know what might be going on.”
“Well, if you can’t get results, let me know,” she said. “I’m sure I can go to Lowe’s and buy a garden hose. ‘Cause he’s getting a bath one way or the other before I leave this place.”
After Tara left the room, I put a hand on Will’s shoulder only to have him flinch away from me.
“Will,” I begged, “turn around and face me.”
I wasn’t sure he would but he finally rolled over onto his side, refusing to meet my eyes.
“You haven’t been the same since you had your talk with Utha Mae. What did she say to you?”
Will blinked like he was finally coming back from wherever his mind had gone to hide and reluctantly answered me.
“She said she loved me and that she forgave me for taking her Will’s life. She said she knew,” he looked at me, “that you all knew Will was different after that night at the lake, you just couldn’t quite put your finger on what had happened.”
Will fell silent.
“What else did she say?” I gently prodded.
“She told me it was my responsibility to make sure Will hadn’t given up his life for nothing and that I should protect you no matter what because that was what I had been sent for.”
“I don’t understand. Why does that upset you?”
“Because she said it wasn’t Lucifer who sent me,” he looked back at me. “She said God sent me to you.”
“You already figured that part out,” I reminded him. “I still don’t understand why you’re so upset.”
“It was the way she said it,” Will said. “It was like she knew it for a fact. It was something I suspected but didn’t really know. Why would He still care about me, Lilly? I betrayed Him in the worst way. I chose to take Lucifer’s side against Him. I hated humans just as much as Lucifer did and couldn’t wait to find the time when we could finally destroy all of you.”
“But you don’t feel that way anymore,” I said. “Utha Mae was right. All three of us knew you were different, but we didn’t talk about it with one another. You were still our Will and changed or not we loved you. We still love you. You’re like the annoying big brother our parents never had.”
Will laughed harshly, but it was still a laugh.
“Now come on and stop feeling sorry for yourself. Take the gift you’ve been given and prove that you earned it. God didn’t send you to us to just wallow around in self-pity. You’re too good a person for that. Plus, you have to go somewhere with me and Tara.”
“Where?” Will said, rubbing his eyes with one hand, finally coming out of his self-imposed stupor.
“Brand and I are taking the whole family to Disney World to wait out Lucifer’s plan.”
Will looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “You know how crazy that sounds, right?”
I shrugged. “Listen, if the world is going to end at least we’ll be at the happiest place on Earth. I figure if there’s one place Lucifer’s power isn’t going to work it has to be there.”
“Why would Brand want me there?”
“Because whether you like it or not, he considers you part of the family too. Yes, the black sheep of the family but still family.”
“You’re all crazy, you know,” Will said, sitting up in his bed, almost causing me to gag on his body odor.
“Apparently not as crazy as you,” I said, waving a hand in front of my face to dissipate the stench. “Now go shower a few times while I wash these sheets. And don’t come out of there without that hairy thing living on your face taken off. You’re starting to look like Cousin It.”
A twinkle of mischief entered Will’s eyes and I knew what he was about to do but felt helpless to stop it. He pushed me down onto the mattress and started to rub his scraggly beard along my cheeks. I tried my best to push him away but just ended up laughing hysterically. The bristles were too soft to hurt, only tickle.
When he finally let me go, we both had smiles on our faces like we did when we were children trying our best to annoy one another. I stood from his bed and kissed what I hoped was a clean sp
ot on his forehead.
“Now go clean up, Will Allen. We’ve got Space Mountain to conquer.”
Brand said he would go talk with Abby, Sebastian, and Malik about going with us and the last person on my list was my mother.
After Utha Mae’s funeral, Brand and I had a long talk with my mother and told her everything. She had already seen my power when I used it on Utha Mae and needed to know who it was she had married. I was surprised at how well she took everything and was proud of her when she moved back into her trailer. She said she would file for a divorce as soon as she could figure out where Lucas/Lucifer was.
After Tara and I got Will straightened out, I phased over to my mom’s. She answered the door quickly and gave me a big hug of welcome.
“Come on in, sweetie,” she said. “I was just making me something to eat. You want to eat some supper with me?”
We ate my mom’s specialty, Hamburger Helper. A gourmet cook my mom wasn’t, but she was pretty good at H and H. It was then I realized my culinary skills must have been inherited from her.
“I’m glad you came by,” she told me as we sat down to eat. “I thought I owed you an explanation about why I never wanted to talk about your grandparents.”
I immediately felt a ton of guilt land on my shoulders. That had been the one point of the explanation Brand and I gave her that we completely glossed over. I wasn’t sure how to tell my mother that her father still didn’t want anything to do with her after all these years.
“Mom, I already know who they are.”
She looked surprised as she had every right to.
“I actually went to see my grandparents not too long ago.”
My mother put her fork down on her plate and sat back in her chair.
“How are they?” She asked.
“They seemed fine, though I only talked to grandma. Grandpa refused to speak with me, but I did see him right before I left.”
My mother sighed. “That sounds about right. He was the one who decided I should be shunned away from the others. Your grandmother just wasn’t strong enough to talk him out of it.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me you were Amish growing up?”