As he stepped next to me, he looked at the men wearing dark clothes. Turning to face Liam, he took his hand and pulled Liam up on his feet. “Look around, Liam. This is not you,” the man said in a gentle, yet intimidating voice.
Nodding his head, Liam stood with his eyes transfixed on the man. It was clear they knew each other, but I wasn’t sure how.
“Abel,” Liam breathed as he took in the man before him.
“Yes, it is me, Abel. Liam, your punishment to remain on this earth was because you broke a rule. When I saved you years and years ago from dying in that car accident, it was to allow you the opportunity to redeem yourself from the sins and wrongdoings you had done. Your transgressions haunted you and I wanted to give you an opportunity to save your soul. You did great for a few years until you met Nora. Her life was meant to be over the night you decided to give her life again.”
The man paused and smiled down at me. I was too stunned to speak or react. This was all way too much for my mind to handle. Part of me believed I was dreaming, but my mind refused to allow me to believe that.
“When the demons emerged that night, you stood your ground and refused to give them the soul they wanted. The war between the angels and the fallen is one that has gone on since the beginning of time. We should have punished you further for saving Nora, but I am granting you redemption for saving her from them,” he said, as he pointed to the men wearing black coats.
Shaking his head, Liam tried to follow the man’s words. “I don’t understand,” he said.
“Liam, you get an opportunity I don’t offer very often. You may decide here and now; do you want to move on to the afterlife and end your time here on earth, or do you want to be given life back but only temporarily. You would have to begin again as an eighteen-year-old boy, just as you were when you died. You will die an old man and then move on to the afterlife; to heaven. I will only ask you one time to decide or I will decide for you,” he finished as he stepped away from us.
With tears streaming down his face, Liam looked at me as I slowly stood. With a smile etching across his face, he spoke to Abel. “I don’t have to consider it. I want to stay here with Nora. I love her. I always have and always will.”
Stepping to me, Liam wrapped his arms around me and he hugged me as though he had never felt me before.
“What are you doing, Liam?” I asked with a cautious tone.
“I am deciding my own destiny,” he began. “I thought I would never get this moment with you. That is why I left you tonight. I knew this all had to end tonight and I was willing to give my life so that you could keep yours. You deserve happiness and to live and experience all the glorious things in this world. Now, I get to walk that path with you. I am free now.”
“There is one more thing,” Abel said as he turned and faced us again.
“Anything,” Liam stated.
“You must remain in Shady Oaks. Watch over the supernatural residents. Be there to guide them and support them when it is their time to fight those that haunt them, just like you fought Luther and Gideon.”
Nodding his head, Liam smiled. “It would be my pleasure.”
Tears began to stream down my face as I realized that both Liam and I were given a gift many others don’t find. We were granted our lives back.
CHAPTER 16
“Are you cold?” Liam asked, as he handed me a warm mug of hot chocolate.
“No, I am perfect,” I said, as I snuggled deeper into the blanket on his couch. Scooting over, I provided him room to sit next to me.
After Abel granted Liam his life back, he forced us to leave the scene. Liam and I rushed back to his house where we showered and bandaged our wounds. Offering me one of his t-shirts and sweatpants, I changed out of my destroyed prom dress. I was still trying to decide what story I would tell my friends about why both Liam and I left our senior prom and why I will not be coming home tonight, but right now I don’t care.
I have Liam and he has me.
***
In the days that followed, Liam and I concocted a story that we were hit by an oncoming car while trying to cross the street to the Shady Oaks Park. The driver fled the scene or so we told my parents that. My dad was just relieved that I was alive and didn’t really question where my dress was or why I didn’t come home. I guess I dodged one crisis that night.
An anonymous letter was sent to the local police station, explaining that the unidentified men found in the Shady Oak's Park were the men responsible for the murders and destruction throughout our town. Even though the men were found dead, their deaths have been ruled a suicide. The town was relieved to have the terror at bay and Liam and I were glad that he didn’t have to lose himself to get rid of the demons haunting us.
Now, as I stand in my bedroom mirror staring at my reflection I almost don’t recognize the girl staring at me. So much has changed in my life that I feel like I was somehow reborn. Given a gift of a new life and this time, I won’t take it for granted.
“Nora,” are you ready to leave?” my dad calls up at me from downstairs.
Ever since my brush with death, my dad and stepmom have been more attentive to me. At first, it was a strange adjustment to make. I wasn’t sure how to handle their attention. It took time for us to begin to build a relationship, but slowly, we are all trying to make our family work. My dad has even scheduled a family dinner night once a week.
“I will be right there,” I yell back.
Leaving my bedroom, I closed the door behind me as I prepare to close one chapter of my life and begin the next.
***
After dinner I find myself sitting on the small cobblestone bridge that extends over the Shady Oak’s lake. The evening air has a chill to it, but with Liam’s arms wrapped tightly around me, all I feel is warmth.
“How was dinner with your family?” he asks, as we stare out over the horizon. The golden and bronze rays of the setting sun cast a warm shade over the trees in the distance.
“It wasn’t too bad. It’s still a little weird talking to my dad and Victoria, but to be honest, I kind of like it. It feels like forever since I had a family,” I sigh.
“I know what you mean,” Liam says, and I hear a hint of sadness in his voice.
Glancing up at his beautiful face, I smile at him. “You have me now and we are family.”
“Yes, you are right. When you offered to take my place when the dark angels came for us, that just showed how much you truly love me,” he said, with pride and admiration radiating from his eyes as he looked down at me.
“I meant it, too. I would do anything for you. But, we beat them. They won’t hurt us anymore,” I said, feeling proud of our accomplishment.
“My Nora girl, we did it,” he says with a grin.
“Yes we did,” I agree as I throw my arms around his neck and pull him to me. Kissing Liam, I drown out everyone around us and pretended it was just the two of us standing alone in the large auditorium.
In a short matter of time, my life was flipped upside down. I had found a new home in Shady Oaks and in that time, discovered that my world was full with more fantasy and supernatural creatures than I ever could have imagined. Fiction was now reality and there were still secrets left to unfold in this mysterious town of Shady Oaks. But, more importantly, I had learned to live as me, Nora. I had to die to be reborn again. I had to lose one life to gain another. And, I had to lose myself to find the love of my life and the missing piece of my soul. I wasn’t sure what life would hold for us, but as long as Liam and I had one another, we could do anything we wanted. I mean, when demons and death can’t even keep you apart, you know you have finally risen from the darkness and found your way back to the light.
The End
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michelle Areaux resides in a small Kentucky town and enjoys writing tales of romance that includes the bitter and sometimes ugly truth of love, angst, heartache, and desire that all come with falling in love.
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Visit www.michelleareaux.com to learn more about her upcoming projects and releases.
Shady Oaks Series
Want to learn more about the town of Shady Oaks and its fascinating characters? Delve into the series by finding the Shady Oaks teens books on Amazon.
Each book retells and adds a twist on a fairy tale, legend, myth, or paranormal being--because sometimes stories aren’t just tales, but reality.
Visit the website: www.shadyoaksbooks.com
Shady Oaks Series: Out of Darkness Page 12