Crossroads (30 page)

“
Can we stop by Gamma’s
room?” I asked timidly.

“
Yes, of course! I’m so
sorry. We were so worried about your safety that we didn’t even
think about your Gamma. We didn’t mean to be insensitive like
that,” Michael said apologetically.

“
No. Not insensitive. Very
thoughtful,” I quickly replied.

I was just ecstatic that they were
here with me again. Davin squeezed in between Michael and me and
placed his arms around our shoulders. “Sorry about your Gamma. I
don’t know if I ever lost anyone in my human life, but I can only
imagine. It must be extremely difficult,” he said.

“
Thank you,” I
replied.

“
Room five twelve?” Davin
asked.

“
Yes,” I said.

As we approached the room, there was a
nurse that I recognized sitting behind her desk, smiling. As soon
as she realized we were headed toward the room, she stopped
us.

“
Excuse me, but that room
is off-limits,” she said firmly, blocking the door.

“
Nurse…” Michael quickly
looked at her name tag. “Sara. Her grandmother just passed away
about an hour ago. I would really appreciate it if you would allow
us to have some peaceful moments to honor her grandmother’s
passing,” Michael said persuasively, giving her his irresistible
smile.

The nurse just stared at him. “I don’t
know. They have already taken her body.” She smiled back
flirtatiously.

“
Would it be all right to
step inside for a bit?” Michael asked.

The nurse was hesitant. Michael leaned
in closer to her. A twinge of jealousy struck me, and I didn’t like
the feeling at all.

“
Please,” he said with
hardly a gap between the two of them.

She whispered, “Okay, but please make
it quick. I’m not supposed to let you in there.”

“
You won’t even know we
were here. We’ll make it quick,” Michael said and winked at
her.

Flirting at such a somber moment was
inappropriate, and I was jealous, though I knew he was doing it for
me. I was grateful that I would be able to pay my last respects.
Instead of putting her under a trance-like state, he was able to
persuade her without using his angel power.

Nurse Sara motioned her head toward
the door without a word and backed away. I walked in first, but I
could see through the window that she was smiling and walking
sideways back to her desk.

Michael cleared his throat as Caleb
walked in. There was no evidence that Gamma had been in here. Her
body had been taken away, and only memories and unanswered
questions lingered. Feeling hopeless and confused by her final
words, I was lost and heartbroken.

I couldn’t stop the tears from
falling. I didn’t want to cry in their presence, but I could not
control my emotions. Michael wiped my tears and kissed both of my
hands. “That’s all right, Claudia, let it all out,” he said
tenderly. “I know you’ll miss her, but remember she will always be
in your heart. More importantly, you will remember her love and the
memories you have created together.”

Immediately I was comforted by his
words. I had no right to complain about memories when they couldn’t
remember anything. Then I remembered Gamma’s words. She was an
Earth angel. I couldn’t wait any longer. “I have something to tell
you. Gamma told me…she...” The words would not come out. What was I
afraid of? I trusted them completely. “She told me that she was an
Earth angel,” I blurted out quickly so that I couldn’t take it
back.

Vivian, Caleb, and Davin stared at me
in shock.

“
Your Gamma was an Earth
angel?” Vivian asked as she walked closer to the bed.

“
She said many things to
me. I don’t remember everything, but yes,” I replied and covered my
eyes with my hands, feeling tormented by the fact that I had the
Holy Spirit’s soul. Should I tell them now or later? When I tell
them, will they look at me differently? Many thoughts ran through
my mind and I decided it was best to tell Michael first.

“
It’s all right. You don’t
have to tell us right now,” Michael said, giving them a hard stare.
“Claudia and I will talk after I take her home.”

“
Did you text her,
Vivian?” Michael asked, changing the subject.

I knew Michael intentionally changed
the subject so I wouldn’t have to answer any more of their
questions. Texting reminded me of my phone so I tapped my pockets,
and sure enough, it was gone.

“
Yes, I texted Claudia’s
mom to let her know that she was on her way home,” Vivian said,
handing me my phone.

“
You texted my mom?” I
asked in surprise.

“
You dropped it upstairs,
and Michael asked me to text your mom so she wouldn’t worry. You
had several missed calls from her.”

“
Thanks,” I said and gave
her a quick smile.

“
Anytime, it’s quite fun,”
she said.

“
Thank you,” Michael said
quickly. “She’s had enough for one day. Let’s get her home
safely.”

They flew alongside Michael as he held
me in his arms. When we reached my house, Michael waited for me in
my bedroom while the alkins sat on the roof. I ran inside the front
door. “Mom!” I called.

Without a word, she embraced me, and
tears ran down her face. “Oh, Claudia, I can’t believe she is
really gone. Are you all right, honey? I was on my way back to see
Gamma when I got a flat tire. I tried to call you. I would have
been there with you. Since I couldn’t reach you, I called the
hospital, and they told me she’d passed away. I wanted to be there.
I’m so sorry I wasn’t there with you. Since you were no longer at
the hospital, I came straight here.”

“
It’s all right, Mom,” I
said, holding her tightly as tears ran down my face.

“
Did she wake up at all?
Did she say anything?”

“
No,” I lied. “She didn’t
say anything. She was sleeping peacefully.”

I would have said anything to help
ease her pain. Suddenly she had a blank look. “I can’t believe
she’s gone. It’s like a dream,” she whispered.

I knew what she meant. Gently I placed
my hands on her arms to guide her to the sofa. “Sit down, Mom. I
can’t believe it either, but I know she wouldn’t want us to be like
this. She would want us to rejoice in her life.” I wasn’t sure what
I was saying, but it seemed to work.

“
You’re right, honey.” She
paused and stroked my hair. She looked at me tenderly.

It didn’t matter whether she was my
biological mom or not. She was my mom, the one who had raised me
and took care of me when I was sick, the one who loved me, and the
one who was here with me now. But knowing all that, a part of me
couldn’t help but look at her differently. I wanted this feeling to
go away. So I told myself at that instant that even though my life
seemed like a lie, it was real because I was living it. I had to
put all the secrets aside and continue from where I had left
off.

“
I don’t know what I would
do without you. I can’t believe how much you have grown. You know
that she loved you as if you were her own grandchild. She would
have done anything for you,” she said.

I nodded, unable to speak, for fear of
uncontrollable tears. Mom had no idea how right she was. Gamma had
died to protect me.

She changed the subject. “Before I
forget, I’ve called the principal, and you don’t have to go to
school this week.”

“
Oh,” I said in surprise
and absolute appreciation. “I can use the rest.”

“
Good, that’s what I
thought. I know you’re exhausted. Get some rest. I almost
forgot…Patty dropped off your duffel bag. I put it in your
room.”

“
Thank you,” I said and
kissed her on the cheek. Then I anxiously headed toward my room. As
I quickened my pace, so did my heartbeat, for I knew Michael was
waiting for me in my bedroom. He was staring at the moon, head
tilted, deep in thought. He turned to look at me, and at that
moment all I could do was melt and let the troubles disappear. I
didn’t know what came over me. Without hesitation, I embraced him
and then let out a heavy sigh.

“
I don’t blame you,” he
said. “You’ve been through so much!” Safe in his arms, I let my
guard down as uncontainable tears ran down my face.

“
Sorry,” Michael said. “It
must be hard for you. Let it all out. I’m right here.”

“
I can’t believe she’s
gone,” my voice choked, desperately trying to hold back the
tears.

He held my face and gently wiped my
tears. He was searching for words. “She’ll always be with
you.”

“
I know,” I said, thinking
that it was a good time as any to let him know what Gamma had said.
“Michael, I need to tell you what Gamma told me.”

“
Okay, I’m listening.” He
looked concerned as he led me to the edge of my bed.

“
She told me that my
mother’s death was not an accident.”

“
Claudia,” he called my
name with a perplexed look, knowing my mom was right outside the
door.

“
It sounds bizarre, but
let me finish. Sophia, my birth mom, not my mom out there, had a
relationship with an angel, but she didn’t know he was an angel.
She died to protect me…and…the soul of the Holy Spirit.” I was
rambling so fast out of confusion, and I didn’t know if he
understood anything I was trying to tell him.

“
I’m trying to follow, but
I’m not sure what you are trying to tell me.” Michael looked
confused.

Feeling nervous, I got up and paced
back and forth, trying to find the right words. Why couldn’t I just
say it, plain and simple? I was afraid of what he might say or do
because I knew it would change things for better or worse—mostly
for worse. Telling him would make it all too real and I wished with
everything I had that it wasn’t true.

“
To make a long story
short, I think,” I said and walked toward the window, “Michael, I
have the soul of the Holy Spirit. It’s in me.”

He took a moment to respond. “Not that
I don’t believe you, but how could that be? Margaret sounded so
sure that they had taken all of Isaiah’s descendants.”

“
Gamma told me that my
father was one of God’s first angels.”

Michael looked stunned at first, and
then he looked terrified. “Royal Council,” he said quietly. “How
could that be?” He paused, thinking; his eyes flickered here and
there as if he was putting missing pieces together. “Your mother
asked Gamma to hide you from Aden. The Royal Council doesn’t know a
child exists.” He looked straight at me. “Every hundred years, a
group of Royal Council enters your world to determine the fate of
humanity. They stay for a short time, living among humans,
determining if apocalypse is needed. One of them had a forbidden
affair. This is the only explanation. Aden knew all along. He had
to have known. He was waiting for you to become an adult so that
you could give your soul to him freely. This all started close to
your birthday. Aden must have known before or after you were born,”
he said, sounding extremely troubled.

Then, without another word, he stood
next to me and gently held me in his arms. His wings found their
way around me; he seemed to do this when he was in protective mode.
I didn’t mind it at all. The warm, secure feeling I felt from it
eased my fears; it seemed to have a hypnotic effect.

“
Don’t tell anyone. I need
to figure out what we need to do. I don’t want Phillip to know. I’m
afraid he will do something I will not agree with, like tell the
Royal Council. Your life is in great danger, more than I had
anticipated. I need to leave for a little while. I’ll ask Davin to
watch over you.”

“
I don’t want this. I
don’t want it to be true. I’m really scared.” I pressed my head
deeper into his chest.

“
I knew there was
something bothering you besides Gamma’s death, but I waited for you
to tell me when you were ready. It will be all right, Claudia. I’m
here,” he said softly and held me tighter. “Aden killed Gamma
because Gamma was an Earth angel who was protecting you. It was
Gamma who pulled you back from the Crossroads, wasn’t
it?”

“
Yes,” I confirmed. “She
stopped monitoring my visits because she thought I had stopped
going there, but something always pulled me there.”

“
Also, Aden wouldn’t have
done the things he had been doing for a mere human. Now that I have
all the facts, I need to leave for a while. I hate to leave you,
but I need answers. I’m asking you to find a way to stay home until
I come back.”

“
My mom already arranged
it so that I don’t have to go to school this week,” I
said.

He stood tall, towering over me,
looking down into my eyes. “Good! Just stay put. Do you think you
can do that for me?” he asked sternly.

“
Yes,” I said, smiling
into his dazzling eyes. I became lost again. Michael looked
embarrassed; I had never seen him blush like that before. He
laughed softly and brushed his hair back.

“
You’re doing it again,”
he said.

“
What am I
doing?”