Crossroads (31 page)

“
Making me crazy for you,”
he said, smiling.

“
How crazy?” I asked,
surprised by his words. I closed the gap between us as I caressed
his hair.

“
You know I won’t be able
to control myself,” he whispered, his eyes closed.

“
Claudia, are you all
right?” My mom knocked softly at my door. “Are you talking to
yourself, or are you on the phone?”

Startled by Mom’s
voice,
Michael disappeared right in front
of my eyes, and I fixed myself to look presentable just in case she
walked in. I ran to the door. “I’m fine, Mom. I’m just talking on
the phone,” I said, hoping she wouldn’t come in for a
chat.

“
Okay, honey. Get some
rest,” she said and walked away.

Feeling extremely relieved, I turned
around and jumped, startled by his sudden reappearance. “You scared
me,” I whispered softly, placing my hand over my heart as it
skipped a beat.

“
Sorry, but I don’t like
being away from you,” he said, placing his hands over my shoulders,
trying to calm my nerves.

I smiled and put my arms around his
neck. “Now, where were we?”

“
Claudia, please keep my
mind at ease and just stay home.”

“
Only if you give me a
kiss,” I said.

“
That’s not fair. You know
I can’t give you just one.”

“
I know,” I said, giving
him a sly smile.

His response was not what I had
expected. “Claudia, I’m being serious. Your life is in grave
danger, more than I feared. I’m going to send Davin to watch you
for now.”

“
Will you be gone long?” I
asked.

“
However long I’m gone, it
will be too long. I’ll worry, but I know you will be in good hands.
I trust Davin, Caleb, and Vivian with my own life. I need to tell
them about you, but only if you are comfortable with
it.”

I had no choice. “Yes, of course. I
completely trust you,” I said.

He embraced me again. “One for the
road,” he said and kissed me intensely, leaving me standing in a
daze, wanting more.

He disappeared into the cloudless
night sky. As much as I hated to see him leave, I knew he felt the
same way too. You’re supposed to be floating in clouds when you’re
in love. How is it possible to love someone and yet feel such pain
at the same time? As I tucked myself into bed, I thought about
Gamma, Claudia, and Sophia, my real mom. I wondered what she had
looked like. I also tried to picture how my dad would have looked,
but I couldn’t. He was a spiritual being; a being I could never
imagine as my dad. So I just closed my eyes.

Chapter 20

“
Hello,
Claudia.”

I was just about to fall asleep when I
was startled by Davin’s greeting. I groggily sat up on my bed.
“Davin,” I said, surprised to see him so soon, even though Michael
had forewarned me that Davin would be watching over me.

“
Sorry, I didn’t mean to
scare you like that,” he said apologetically. “Michael asked me to
look after you. He told us that your father was one of the Royal
Council and that you have the Holy Spirit’s soul. We were in
shock.”

“
Oh,” I said
softly.

“
Don’t worry, we won’t say
anything.”

“
I know. I trust
you.”

“
Something is bothering
you. What’s on your mind?”

“
It’s just that I have so
many questions.”

“
We all do, and I know how
difficult it must be for you,” he said tenderly.

“
It’s hard to believe,” I
said, looking away, still unable to believe it myself. “I feel so
useless.”

“
What do you
mean?”

“
Do all alkins have
powers?” I asked.

“
Depends on what you mean
by power.”

“
I was just wondering why
I’m still me. If I’m who I am supposed to be, why can’t I do
anything special?”

“
Claudia, I don’t know.
Give it some time.”

Davin sat next to me on my bed, trying
to comfort me, but it didn’t work.

“
Did Vivian and Caleb
leave with Michael?” I asked.

“
Yes, but they’ll be
back.”

“
I should get some sleep,”
I mumbled quietly. I didn’t even know if he heard what I said.
“It’s a good thing I don’t have to go to school
tomorrow.”

“
You must be exhausted.
It’s been a long day.”

“
A long week,” I mumbled
again, barely keeping my eyes open.

“
If it’s okay with you,
I’ll be sitting on that chair. I’m supposed to watch you like a
hawk. Michael will have my throat if I leave you even for a
minute.”

“
Sure. Wherever makes you
comfortable,” I said, my eyes still closed.

“
I’ll just read some of
your books or try the computer. Google or something. There are so
many things I need to learn about your world.”

“
Okay then. Good night,
Davin. Do alkins sleep?” I thought the question was silly, but I
had to ask.

“
Let’s just say I had to
before, but since we were sent to Halo City, it has not been a
necessity.”

“
What happens if an alkin
kills an angel?” I asked.

“
I think it’s forgivable
if it’s done under self-defense, don’t you think? Are you trying to
find a way to get rid of Aden, like the rest of us?”

“
It did cross my mind,
although I wouldn’t know how. I don’t know how it could be done.”
Then anger boiled inside me. I didn’t know where this energy was
coming from. I sat up on my bed. “I hate him! I hate him so much
that I wish I could kill him myself! I want to see him suffer as
much as he has made me suffer!” I was full of rage.

“
Whoaaa, Claudia. I’ve
never seen you angry like this. Let’s bring your heart rate down a
notch. Don’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that you’re
thinking of him.”

“
I’m just confused,
frustrated, and angry.”

“
I understand. I guess I
would feel the same if I were in your shoes. But for now, our focus
is to keep you safe. At least now we know for sure why he is after
you.” Davin continued telling me stories that sounded like
whispering voices as I drifted off to sleep.

Beep! Beep! Beep! My alarm clock went
off. Davin frantically tried to turn the alarm off while juggling
it like a hot potato. The alarm clock rang loudly, to the point
that it was annoying, but I was too tired to get out of bed to turn
it off. I motioned for him to come to me, my eyes half
opened.

“
Sorry, I was just playing
with it, and—”

“
Don’t worry, I’m going
back to bed,” I said as I slammed the off button.

“
I could have done that,
but I think I would have broken it,” I heard him say as I dozed off
to sleep again.

When I opened my eyes with ease, I
knew I had a restful night. It took a few seconds to bring me back
to reality as I glanced over to my desk to see Davin posed in
exactly the same position as before I fell asleep, his feet crossed
on top of the desk with his arms resting behind his
neck.

“
Good morning, sleepyhead.
I didn’t know you could sleep that long.”

“
What time is
it?”

“
Time for
dinner.”

I didn’t believe him. “No, seriously,
what time is it?”

“
I am serious. You slept
for eighteen hours.”

Shocked, I sat up so quickly that I
felt a head rush. I placed my hands over my head to stop the room
from spinning.

“
You okay?” he
asked.

“
Yeah. Just a head rush,”
I murmured.

“
It seems that I have that
kind of effect on you.” He grinned.

I smiled back, remembering the first
time we met. He held me so I wouldn’t fall. “Yeah, I guess,” I
replied with a small laugh. “Did my mom come to see me in the
morning?” I asked, worried.

“
Yes, but don’t worry.” He
pointed upward. “The roof.”

“
Thanks,
sorry.”

“
You owe me one or two, or
more,” he said jokingly.

“
I know, someday,” I said.
I knew he was joking, but the truth was that I owed him for many
things. “Did you leave? I mean, did you need to go back?” What I
really wanted to know was if he had a chance to see
Michael.

“
Yes, I felt a bit weak so
I had to go back. Caleb watched over you while you were sleeping.
See, everything turned out fine.” Then he smiled as if he knew what
I really wanted to ask. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see Michael. I don’t
know what he is up to, and he won’t tell us. That’s just the way he
is, always looking after others before himself. All I know is that
when he makes a promise, he’s good for it. Don’t worry; I’m sure
he’s fine. By the way, this thing keeps on shaking.” He handed me
my cell phone.

“
Oh, you don’t know what
it is?”

“
Of course I do. You think
I’m that ancient?” He gave a teasing smile.

“
No, I didn’t mean it that
way.” I could have kicked myself because the last thing I wanted to
do was offend him.

“
I was just kidding. When
I picked up the calls, this thing didn’t answer back.” He looked
confused.

“
Let’s take a look. It’s
actually letting me know that I have text messages. I guess Vivian
didn’t show you?” I questioned.

“
I don’t pay attention to
things we don’t use. Vivian is fascinated by technology, unlike
me,” he said.

“
See, I have two messages.
The first one is from Patty. It says: Sorry about Gamma. How r u?”
I texted her back: Thanx for dropping off my bag. Don’t worry. Text
u later.

The second one was from Kristina. How
r u? Gotta talk about b-day on Fri. What should I wear.
Lol!

“
Human girls, why don’t
you just pick up the phone and talk? Why do you need to make things
complicated?” he laughed, obviously amused.

Our conversation was interrupted by
the vibration of my cell phone. I picked it up. “Hello.”

“
Hello,
Claudia.”

“
Hey,
Kristina.”

“
I just found out. I’m
sooo sorry to hear about Gamma. How are you?” she asked
caringly.

It had been only three days since I
last saw her, but it seemed like I hadn’t spoken to her in years.
“I’m fine,” I said softly.

“
Maggie wanted to call,
but I told her that I would.”

“
It’s all right. Just let
her know I’m fine,” I said.

“
Sure. I know it’s not a
good time, but Ryan’s birthday is this Saturday, remember? Can you
go?”

I wasn’t up for a party, so I tried to
think of an excuse. “I know I promised, but…but I didn’t have time
to buy a gift.”

“
Don’t worry. I bought a
big one. I could say it’s from both of us,” she said. “Usually I
would beg you to come out, but I know you probably don’t feel up to
it. Maybe it will do you some good to see your friends.”

“
Well, I don’t know.” I
was hesitant at first, but she was right, I did want to see my
friends. “I did RSVP to the Evite. I’ll need to ask my
mom.”

From the corner of my eyes, I could
see Davin frowning and shaking his fingers back and forth. He was
mouthing the words, “No, no, no.”

“
I gotta go, Kristina.
Thanks for calling. I’ll call you later.”

“
Are you crazy?” Davin
blurted out as soon as I hung up. “You know I can’t let you go.
Michael will be furious with you and especially with
me.”

“
Calm down, Davin. I
didn’t say I was going to go alone.”

“
Oh.” He calmed down and
then was deep in thought. He gave me a curious look knowing I was
up to something.

“
He said to stay put, but
as long as you’re with me…,” I said, putting thoughts into his
head.

His mouth dropped. Then he gave me a
conniving smile. It didn’t take much to convince Davin.