The Light and Fallen (9 page)

"Go," she repeated. "I'll feel guilty if you
stay."

Lucian hesitated before he reluctantly pushed
his chair back from the table. "Ok." He rested his hand on her head
and smoothed her hair back with his thumb.

Samara continued to stare at the printed
words in front of her and avoided making eye contact as he walked
away. She couldn't let herself look up; she doubted she could
resist the urge to grab him and not let go.

Later that evening Lucian sat on the porch
and flipped through the poetry anthology he had checked out from
the library. A cool breeze crept up his sleeve, and he pulled his
jacket closer around him as he skimmed over the titles of the
poems. He wasn't optimistic about finding something that resonated
with him.

His mind quickly drifted to Samara. He could
imagine her eyes, impossibly dark and framed with long lashes. And
her lips. He closed his eyes and allowed her face to fill his
thoughts. Was this what it felt like to fall in love?

He heard the creak of the screen door and
turned to see Sofia carrying out two oversized mugs on a wooden
tray. She set the tray down on a small side table, and then curled
into a chair opposite him. "Hot chocolate," she said. Lucian could
see tendrils of steam escaping from beneath a cloud of cream. "Try
it," she urged as she claimed one of the mugs for her own. "It's a
secret recipe."

When he wrapped his hands around the mug, its
warmth seeped into his skin. He waited for Sofia to say something
else, but she didn't. Instead she sat quietly and looked out onto
the yard in front of them.

He sipped the chocolate slowly and let its
rich sweetness flood his taste buds. His racing thoughts began to
slow down as he breathed in the velvety fragrance. Birds flirted in
the trees and a few cars hummed past, but otherwise everything was
quiet. His mug was nearly empty when he finally broke the
silence.

"What was it like when you first came to
Earth?"

Sofia continued looking into the yard as she
answered. Every word was measured; he could tell she was choosing
them carefully. "It was very hard. It was during the time the
humans call the Middle Ages. The population was exploding and
people were struggling just to survive. I thought I could help. I
tried, but I failed. I didn't appreciate how complicated humans
could be."

She swirled her mug thoughtfully. "There were
many battles being fought then, all in the name of God. Sometimes
the difference between the Darkness and the Light was hard to
see."

Lucian shifted in his chair. "I'm sorry," he
said.

"Why?" Sofia turned her clear gaze on him.
"Even the most painful experiences have value."

"But why go through that? Why stay? You could
return to the Heavenlies any moment you choose."

She nodded. "That's true. But there are many
things that matter more than my pain, and this life also has much
to give." She set her mug on the tray and clasped her hands around
her knees. "It helps to have a partner."

"When did you meet Duncan?" Lucian asked.

Sofia smiled. "He found me. When the Black
Death struck London I scoured the streets, searching for people too
sick or poor to go to a doctor and tried to care for them. I didn't
catch the plague, but I exhausted myself. I didn't eat or sleep for
nine days before I collapsed in the street. Someone must have
pushed me into the gutter, because that's where Duncan found me. He
picked me up and carried me home.

"He was a blacksmith then, and he gave me his
own bed and slept in the stable. The first time I saw him was three
days later. I woke up and followed the sound of a hammer into his
shop. He was standing with his back to me, and there were sparks
flying all around. He was the most beautiful thing I'd ever
seen."

"When did you know he was one of the
Light?"

"I didn't at first. I don't know if he ever
would've told me. There were fires in the city almost every week
then, and one night he ran into a collapsing building to rescue a
family trapped inside. He was hit by a falling beam. He dragged
himself out of the fire and managed to get to me, but his body was
too damaged.

"Watching him die was the most horrible thing
I've ever done, but then he revealed himself to me. I swore that as
long as we both remained on this Earth we would stay together, and
we have."

"Wow." Lucian sat back in his chair and
looked at Sofia's serene face. "That's quite a story."

"Love stories usually are. Aren't you finding
that out for yourself?"

"Am I?" Lucian wondered aloud. "I don't know
what to think."

"Sometimes our heart knows the way when our
minds feel lost."

"How could it be?" he protested. "I've seen
eternity, all of it, from the beginning. Samara is just a simple
human girl, but when she touches me…." His voice faded as he
remembered the feel of her hand on his.

"When she touched me, it felt like the world
wasn't even real. Nothing was real but her breath and skin and
eyes. She was all that mattered."

Sofia laughed softly. "Waking up to emotion
is something all of us have had to deal with. It's not easy. As
soon as you crossed over your detachment began to fade. That's an
unavoidable part of living on the Earth."

"Isn't that dangerous?" he asked. "The last
thing I need is to lose sight of who I really am."

"You're right," Sofia agreed, "it is
dangerous. But, maybe there's more to you than you know."

"Okay," Carin demanded a few days later.
"I've tried to be nice and polite, but I cannot stand it one second
more."

She glanced down, flipped open the folder in
front of her, and started writing as Mrs. Ferrison passed by,
highlighting words at random. As soon as the coast was clear, she
dropped the highlighter and stared at Samara. "What is going
on?"

Samara blushed. She flipped open her own
folder and hid behind it. "I don't know what you mean," she said
innocently.

"Of course you do! Lucian didn't talk to
anyone for weeks, and then all of a sudden you're coming into P.E.
together
every day
. Not one day. Not two. Every single day
for the past two weeks.

"And," she crowed, "you're happy! Something
has
to be going on between you two."

"Because I'm happy?" Samara fought the urge
to giggle at the frustration on Carin's face.

"Yes! You've been nervy and mopey and dark
since the first day of school. Now you're all glowey and smiley,
and you're wearing perfume.

"Please," Carin begged, "please, please,
please give me something!"

Samara watched Carin squirm in her chair for
a few seconds before she gave in. "We've been meeting in the
library during lunch. He's helping me study for Advanced Physics.
We both have P.E. right after that, so he walks me to class."

"And…," Carin pried.

"And I really enjoy spending time with him,
and he does make me really happy."

"And you love him! I knew it!" The words
tumbled out of Carin's mouth. "You have to ask him out!"

"I didn't say I love him," Samara
protested.

"Well do you?"

"I don't know. Unlike some people," she said,
staring pointedly at Carin, "I don't fall in love every other week.
Or ever."

"Never?" Carin squawked loudly.

Mrs. Ferrison shushed them from across the
office, and Samara ducked her head behind her folder. "No," she
whispered.

"That is so sad!"

She looked around the edge of her folder and
saw Carin shaking her head sorrowfully. "Why? Most girls date a lot
of guys they think they love, but that can't be the real deal. The
high point of a love can't be a Friday night keg party. Right?"

When Carin gave her a look of total
confusion, Samara realized she was probably asking the wrong
person. "Never mind. All I'm saying is that I don't want to sort of
fall in love with fifty different people. I'd rather find one
person and fall completely, deeply, in over my head."

"That is so beautiful," Carin sniffed.
"Really.

"Now, let's make a game plan. How are you
going to ask Lucian out?"

"Honestly," Samara laughed, "were you even
listening?"

"Yes!" Carin huffed. "I was listening. I
heard you say you've been waiting for one great love, and now I'm
telling you that you should ask Lucian out!"

She whipped out her planner and ran her
finger across the calendar. "Homecoming is in two weeks. Do you
have a date?"

"No."

"Well, there you go." She snapped the planner
shut in satisfaction. "Seize the moment. Carpe Diem and all
that."

"No! I'm not going, and I'm not asking him
out."

"Okay," Carin sighed dramatically. "If you're
determined not to pursue the greatest love affair in the entire
history of West Wimberley, then I can't force you. I'm going with
Ronnie Batres. He has the
most
amazing car. It doesn't top
that Mustang Jack Stone drives, but a girl has to make some
concessions, and-"

She broke off mid sentence and stared over
the top of Samara's head. Samara wondered what could possibly shut
Carin up, but before she could turn around she heard a familiar
voice. "Good morning ladies," Jack said as he leaned casually over
the counter. "Are my ears burning?"

Samara waited for Carin to answer, but for
once she seemed unable to produce any sound. "Hello Jack," Samara
said, turning to look at him. "What are you doing in the
office?"

"Ms. Bellise sent me to get a few copies." He
pointed to Mrs. Ferrison, who was running pages through a scanner.
"So, what are you talking about?"

"Homecoming," Samara said grudgingly. "And
your car."

"Intriguing," he said.

"Do you have a date yet?" he asked Carin. She
still seemed unable to speak, but she nodded her head
vigorously.

"And how about you?" Jack asked. He looked
away from Carin and turned the flood of his attention onto
Samara.

Despite her lack of interest in him, his
closeness still made her pulse race erratically. "I don't think I'm
going," she said. "I really don't enjoy overblown social functions.
Or dancing."

"Come on," Jack cajoled. "I don't have a date
yet either. Come with me so I won't be lonely."

Samara snorted. "Somehow I doubt there is
any
chance of that. I thought you were dating Amber."

"That was yesterday." Jack leaned closer, and
she felt her mouth go dry. "Today I'm asking you."

Samara turned around in her chair and took a
deep breath. She didn't even like Jack, but his magnetism was still
unnerving. "I don't think so, but thanks for asking."

She could feel his eyes boring into the back
of her head and willed herself not to look at him. Mrs. Ferrison
passed next to her and gave Jack a stack of copies. "Here you go
dear. Now you remind Ms. Bellise that she needs to take care of
this before class, all right."

Mrs. Ferrison puttered off to answer the
phone and left the three of them alone. Jack stared at Samara a few
seconds longer before he picked the copies up off the counter. "If
you change your mind, you know where to find me."

Samara waited until she heard the office door
shut to breathe a deep sigh of relief. "Carin!" she exclaimed.
"What is wrong with you?"

Carin blushed. "I'm sorry! He's never really
talked to me before, except to ask me your schedule. I think my
brain went into shock or something."

"I guess it did," Samara teased. "I think
that's the longest you've ever not talked."

Carin looked shell shocked. "I can't believe
you turned him down. Again! I know you're all about Lucian but
still…."

She looked at Samara wide eyed. "He looks at
you like you're the only person in the world."

"Yeah," Samara agreed, "he does. He looks at
a lot of people that way. I think that's why he's so
dangerous."

"I'm glad you invited me over." Lucian
glanced around Samara's small kitchen and tried to decide where to
put his books. Her house was the first one he'd been invited to,
and it was very different from Duncan and Sofia's. All of the
furniture was painted with bright splashes of color, and every
surface was covered with a fine dusting of flour.

"I figured it was time we got out of the
library."

Samara grabbed a cloth and swiped it across
the table. "Just overlook the mess. My mom's going through a bit of
a baking phase at the moment, and she's not so great at putting
things away.

"The good news is that we have snacks." She
reached into the microwave and pulled out a plate stacked with
cookies. "It's kind of weird, but if you knew how things have been
you'd understand. The baking is a definite improvement."

She grabbed two glasses from the counter
beside the sink and started rinsing them out. "Are you okay with
water?" she asked. "You can check the fridge, but I don't think we
have anything else."

"Sure," Lucian murmured distractedly. The
light streaming in through the kitchen window framed the delicate
curve of her neck. She was leaning over the sink, her face was half
hidden by her hair. He couldn't help but be transfixed; she was so
beautiful.

She filled the glasses with water, and he
quickly looked away before she caught him staring. She handed him a
glass and perched on the edge of the table. "Okay," she said. "Are
you ready to explain the secrets of the universe?"

"What?" For a confused moment Lucian wondered
if she had somehow discovered the truth. Could she know?

Samara rustled her class notes. "Bell's
Theorem."

She skimmed the page looking for the exact
definition and started to read in a stilted voice. "Bell's Theorem
of Interconnectedness says no local theory of hidden variables can
accurately predict quantum actions." She dropped the page and it
floated back down to the table. "I have no idea what that
means."