Crossroads (5 page)

Unexpectedly, he swiftly turned to me
and said, “You shouldn’t follow me, and you shouldn’t be here. I
don’t care how you get back, but it’s too dangerous here and humans
are not allowed. You must go. Do you understand?”

I was about to give it to him with my
words, but his warning had frightened me. If I was human, what was
he? Reluctantly I nodded yes, but I really didn’t understand. Who
was this guy? Why was he here if not to help me? When he noticed
that I stood motionless, he said, “You give me no choice.” Then he
shouted, “Davin, I know you’re listening! Get her out
now!”

Before I even had a chance to stop
him, I woke up back in my bed. What the heck! The dream was so
bizarre. I was extremely confused, and I didn’t know if there was a
rhyme or reason for any of it. It seemed so real, but clearly it
had all been a dream.

A smile crossed my lips as I vividly
recalled the man I saw. I couldn’t forget his face. The curvature
of his jaw, his smooth brown hair, and those eyes, so inviting—I
could have stared at him forever. His voice was so intoxicating. It
was distinct. I could hear it repeatedly telling me that I needed
to leave. But why, I wondered. Then I thought about his lack of
people skills, and I felt really annoyed with him. Oh, forget it,
he’s not even real. It was just a dream, I thought to myself as I
looked at the clock.

“
Oh, shoot.” I dashed out
of bed when I realized I would be late for school if I didn’t
hurry. Almost falling flat on my face putting on my jeans, I
promised myself that this wouldn’t happen again. I hated being
late, especially for school.

As I entered my English class, the
second bell rang. Everyone was already seated, and I noticed
Kristina looking at me. Her seat was two rows to the right of
me.

“
Hi,” I whispered, and
collapsed on my hard wooden seat, letting out a heavy
sigh.

“
You okay?” she
whispered.

“
A long story, I’ll tell
you later,” I whispered back. But there was nothing to tell because
it was just a dream. How silly it would be for me to even repeat
any of it. I reached into my backpack to take out my book. Then I
realized I had forgotten to bring my lunch. Great! Now what? Forced
to eat the nasty cafeteria food. That’s just great! That’s what I
get for daydreaming about an imaginary guy. Without realizing it, I
slid down further into my seat, but sat up quickly when Mr. Moore
looked my way, giving me that “pay attention” look.

It was extremely difficult to
concentrate in class. I kept thinking about my dream, even though I
told myself that I wouldn’t. Periodically, a blurred vision of his
face would pop up. If only he had been nice, it would have been a
perfect dream. Then out of the blue, I remembered his comment about
me being a human. Wasn’t he human too? It just didn’t make any
sense. My friend Kristina thought I was coming down with the flu
from the way I looked. Not only was I exhausted, but also deep in
thought, and I was walking around like a zombie.

“
Are you okay, Claudia?”
Kristina asked after school. “You look like you’re half
asleep.”

“
I’m just sooo pooped,” I
said as I lay my head on her shoulder for a second. “I don’t
understand.” I yawned. “I slept last night, I think. Why do I feel
like I didn’t sleep a wink? Maybe I am coming down with something.
Ahhhh…” I yawned again.

“
Well, try not to get
sick. Ryan’s eighteenth birthday party is four weeks from
Saturday.”

“
That’s a month away. I
have time to get sick,” I said jokingly. “Counting down till the
party?” I asked, nudging her on the shoulder.

“
Heck, yeah! It’s at the
Grand View Hotel. Who has a birthday party at the Grand View
Hotel
?
For a
wedding, I would understand.
It’s a
five-star hotel. I heard he invited practically the whole senior
class. Can you imagine how much the whole thing would cost? I guess
if my parents were rich like his, I would have it there too. But
you already knew that.

“
I only dated him for six
months,” I said, implying that I didn’t know much about
him.

“
You got the Evite, didn’t
you? I mean, you did break his heart, and I didn’t know if he would
invite you,” she said, her eyes uncertain.

“
I got the Evite. Don’t
worry. Anyway, we’re friends. Party at the Grand View Hotel…that’s
one party I wouldn’t miss…though I really don’t know how to dress
cocktail,” I said.

“
Good. I’ll tell Maggie
you’re going. We were debating whether you would go or not
’cause…you know,” she said, with a raised eyebrow.

“
Talking behind my back,”
I teased.

“
Always,” she said with a
smile.

“
No wonder my ears were
burning,” I said.

“
Your ears will be more
than burning if you back out,” she said in a half serious, half
teasing tone.

“
Don’t worry. I’ll be
there even if I’m sick,” I said as I closed my eyes, hoping that it
would be just enough for my eyes to rest before I opened them up
again. Then I yawned.

“
Okay then. Now that we
got that straightened out, see ya tomorrow,” she said as she
yawned. “Stop yawning, you’re making me yawn,” she scolded
playfully.

We both laughed. “Same time, same
place,” I said, waving good-bye and walking away.

“
Don’t forget to RSVP!” I
heard her shout from a distance.

“
It’s a month away,” I
murmured under my breath, knowing it was pointless to say it out
loud since I could no longer see her.

Ryan was my first boyfriend; the first
guy I had held hands with and the first guy I had kissed. He was
tall, good-looking, and mega-rich. Any girl would have loved to be
in my shoes—except for Patty. She thought he wasn’t good enough for
me. I told her that she needed to get to know him better, and that
being rich didn’t automatically make him a snob. But I guess that
wasn’t the reason she disliked him, and I didn’t see him the same
way. She had more experience with boys than I did, so I figured she
had her reasons. But I continued to date him anyway.

We started having problems when Ryan
started getting more serious. Not only was I not ready to move
forward, I had also realized that he didn’t make me feel the way a
girl should feel when she’s in love. Like how the guy in my dream
made me feel, I thought unexpectedly. I quivered from the sudden
feeling I experienced, the fluttering butterflies everywhere, like
when I first looked into his eyes. I had never believed in love at
first sight; maybe I did now, even with his bad manners and all. I
wasn’t sure what it was that I felt, but I knew it was something I
had never felt before. Regardless, it didn’t matter because it was
just a dream, after all. These feelings confirmed that breaking up
with Ryan was the right thing to do. It was best for both of
us.

After school, I headed straight for
the refrigerator. I grabbed something to snack on, and sure enough,
there it was. The note read, “Working late tonight, left dinner in
the fridge.” Mom never failed to leave me a note letting me know
whether she’d be working late or not. Home alone, I thought. It
never used to bother me, but for some reason, it did tonight. I
couldn’t quite put my finger on the reason why, but I was guessing
it had something to do with the dream I had last night.

All was quiet in the house, until the
sound of my cell phone made me jump. The caller ID read Lucy Reed.
Lucy Reed was Gamma’s real name, but as a toddler I was unable to
say “Grandma”, so she became Gamma to me.

“
Hello, Gamma,” I answered
excitedly.

“
Hello, Claudia. I haven’t
heard your voice in days, so I decided to call you and see how you
are doing. Is it a good time to talk?” she asked.

“
It’s fine, Gamma. I’m
fine. How are you?”

“
I’m fine, honey. Don’t
worry about me. You will come and visit me on your birthday, won’t
you?”

“
Yes, of course. I’ll be
there,” I said.

“
Okay, honey. I just
called to say hello. I’ll see you soon.”

“
Good night, Gamma,” I
said, and blew her a kiss through the phone.

After hanging up the phone, I
completed my homework and ate dinner. I decided to head to bed a
bit earlier than usual because I felt so drained. Just snuggling
inside my bed was all I could think of. As exhausted as I was,
though, I was fighting sleep. But no matter how hard I tried, I
couldn’t resist the need. I had no choice; my eyes were so heavy
that I could no longer control them. One lid at a time, they slowly
closed, and I felt my whole body relax. Please don’t dream was my
last thought before I drifted off to the unknown world once
again.

Chapter 4

Back on the same road, I stood there
alone. I decided to sit and just wait. Why did I keep dreaming
about this place? There had to be a reason, seeing as this place
was consuming my dream world. Yet, what was the point of being here
when I couldn’t get any answers? Would I see her, or him, again?
Perhaps someone new? Not knowing what to expect was a bit
frightening, but a sense of excitement began to seep through my
bones as I saw someone walking in the distance. My heart was
pounding rapidly; I had almost forgotten how good-looking he
was.

All I could remember was this strange
queasiness in my stomach, but as he got closer, I saw that it
wasn’t him. This man’s features were very similar to the guy I had
met before, sharing much of the same beauty. He had a similar body
frame, but his hair was a lighter shade of brown, and his eyes were
emerald green. I felt disappointed and saddened because he had lied
to me. He had told me that he was the only one here, but seeing
this new guy just confirmed that there were others. As the stranger
approached, I prepared myself for rudeness, like the last guy. But
instead, I was surprised by his amiable voice.

“
Hello, my name is Davin,”
he said cheerfully. I was relieved by the sweetness in his voice,
and as I tried to remember why that name sounded familiar, he spoke
again. “So you’re back.”

Back? How did he know I was here
before? I wasn’t sure how to answer his question. “Honestly, I
don’t know how I ended up here. The last thing I remember is
falling asleep, and now I’m here.”

As I was talking, he started circling
around me, eyeing me slowly and intently from head to toe. Did I
say something wrong? I was starting to feel more and more
uncomfortable; it seemed he was staring endlessly. Did he have to
make it that obvious? He was totally checking me out. Oh my gosh!
What a player. I should have known from his friendly approach. When
he finally stopped, I expected him to say some stupid pick-up line,
but instead, he just smiled.

I crossed my arms with irritation.
“Excuse me, but are you looking for something?” I finally got the
courage to ask this unnerving stranger.

His right hand was under his chin and
his eyes were elsewhere in thought. He finally murmured something
to himself, just loud enough that I could hear. “So you are a human
after all. How is this possible?”

“
Of course I’m human. What
else would I be?” I snapped. “Do I have horns coming out of my head
or wings behind my back?” I asked sarcastically.

His eyes fixed on me. “Ummm…,” he said
with a puzzled looked on his face, as if he was searching for
words. Now he looked confused.

Our conversation was getting us
nowhere. I had to be direct and to the point. “Let me get this
straight. If you are calling me human, then what are you?” I asked,
regretting my question almost instantly, out of fear of what his
answer might be.

“
I’m what you would call
an angel,” he said proudly, without any hesitation.

It was hard for me to take in what he
had just said. Was this guy for real? Oh great, now I am stuck who
knows where, and this guy thinks he’s an angel. I guess it is
possible. After all, if this is just a dream, then it can be
whatever I want it to be, right? People have strange dreams all the
time, and they don’t necessarily have to have any meaning. Yeah,
that’s all it is. All of this rambling in my head was in an effort
to convince myself that I wasn’t going crazy.