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Justin was probably a nice guy. A nice, human guy. Way better for her than me.

Right?

For some reason it bugged me too much. That’s about the time I decided to go visit the two.

I made sure I was invisible. Sure, if Hannah was looking for me, she would have been able to see through the invisibility, but only if she was looking. She wasn’t. There they were in the parking lot, sitting in his Dodge Charger. Nice car. At least, I would have thought so if Hannah hadn’t been in it with him. I sat on the trunk of the car, silently listening in to their conversation.

Justin had his arm around her. “So how about tonight I come by your place and we study together for that Spanish test?”

Hannah gracefully pulled out from under his embrace. My heart skipped a little – or at least it would have, had it been beating and what not. She wasn’t
that
into him. Good. “I don’t know, Jus, I promised my dad I’d do game night with him and the rest of the family tonight. I blew them off last week.”

Justin laughed, but it wasn’t a nice laugh. It was one that made fun of what Hannah had said. I bristled. “You’re sixteen. Why do you need to play board games like you’re ten still?”

Hannah was defensive. “It’s family time, that’s all. Tonight was Nick’s turn to pick.”

Nick was Hannah’s eight-year-old brother. I’d seen him. He didn’t have a Guard or Guardian yet. Some people received them when they were born, others on their thirteenth birthday. It never really made much sense to me on the timing, but it had to do with their soul category. I’d begun guarding Hannah at thirteen. I heard Hannah’s hand grab the door handle to get out.

“Hannah, come on, don’t go. I’m sorry. I won’t say anything else. Let’s go to the bluffs for a little bit and study before your game night.” Justin’s intentions were clear as day to me, but I didn’t know if Hannah could tell.

I didn’t like his intentions.

It didn’t seem like Hannah did, either. “No, Jus, I don’t want to.”

Justin grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward him when she went to leave. “Hannah, I’m tired of you playing around. If you liked me, you’d go with me.”

It looked like she was trying to pull away, but Justin was too strong. “Then I don’t like you.”

That was it. He yanked her over to him and pulled her into a forced embrace. “Look, Hannah. I know you like me. I’ve heard the other girls talk. Why don’t you just admit it?”

“Because you’re a dick,” I said as I opened his driver side door and yanked him out of the car.

“Who are you?”

I stared him down. “Does it matter? Leave the girl alone. She doesn’t want you. Get over it.”

“No, it doesn’t matter,” he murmured, completely entranced. “I’m over it.”

I smiled and let him go. “Good. Now drive out to the bluffs on your own and study.”

He nodded incoherently. “Study. Bluffs. Yeah.”

When I turned to walk away, Hannah was there, staring up at me. I smiled my Hollywood smile. “You’re welcome.”

“I don’t need your help.”

“Really? Looked like you did from my angle. That’s three now. You’re a trouble magnet.”

She was obviously flustered. She ran her hand through her hair, then looked back up at me. “Why do you even care? What does it matter to you if that guy was giving me a hard time? I thought you were just here to save my life or whatever.”

I opened and closed my mouth. She was right. “Good question.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re weird.”

“You’re a spazz. So what?”

She laughed nervously. I could tell she was warring with herself. Before she could walk away, I offered something I knew better than offering. “How are you getting home now that I’ve ruined your plans?”

“You own a car?”

“No. I was just wondering if you wanted to walk home. You’re only a couple blocks away.”

She looked around and swung her arms nervously. “I guess that’d be okay. You’ve got wings, though,” she said as she walked toward me, hand extended. “Why don’t we just –”

I jumped back from her like she had the plague. “Uh, no. I can’t do that. Frequent flyer miles are non-transferrable, all that jazz.”

It sounded lame. I could tell she thought it was.

Her face fell a bit, but she pulled it back into a smile. “Alright, fair enough. So how was your first day of school?”

EIGHT

She fell into an easy conversation as we walked, and it was amazing how nice it was to talk to her. Her hair was pulled into a low ponytail at the base of her neck, and it swayed when she walked. She smiled the whole way home. That is, until I mentioned Justin.

“So, I know it’s none of my business, but do you like Justin?”

Her jaw line clenched tight, and I wondered what she was thinking. A small smile played across her lips when she finally responded. “I don’t know. Why does it matter to you?”

Part of me wondered if she was playing, but I couldn’t be sure. Girls were like jigsaw puzzles. I opened my mouth to speak, but closed it again. After a minute of thought, I scrunched my eyebrows together like a dork and shook my head. “I guess it really doesn’t. Just general conversation.”

We were standing on her front porch, looking everywhere but at each other. Her perfume was strong, and my urge to touch her was becoming overwhelming. This was so dumb. Owen would catch me, and I would be in for it.

“We’re here,” I pronounced lamely. Everything sounded so much better in my head before I opened my mouth.

Her smile broadened. “Yep, we’re here.”

She was so blasé about it all. Part of me wondered if she thought she was still making it all up. Hannah began again, putting the palm of her hand out and letting it hang there. I looked at it longingly. “So, my family is having a game night tonight.”

“Yeah, I heard that back at school.”

She blushed. “It wasn’t my idea.”

“Wouldn’t matter if it was.”

She smiled at me. “You’re really nice for being damned.”

“Um, thanks?”

We both laughed nervously. “Well, I mean it’s a family night thing, but if you want to come, you’re more than welcome to. It’d be more fun if I had someone to beat in Monopoly.”

Was she seriously inviting me to the house? I smiled, but then reined myself in. “Yeah, I probably shouldn’t. It’s not really appropriate. I’m sorry.”

“So why ask if I like Justin, if you don’t want to hang out?”

“I don’t know. I’m sorry. I’ve got to go. Have fun tonight.”

She nodded, then smiled. “Will you be watching?”

“Of course.”

“Well, if you change your mind, the offer will stand.”

I bit my tongue and forced a smile before I turned and bolted. God, I probably looked like a weirdo.

She called out to me before I could make a clean getaway. “Hey, Levi?”

I stopped on a dime and turned to face her again. “Yeah?”

“Do you need to study for the Spanish test at all?”

I waggled my eyebrows. “I thought that was your date with Justin.”

“Oh, shut up. I should be done with the game night by nine. That’s Nick’s bedtime. I’ll be here if you want to study together.”

She’d pursued me enough. I caved. “Sounds good to me.”

She bit her lip. There was definitely something going on in her head. I opened my hands. “I’m an open book. What are you thinking?”

“Is it normal, you know, for angels or Guards or whatever you are to hang out with the people they’re supposed to take care of?”

I didn’t want to answer that. Not now. Not ever. That would scare her away for sure. I shrugged. “Not sure anyone has ever wanted to.”

It wasn’t a lie. I hadn’t ever asked another Guard if they wanted to hang out with their Call. There were rules against it, sure, but she hadn’t asked that specifically. She nodded. “So you’re different.”

Again I shrugged.

She didn’t push the subject. “Anyway, I’ll be done around nine. No pressure. I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow if you don’t show tonight?”

I couldn’t turn her offer down. “I’ll be back tonight.”

She nodded and smiled. The simplest response set my heart on fire. Why could she do this? What ability did she have? I returned a hesitant smile.

With that, she turned and headed into the house. She also took every last ounce of my willpower to stay away along with her.

Ethan was right. I was screwed.

* * *

I wasn’t sure what took me to the church. It definitely wasn’t a place for someone who had already been judged and relocated to hell. It just seemed like the only place I could sit in peace, since it’d be the last place Ethan would come looking for me.

Thankfully the door was unlocked. That was something that always confused me: why would a church leave their doors unlocked? Did they think that no one would try to steal from them? It was baffling. Anyway, I went in the front doors and saw the sanctuary to the left.

I sat in the front row. The padded pews weren’t the most comfortable, but the sun setting through the floor to ceiling stained glass window behind the pulpit was amazing. I had to give it to the Big Guy, the sun was a powerful creation. I watched it sink lower, casting long shadows down the aisle and finally obscuring the massive cross that hung on the wall.

Why was I here? And why did it matter to me whether or not Hannah was taken care of? She was a Call, nothing more. I’d had Calls before. They lived for a breath of a second, then passed on. No big deal. Why her? Why now?

“Were you looking for something, Son?”

The gentle voice scared me out of my reverie. I laughed half-heartedly. “I’ve been looking for something for a long, long time, Sir.”

It was true. I’d been searching for a way out of this situation for as long as I could remember. It hadn’t been my fault…not really…

“You’re young. You have plenty of time to search and find your way. Do you know our Father?”

Again, I chuckled. “Yes, I do, Sir.”

He patted me on the back. “Well, then I know you can talk with Him and you’ll find the answers you’re looking for. If you need anything, I’m in my office down the hall.”

I nodded and smiled bleakly. If only he knew what I was. The desire to share and truly commune with someone was overpowering. Why did it matter now if a human knew me?

Hannah had given me the open invitation to meet back at her house. To get to know one another.

I wanted a human to know me. Maybe she could save me as much as I was in charge of saving her.