Crossroads (41 page)

“
I want to be able to tell
you that you’ll still be here with me, but I have to go soon.
You’ll be safe in your bed,” he said, gently stroking my hair with
his hands. It was a sure way of making me fall asleep. I didn’t
want him to, but his caress was so soothing.

I closed my eyes, spellbound by his
touch. Then he spoke again.

“
Penny for your thoughts?”
he asked.

“
That’s my line, and I
could use all the pennies you give me. You’ll go broke if you want
to know what’s on my mind.”

He chuckled. “That many? Ask away.
We’ve got all night.”

“
When did you first start
to have feelings for me?” I asked shyly.

“
When you first looked at
me with those eyes that said I want you.”

Flushed with redness, I asked, “That
obvious?”

“
It’s when you first
looked at me, speechless, and fought back with your words. You
looked so cute when you were mad at me. And when you smile, it
makes me absolutely crazy for you.”

“
Then why were you so
mean, rude, obnoxious, arrogant, and—”

He interrupted before I could finish.
“I get the point. Let me explain. I had feelings for you before you
even crossed over to Halo City. I’d already fallen for you. I had
loved you…even before we met. I would wait for you to come, and it
was always for a short period of time. After you crossed over, I
didn’t know what to do with the feelings that appeared stronger
than I was, feelings I was told not to feel. They were feelings
I’ve been suppressing for so many years. And when you came along,
it was as if you had taken me over. I didn’t like it. I thought
that if I tried to be rude to you, the feelings would go away. But
it just grew stronger every time I saw you, so I just decided to do
what Phillip told me to do.”

“
What did he tell you to
do?” I asked, overwhelmed by his words.

“
Follow my
heart.”

I gave a huge grin. “I’m glad you
did.”

“
I know you are,” he said
arrogantly with a smile. “Following my heart would be like
following you. For you are the reason I want to be who I
am.”

My eyes peered into his beautiful
eyes. It didn’t matter how many times I looked into them, I got
those same quivering butterflies dancing in my stomach, feeling
just like the first time. And without a word, he stole a soft kiss.
I closed my eyes and let him steal more. When he stopped, I opened
my eyes to see his eyes gazing lovingly into mine.

“
Ask me,” he said. “I can
tell you have more questions.”

I started laughing. He was right, I
did. “You know me so well.”

“
More than you
know.”

I refocused and rethought the question
I wanted to ask. “Before I forget to ask, do you think that Gamma
may have been wrong about me?”

“
Why would you say
that?”

“
I don’t have a single
birthmark on my body.”

“
It’s because you don’t
know where to look.”

“
I don’t know where to
look?” I repeated his words, remembering when he lifted his right
arm to show Aden his fake birthmark.

As if he could hear my thoughts, he
said, “I made a fake birthmark on my arm, so I wouldn’t have to
turn my back to Aden. Also, I had the advantage because he didn’t
know about it—what it looks like or where to find it.” Then he
turned me on my side and lifted the back of my hair. Lightly, he
traced a small area on the back of my hairline. What was he
tracing? He went up, curving around and then back down. It was the
upside-down horseshoe—the omega sign. “There it is. Now we know for
sure. It’s small and hardly noticeable.”

“
Oh,” I frowned. There was
a part of me that was still having a difficult time accepting who I
was. Michael noticed my mixed emotions. Apparently I was not good
at hiding them.

“
I’ll be there for you.
Don’t worry. Don’t fight what you cannot control. Fight for what
you can.”

He was right. Like Gamma said, I
couldn’t fight destiny.

He continued, “I’ve been here for you,
haven’t I?”

I nodded solemnly.

“
Then we do this together,
okay?” He cupped my face.

I nodded. “I love you,” I
whispered.

“
Decorde totaliter et ex
mente tota, sum presentialiter, absens in remota,” he whispered
back.

I had no idea what it meant. “Say it
in simple language,” I said, remembering the time when he had been
rude to me. He had spoken his first Latin words to me, and then
told me that he would say it in simple language.

He looked at me in surprise and
started to laugh hard. “You remember that?”

“
I remember everything.
Mr. Rude, Mr. Arrogant, Mr. Mean…”

“
I get the point. I guess
I was all that, but it was for your own good,” he
teased.

“
No, no, no. It was for
your own good,” I reminded him.

“
True.” He nodded. “What
do I get if I tell you what I said in simple language?”

“
You get a kiss,” I said
proudly.

“
Nope, not good
enough.”

“
A long kiss?” I
questioned.

“
Nope, not good
enough.”

“
My shirt?” I giggled. My
eyes widened to ask if I was on the right path.

He smiled and said, “You know I could
see right through it if I wanted to.”

I gave him a “you wouldn’t dare” look.
“You promised,” I said, reminding him.

He laughed softly. “Yes, you’re right.
Now where were we?”

“
My shirt, I
think.”

He laughed again. “Nope.”

“
Okay, I give
up.”

“
A smile.”

“
That’s it? You just want
a smile?” But I couldn’t produce one, knowing that he wanted to see
me smile.

“
That’s all it took for me
to fall madly in love with you,” he said sincerely.

I flushed with redness, and the joy in
my heart erupted into a huge smile, no effort needed.

“
There. Now it’s my turn.”
He planted tender kisses up and down my neck and finally said, “In
simple language…with all my heart and all my soul, I am with you
even though I am far away.”

I couldn’t fight it any longer. His
touch, his words, his kisses drove me absolutely wild. I pulled him
closer and showed him how much I cared for him, giving him long,
passionate kisses. We were lost in our own little world, just
Michael and me. It was perfect.

After a while, Michael stood up. The
candlelight framed his silhouette with a glowing radiance. He
looked like an angel appearing out of my dream, and my heart was
overflowing beyond anything I could possibly describe. He pulled
out a blue blanket and a picnic basket from behind a tree. “Time to
eat,” he said, gently laying the blanket on the grass, and pulled
out a container from inside the basket. “Compliments from Italy
this time. Seafood linguini.” Then he opened up the huge
container.

I grinned steadily the whole time as I
watched him. “My favorite,” I said softly. The aroma that escaped
as he opened the container made my stomach ache with hunger. He
laid out everything in front of us and set the place for two
instead of one. He must have seen the look on my face. “I’m eating
with you this time. Can’t have my date eating by herself.” He
winked and sat across from me.

“
I would love that. Thank
you for everything,” I said, gazing deeply into his eyes, hoping he
would know how grateful I felt.

“
I wouldn’t have it any
other way. Don’t worry. You’ll make it up to me.” His brow lifted,
giving me a flirty smile.

After dinner, we lay side by side on
the blanket and fed each other strawberries. I didn’t know what
time it was, but I knew it was late. Not only was I getting tired,
but the lights that shone millions of miles above us were clear
evidence. I hadn’t noticed the stars until now. In Michael’s
presence it was hard to focus on anything but him.

Looking at the stars reminded me of my
friend, Claudia, my real mom, Sofia, and especially Gamma. I
thought about how Gamma touched my life. My Gamma was an Earth
angel. I was one of the few lucky ones who had been blessed to have
known and be loved by her. My Gamma was up there looking down on
me, I thought, as I searched for the brightest star. Then I turned
to Michael, “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“
Yes, they are. But I’d
rather stare at you.” He turned toward me, gently stroked my hair
and slowly traced his fingers up and down my side. “It’s getting
late.”

“
No,” I said, not wanting
tonight to end. “Can you freeze time so we can stay like this
forever?” I asked, with my eyes closed.

“
I wish I could. I’m just
your guardian angel, not God.”

“
Some guardian angel,” I
joked.

“
Hey…,” he said and
scooped me closer to him.

I rested my head against his chest,
breathed him in and listened to his heart beat. I tried to hold on
to every part of this moment, not knowing when I would see him
again.

His supple wings gave me warmth and
comfort. It was extremely difficult to stay awake. Before I fell
asleep, I needed to tell him once more. “I love you as high as the
sky and as deep as the sea,” thinking no words could beat the depth
of my love for him.

Slowly all the senses in my body lost
control as I was succumbing to sleep. Tender kisses were planted on
my forehead and gentle touches on my cheeks. Before I was
completely lost to darkness, I heard Michael whisper, “Multiply my
love by infinity and take it to the depths of forever, and you
still have only a glimpse of how I feel for you. I love you
more.”

I felt full, full with this feeling I
could not describe, bursting with warmth in every part of my being.
He always said he loved me more, but it was me who loved him more.
It was the reason I felt complete.

Epilogue

Effortlessly he held Claudia close to
his chest and flew. His wings were wrapped gently around her,
blocking the wind from disturbing her sleep. Safe in her room was
where she would be, he told her, and that was where he took her.
Her long auburn hair rippled down along her face like a waterfall,
as he cradled her in his arms, not wanting to let go.

Gently he laid her down, and as he
pulled the blanket to tuck her in, he spotted the T-shirt he had
given her to wear when they went hiking. He smiled; surprised that
she had kept it.

He backed away, giving her the space
she needed as she rolled onto her side. Her hand reached for
something, and when it found the T-shirt, she drew it close to her,
hugging it like a teddy bear. Her chest rose up and down and she
let out a soft sigh of relief. Michael stood there watching,
smiling, envious of his own T-shirt, wishing it was him instead. He
could have easily switched positions, but he knew better. He was
running out of time and would be late for a debriefing in regards
to Aden’s death.

He lovingly looked at her and realized
how proud he was of her. This delicate half human, half angel with
no powers to defend herself was strong enough to endure all that
she had. She didn’t ask to have the Holy Spirit’s soul; it was her
destiny, one she could not erase. Regardless, she was brave and
accepting of this out-of-the-ordinary circumstance. How he wished
he could take all the craziness away for her, but then, he would
not be a part of her life. Undeniably, he needed her. He wanted her
in ways he knew he couldn’t; it was forbidden, but he couldn’t
control the human emotions he felt for her. He loved her too much,
and it didn’t matter if he would be punished for loving her.
Knowing her was all that mattered to him.

“
Dream of me,” he
whispered into her ear, and then kissed her cheek, barely touching
her skin so he wouldn’t disturb her.

Standing up, he took a step back and
watched her sleep. He took in a long deep breath, let out a heavy
sigh, and as always, felt tormented and empty knowing he had to
leave her. As he turned his back toward her, he noticed the silver
moonlight seeping through the cracks of the half-drawn blinds. She
had called him Superman once, but she had no idea of the powers he
possessed.