Falling (The Soul Collectors Series Book 1) (13 page)

Downstairs, I could hear Declan and Had still moving around, but even once I laid down on the bed, I kept the music playing so that I didn’t have to hear what they were saying, about me or anything else. The lyrics from the song playing at the moment was not helping my mood. The words were expressing my feelings of being lost and desperate with little hope of surviving this mission. Tears fell from my eyes without my permission and were still there when I woke up hours later. I must have overslept, because Had was knocking on my door telling me we needed to be leaving soon. I jumped up and quickly dressed. I had picked out a soft pink lace dress prior to falling asleep so I didn’t need much time. I pulled my hair to the side and quickly braided it.  I found some silver flip flops to throw on. Hadraniel looked nice in a heather gray v-neck and khakis with hideous sandals that the human males were wearing around town. Declan must have left some time ago while I was sleeping. I looked at Had sheepishly hoping that he wasn’t still upset with me.

“Still mad?”

“No, I’m not mad Bay. I wasn’t mad before, I was just upset. I thought we had gotten past the whole ‘I’m Bayla, I don’t need help. I’m the queen of all things mission related” mindset. He even had an eye roll with the comment.

“I am sorry. I just saw a chance to go scope out the valley before coming home, so I took it.”

“Well, Mr. Whitstock called after you left saying you had seemed a little upset and to be looking for you soon. I probably wouldn’t have thought anything about it if he hadn’t suggested that you would be home soon. When you didn’t arrive, I got nervous. Believe it or not, I care for you, Bayla. You’re not just under my protection, I see you as a friend.” He stopped very abruptly when he realized he just told me something he wasn’t supposed to have shared.

“So, you’re my protector, are you?” I narrowed my eyes at him. I was not entirely surprised as he was a Blue, but I thought it was more for the sake of the mission and Gray, and not me.

“Bayla. We need to be leaving. Let’s not argue about this right now.”

“I’m not arguing, I’m simply going to state that I do not need protection. I have done this for four angel years and thousands of human years, I know how to protect myself. So if you are here as my protector, there are only a few things that could mean. One of which is the most obvious...that somehow I am in danger. Tell me Haddy, am I in danger? Do you have more on the mission than you’ve shared with me?”

He didn’t make eye contact with me. His shoulders slumped, eyebrows furrowed, and there seemed to be some sort of internal struggle going on. I was not going to let this pass, and I stood there in silence. I had learned in my own training that silence, if given time, can become awkward enough to lead others to talk. I had the patience of Job, or so Father Paul had said. He was always the one that would break the silence during our training sessions. He continued to avoid looking at me. It seemed that we had come to an impasse with him refusing to speak and me refusing to drop the subject. He cleared his throat several times.

“Hadraniel” I decided to try a different route. “Look at me Haddy, please. Don’t you think if I am going to fail or need protection you should tell me? Don’t I deserve a fighting chance?”

“Bayla.” He pleaded with me. Just that one word let me know, that he wanted to tell me but couldn’t. “Just as you have a contract for what you can and can’t do or say, I have one as well. I shouldn’t have even slipped up and let that out, and I can’t take it back. Please. Please just drop it.” Such hurt and anticipation were in his eyes.

“Fine. Let’s just go get this cookout over with.”

We were the last ones to show up to the cookout. Everyone was hanging out in groups spread throughout the backyard. Gray’s parents’ house was nice. It was a yellowish tan, with brown shutters and a brown door. They had flower beds all along the edges of the sidewalks, and underneath the windows on either side. Gray met us on the side of the house and let us in through the gate of the white picket fence. Hannah ran up and gave me a hug. She grimaced at the coldness I put off. I was still upset at Hadraniel. I needed to let it go soon. I couldn’t let on that something was wrong. Gray took us around the groups introducing us as the twins with missionary parents. His parents, aunts and uncles, cousins and friends were all very friendly. They were so accepting of me and Hadraniel. Here we were, almost complete strangers, and yet they acted like they’d known us forever. My emotions were running high. Tightness was creeping into my chest.

“Come with me.” I heard a whisper from behind me, and felt a hand pulling me away gently. When I turned, I saw Everett leading me to the front of the house. He sat on the top step of the porch and patted the area beside him. “You look like you needed to get away. Are you okay?”

“Yeah.  You would think with having been a missionary most of my life and dealing with people, I would be better at handling crowds. Obviously, I’m not.”

He grinned.  “It’s okay. I’m not good with a lot of people either. I could tell by your body language you needed an escape. Plus, I get to be a little selfish and have alone time with you.”

“A-ha, and now the truth comes out.” Holy crap, where did this flirtiness just come from?

“You caught me.” His hands raised up, and a smirk lit his face. Everett seemed sweet. I know that this was supposed to be a ruse, one that Hannah concocted, but it didn’t seem fair. Not only was I not interested in Everett, I couldn’t be if I wanted. He was also another human I wasn’t going to be able to save when the time came.

“What do you do, Everett?”

“I’m a mechanic at my dad’s shop in town. It’s a good job. I’m about to start taking classes at the community college too so that I can take over one day. What about you Miss Bayla? What do you do?”

“I don’t really do anything right now. I have plans to go to the college here too, but that’s as far as I’ve thought about it all.” A silly grin came on my face because in all honesty that was very close to the actual truth. I hadn’t thought past this mission.

“Tell me more about you.”

“Well, Had and I are twins. We are nineteen, and our parents are…”

“No, I want to know about you. I know all the superficial information. What are your dreams, what’s your favorite food? Your favorite color, season? Things that make you, you.”

I opened my mouth and then shut it again. Angel or pretend human, I’d never been asked about myself in that manner. I wasn’t even sure if I had answers for those questions.

“Ummm,” I giggled. How absurd! It’s not like he asked me to solve the quadratic equation. “My favorite food would have to be bacon and eggs. Favorite color, black.”

“Black?”

“Yes, black. There’s just something completely soothing about it. Favorite season, winter. I love seeing the ground covered completely in the snow. Snow creates a beautiful silence when it blankets the Earth.”

“Your dreams?”

“I don’t know.” That was not a lie. I had never had a dream. I was given a mission, and in between missions, I studied for the next mission.

“What do you want to be when you grow up? It’s not that hard of a question.”

“I’ve never really thought about it. I guess I want to be happy in my choices. I want to do something that has meaning to not just me, but to others. I guess I need to look into occupations that will fulfil those requirements.”

“Fair enough.”

“There you guys are. We’ve been looking for you.” Hannah’s face looked pleased to have found us not only together but enjoying each other’s’ company alone.

“It’s time to eat.” Gray pulled Everett up. I stood and locked arms with Hannah as we made our way to the back to get food and socialize with the others.

The meal and company was pleasant. There was a lot of laughter and love shared in the group of people I had the privilege of being around for the evening. One by one people started leaving as the sky turned fiery orange with purples and blues dispersed throughout. Gray lit the fire in the pit we were sitting around. The remaining adults had gone inside for coffee and to allow us to have time to discuss our camping trip. By the end of the evening, we had determined who was bringing whom, what each of us needed to pack, how long we had planned on staying out, and the dates. Declan had been quiet throughout the whole night, with barely even a peep when discussing the camping dates. Alissa, too, was quiet with little acknowledgement towards Declan or myself. She did agree to go camping with the group, along with Declan, myself, Had, Everett, Sadie, Gray, Hannah, and her brother and his girlfriend. There were just embers left in the pit by the time we had worked out all the kinks for the trip. I was getting sleepy when Hadraniel suggested we head for home.

“Let me take you guys home. It’s too dark to be walking.” Everett jumped up.

“It’s okay. We enjoy the walk, but thank you.” Unexpectedly Had had turned down the offer, that I was gladly about to accept. Everett looked defeated. “However, if you would like to pick us up tomorrow for the movie, I would greatly appreciate it.” Olive branch extended.

“Sounds like a plan. See you all tomorrow.”

We hugged and waved goodbye to everyone before leaving. Still, Declan sat quietly, no goodbyes, nothing. If I wasn’t so tired, I might have made a big deal about it. Then again, maybe it was for the best. The less I was around him, the less his power was over me. He didn’t look mad, just completely bored with the whole thing. Maybe his lackadaisical approach meant I wouldn’t have much of a fight after all. This thought woke me up a little more than I had been, and I was ready for the walk home.

“Bay. We need to talk. I need for you to hear me out completely before saying anything. I’ve been fighting with this all night, but then something Declan said made me decide maybe I should tell you.”

My eyes shot up at the mention of Declan having spoken to him. “Declan talked to you?”

Confusion muddled his face. “Yes. Why wouldn’t he have?”

“He didn’t say anything to me at all.”

“Oh. Well. That makes his comment make a little more sense now. Declan told me that part of his mission was to separate you from us towards the end. He wanted me to know so that I could come up with a way to help you. He also reiterated that that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to fight for Gray, but he didn’t see why he would need to hurt you in the process. Right now, I need you to agree not to leave the group while we are camping unless someone is with you. Please.”

“I cannot agree to that. I cannot even tell you why I can’t agree to that. I will say this. Until the time comes that I may have to take certain actions, I promise I will let you know where I will be at all times. Is that an agreeable compromise for you?”

“If that’s the best you can give me, then yes. I will accept that compromise.”

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”
~
Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Hannah arrived at the house super early to help me get ready for my first date. She brought bags of clothes, shoes, hair products and makeup. It was frightening that this was all needed just to get prepped for a date. Hadraniel looked just as scared as I had felt when she came in and had made himself scarce ever since. My bedroom looked like a tornado had swept through, leaving a mess of scattered debris of “girl”. I tried on four outfits before Hannah found one that she thought was appropriate for our date.  I was happy to find it comfortable so I wouldn’t be focused on what I was wearing. Everyone knows that clothes can definitely affect your mood, especially when it is something uncomfortable. We ended up choosing a cream colored maxi dress that had navy colored anchors all over it, paired with navy colored sandals. She had braided my hair across the crown, and left the back down in loose curls. We were now on my bed facing each other as she applied makeup to my face. I had never worn make up as it really wasn’t something that had interested me before. When she finished, I looked in the mirror.

“What do you think?” She was almost bouncing on the bed awaiting my response.

“Oh my Grace!  I look beautiful! Thank you!” I didn’t look like me, but I did at the same time. Hannah had accentuated my eyes and lips with her application techniques, bringing out the best of those features. It was tasteful makeup, not caked on like Alissa wore hers.

“Yay! I’m glad you like it. I was a little worried that you wouldn’t. I know you’re not a fan of makeup.  My turn now, and then we’ll be ready for when Gray and Everett get here.”

“What about Had?”

“Sadie was supposed to pick him up already. I had a chat with her about behaving, and she agreed. She also may have a little bit of a thing for Everett now after having seen him take on Declan.” She rolled her eyes while giggling.

“I don’t understand girls.”

“Neither do I.” She bumped against my shoulder before heading over to finish her makeup. She had chosen white shorts and a pretty yellow tank top that was billowy. Hannah was pretty without the makeup too, but she did the same thing to herself as she had done to me using just enough makeup to make her eyes and cheekbones pop. “We never had a chance to talk about the kiss.”