Four weeks, four days until my birthday.
Muriel left early that morning. She didn’t tell me beforehand that we wouldn’t be riding together, or I would’ve had Jen pick me up. Instead, I had to find my own way. Faced with riding the bus, I prayed to the car gods that my old beater would start. Thankfully, it roared to life—probably waking all the neighbors—and I drove myself to school.
“What happened this morning, Muriel?” I slipped into my seat next to her in calculus.
“I’m sorry. I forgot to tell you I had a make-up quiz to take in one of my other classes. I wanted to take it this morning, so I wouldn’t be rushed tonight for the game.”
“Where were you last night?” I clicked my pen open and shut, open and shut, open and shut.
Muriel snatched the pen out of my hand and gave it a disgusted look. “I had some errands to run for my mother.”
“Oh.” I didn’t mention that I saw her car in the driveway all night. Chay’s warning kept repeating in my head.
I saw Chay looking at us from the corner of my eye, but I ignored him. I didn’t believe Muriel, my best friend and cousin, would switch sides. It just wouldn’t happen. If she said she had other things to do, I believed her. Chay’s warning be damned.
***
It was Friday, the night of the big game between the South Bay Cougars and the North Bay Cowboys. The group was going to the game together.
Chay followed me home from school that afternoon. “I’ll pick you up tonight,” he said when we got to my house and he walked me to the door.
“That’s okay. I can ride with Muriel.”
He drummed his fingers on the car door and shook his head once. “I’ll pick you up.”
I sighed. I hated his moody, I-know-it-all-and-you’ll-do-it-my-way side. He’d been that way all day. He stalked back to his car. Revving the engine once, he backed out of the driveway and headed toward his house.
“I’m surprised he didn’t want to walk me inside,” I muttered. Then I looked up and knew why. My dad was waiting at the door. “Hey, Dad.”
“How’s it going? Everything good?” He clamped a hand on my shoulder as I walked by him into the house.
“Yeah, why?” Goose bumps ran up my arms and the hair on the back of my neck did the wave like people in a stadium watching a game.
Great. What big surprise is he gonna spring on me now? I’m not sure I can take anything else. No more demi-angel stuff. Enough is enough. And I think I’m at a full tank.
“You didn’t ride with Muriel today.” He followed me inside.
I let out the breath I was holding, my cheeks puffing out. “Oh, that. Yeah, she had a quiz to make up before school. She left before me.”
“Ah.”
We walked into the kitchen, and I dropped onto a chair. He poured us two glasses of milk and rattled around in the pantry until he found my mom’s hidden Oreo cookies.
“Ooh, living on the wild side, huh? Dipping into mom’s private stash of cookies. Dangerous.” I grabbed a cookie and dunked it in my milk. “Mm, yum. Hey, Dad? How do you know Chay’s dad?” I asked around another bite of milk-soaked Oreo.
“Hmm?” He was focused on twisting apart his cookies and scraping out the frosting centers.
“I saw a photo of you and him at Chay’s house last night. You’ve never mentioned you two knew each other. There was one of you and him with Uncle Rory, too.”
“Oh, hmm, I didn’t know he kept those old things after he moved.” He shook his head and chuckled. “We used to work the same beat in the department years ago. Lots of good memories.” He stared off in space for a few seconds before he pulled his attention back to the present and smiled at me.
“He moved?”
“Mm-hmm.” My dad sat his glass of milk down and wiped his mouth. “After Chay reached the age of accountability, his dad took a job with another department. But there weren’t many demi-angels in that area. So they moved back as soon as a position opened here.” My dad stuffed his mouth with another Oreo and talked around it. “That’s how I initially met Chay’s dad. Uncle Rory and I teamed up with him to make sure the three of you were safe before you reached the age of accountability.”
“Is that why everyone lives so close together? Because you teamed up to protect us when we were kids?”
“Yeah, and because demi-angels don’t just draw physical strength from each other, but also mental strength and comfort. Haven’t you felt a difference when you are with other demis?”
I tipped my head to the side and thought about his question. “Yeah. I didn’t think about it until now, but yeah. I feel calmer, more at peace. I have a sense of belonging. Not to just the group, but to something bigger. It’s hard to explain.”
“Demis naturally gravitate to each other. It isn’t a conscious decision—it just kinda happens. Our group found each other to keep you kids safe. Now you’re able to fend for yourselves for the most part. It’s time we step back and let you make your own decisions.”