BROKEN STRINGS
*Gideon*
“You can run all you want,
but when your past decides to hunt you
only dead can hide you.”
Melody Manful
“What are you doing?” I demanded when I appeared in my room and saw Valoel peering through my telescope.
“I’m looking at Abigail,” she said and stepped away from the telescope. “I’m rather surprised that you helped her.” I ignored her teasing smile.
“How is she doing?” I walked over and looked through the lens.
Abigail lay still on her bed, surrounded by hospital equipment. A doctor stood beside her, flipping through some papers attached to a clipboard.
I aimed the telescope into her living room, where her mother was crying. Her house was filled with people in uniforms walking briskly around, each person busy with some task.
“Why did you help her?” Valoel asked as I turned the telescope back to Abigail.
“I didn’t do much—she got them herself,” I answered.
“I think you did enough.” Valoel snapped her fingers, and everything she’d seen through the telescope played before my own eyes, as though I were watching a movie. Abigail did kill some of those people. If I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t have believed she could even hurt a fly.
“I did nothing,” I repeated. Abigail didn’t need a hero, and it was a good thing I wasn’t one. Still, how did she survive those men on her own?
My eyes met Valoel’s, and she quickly looked away.
“You did something,” I said, recognizing the guilty look in her eyes.
She didn’t look at me when she said, “I did nothing.”
“You helped her. You are the reason she was able to fight off those men before I arrived.”
“Gideon, that girl can take care of herself.” She wouldn’t admit to helping Abigail, being her guardian angel when Tristan wasn’t around.
“Fine. I helped her because she’s the only creature you don’t hate, and I didn’t want her to die.”
Suddenly, I knew she had something to do with the fact that I couldn’t move when I’d wanted to kill Andrei for hurting Abigail.
“You stopped me from killing that Andrei,” I said, annoyed.
“I couldn’t risk you exposing us. I had to erase you from the cameras around her house, and you killing that man in front of Abigail’s mother wouldn’t have helped anyone.” I wanted to argue, but I didn’t.
“How were you able to stop me?” I asked curiously.
“We are angels Gideon, we have the power to do that.”
“I know, but no one can do what you did planets away.” I voiced out my thoughts. Looking at Valoel, I was starting to wonder just how powerful she might be.
“How did it go? Did you and Tristan find answers?” Valoel asked, switching to another topic.
“No.” When Tristan and I visited Daligo, he didn’t know any more than we did about how or why we could hear each other’s thoughts. Tristan left to try to find answers from his parents, and I went to D to hunt. After that, I had decided to pay Abigail a visit, and I arrived to find her under attack.
“I need to go back in case those people return for her,” I found myself whispering, shocking myself when I realized that I sounded like I cared.
“Relax, Gideon. She’ll be fine.” The moment Valoel said this, I felt as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
Tristan, Abigail needs you. I said to Tristan in my head. I was sure he was still in Lumens.
Why? What happened?
I allowed what Valoel showed me, and what I saw Abigail do to take over my thoughts.
Oh, my God.
And before I could exhale, Tristan was on Earth. I saw the inside of Abigail’s bedroom through his eyes.
She doesn’t look good, I thought when I saw her. She was covered in bandages. Her face was swollen, and bruises littered her entire body.
“I treated her wounds,” I heard the doctor say to Abigail’s father. “I’ve given her some pain killers as well.”
You need to heal her, I thought the moment the doctor and Abigail’s father left her room.
I can’t. If I do it without her knowledge, she might freak out or something.
So what? She’s in pain, just do it.
Gideon, I can’t. To heal her, I’d have to reveal myself to her, and it’s against the law.
“The law? Are you kidding me with this?” I shouted.
“Still not in love with her?” Valoel asked from beside me, making me even angrier.
“Don’t start with me, Val,” I said, and with a snap of my fingers, I found myself in Abigail’s room.
The moment Tristan saw me, he moved closer toward Abigail.
I’m not going to hurt her, Moron, I thought.
I can never tell when you’re planning to give her roses or push her off a balcony.
Yes, Tristan had answers to everything. I decided to ignore him and walked over to where Abigail lay. Her eyes were closed, but I could tell she wasn’t asleep. Tears ran down her cheeks, and when I saw them, I felt something. Was it sadness?
In an attempt to dry her tears, I placed my right hand tenderly on her cheek. The moment my hand touched her skin, her heart started racing, and she opened her eyes.
“Gideon?” she called, looking around her.
I turned to Tristan, and we exchanged surprised looks. I knew she couldn’t see me because I was invisible.
“Gideon, I can feel you. I know you’re here,” she said again, and then slowly I made myself visible. “Gideon!” she cried the moment she saw me.
“How did you—?”
“Whenever you’re close to me, my heart races,” she cut me off and said.
Oh. That was…weird.
“Abby, how—” I stopped because I couldn’t bring myself to ask how she was feeling. I touched her cheek again. Her skin felt warm, and for a second, I debated on whether I ever wanted to take my hand away.
“I’m sorry I pushed you away,” she said.
I didn’t understand why she was apologizing for being angry with me for my rudeness, because I was pretty sure I should be the one apologizing.
“I’m going to make you feel better,” I said, patting her hand. “Don’t freak out, okay?”
“Don’t,” she protested as more tears slid down her cheeks. “I killed and hurt those people. I deserve every bit of pain I’m in.”
“That’s a really terrible thing to say, Abigail. Those people were trying to kill you.”
“Does it matter? They’re dead, and I’m not.” Her tears rushed down like rain. “Felix is gone and…”
I could have saved Felix, but I had been so focused on making sure nothing happened to Abigail and her mother that I forgot there were two more people whom she cared about.
Tristan, heal her now.
Why can’t you do it? Tristan asked unexpectedly.
In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve never healed anyone. And I don’t want to try it now on her, and…
You’re afraid of hurting her? Tristan asked, sounding surprised.
Just do it already.
“You don’t deserve this pain, Abigail,” I told her. At the touch of Tristan’s hands, her body started to glow. “You’re going to be all right,” I said, watching as the wounds around her body started to disappear, leaving nothing behind.
“I feel strange,” Abigail said, staring at the parts of her body that had been bruised and bleeding seconds ago. She slowly sat up on her bed. “Everything is gone.”
“Don’t freak out,” I said, taking her hands. “Calm down.”
“I’m not…I’m fine.” She was shaking. She wasn’t fine.
“Everything is going to be all right.” This caused her to look up at me. “Smile.” I placed my hands on her cheeks. They were soft. “The world looks much more beautiful when you do.” What was I talking about? “I meant…there is…I got nothing.”
And then it happened again. I laughed, and Abigail smiled.
That’s really a wonderful sound. You should laugh more often. Once again, Tristan forced his thoughts into my head.
I really, really hope that whatever this thing is will end soon, because I’m a breath away from ripping your heart out.
Then it’s a good thing angels don’t have to breathe, isn’t it? I didn’t miss the teasing ring to his thoughts.
“Gideon,” Abigail called in a whisper. “Will you please stay?” she asked.
“I…” I wanted to say yes, but I stopped when I remembered Valoel’s accusation. “I…” I could stay. It wouldn’t mean that I was in love with her. “There is no place I’d rather be,” I whispered.
I helped her to lean back on her bed. She scooted over, and I knew she wanted me to lie beside her. She wanted someone to comfort her, and I wasn’t sure I knew how to do that, but I could try.
I covered her with a blanket and then lay beside her without thinking twice about it. I pulled her into my arms.
Valoel’s words echoed in my head again. I wasn’t in love with her. I wanted to kill her, right?
A while later, Abigail whispered, “I’m still a little scared of you.”
I smiled. “Good,” I said and pulled her closer to me.
Abigail didn’t say a word as we lay there. It took a while before her breathing slowed, and she finally fell asleep.
Wow, Gideon. Any more nice gestures and I’d think you’re going soft.
How can you even make jokes now? You do know that sharing my emotions means feeling happy when I hurt someone, right? Because I get really happy when I hurt someone. I felt happy even thinking that.
Be careful there, Gideon, you’re starting to sound like you care.
He sounded smug. I didn’t understand why he was using sarcasm to get through his emotions. I can feel your fear and confusion, yet you sound like you’re fine.
I’m good at being happy. And right now, I don’t think it’s healthy to be worried, when I’m sure there’s a perfectly good reason for all of this. He sounded so sure of himself.
Okay, Answer Man, I hope you get this ‘reason’ very soon because you’re starting to annoy me, and you won’t like me very much if I’m annoyed.
I’ll go home and find answers after Abigail wakes up.
I listened to the sound of Abigail’s soft breathing; she looked so fragile and beautiful.
Why can’t you go now? I asked.
I’m not leaving her alone with you, he thought, making me feel like an idiot for even asking him that. He still didn’t trust me to be alone with her.
I really, really don’t like you. I meant every word of it.
It’s a shame, really, because everyone likes me. Tristan was starting to sound like someone I used to know once upon a time, someone who looked a lot like me.