Her feet still. She sways, her jaw dropping. “I was dying?”
The answer is in her head. It’s all there. Hints of the afternoon, still frames of the horror. They wait for her to recall them fully, because swiping her memory didn’t work as it should have. The moment she looked through her window last night and her eyes connected with mine, I knew it hadn’t worked. I was cloaked. She shouldn’t have seen or sensed my presence. She heard me laugh at her joke at the store. She felt my presence when I should have been invisible.
She awakens emotions and instincts I’ve never known. Something happened between us yesterday. I need answers, which means speaking to Father or Elias. And that means having her come with me, because I’ll be damned if I’m leaving her out in the open for a reaper to stalk.
“Was I dying?” she asks for a second time, her hand grabbing a fistful of my shirt.
My gut twists. “You were basically dead, Viv.”
Her head shakes, refusing my words, as her lips tremble and tears form on her dark lashes. “I don’t understand. I don’t—”
My wings tear at my back, itching for release, and I grit my teeth, holding myself together. “Come with me, and I’ll explain.”
“I can’t walk out of here with you. I have friends out there, waiting. I’m supposed to go to the movie festival tonight.”
She’s right. It’s not as though most of the people out there don’t know me. The place is filled with kids from school and other locals. There’s no reason Vivienne and I couldn’t be friendly, but I’m not friendly. It’s not my MO, and her friends would question her endlessly. The fewer questions, the better. I could cloak us, and we could walk out of here together, but that would still leave her friends guessing.
My mind grapples for a solution. “Doesn’t your mom work night shift at the clinic? Is she working tonight?”
“Yeah. She’s always on shift, since Dr. Nance died.”
“Good. I want you to go out there and tell them you don’t feel well, and you’re going to see your mom. Tell them to go to the movies without you. I’ll wait here for a minute, then sneak out and meet you by the front door.”
Vivienne twists her hair over her shoulder and backs into the door. “This is crazy. You’re crazy.”
“Trust me.”
Forcing my hands not to reach for her, I wait as she considers my request. I sense her fear and hear the anxious beating of her heart, but beneath that is more. There’s an acceptance, a light, hiding behind the darkness.
She cocks her head and grabs a strand of hair, twisting it. “You’ll explain everything?”
“Everything I can.” Not a total lie.
Agreeing, Vivienne peeks into the hallway before giving me a look over her shoulder and slipping out the door. I immediately make myself invisible and follow. Skirting around tables and patrons, I head for the exit, all while keeping an eye on Vivienne and her friends. My sensitive hearing picks up their conversation.
“I got sick in the bathroom,” she says weakly as she stands at the end of the table. “You guys should go to the movies without me. I’m gonna go see my mom.”
“I’ll drive you over.” The offer comes from Zara, who’s already sliding out of the booth. She holds Vivienne’s jacket out to her.
“No,” Vivienne says with too much force. “I mean, it’s practically next door. I’ll walk. It’s fine. Plus, if I have the flu, I don’t want you to get sick.”
“Viv?”
“I need to go,” Vivienne interrupts, grabbing her bag and cell phone. “I’ll text you.”
A chorus of goodbyes follow as she heads my way, and I slip out the door before she reaches me, shifting back to visible and smacking into two guys from school.
“What the hell, Breckin? Where did you. . .” Their words fade as I grab their arms, implanting an alternate memory and sending them on their way as Vivienne appears.
A rush of energy washes over me at the sight of her. It’s exhilarating and confusing as hell. Most days, the two entities that make up who I am are separate, but more and more, my angelic side takes over. As my divine abilities strengthen, my humanity fades.
Vivienne makes me human.
She bites her lip when she spots me, then glances back over her shoulder, and my chest expands. I’ve all but lost the ability to feel over the past few years. Father hates humans—except when he wants them for satisfying his basic desires. He’s deemed them useless. It’s an attitude I picked up. I assumed my angel side felt indifference. It doesn’t. Not with her.
“You okay?” I ask, holding out my hand.
She lifts the strap of her bag over her head, bringing it across her chest, and shoves her hands in her jacket pockets as she looks about. It’s Saturday night, and the drive-in and parking lot are full of people coming and going. The reaper’s presence remains strong out here.
“Where’s your truck?”
Dropping the hand I’m still holding out to her like a fool, I turn and head around the back of the building. “We don’t need it.”
“We don’t need—” Vivienne’s boots crunch the gravel and snow as she follows. “Where are you going? Breckin?”
I duck behind the fence hiding the restaurant’s dumpsters.
She grumbles low, too low for human ears, but I hear every word. “What am I doing? Breckin Roberts graces me with his attention, and suddenly I’m swooning and following him into dark alleys, taking his word as gospel. I’m mental, truly mental.”
“Breckin?” she hisses, coming around the fence.
“Hold on tight,” I warn, and Vivienne screams as my arms go around her waist and we jump into the air. Her face tucks into my neck, a second scream vibrating against my skin as her feet kick at the air.
“Viv, it’s okay. I won’t let anything happen to you.” My hand shifts up her back, pressing her closer to my chest. “By the way, I don’t believe that qualified as an alley, and you’re not mental.”
Vivienne moans. “We’re . . . we’re . . .” She whimpers again, her anxiety skyrocketing.
“Flying?” I provide helpfully.
She whines.
“Open your eyes, Vivie,” I tease, slowing our ascent. Her head shakes beneath my chin, and I chuckle at her mumbled plea. “I already said you’re not crazy, and no, you’re not dreaming. You’re safe, I promise.” Lowering my lips to her ear, I whisper, “Open your eyes.”
Her arms tense—one around my neck, the other around my back. Her hand moves dangerously close to the joint of my wings and spine as she adjusts her body and lifts her head. Her face is a hair’s breadth from my lips as her chin tips up and her eyes open. Fear reflects at me.