The Guardians (20 page)

He didn’t speak for a few minutes. When the words finally came, they shocked the whole room. “I can’t have you under my roof.”

Abby’s eyes widened. “What?”

“I said get your things and leave this house. I’m the pastor of a church. I can’t—”

“Please don’t throw me out, Daddy,” Abby pleaded.

David rose up from the couch. He kept his eyes firmly on the ground and jammed his hands into his pants pockets. “You have cut me to the core, Abigail. I can’t even look at you anymore knowing what you have done.”

Abby shot to her feet, but the rush was too much. I had to steady her as she swayed back and forth like she might faint. The sound of sobbing drew my attention to the doorway where Hannah stood. Tears streamed down her cheeks. When David literally nudged Abby towards the door, Hannah bolted out, locking her arms around her sister’s waist.

He froze. I thought the sight of Hannah clinging to Abby might change his mind.

But I was wrong.

In a heartbreaking gesture, David pried Hannah away from Abby. Hannah slung out of David’s grasp. She stared coldly up at him before running past me, up the stairs, and slamming her bedroom door.

I shook my head as David flung the front door open. “You’re going to regret this,” I said, as I wrapped my arms tighter around Abby.

David’s eyes pooled with tears. “I already do,” he replied. Then he shook his head one last time and closed the door behind us.

I practically had to carry Abby down the street to my house. When we entered the foyer, her hysterical sobs brought the others to the doorway. “What’s happened?” Sophie asked.

“David threw her out of the house,” I answered.

Sophie’s eyes grew round with disbelief. “Oh no, he didn’t.”

“But why?” Cassie asked.

I hesitated before I said anything. Abby raised her tear stained face. “Because I’m pregnant.”

Instantly, Sophie flew to Abby’s side. I knew her maternal instincts would start kicking into overdrive due to Abby’s condition. “It’s going to be all right, sweetheart. You can stay here with us tonight.” She drew Abby into her comforting embrace. Something about Sophie’s arms around her made Abby start sobbing again. “Shh, it’s okay. We’ll take care of you sweetheart,” Sophie murmured. “Come on upstairs, and we’ll get you into bed.”

“But I don’t have anything with me—no clothes, no pajamas…,” Abby moaned.

“Don’t worry about that.” Sophie turned to Cassie. “Can you find something for Abby to sleep in?”

Cassie nodded. Sophie smiled at Abby. “See? Everything is going to be just fine.” She pulled Abby up the stairs.

Gabriel met my eyes. “I’ve got to go see David. You stay here and keep watch over Abby. Get Sophie to go over and check on Hannah.”

“Okay,” I said. Gabriel grabbed his keys and hurried out the door. When the door closed behind him, Rafe sighed. “Let me guess. That jerk Landon did this to her?”

I nodded.

“Yeah, I thought as much.” He shook his head angrily. “Maybe I’ll give him a little work over tomorrow at practice!”

“Rafe…” I warned.

He met my worried gaze and grinned. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ll keep it on the
angel
side.”

“Good.” I started up the stairs, but then I turned back. “Not that I wouldn’t love to work him over myself.”

Rafe laughed. “Man, I’d love to see that.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure you would.” Then I turned and hurried upstairs. I met Sophie in the hallway. “Gabriel wants-”

“I’m on my way now. Why don’t you get Abby settled in your room? You can sleep in Rafe’s room tonight.”

“Okay.”

Sophie smiled as she swept past me and down the stairs. I found Abby sitting on my bed with her knees drawn up to her chest. I shut the door behind me after I stepped inside. I sat down beside her on the bed. There were no words I could say, so I simply reached out to wipe the tears off her cheeks. Abby collapsed into my arms, pressing her face against my chest. I tightened my arms protectively around her.

“Shh, don’t cry. It’s going to be all right,” I whispered into her ear, but she only seemed to cry harder.

My shirt was soaked through with her tears by the time she pulled away. When she caught a glimpse of it, her face flushed. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, Abby. I’m here for you no matter what.”

Abby stared into my eyes. “But why?
Why
are you here for me?”

The obvious choice would have been to reply, “Because I’m an angel sent to guard and protect you.” But of course I couldn’t say that. “Because you’re my friend, and I care about you very, very much.”

Tears flowed down her cheeks. “I care about you a lot too. I mean, I don’t know what I would have done tonight without you and your family. Now I don’t have any family!”

“Abby, that isn’t true. Your father loves you. He’s just angry and hurt right now. He’ll come around. You’ll see.”

“But I don’t know how we can ever get past this. I’ve disappointed him more than he could’ve ever imagined. I’ve probably cost him his job, too. How can he even bear to look at me again?”

I shook my head. “He will get over this, and he won’t lose his job. Gabriel will make it right with the deacons. With everything you and your family have been through in the last few months, they will understand.”

Abby arched her eyebrows in surprise. “So it’s okay I’m knocked up because my mom just died? What if Mom hadn’t died? Would that change anything?”

I ducked my head. “No, but it’s just, well, uh, it makes it different, I guess.”

“Whatever.”

An awkward silence followed. Finally, I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “Do you think you could try to get some sleep?”

Abby nodded. I pulled the covers back for her and tucked her in. When I started for the door, she grabbed my arm. “Please don’t leave.” A pleading look radiated in her eyes. “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”

“All right, I’ll stay right here,” I said, as I eased down in the chair beside the bed.

“Thanks.”

I smiled. “You’re welcome.”

Abby drifted off almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. She was clearly exhausted by the day’s roller coaster ride of emotions. But it wasn’t a restful sleep; she tossed and turned. When she rolled over on her stomach, one of her arms dangled off the side of the bed. I slid out of the chair into the floor and gently took her hand and placed it back onto the bed.

I pushed her hair back off her face and gazed at her. She looked so beautiful lying there, so fragile and delicate. The only sound that echoed through the stillness of the room was Abby’s labored breathing and the pounding of my heart.

It was after three when I glanced up to see Abby staring down at me. I blushed. “You were tossing and turning pretty badly,” I mumbled.

“You can’t be too comfortable there on the floor.”

“It’s all right.” I eyed the clock. “You should try going back to sleep.”

“Why don’t you get into bed with me?” she asked.

I was sure she heard my heart rattle in my chest. Her question was completely innocent, but out of context, it screamed with innuendo and caused that teenage male side of me, that I tried so desperately to ignore, to roar to life.
“W-What?”

She flipped back the covers on the bed. “You need your rest, too, and you’re not getting it by sleeping on the floor or in that chair.” In my hesitation, she lowered her eyes. “When I was younger and I couldn’t sleep or I had a bad dream, my mom would hold me until I went back to sleep.” Then her chest began heaving in silent sobs. “Oh God, I wish she was here right now.”

I sprung up from the floor and quickly gathered her into my arms. Silently, I held her as she wept. When her body finally heaved in exhaustion, I lay back against the pillows, pulling her back against me.

For the rest of the night, she slept nestled in my arms, her face pressed against my chest. I drifted off for an hour or two, but I woke up long before she did. I stared down at her, watching as she slept. Gently, so not to wake her, I planted feathery kisses on the top of her head, inhaling of the sweet smell of hair.

Something within me changed. I felt an even greater need to protect her, to shelter her from the storms I knew were to come. I thought it had been infatuation I’d felt from the first moment I saw her, but tonight the love in my heart swelled so much it threatened to break out of my chest. I knew with everything within me that I truly loved her, and a year with her would never be enough time.

In that moment, I allowed myself to contemplate something no angel ever should.

Transcending.

It was something I’d heard whispers about in my seventy-five years, but it was almost an unspeakable, unmentionable idea among our kind. To transcend meant to give up your immortality and become human. Many of those who chose that fate did it not just for love, but after years of watching and guiding others on earth, they wanted to experience life for themselves. Even though it was so discouraged, it was not a damnable sin by God. Although disappointed, his love did not change, and as long as you lived your human life in his service, your soul still went to Heaven upon your death.

Of course,
death
was the key word. That was what frightened so many others. As angels, we never suffered the sting of death. Even in human form, our bodies were indestructible and immune to the ravages of illness and disease. Once an angel chose to transcend, that comfort was stripped away.

An icy chill spread through my veins at the thoughts of closing my eyes in death, and I shuddered. What would it be like to never walk the earth again? To never ascend to the highest levels of the Angelic Host and commune with the holiest on high? What would I do without the ability to connect with others pain? Those thoughts overwhelmed me as my mind whirled with more and more questions.

Surely this was all part of my Gideon Test—the harder the test, the stronger the Warrior Angel I might end up. But deep down, did I really want that anymore? Even if I passed, could I go back to an existence that didn’t include Abby?

And then like the Scales of Justice were held out in front of me, I weighed the option of whether I could give it all up for Abby—a girl I’d only known a few months who was carrying another guy’s child. My head swam at the possibility until I finally closed my eyes and tried to sleep again.

It was around six-thirty when Sophie knocked on the door. “Elijah?” When she swung open the door, her expression was horrified at the sight of Abby in my arms. Rafe was right on her heels, and when he saw what had Sophie frozen in shock, he quickly ushered her inside the room and shut the door behind them.

Abby stirred at the sound of hurried footsteps in the doorway. There was confusion in her face as she tried to get her bearings. She momentarily relaxed when she realized where she was. But at the sight of Sophie in the doorway, her face colored with embarrassment.

Sophie cleared her throat. “I just came in to make sure you two were up. Abby, you can use the shower in Cassie’s room. She’s laid out some clothes for you.”

“Thanks Sophie,” Abby said softly. She glanced back at me before scurrying out the door.

Rafe shook his head. “Man, you better thank your lucky stars it was me and not Gabriel with Sophie. He would’ve gone crazy if he saw the two of you like that.”

“She couldn’t sleep, and she started crying about her mother.” I stared at Sophie. “What was I supposed to do?”

Sophie didn’t answer me. Instead she said, “Rafe, you better go on and get ready for school.”

He nodded and hurried out of the door.

“Are you angry with me, Sophie?” I asked.

She came over to the bed and sat down. “No, I’m not angry, Elijah. I’m just worried.”

“Why?”

She gave me a knowing look. “I’m worried your emotions are getting the better of you.”

“Maybe they are,” I answered honestly.

“What do you mean?”

I inhaled a ragged breath. “I like her more than I should, Sophie…I might even love her. At first, I thought it was just infatuation, the very thing the Dominion cautioned me about in my file. But after last night, I realized the depth of my feelings.”

Sophie eyes widened to the size of saucers. Slowly, she shook her head. “Do you know what you’re saying?”

“Yes, I do.” I kept my voice firm.

“Oh Elijah…”

“And last night, well, I started thinking that I might, or I could…transcend for her,” I stammered.

Sophie sprung up from the bed. “You can’t mean that!”

“I don’t know. It was just a thought I had.”

The sound of water running in the bathroom down the hall suddenly cut off. “We can’t talk about this right now,” Sophie said.

She started to the door, but I stopped her. “Sophie, I am serious about this.”

“I know you are.” She shook her head sadly and left me alone in the room.

Chapter Eighteen: ELIJAH

At the end of the day, I was surprised to find Abby waiting for me outside my 7
th
period class.