The Guardians (28 page)

“I don’t know. I’ve never fought anyone before in my life,” I answered miserably.

“Did he provoke you?” Mr. Reynolds questioned.

“Yes, with words.”

“What did he say?”

I tried wiping some of the blood off my hands. It only sent a red smudge across my knuckles. Mr. Reynolds handed me a tissue. “Elijah, you need to tell me what he said,” he prompted

Running the tissue in slow circles across my hands, I explained what happened.

“So you were defending Miss Thomas’s honor?”

“I guess.”

Mr. Reynolds smiled. “Sounds like you’re a modern day knight in shining armor.”

I shrugged.

He sighed. “You’ve really tied my hands with this one, Elijah. Normally, I would have to call the police, but because of who you are and who your brother and sister are, I’m not going to.”

“You aren’t?” I asked.

“No, I’m not. But I will have to give you a week of out of school suspension.”

Shame filled me as I stared down at my hands. “Yes sir, I understand.”

“Go wait outside now. I’ve got to call your brother to come pick you up,” Mr. Reynolds said.

“Yes sir.” I rose from my chair and joined Rafe outside.

“So what happened?” Rafe asked.

“I’ve been suspended for a week.”

“Man, that’s harsh.”

“And he’s calling Gabriel to come pick me up.”

Rafe winced. “Ah, that’s even worse.”

I shook my head. “Nothing Gabriel says will make me feel any worse than I already do.”

“Listen Jay-Jay, you can’t beat yourself up over this. Your emotions got the better of you, and you had a little slip up. It happens.”

“A slip up? I slugged a guy!”

“No, you beat him to a pulp,” Rafe replied, grinning. I gave him an exasperated look, and he sighed. “Seriously Elijah, I know what you’re feeling. I’ve been there. You just have to realize you made a mistake, and you’ll do better the next time.”

“But I wanted to kill him. Not just for what he said about Abby, but for everything he’s done to her.”

“What you’re describing is a very natural reaction to loving someone. It’s a very
human
reaction.”

I shuddered. “I hate this teenage emotions garbage. I’ve never felt so out of control before in my life.”

We were interrupted by Gabriel bursting through the office door. Sophie was close on his heels. “Gabriel, I’m-”

He held up his hand. “Don’t apologize. It’s okay.”

Rafe and I both stared open mouthed at him. “What?” I questioned.

“You had a momentary lapse of judgment. It happens.”

My eyebrows shot up. “So you’re not angry I’ve been suspended for a week?”

“I’m not thrilled with the idea, but I’m not angry.” Gabriel gave me a long look. “I would assume the remorse you feel right now is far worse than any admonishment I could give you.”

“Yes,” I murmured.

He nodded. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

Sophie and Rafe walked out into the hallway with us. “Are you going to be all right?” Sophie asked me, her face full of concern.

“I’m fine,” I answered. Truthfully, I worried more about Abby than I did myself.

She nodded. “Well, Rafe, shows over. Let’s get back to class.”

He grinned. “Okay.” He touched me on the shoulder. “Take it easy, man.”

“I will.”

I followed Gabriel out the door. When we got inside the car, Gabriel turned to look at me. “Let it go, Elijah.”

“I’m trying to.”

“It happens to all of us, myself included. We may be angels, but as long as we’re in human form, those human emotions will override everything else,” Gabriel said.

“It’s just I’m worried about Abby.”

“Abby?”

I nodded. “It was the look on her face after she saw me fighting Landon. She looked like she was ashamed of me.”

Gabriel shook his head. “I’m sure it was just your imagination. I can’t fathom Abby being angry with anything you do. She cares about you too much for that.”

“I hope so,” I murmured, staring out the window.

“And just in case you’re concerned, the Dominion isn’t upset about you fighting today.”

My face flushed when I realized I hadn’t even given them a thought—Abby was all I could think of.

“Oh, um, okay. Thanks.”

“Just don’t let it happen again, or we will have a problem,” he warned.

I nodded as he pulled up to the house and let me out on his way back to church. After the car pulled away, I went outside and sat down on the deck. I don’t know how long I sat staring out at the water. Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me. “Hey there.” I turned to see Abby standing in the doorway.

“Hey.”

She came over and sat down beside me in the glider. When I glanced over at her, I saw the concern on her face. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine,” I answered.

Abby reached out to tenderly run her fingers over my throbbing cheek. “Looks like you’re bruising pretty badly.”

I shrugged her away. “I’ll live.”

She smiled. “Yeah, you’re a lot tougher than I thought.”

“Just cut to the chase, Abby. Are you angry with me?”

She stared at me in surprise. “How could I be angry with you?”

“For fighting Landon.”

“But you were taking up for me,” she protested.

“I could’ve found a better way that didn’t involve violence.”

“No one has ever done anything like that for me before.” Abby glanced down at her hands. “If anyone should be angry, it’s you.”

“Why?” I asked, incredulously.

“You got suspended from school for defending me.”

“It was worth it, Abby.”

“I’m not sure Gabriel feels the same way.”

“No, it’s okay. He was pretty understanding.”

“I’m glad.” She smiled at me. “You’re really a knight in shining armor, aren’t you?”

“Beating up a guy is hardly chivalrous,” I argued, disgusted with the thought.

Abby shook her head. “You really don’t get it, do you? Most girls would
kill
for a guy like you.”

I shifted uncomfortably in the glider. “I don’t know about that.”

“No, it’s true. Andrea and Kim are always talking about what a sweet, awesome guy you are.” She paused to gage my reaction, but I didn’t respond. “But you’re never going to have a girlfriend if you keep hanging around me.”

“But I don’t care about a girlfriend.”

“You don’t?” Abby questioned.

I shrugged. “I like being around you.”

She peered curiously up at me. “So why don’t you have a girlfriend?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t.”

“Have you
ever
had a girlfriend?”

Blushing, I shook my head. I searched my brain for something to say to that would get her off this totally mortifying subject of my total lack of dating experience.

“What about kissing? Have you ever kissed a girl?”

“No.”

It wasn’t hard to gage Abby’s total shock at my response considering her wide-eyed, open-mouth expression. With a sheepish grin, I said, “I guess that makes me a real loser, doesn’t it?”

“No, Elijah. There’s
nothing
about you that’s a loser. It’s just hard to imagine.” We sat in an uncomfortable silence. Abby kept biting her lip like she wanted to say something. “Would you like to?” she questioned in a whisper.

My brows furrowed. “Like to what?”

“Kiss a girl.”

“Of course!” I blurted. I instantly ducked my head. My teenage emotions had betrayed my rational side with lightening speed, and I felt both guilty and mortified.

But Abby’s next three words sent my heart into a full gallop.

“Why not now?”

I stared at her. “W-what?”

“Why don’t you kiss me?” she asked, a small smile fluttering on her lips.

“YES!”
the voice in my mind screamed. I fought the urge to dive over on her, to wrap my arms around her and lay one on her like I’d seen in the movies a hundred times before. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” The teenage side may have harbored few doubts about whether it was a good idea, but my angel side
knew
it wasn’t a good idea. I didn’t know what might happen once I crossed the line with Abby, especially since I was toying with the idea of transcending for her.

“Well I do.”

“Abby-”

She put her hand over my mouth. “Elijah, don’t good friends kiss each other?”

“I guess…” I mumbled against her hand.

“Then just think of it that way.”

“But-”

“Shh…”

When she leaned over towards me, I couldn’t help but jerk away. Warmth burned in my cheeks. “It’s just, I-I don’t know what to do, and I-I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you.”

That sweet smile of hers that I loved so very, very much spread across her face. “It’s okay.”

Abby scooted closer to me before I could protest anymore. Her soft curves pressed against me, sending my heart flip-flopping in my chest. I closed my eyes and sucked in a breath as she brought her lips to mine.

The kiss was…soft and gentle, just like her lips. They felt different than they had when she had kissed my cheek. It was like I could taste a different emotion on them—like those of lust and longing. Fire, like an out of control inferno, burned from the top of my head down to my toes. A strange fluttering reverberated below my stomach, causing me to shift in my seat. It took everything within me not crush her to me and rake my hands through her long hair and along the side of her body.

Her lips lingered on mine longer than I expected. Without even thinking, my tongue darted forward, sweeping across her lips. It all came so naturally, so instinctually. She slowly pulled away to stare into my eyes. “Elijah, that was....beautiful.”

“I know,” I whispered. Something possessed me, and I leaned over to kiss her again. But this time, she turned away. My lips grazed her hair. Mortification rocketed through me. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

Abby shook her head. “It’s just I feel so mixed-up and confused.”

“About what?”

She lowered her eyes. “You.”

I drew in a ragged breath. “Me?”

“I find myself thinking about you more than I should.” She raised her gaze to meet mine.

We stared intently at each other. My heart pounded so hard in my chest I was sure she could hear it. “I-I think about you more than I should, too,” I replied, as my head dropped closer to hers.

Her voice was barely a whisper. “Are you really just my friend?”

“I’m whatever you want me to be.”

She chewed on her lip. “And if I wanted you to be more?”

“Then I’d be more.”

Our lips met again, but this time we both deepened our kisses. When the heat of our tongues met, I felt like I would come out of my skin. Every emotion in my body zigzagged like a brilliant lightning storm. I never imagined it would be like this. At that moment, I realized what I had been missing all these years.

Abby’s breath warmed my cheek. “Are you sure we should be doing this?”

“I don’t know. All I know is I love you, and I want to be with you.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “But I don’t deserve you, Elijah. I’m not good.”

“Yes, you are. You’re a good person who made a mistake.” I stared out over the lake. “We all make mistakes.” I couldn’t quiet the screaming voice in my head.
By kissing you and having this conversation,
I’ve made the biggest mistake of my angelic career—maybe even my life.
But I didn’t. I was lost to any angelic reasoning.

Instead, I cupped Abby’s face in my hands. “I want you to know something right now. I won’t take anymore than you can give me. I want your love and nothing more. I won’t be like Landon.”

For a moment, I couldn’t believe my own ears. Was I really saying these things to her? Was I really as confident as I sounded? Had my Clark Kent persona had been replaced by an almost suave Superman?

She threw up her hands in exasperation. “But what can I possibly give you? All the popularity I ever had just took a serious nose dive. The rumors about me are only going to get worse. I can’t have you slugging everyone who calls me a slut, Elijah. You kinda need to be in school to graduate.”

“I’m not going to fight everyone. I can control my temper.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, I can,” I argued.

“Well, even if that’s true, you should also rethink the fact that I’m going to balloon up in a few months and look hideous!”

“You should know me better than to think any of that stuff matters to me. Besides, you could never be hideous to me, Abby. I swear it.”

Abby took in what I said before smiling slightly. “Okay, I guess I’m being stupid.”