Yaaaay! The next chapter! Thanks for the reviews, I took them into consideration for future chapters! I now have everything planned out, so don't worry, no random stuff will be put in here :) I hope you like it! -Danielle
I lay in bed that night, too hyped up to sleep. All I could think about was Diego. The way his eyes sparkled in the reflected light by the river, the way he smiled at me, the way he held Maddie when she finally drifted off on the way home. It got so bad that I actually walked across the hall and knocked on his door. Diego answered, drowsy in his night shirt and shorts.
"Bree?" He mumbled.
"I-I couldn't sleep...I didn't want to disturb Maddie. Do you mind if I..?" I stammered, trying to think of a good excuse. The one that came was the absolute truth.
"Oh...um, sure I guess. You can have the bed." He stomped back into the bedroom, opening a closet stocked just like ours and pulling a blanket from the top shelf.
"That's ok Diego, it's your bed." I argued, taking the blanket from him and laying down on the couch.
"No Bree, I'm serious! Get off of that couch!" Diego yelled unenthusiastically.
"Why?"
"Because I want you to sleep on the bed."
"Well, I want you to sleep on the bed!"
"We can't both sleep on the bed...can we?"
I had thought he would go right to that idea, but he questioned it instead! "I don't care, do you?"
"No."
"Ok then. I'll just- Wow!" Before I could move, Diego had me in his arms, walking calmly to the bed. He laid me down on top of the already messed of side of the bed, tucking the covers up to my chin.
"There you go. Sweet dreams Bree!" He whispered, kissing my forehead like a child.
That was not cool. Not cool at all. I was seething about it while he got into bed on the other side and turned out the lights. Then I decided to do something about it. "You know, I am 17. I am not a child, don't treat my like you're my mother, because I have one...how ever far away Heaven is from Earth!"
"I know. I just love you."
"You what?"
"I love you." He murmured confidently. Diego ran his fingers through my bangs, tucking them behind my ear. Then he laughed. "It's a ninja thing."
"I love you too...thanks for being my ninja." I whispered sleepily. It was finally hitting me, there, while I was so close to him. Sleep and protection and love. The perfect combination.
The next morning I woke up with strong arms holding me. He kissed my hair, tightening his grip on my body. Trying to turn around to return the kiss, I found that we weren't alone.
"Maddie? What are you doing here?" I gasped, nearly jumping out of my skin.
She sighed from where she sat on the couch. "I spent 10 minutes telling air about my night! Don't ask me what I'm doing here, that's my job. I think we were given separate rooms for a reason Bree." Her angry rant finished, she stormed out of the hotel room. Diego and I both moved for the door, but I held him back. "
"Stay here, I'll get her." I ordered, feeling the carpet under my feet as I leapt from the bed. "Maddie! Maddie wait! Maddie, open this door this instant. Maddie!" She had locked the door on me. Ugh, if she had been able to be a teenager, I pitied her parents. I tried to open it with my key, but only got as far as the little chain holding the door to the wall would let me. "Maddie come here. We need to talk."
From somewhere inside the suite, "No!"
"Madeline Chase, if you don't come here right now, I will not help you find your parents!" I used her soft spot, her weakness, her hope, and I felt terrible as soon as the words were out.
"Fine! Go be with Diego, I don't need anyone's help anyway!" She screamed, and I heard a muffled bang like glass breaking. She'd thrown something.
"There are a million couples with the name Chase, Maddie, you'll never find them! If it weren't for me and Diego, you would still be running around in that stupid pit! Or worse, a tiny pile of ashes! Is this how you're going to repay us?"
Silence. Then the door closed again and she unhooked the chain. "You have five seconds to tell me that I wasn't just a pawn to get out. When you say it, you have to mean it." She muttered in a calm but upset voice.
"What? Why would you think that? Because I left you in the room? Hun, I couldn't sleep so I went to Diego's. I didn't think you would mind!" I tried to mimic her tone.
"I thought we were a team, that we would stick together..." Her voice dropped to a whisper, her eyes pleading.
"This is more than just me leaving last night isn't it?"
"You guys spend so much time together, I feel like the third wheel."
Forcing a smile, I replied, "Of course you're the third wheel, we're a tricycle!"
"Then we need to act more like a tricycle." She stated bluntly.
"Yes, that's true. What do you say we get dressed and go to breakfast?" I picked her up and carried her through the door, all the way to the closet. "I think you should wear something purple today, don't you? You look so pretty in dresses, lets try to find another one." I went through her half of the closet, picking out dresses I thought she would like and throwing them on my bed. When I got to the last set of clothes, we went to sort through our findings. While she picked her favorites, I returned to the closet and selected the prettiest outfits in my half. The outcome of our messy room? A fashion show! Diego came and waited while we put on shirt after dress after shorts. When it was over, we all agreed that Maddie looked best in a purple summer dress, while I was happy wearing a pair of jeans and a green baby doll shirt. Diego ran back to his suite and threw on a pair of cargo shorts and a navy button down shirt.
Breakfast consisted of every kind of pastry, cereal, and drink you could ever think of. I settled with having a danish, cheerios, and orange juice, feeling very healthy afterwards. On our way back upstairs to go change into our swimsuits, a flicker of red hair stopped me in my tracks. Then I got the strangest vision, like I was remembering a dream from last night. A door opens, screaming, flames.
"Bree? You coming?" Diego asked, shacking away the fear tumbling through my body.
"Yeah...I was just thinking about something."
"What?"
"Is it possible to dream in Heaven?"
"I think so, I mean, if it's not, I don't know what I saw last night! Why?"
"I...I think I saw Victoria. She was going through the door, but she fell into flames..."
"Hah, good riddance! I would have hated living with her as my next door neighbor." Diego laughed. He put his arm around me, but somehow that didn't help my nerves. I could feel someone staring at the back of my head but when I turned around, no one seemed to care if I was there or not.
After we changed again, my group took the elevator down to the Lobby and found three chairs by the pool to put our stuff.
"Anyone up for a last swim before the big day?" Maddie asked, hopping onto her chair trying to be as tall as we were.
"As long as I get to do this!" Diego roared, picking me up in his arms and jumping into the pool. My screams rang on the four walls of the hotel surrounding us, causing windows to open and heads to pop up. Maddie was giggling from her seat, drenched in chlorine water.
"Get off me you big dork!" I gasped. I was laughing so hard that both of our bodies shook. Diego dragged me to the shallow end and sat me on a step.
"As you wish, m'lady! I'll just go get Madeline then. Ooooh Maddie!"
That night, we watched Christmas movies about how a guy is a bad husband and father, but then he goes through something that makes him realize he needs to be better, and then he goes home and surprises his family. They were basically the only movies Heaven allowed...
When the last one ended, it was around 12, so I turned off the TV and walked Diego to the door.
"You sure you don't want to come with me?" He whispered, holding my hand in his.
"Yes. I want to stay with Maddie tonight, you know, to make sure we don't have a repeat of this morning."
"Why? I liked the fashion show!"
"Not that you idiot, I don't want to make her upset again! Goodnight, I love you." I replied, smacking him on the head.
"Goodnight, I love you even though I'll probably get a bruise tomorrow!" He smiled, kissed my cheek, and went across the hall to his room. Closing the door, I couldn't help but smile. I had found love in the worst situation ever, made it to Heaven, and tomorrow I would get the ok to move into my house with Diego. Oh, and help Maddie find her parents so she could live happily ever after too. What could go wrong with such a perfect ending? I clapped my hands and the lamp went out, forcing everything into darkness, but I didn't care. The sheets felt like silk, the bed felt like a cloud, and I felt like a zombie.
Blue skies, green grass, a familiar house.
I woke with a start, my eyes darting around the room for a glimpse of what I had just seen, although, now that I was awake, I had no idea what that had been. It looked like the sun was coming up outside, so I decided to make breakfast for Maddie before she got up too. Searching through the multitude of food, I realized I didn't know what she liked either. Well, she liked the mac and cheese, so maybe she would like anything. I thought. Within half an hour I had prepared pancakes, sausage, eggs, and freshly squeezed orange juice (the only kind I will drink). It had to have been around 7 by the time I was finished, still too early, so I pulled out the two suitcases in the closet and started packing. I didn't see Maddie open her eyes, or sit up.
"What are you doing? Mmmm and what is the beautiful smell?" She piped, leaping out of bed and running to the kitchen. "What is all of this? meat, eggs, and some sort of bread?"
"It's sausage, pancakes, and eggs. I made some orange juice too, or if you prefer milk, we have that too. Do you mind getting Diego? I want to finish packing so we can eat." I answered from the bathroom. She was already gone when I came out carrying all things hygiene. I divided the hair ties, ribbons, clips, and soaps between our two bags, fishing out a make up bag for me. The closet seemed bare without all of our clothes in it anymore. I wondered if Maddie was right about the room being magic and the closet instantly refilling when a new guest arrived. Maybe...but I couldn't think about that now. We had to be ready to leave by 4 so we could get the Mansion on time and make a good impression on whoever had called this meeting.
"Knock Knock!" Diego called, entering the hall with Maddie peaking out behind him.
"Isn't just great? Look at what she made! All for us!" She squealed.
"Yep! You guys get your plates, I'm almost done. Diego have you packed yet?"
"I'm about finished too. I couldn't sleep last night so I took a walk then started putting my stuff together. Do you think they'll let us take this when we leave?"
"They have to! Where else would it go?" I replied, appearing beside him holding a plate. I don't know how, but I seemed to retain my speed when I stepped into Heaven while everything else left. Weird. We ate in silence, every once in a while saying 'mmm'. I was proud of my cooking, considering I had never lifted a finger to help my mom in the kitchen.
"Check out is at 4, but I think we should keep our bags in here until then so Diego, after breakfast how about we go return your key and then get some sun?" I suggested.
"Sounds good." Diego replied, stabbing a piece of sausage with his fork and shoving it into his mouth like Maddie had the first night. More silence. My mind was racing, trying desperately to remember my dream. I felt like it was really important to know what it was, but I couldn't put my finger on any possibility. Instead of killing my brain, I helped Diego wash the dishes. He would look at me and smile every few seconds, but I just couldn't tear my thoughts away from that dang dream. My eyes had clouded over, my motions put on auto pilot. It had had something to do with Earth, I knew that, but what else? It had been dark too. Dark on Earth. That's it. That's all I could figure out...
"Bree come on! We have to get down to the lobby! Do you want to be late?" Maddie called from the hall.
"Impatient child." I muttered, lugging my suitcase out the door to join Diego and Maddie. "Ok, are we ready?"
"Ready!" Diego agreed, taking Maddie's hand. We went down the elevator for the last time, stopping at the front desk to give the last key to Grace and sign out.
"Good luck to all of you! Do you need directions?" She said, flashing her famous smile.
"Thank you! No, I think we can make it." I replied, smiling back at her. We took up our luggage again and began our walk up hill to the big mansion in the middle.
14 blocks, 189 streets, and 1 hour later, I stood at the very edge of the enormous city called Heaven. Before me stood a great stone mansion surrounded by an gigantic garden. Scents of hundreds of flowers filled the air around a gravel path leading up to the front doors. The right door swung open, revealing a woman in golden robes waiting for us inside another lobby.
"Welcome to the Mansion. You are Diego Gonzalez, Brianna Tanner, and Madeline Chase?" The woman asked.
"Yes, but I'm just Bree." I corrected, embarrassed by my full name.
"Come with me, you are just in time. You can leave your bags by my desk and pick them up later." She took off walking at a brisk pace down the left hall. The woman took us up a huge carpet staircase and down another hall that led to more great doors. These opened automatically just like the first ones.
"Hello Bree, Diego, and Maddie! It's good to see you. How has your stay been?" said a man sitting on a very big throne. Was everything big here? Next to him sat a man I had seen before. Jesus. Which would make the first one...oh god.
Ok, now you know what the all important meeting will be! I'd like to make a shout out to my bestest friend Lilianaloveslilacs and her story called Midnight! If you love Twilight fanfics, you'll love her awesome story. :) If you're interested, it's on my favorite stories list on my profile! Hahaha I feel like a celebrity doing advertisements. -Danielle
