Chapter 25

It had taken a while, some food and sleep for me, but we finally got to my mother's house. It hadn't changed at all and it brought back so many memories. My heart was pounding in my chest as I opened the passenger door, stepping out. I just stood there and looked at the house and when Gadreel stepped up beside me, I glanced at him and smiled.

"Here we go." I said and walked up to the house. I rang the doorbell and felt so many emotions that it was overwhelming me. I honestly didn't know why. She was my mother and I missed her.

When the door opened, I held my breath, as if waiting to see how this would turn out. My mother had changed her hair a little, had also aged a little, but looked tremendously relieved.

"Anne." She said softly and threw her arms around me in a tight hug. I automatically hugged her back and a few tears fell from my eyes as she told me how she missed me and waited every day and night, never giving up hope.

When I pulled back and looked at her, it finally sunk in what she had said.

"I've been gone for a couple of years." I said and she smiled as a tear fell down her cheek.

"Come in." she said and smiled at Gadreel. We walked in and he quietly closed the door behind us. She held my hands tightly and smiled. "When I heard that you died, I didn't want to believe it. After a few days, I pulled out Ouija boards and went to psychics just to know that you were okay." She said and I was speechless, but not for long. My mind came to a screeching halt because this wasn't my mother.

"You never believed in that stuff." I said and she laughed.

"Funny what a mother will do for her baby." She said and placed a hand on my cheek. "No psychic could contact you and that's when I knew you were still alive, somewhere." She added and I was stunned. This wasn't the mother I grew up with. What the Hell had my death done to her? Oh, what kind of effect would it have on my mother if I told her that I had died a second time?

She looked at Gadreel and then I snapped out of it and turned so I could watch the both of them as I introduce them.

"Mom, this is Gadreel." I said and when she extended a hand, I specified. "He's an angel." I said and she smiled, tossing her arms around him like a handshake just wouldn't do. He seemed caught off guard, but glanced at me with a smile.

"Yes, he is." My mother said and pulled back, smiling at him. I sighed and prepared myself to convince her.

"No really," I said and she met my eyes. "He really is an angel." I added and her smiled didn't change. She looked back at Gadreel and it was really weird seeing her smile and not say anything.

"Thank you for bringing her home." She said and gestured for us to follow her. Gadreel and I stayed a few paces back and when I glanced at him, he smiled at me as if this wasn't strange to him. Well, it sure as Hell was for me.

"That's my mom." I whispered in a sort of sing-song tone of voice and his smile grew bright.

"You're a lot like her." he replied and I couldn't resist smiling like I always do.

When my mother stopped at a familiar door, I held my breath. She pushed open the door and when I peered inside, I gasped. My bedroom was exactly the way I had left it. Of course, it was cleaner, but every poster and piece of furniture was in the same spot.

"I knew you'd come back home one day." My mother said as she watched my reaction. "I continued putting money into your bank account and even celebrated your birthdays." She added and those tears started forming again in our eyes.

We hugged again and when I glanced at Gadreel, he only smiled as if this was the most beautiful thing he's seen in a long time. Honestly, other than his gorgeous face, it was the same for me. My mother never stopped hoping that I'd be alive. I never thought she would. I expected to walk up to the door and have her freak out, not act like I just came home from University for the weekend.

"How much do I have in my bank account?" I asked her and she smiled at me and sighed like she always did when I was being a smartass.

"About ten thousand." She said and I couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "Why don't we talk about what happened these last couple of years." She said and I knew she wanted to hear it, wanted to know what I was doing. She wanted some answers and I gladly wanted to tell her.

We walked into the living and sat down. I glanced up at Gadreel who didn't sit down yet and I caught a glimpse of it again; where I sensed something wasn't right.

"Hold on, Mom." I said before I began telling her what I was up to. "Gadreel, what is it?" I asked him and his smile faded and a slight frown began to form.

"I suggested you come here so that I may go to Heaven and break Metatron's spell." He said and I instinctively stood up. We stared at each other and I tried to talk, but my mind was back to feeling like a tornado. However, I managed to find the right words.

"We're in this together." I said and he gave me a soft smile.

"Yes Anne. I couldn't have done it without you." He said with sincerity. "But I cannot take you with me." he added and then I couldn't find any words to put into logical sentences. "I'll carry out our spell and I'll see you whenever I have found one of the trial items." He said and all I could feel was this heaviness. He'd be gone, only dropping by for a short visit. Then what? Gone for good?

I looked up at him and I could feel that my feeling was showing in my eyes. His smile sort of fell and he looked at me as if this pained him as much as it did me. But then I remembered what I was supposed to do, why I was resurrected in the first place: to help him.

So I gave him a small smile and rushed into him, wrapping my arms around him.

"This is not goodbye." Gadreel said softly and I couldn't help but let out a small laugh. When I pulled back and looked into his beautiful green eyes, I nodded and smiled.

"I know." I replied and when he smiled softly, I flashed him my usual smile. "Go show them what a real angel looks like." I said and he smiled like he was about to laugh. Then he just stood there, staring at me as if he had something he wanted to say, but then vanished like he was never there. All I heard was the sound of large flapping wings.

When I turned a couple of seconds later, my mother was staring at me with a grin.

"What?" I asked her and she smiled, tapping the cushion beside her on the couch. "What?" I asked her again and she gave me the happier version of "don't make me say it twice".

As I sat down, she patted my hand and sighed.

"Young love." She said and I let out a sharp laugh which made her sort of glare at me.

"Mom, he's way older than me!" I replied and she waved it off as if she didn't care. Heck, not even I cared, but he was an angel and I a human. How could we be together? I was correct, right from the beginning. We may never be together…

"Now, tell me, what happened?" she asked and I looked at her with an arched eyebrow.

"You sure you're gonna believe me?" I asked her and she shot me another odd glare.

"I'm no longer the skeptic I once was." She replied and I hesitated, but began telling her everything.

She listened attentively as I told her about having false memories, about how I began hunting monsters and no, they were nothing like Hollywood said they were. I told her I was a Wiccan, which took her by surprise, but she didn't seem offended. That was the thing I worried about the most. I then told her about meeting Gadreel and what we were doing.

I explained everything and when I was done, she smiled and wrapped an arm around me in a half hug. An hour and a half had passed and we now sat in a happy type of silence.

"You still a virgin?" she asked me and I pulled away from her, looking at her in shock.

"Mom!" I said and she laughed just the way I remembered. It was nice and it brought me back to my childhood.

"I'll take that as a yes." She said and pulled me back in.

I couldn't really blame her for questioning it. I was spending nights in a motel room with a very gorgeous former angel and I was highly attracted to him. If given the chance, I would have lost my virginity to Gadreel long ago.

My mother held me tight and spoke softly.

"You're a smart, tough girl. I never worried because I knew you could take care of yourself." She added and I rested against her. My shock was fading as what she said had sunk in. I smiled and got comfortable with my head on her shoulder, thinking that my mother was proud of everything I had done and believed all along that I could do it.

"He likes you too, you know." She said and when I glanced up at her, she smiled. "I can tell just by the way he looks at you." She added and I thought of refuting her statement, but it sounded so nice that I just smiled and hoped that she was right.