Blindfolded
Four
"Dallas! I leave you alone for five minutes! Five minutes! And you're suddenly Mr. White Knight to Miss. Blonde-Haired-Julie-Replacement?"
"Jules-"
"I don't get you Dally! I mean, sure, we're on and off, but come on!"
"Jules!"
"What?"
"She's Alice's daughter. I ain't doin' anythin' with her."
"...When the hell did she have a kid? She looks nothing like her! That's low-"
"Shut up! I ain't cheatin' on you with her, okay? She ain't even dead! I'm just borrowin' her so we can find Christine. She needs to talk to her."
"Christine is working. Like someone else I know should be."
"Who, Leann?"
"Real funny Dallas. Real, fuckin' hilarious."
"Aw, c'mon Jules, don't be such a bitch. Jules! Damn it, c'mon, don't walk away!"
xxxx
Jennifer groaned, rolling over onto her stomach and pushing herself up to her hands and knees. "Oh... God, Where am I?"
Surprised, Jennifer felt her throat, coughed and tried again. "Ah?" Why did her voice sound so muffled?
"Mornin'." Dallas was standing over her again, hands shoved in his pockets. His voice, too? A sulking girl was next to him. Blonde, curly hair. He raised a hand and gestured between the two of them. "Jennifer, Julie."
"Uh, hi? Where am I though?"
"Inbetween. I just call it, 'Up There'."
"You killed me?" Jennifer screeched, sitting up. Dally seemed surprised by this.
"No. I'm just borrowin' ya. I can't go around killin' people, it ain't my job."
"That's right!" Julie scolded. "But apparently you think you can just bring up any-"
"Shut up!"
"Dallas is just supposed to watch over people. He's a Guardian Angel, not the Angel of Death. That's a different section entirely," Julie said.
"What is? The AoD's?" A new voice that Jennifer didn't recognize. She didn't see anyone either. I don' like them much... they're kind of conceited."
"...Why isn't Dally one again?" Julie chirped in response.
Jennifer noticed Dally's jaw clench, and he looked over his shoulder. "Christine, perfect. Why don't you get your empty head over here so I can get Jennifer back home?"
Not a suggestion. Jennifer wondered why someone so temperamental was a Guardian Angel, but a girl walked over anyway, looking a bit worried. Another blonde with curly hair. "What?"
"Alice's daughter, Christine. Christine, Alice's daughter. I'm leaving."
"Dallas, what am I-"
But Dallas had already disappeared. Julie, who was still glaring at Jennifer, stalked off.
"...So... you're really her daughter? You don' really look like her. I'd say you look more like Dallas, if I were goin' by hair color and eyes."
"I was adopted."
Christine nodded and sat down next to Jennifer.
"Why are you all blonde?"
"Huh? Oh, that. Just a coincidence. There's people with brown hair, black hair, red hair... sometimes all at the same time. Not all Angels are blonde. Is there something you needed to ask me?"
"My mother mentioned your eyes."
"...Oh. I see," Christine said, looking thoughtful. "I suppose I'll have to tell you how I died then, won't I? Well, you see, I was at the drive-in with your mother, Alice, a friend, Linda and another friend, Andrew and this boy I was seeing, Ronnie.
"And we were having a pretty good time... but then Ronnie and his friends started shooting and... I remember Dallas was there. Alice, Linda and I were hiding behind a car and he comes barrelin' around it, slides on the gravel next to Alice and grabs her as the windows above us got shot out.
"I thought they were seein' each other but it really wasn't the time to be discussing those things. He told us we had to run, so we did. But I had to run barefoot, because I had been wearing heels and I'm not very good at running in heels on gravel.
"I fell behind a bit and Alice came back and grabbed my hand, pulling me forward. I was shot in the head and Alice was facing me, watching it all happen.
"You see, when you die, your eyes look different. They look empty, but I suppose mine may have been accusing."
"Why?"
"If Alice hadn't pulled me forward, they would have missed me. I would have made it out. They tell you that on the way up. They tell you what life would have been without you, what would have happened if you had done one thing differently. Most of us don't remember it. The only part I remember was that Alice had accidentally caused my death."
Christine paused, looking up at the sky, then around at the people wandering in the field. "I blamed her for a while. I mean, that's what I do. I was 17 and I wasn't as forgiving as most people. But after a while I got over it. She couldn't have known.
"The only problem is I think I sent some sort of negative energy down to her because of it. She had the feeling I blamed her and she wanted to apologize. But there really wasn't any way she could."
"Ronnie was there?"
"You know him?"
"He's my dad."
Christine gave Jennifer the most sympathetic look she had ever seen. "I'm so sorry..."
xxxx
'Christine went down and got my journal for me. So who ever reads this in a bajillion years from now should thank her that this entry is even there. Sorry if the page is ruined. I can't stop crying. No, it's not like before, I'm just... crying.
'I really wish she hadn't said sorry. But now I'm wondering, why the hell did she marry him? Why? Why couldn't she just make it work with Soda, or find someone else? Anyone but him.
'Hold on.'
Jennifer looked up, to see what was casting a shadow on her paper.
"I thought you'd look like her..." the boy said, sounding a bit disappointed. "Like Alice, I mean."
"Yeah, I seem to get that a lot. Did you know her?"
"Sorry... I'm Johnny. I had already died but, I kinda knew her, yeah. What's your name?"
"Jennifer."
"You kinda remind me of Dallas, actually."
"I've heard that too," Jennifer muttered. But she stored it away, like everything else she had heard while being in "Inbetween". "Do I really look that much like Dallas?"
"Well, your face is kinda different, and your eyes a bit darker but..." Johnny stopped, looking at Jennifer suspiciously. "Why?"
"I'm beginning to wonder why she picked a blonde kid that looks like him."
"Alice wouldn't do that."
She had kind of been hoping that Johnny would be more of an impartial party. But he understood what she was trying to get to, and she wanted, needed, to get this out in the open to someone. He had the face of a pretty decent listener, and he hadn't brushed her off yet, so she continued. "It's been a while, hasn't it? When did you die?"
"1966."
"See? It's the eighties now. She could have changed. She might have been, like, completely obsessed and you would have no idea."
"I dunno..." Johnny said uncertainly. "Dally ain't the worst lookin' guy in the world but between the two of us he wasn't exactly that popular."
"Okay, first of all, don't say that after you told me I look like him," she frowned and held up a finger. Johnny quickly tried to apologize. "Second, there was some sort of connection between the two, I know it. Maybe, just maybe, that was why she didn't stay with Soda-"
"Wait... she was with Soda? I heard she married Ronnie."
"Yes, but can I go on? Anyway, he's nothing like Dallas, but Ronnie..." Jennifer trailed off, hoping Johnny would catch what she was getting at.
"Ronnie was..." Johnny said quietly.