Chapter 3
The sound of my phone chirping Vee's ringtone and vibrating incessantly below my pillow tore me away from my dream. I scowled at the phone's screen as I checked the time. It was three in the morning. It took all of my effort not to hurl the thing across my room.
"You better have a good reason why you're calling me at this annoyingly early hour."
"Yeah, I actually do so get your butt off your bed now," Vee commanded from the other line.
"You're kidding. I'm going back to sleep." I hung up.
I heard the phone ringing downstairs. She must be insane. My mom was on the other room, sleeping. Vee must at least know if she's calling the landline, she's bothering the whole house. Once the ringing downstairs stopped, I groaned and dialed Vee's number.
"Vee, normal people sleep at night. We're not vampires."
"Yeah, well I know you'd wake up for Patch," she said knowingly. At her words, my body shot straight up to a sitting position.
"What about Patch?" I asked apprehensively.
"He told me to train with you."
"Train me? Patch talked to you?" This wasn't what I was expecting. I wasn't ignorant of Vee's disapproval of Patch though of course, she had gotten past that ever since she learned about the world we both belong into now. She still didn't trust him but at least the gang-involvement comments had stopped. Apparently, now they've taken their relationship to a whole new level.
"Yeah and he told me I better make sure you're well prepared for anything or it's my neck on the line. See I told you your boyfriend is psychotic."
Okay, there's the crazy comments I was expecting from her. "Don't tell me, training starts today," I groaned again, slumping back to my pillows. They were so tempting right now.
"I'm already here, waiting for you in the cold, freak. Meet me in your front yard as soon as you can."
I hung up and reluctantly slid off the bed, pulling a pair of jogging pants and a thick jacket on. Out of habit, I was out of the house within five minutes, walking towards Vee. She had her hair tied up to a tight bun on top of her head. She was wearing her matching electric pink Victoria's Secret sweatpants and sweatshirt.
"When did this arrangement with Patch happened?" I asked her as soon as I was in earshot. "I thought you hated him."
"No, I never said I hated him. I was suspicious of him," she replied defensively but I gave her my "really" look. She waved it away and added, "Anyways, he called me last night. He told me everything." She looked at me wearily.
I bit my lip. "Really?"
"Are you okay?" she asked a moment later.
I forced myself to smile in reassurance but it felt stiff. I was sure she saw right through it. She returned me the "really" look and I dropped the pretense. "I'll be fine," I sighed.
I stared at her expectantly, not wanting to talk about this any further. "Well, what are we waiting for?" I asked changing the subject quickly, away from the trial. It was the first time I was going to train with Vee and I wondered how different it will be compared to the previous trainings I had under Patch and Dante.
"Fine, come on." She turned and I expected her to walk towards the forests where my other instructors had trained me but instead, she walked out of my driveway and into the road. The farmhouse was situated in Hawthorne Lane, an area that seem to have sucked in most of Maine's fog and dumped it in my front yard. The dark had made the mist seem like restless, trapped souls were converging in on us. I guess my parents were never really convinced on the whole institution of neighbors since mine were about seven miles away. However, even the farmhouse seemed isolated from the rest of the world, I wouldn't trade it for any other house. It had most of my adoptive father's memory and that's something I wouldn't dare lose anytime soon.
"Where are we going?" I asked as soon as I caught up with her. She was already stretching, staring intently ahead.
"We're going to run," she said, nodding towards the road ahead of us.
I frowned. Vee had always been the lazy type and I suspect she wasn't taking this training thing as seriously as Patch would have liked. "Where's the challenge in that?"
She smiled slyly, seeing my expression. "Well this is just the warm-up babe. Wait till I show you what I got in store for you. You think Scott and I did nothing for the past few months after I discovered what I am?" She moved towards the pavement, facing the road intently. "You are so out of civilization that your nearest neighbor is miles away. We'll focus on your speed first. You'll have to race me as fast as you can from here to the first house we see and back again and that will be one lap. We will have five laps and you must beat me in all of them."
I was still unconvinced but I followed her on the road nevertheless. She lifted three fingers up then put them down one by one. When the last finger was down, she took off.
During the Nephilim-Fallen Angel battle, Vee and I got separated. My focus was solely on defeating Dante so I didn't know what kind of training she had gone through under Scott. But obviously he had trained her well. Vee was zooming away from me; her speed was incredible. She was a blur in the night and if I didn't have my Nephil senses, I wouldn't be able to see her.
Realizing I was desperately falling behind, I took off. The advantages of being born a Nephil naturally was against me. Even if I ran with all my might, my quite new running shoes steadily pattering against the asphalt, I wasn't catching up to her. I was never fast even when I was training with Dante. My speed improved and I was able to avoid sudden dips and other obstacles in the forest more easily but Dante had always outran me. I tried matching her speed but almost immediately, the muscles in my calves started complaining from a month of lack of activity. I scowled, ignoring the strain and pushed my speed.
Vee was waiting for me in front of our neighbor's house, her foot slightly tapping. A smile spread on her lips when I slowed to a stop in front of her. "Not so easy now, is it?" She was enjoying this.
"Okay, I get it." I was afraid my face was frozen in the same scowl, the wind whipping as I ran freezing the muscles in my face. "It's not easy."
"This is just the warm-up," she reminded me again. "We'll run back and this time try to keep up with me." She didn't even count down before whipping past me again.
By the time we had finished the run, the sun was slowly making its way back to the heavens. The sky was considerably lighter. With a sudden pang, I realized that a week ago, Patch and I were eating breakfast at his place and watching the sun rise. The sudden heaviness of his absence was almost too real. The stinging in my eyes warned me of oncoming slaughter of tears but I pushed them away by focusing on my fatigue.
I slumped on the gutter in front of our house. The cool sweat rolling down my back sent shivers through me. My hair was stuck in the nape of my neck. My breathing was heavy and my calves were throbbing. Vee sat beside me, looking a bit more composed than I did. I was supposed to do five laps, with one lap equaling fourteen miles. But my legs had refused to take another step when I was halfway through my third lap. I pleaded Vee to just walk back home. She had done the five laps easily, therefore she agreed. Though of course, I didn't escape her "I told you so" gazes.
"Come on, we're not done yet," she stood up and offered me her hand. I glared at her before taking it. She lowered her eyelashes and her eyes glinted as she smiled again. "You'll enjoy this one."
"What is it?" I asked guarded as we walked back to my back yard. I wondered silently what other abuses Vee had came up with. She stepped as far away as my back yard could possibly let her until she was on the other side, about forty-five feet away from where I stood.
"We're going to practice hand-to-hand combat," she called out.
"What?" Well, this is unexpected and seriously surprising. Vee and I had never gotten into a physical fight before. We rarely get into fights period. But she was already charging towards me with force. Her blonde hair had broken free from her tight ponytail and was waving wildly behind her.
Within a second, she was in front of me, her right arm extended stiffly at her side, meaning to catch me by the neck to throw me off balance. With just a split second to think, I ducked down and staggered to the side. My sneakers slid against the damp grass and I was momentarily outbalanced. I regained my footing by stepping solidly but it was enough to distract me. Vee had taken that opportunity to lunge at me, pinning me against the cold grass. My head hit the frozen ground hard and the air whooshed out of my lungs. The world swung around for a second as I saw different colors.
I could feel the dew seeping through my sweatpants and my sweater. When my vision was steady enough, I tried to move but her legs had pinned my arms and the seat of her pants was firmly on my stomach, cutting circulation to my legs. Her fist was drawn up before it came down on me, fast. But it didn't make contact with my face, though that didn't stop me from flinching. Instead, Vee had planted the punch solidly on the ground just inches beside my head.
"You need more practice," she said, her eyes staring directly at me. "But you are a lot better than when you fought Marcie at the Devil's Handbag." Despite my struggles, I blushed, remembering the incident with slight embarrassment. I had never really fought in my life but to my surprise I had clipped Marcie in the jaw, though not before she had given me a black eye. Vee slipped off me, brushed grass from her sweats, and offered me a hand once again. I took it, straightening up myself.
"I haven't practiced in a while," I defended, pouting.
"I thought Patch trained you?" she demanded, her eyebrow lifting. "Unless you were doing something else I should know about."
I rolled my eyes. "Actually he taught me how to block other people from my mind."
"He just taught you? Scott had trained me on that a long time ago," she said. Her face darkened and I knew she didn't intend to mention Scott. I placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. I knew she was still hurting.
I decided not to press on about her feelings. She would tell me when she's ready. I changed the topic. "So, can we go again?"
We practiced until the sun was up in the sky and the temperature had warmed considerably. We had been lunging, punching, and swinging at each other for at least two hours, both of us looking extremely filthy. Our workout clothes were damp with sweat and dew. Streaks of soil and grass ran at long lengths. Our hair had adopted the smell of the ground and few clumps of soil and grass stuck on it, my curly hair accumulating more dirt than Vee's hair. We were sweaty and panting. When we collapsed on the ground, we decided we were done for the day.
"I am hungry," she commented, placing a hand on her stomach. At that moment, her stomach growled loudly.
"I can go and cook eggs for us," I said, biting back laughter. I stood up and made my way back to the house. She followed me, smiling in response.
The house was still dead silent when we entered through the back door. We silently passed the kitchen and soon was heading up the stairs. Vee had been my best friend long enough to know where the floor creaks and we both avoided them easily. We reached my door without incident, closing the door behind us slightly.
"You can go ahead and take a shower," she said a moment later, examining the perfume on top of my drawer. "If your mom wakes up, you'll at least be ready to face her. When you're done, you can cook breakfast for the both of us, unless the dictator wants to do that for us."
I chuckled slightly, grabbing an off-shoulder pink top I had borrowed from her a few weeks ago. I chose one of my bigger jeans, knowing the jeans I normally wore wouldn't fit her tall and curvy figure. My extremely close friendship with Vee was the only thing keeping me from being completely jealous of her European looks and model-worthy height.
"Here, you can use this," I told her, tossing her the clothes before grabbing my own stuff and heading out to the bathroom.
Thirty minutes later, I emerged from the bathroom fully dressed. I opened my door slightly to tell Vee it was her turn to clean up. It was already six forty-five in the morning. Usually by this time, my mother would have been awake. I crossed the hallway to her room and silently opened the door. She was there, her snores were light. I could see several luggage pushed against the wall.
I headed downstairs, my feet a bit mechanical. Even though I was used to my mom leaving for out of town trips and leaving me to be independent, this was different from everything else. Her departure feels more final, more permanent. I know I have to face this someday. I had never planned on staying in Coldwater and meeting Patch didn't change that. I planned on going to the other side of the country and maybe even living there permanently. But the idea still made my stomach drop in dread and loneliness. The feelings only intensified as I thought of Patch.
I forced my head to clear as I turned on the stove. I rummaged the fridge for ingredients and started to cook. By the time Vee had sashayed into the dinning room, the eggs were ready. A second after Vee had settled in a chair, I heard my mom's footsteps and sure enough, she entered the dining room as well. She was in her pajamas, her hair was mussed and her eyes were puffy.
I glanced towards Vee to see her smiling widely at my mom's appearance. "Good morning Mrs. G.," she said cheerfully.
My mom, who was wiping her eyes sleepily, froze as her eyes landed on Vee. She glared at me meaningfully before turning back to Vee. "Vee! I didn't know you would be sleeping over!" She said in surprise. "I must look dreadful. I'm so sorry. If Nora told me she would be having guests over I would have at least fixed myself." She spoke her last sentence through gritted teeth. I dodged back into the kitchen to get some more eggs.
"You're all right, Mrs. G. I've seen Nora worse, if that's any consolation." I heard Vee told her. I could tell she was extremely enjoying this.
I returned with a plate a few seconds later. My mom's hair was somewhat smooth but there were still clumps on the bottom of her head. I assumed she had attempted to flatten her hair with her hands. I settled down beside her and began eating breakfast.
"So Vee, I feel like I haven't seen you in a while," my mom began, her eyes watching Vee with polite curiosity. "Did you sleep here last night?"
Vee shook her head, then a smile crept in her face. "Lately, I'm not the person Nora wants to sleep over. She wants them dark and tall."
I kicked her under the seat and she discreetly shrugged innocently. Thankfully my mom didn't seem to catch her last comment.
"How have you been? How's school? Do you have any idea what you'll do for college?"
Vee shrugged at my mom's questions. "I'm good. School is still not my favorite place to be in and college…well I'm taking my junior year a day at a time. Some of my priorities have changed from my future."
My mom frowned, Vee's words catching her curiosity. "Priorities? How exactly did your priorities change? There can't be anything else that is more important than your future, can there?"
I almost smacked myself for forgetting to tell my mom Vee was a Nephil too. But then, telling her would have some complications. She was relatively close to Vee's mom. How exactly would you tell her that Mrs. Sky had done the big deed with a fallen angel when she's supposed to be happily married with Vee's father? Besides, it is not my secret to reveal. I only told my mom about Patch, Hank, his family, and myself. I purposefully edited Scott's involvement. My mother and I had both known Scott for a long time, our families were close a long time ago. My mom was also close to his mom and like Vee's mother, she also had slept with a fallen angel. But it wasn't the only reason why I didn't mention him. I just didn't know how to talk about Scott without breaking down and crying.
I could feel Vee's eyes drop to me, a glint shining in her eyes. "So you didn't tell her?" she asked in mind speak. "I thought you're not going to keep any secrets from her?"
"Well in all honesty, I didn't even know you were one of us until last month when you told me."
"I don't blame you. I wasn't aware either. You're forgiven." She turned to my mom and smiled. "It's not like I'm not planning for my future. I do plan to travel, probably to Europe once I finish high school."
This wasn't the answer I was expecting. I let my fork clatter. "You're leaving? Since when did this happen?"
"Last month," she replied meaningfully. "It just hit me one day, that there were things in life that can easily be taken from me. I want to enjoy my life, no matter how short or how long it is. So I want to take that risk and adventure, you know?"
"When were you going to tell me?" I asked in disbelief. She was my best friend and she wasn't telling me big plans like this? "And why is everyone leaving me?" I added a bit frustrated.
She waved her hand. "I'm telling you now. You'll be fine. And it's not like I'm leaving any time soon. By the time I can go, you'd probably be doing your own thing."
We finish breakfast and my mom offered to wash the dishes. Vee and I fled back to my room. Once I slammed the door shut behind me, I crossed my arms and glared at her.
"Explain."
She shrugged innocently. "Explain what?"
"Europe. Why Europe?"
"Oh come on, babe. You're blowing it out of proportions. It's not that much of a big deal. Like I said, it's not like I'm leaving soon." She smiled teasingly. "Don't worry. I won't leave until I know you're set for life."
I rolled my eyes and slumped on the bed beside her. "I feel like everyone has plans beside me."
"Really? Is that what's been bothering you?"
I met her eyes seriously. "Weeks before the war, things like school and college had taken a back seat. I was so preoccupied with the Nephilim army Hank had passed down to me and my blood oath, the rebellion, appeasing the archangels, and finding a way to solve everything that I literally stopped living a normal life. But now everything is done, I don't know what to do anymore. I tried concentrating back on school but going through things like that, it just takes away the importance of other things."
She leaned back on my bed and smiled. "Then just start a life with Patch, easy enough."
"You mean like a family?"
She shrugged. "Why not?"
I bit my lower lip. "Vee, look what happened when the fallen angels mated with humans and created creatures that's not supposed to walk this earth. Starting a family is just out of the question right now."
She chuckled. "You might make a demon baby. Who else do we know is a freak of nature besides us?"
"Well," I said slowly, trying to think of other births that have never been heard of. "Marcie's parents are both first-generation Nephils. Look at how long her life has been."
"Oh geez, you're not comparing your future baby with Patch with that ho, are you?" Vee remarked, disgusted.
I made a disgusted face too. "Oh, no, you're right. Well, never mind then."
She placed a hand on my shoulder, her face turning serious. "The beauty of being an immortal is that you'll have forever to figure it out." She smiled comfortingly at me. "And that's how much time we'll have with each other, anyways. It's not like I'm going to completely be out of your life when I do go abroad. But look at it in my perspective. I don't want to hang around you and Patch, always feeling like the third wheel. I want to experience my own life too."
"You're right." I sighed slightly a moment later. "I guess I'm just a bit down. Patch isn't here and my mom is about to leave."
"Then let me take you to the Devil's Handbag!" she shrieked, her face suddenly lighting up.
I shook my head automatically. Her face fell. "My mom's leaving tomorrow. I really want to spend time with her."
She puffed out a sigh. "Fine. But you can't avoid going to the Devil's Handbag with me. I'll drag you sooner or later, even if I have to drag you by your hair."
After Vee left, I found my mom on her room. She was sitting on a luggage she was forcing to close. Her hair, which had been washed and brushed, was now back to its mussed state. She looked up when she noticed me standing in her doorway, watching her pack her bags. With a final slam of her weight against the bag, it relented and she finally closed it properly.
She stood up, a bit breathless. "Well, packing never gets easier, does it? At least I'm finished and ready for tomorrow."
I settled down on her bed and laid there. She followed, lying down beside me. She pulled me in closer and I rested my head on her outstretched arm. I closed my eyes as her fingers brushed through my hair like she did when I was younger.
"I'll miss you," she whispered. "I know I'll be able to see you every month but still, it won't be the same."
"I'll miss you too, mom," I replied softly.
"You may never know, I might be able to hire Dorothea again."
I looked up at her abruptly, frowning. "Mom, I can take care of myself. You told me this is a good thing, remember? That this is training for college."
She bit her lip but then nodded. "I know I said that but it wouldn't hurt if someone just knows you're being taken care of."
"Seriously mom, don't worry. I have Vee for that."
"Right, because Vee always knows to do the right thing."
Okay, she has a point. "Maybe not, but she always has my best interest at heart," I suggested; it came out like a question.
"And what about when Patch gets back? Nora, I don't want you stopping your studies for a guy even if I know he's as invested in you as you are to him. Besides, I know there will be temptation. The important thing is you take care of yourself first before you take care of others." Her voice was careful, dancing around whatever topic she wanted to tell me.
I know where she was getting at. I sighed. It was the second time this day this topic had been brought up. Was I really that easy? Did people really think I'd just give myself? Well maybe not. But it's not a secret I was madly in love with him and I would do anything for him. I was suddenly proud of myself for saying no to him that night, almost a week ago. I wanted to tell my mom this but then, Patch's attempt would probably plummet his approval ratings. Better not risk it.
"I promise mom, I'm not going to do anything that would make me regret it." I paused for a second. "Besides, I have dreams of entering Stanford, Yale, and Harvard remember? I have my ambitions and I'm not going to let all of my hard work go to waste." I might as well throw in the three big names to ease her, though I have a feeling there wasn't any remote chance of me enrolling in any of those three.
This seem to satisfy her, however. She smiled and started combing through my hair again. We were silent for a few minutes but a question began burning in my throat. "Mom?"
She was dosing off but she stirred when she heard my voice. "Yeah?"
"Did you ever love Hank as much as you loved dad?"
The question had certainly took her off guard but I knew she suspected I was going to ask something like this sooner or later. She knew I hated Hank and resented her for even considering dating him. She pondered on the question for a bit and I knew she was choosing her words wisely.
"I liked him enough to want to get to know him. But then of course, what I found out wasn't that pleasant."
"Did it hurt when he died?"
It was another question she didn't seem to want to answer. I waited as she chose her words again. "It was unpleasant, yes. You must understand, Nora, he… we dated when we were younger, before I met your father. We were so in love back then. But your father came along and we got married. I learned to love him and well, everything is history now.
"But when Hank walked in to my life again when everything just seems so dreary, it was like I wanted to have hope again. Of course, he was different from the man I loved. I tried getting to know him and giving him a chance but somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I really didn't love him. I just used him for the security. I realized, especially after you told me about…Cheshvan and the whole Nephilim society, I'd rather be lonely and have you than go through losing you and having Hank." She gave me a smile. "Besides, imagine if I have to force myself to live with Marcie."
"Did it hurt losing Hank as much as losing dad?" A moment later as I absorbed her words. I could never say Hank was my dad. He gave me life but he will never be more than that. My real father is Harrison and nothing, not even Hank's Nephil blood flowing in my veins, could change that.
"No," she said almost immediately. "Nothing could ever hurt as much as losing your father. Well, no, that's not right. When you were kidnapped, the days not having you around, that hurt as much as losing Harrison."
I closed my eyes, satisfied with her answer. "You'll never lose me again, mom. Never."
We spent the rest of the day, lounged at her room. She asked me questions about Patch and I answered as much as I can. Her questions dug into Patch's past of course, but I couldn't answer most of them, partly because I didn't want to tell her about the horrors in his past but most of it is because I didn't know the answers to her questions myself. By ten at night, she was already asleep and I was bothered by how little I knew about Patch. Finally, after three hours, I settled into an uneasy sleep.
After an hour, my mom shook me awake. Her flight leaves at seven so we'd have to be at the airport at least by five. Coldwater doesn't have its own airport. The nearest airport is in Portland, an hour drive from Coldwater. I got up, hurriedly wash my face and brushed my teeth before tugging a hoodie over my head and pairing it with a pair of long black tights. I squeezed in my shoes and went back to my mom's room to help her load her luggage in her Corolla.
I cranked up the heater when I got in the driver's seat. I waited for her to strap herself in before backing up out of the driveway. Within minutes, we were on the main road, poised to take the interstate. After an hour, I slowed in front of the sliding doors of Delta. There were already people bustling in and out of the airport, looking extremely preoccupied.
My mom and I got out of the car. I opened the trunk and helped her heave the bags out. She dragged all three of them near the door, having a little trouble getting all of them up off the road. Thankfully, the two flight attendants standing at a desk near the door approached us and offered to help. They took one bag each, waiting patiently for my mom. But she looked back at me, tears were filling her eyes.
"Oh baby, I'll miss you," she sobbed as she threw her arms around me. I held her back tight.
"I'll miss you too mom."
"Take care of yourself, all right?" She pushed herself off of me, wiping tears with her fingers. "And I want you to call me every hour. If anything happens, I will be on the first flight back. Tell me when Vee is sleeping over and when Patch gets back, okay? And don't starve."
I nodded, feeling my own tears. She held my eyes and cupped her hand against my cheek. "I love you baby."
"I love you too, mom," I replied, barely a whisper. She hugged me again, took a sharp breath, let go off me, turned, and went inside with the two flight attendants. Before she disappeared, she turned back to me and waved. I felt the tears rolling down my cheeks and wiped them away hastily before waving back at her.
Portland is one of the largest cities in Maine. I had planned on spending a day here, exploring the city, and maybe even shopping after I had dropped off mom to the airport. But now that she was gone, a kind of loneliness had settled over me. The city did not held as much allure. All I wanted to do was to go home and curl underneath my bed. I got back into the car and turned to the road. My mom and I didn't speak much when we were on the car to the airport but the silence wasn't chilly or awkward. It was comfortable, as if there was no need for words. But now, the car felt a little too quiet. I turned on the radio and tried to wash away the loneliness I felt.
By the end of the hour, I was within the city limits of Coldwater. I was about to take the road that eventually led to Hawthorne Lane but the farmhouse felt empty and a little haunting. I took another route and ended up stopping in front of Patch's townhouse. His Jeep Commander was parked there in the driveway and his garage was closed. I got out of the Corolla and walked to the front door. I opened it and found the place empty. But his scent had taken over the whole house. It was so strong I felt like he was going to walk into the room with his easy smile. I walked towards his bedroom. The silk sheets of the bed was smooth and welcoming but looked like it hadn't been laid on for a while.
I settled down on the bed, glancing around. The masculine features of his bed, his black drawer, and black closet had blended in so well with the shape of the room it was painfully smooth. I slid inside the sheets, feeling the glorious sleekness against my skin. In moments I had drifted off.
The following days, it became my routine to stay at his place every night. I would go to school in the morning, then go home after school. I had programmed the home phone so all calls would be forwarded to my cell phone so my mom wouldn't get suspicious. Then I would go back to his place with several of my things like clothes, my book bag, and even food since the cupboards were mostly empty. I would stay there until the day restarts again.
Days turned to weeks and November eventually crossed over to December, yet I still have not heard from Patch. Every single day, my fears of him never coming back deepened. What if he had been sent to hell without even a good-bye from me? How did I know the archangels hadn't found him guilty? With nothing else to occupy my time, I was slipping into a depression.
My mom had returned home the last weekend of November. She told me all about New York and how things were so different from Coldwater. I was happy she was enjoying herself but I couldn't bring myself to enjoy it with her. Though of course I forced myself to smile and talk to her about the Big Apple for hours. My mood definitely didn't improve, however, when she told me she wasn't going to be able to come home next month. The Holidays was the busiest season even for Auction agencies. Hugo had asked her to stay with a promise of an even bigger pay. When she left, relief of not having to put up a show of happiness any longer swept over me. I returned to Patch's place and my routine took over again.
I was thankful that Vee continued to train me during the weekends, though she had tried to chase out my whereabouts during the week. I had no intention of telling her I was staying at Patch's place, probably because I wasn't sure how this would make me look. Nevertheless, Vee had slowly seen my despair, even if I tried to keep it away from her.
"Would you tell me what's going on with you?" she asked after a grueling shield-strength training on the first Saturday of December. Her face was red and shining after I had blown her own shield into pieces and gave her the illusion that she had been running for seventeen hours.
I shrugged, putting my defenses up quickly. "Nothing," I lied smoothly.
Her eyebrows lifted. "Oh, so this whole avoid Vee thing is nothing? You know babe, I told you there's no secrets between best friends. I thought we were past keeping shocking news and revelations from one another?"
She waited patiently for my response. I could only shrug again. "I really don't have anything going on."
She groaned in disbelief. "Yeah, this whole depression thing is nothing to be worried about. Won't you tell me?" Her voice was almost pleading.
I took in a sharp intake of breath before sighing. "Fine. I'm just a little lonely. Patch hadn't contacted me since he left for the trials. I'm just worried they've chained him to hell without me knowing."
"Okay," she said slowly. I glanced up at her and saw she was thinking. "Well, Patch had been chained to hell before, right?"
The memory of the night Marcie burned all the fallen angel feathers under Dante's brainwashing shuddered through me. I bit back the stung of tears behind my eyes. I nodded to answer Vee's question, not trusting my voice.
"Do you remember what it felt like when you knew Patch was gone?"
I nodded again.
"Do you feel that right now?"
I wasn't sure where Vee was going with this. I did a quick inventory of my feelings. Loneliness, worry, and despair were there but that was definitely due to Patch's absence. But I didn't feel any pain. I looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
"What are you trying to say?"
It was her turn to shrug. "Well…I believe that if two people love each other enough, their instincts would kick in, alerting them if there's something wrong. If you feel the same pain you did when he was chained to hell away from you, then maybe, something's wrong. But if you just feel worried, then I think it's safe to say your psychotic fallen angel boyfriend is still among us."
"Since when did you become a guru in relationships?" I asked her, letting myself grin.
She grinned back. "Hey, Scott had taught me more than a thing or two."
I let my jaw drop exaggeratedly. "Oh my, Vee. Was he a good teacher?"
Catching on, she lowered her eyelids and looked through her eyelashes, a sly smile sliding on her lips. "Oh he was."
I pulled on a disgusted face and chuckled. Trust Vee to make me feel a whole lot better. "No details, please."
"Okay. Anyways, since you need to loosen up a bit, why don't we go to the Devil's Handbag tonight?"
I almost groaned audibly. Not this again. "Seriously, you still haven't dropped that?"
"I'm not going to stop asking you until you say yes."
"Why do you want to go, anyways?"
"Why don't you want to go?" she asked me accusingly. "We always go there ever since summer."
I bit my lip. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"Why not?" she demanded.
"Well…" I tried to quickly come up with an excuse. "My mom wants me to check on her every hour. I don't want to leave the house just in case she calls."
"You know what, babe, that is some major bull crap. I know you haven't been staying here. I visited you twice this week and both times you were out."
"I was at the library," I reasoned.
"I know you like the library but you don't go there that much anymore. Besides, the last time I checked, the library closes at eight. I went to your house at eleven. So give me some slack and cut the B.S. Look, you don't have to tell me where you go to every night if you don't want to. But you don't have to make excuses. Just tell me why you don't want to go to the Devil's Handbag with me."
"I just don't think it will be healthy for you," I said finally, my voice defeated.
"What do you mean, 'not healthy' for me?"
"Look Vee, I don't want you to unnecessarily hurt yourself. I know why you're doing this. I know you want to go to the place where Scott was always present. But you won't find him there. You won't find anything there but pain. Reliving memories won't make it feel any better either. Just drop the Devil's Handbag and let's try moving on with our lives. I'm sure that's what he would want."
She threw her head and laughed but it wasn't with humor. But that didn't stop me from feeling offended and irritated.
"Why are you laughing?" I demanded.
"Well you don't see it in my perspective," she answered. "You're right. I do want to go there because that's where Scott had always been. If I think of the Devil's Handbag, I think of Scott but my desire of going there isn't to inflict pain on myself. I am not masochistic. But being there does bring me comfort. It reminds me that Scott was real and that he became a part of my life. I don't want to forget that. I don't want to just forget about him to move on, like you're suggesting. I want to keep on remembering him, every single detail of him. That's why I've been going to the Devil's Handbag for two months now. At first it was hard but it's where I feel him and I'm not going to let that go. I thought it was a nice idea to share to you but obviously feel negatively about it." She stared at me for a second before she got up and walked towards her car. She left me there, sitting on the ground, a bit dazed.
Who was she and what had she done to Vee?
I woke up, Sunday morning and found I had no missed calls or text messages from anyone. I guess Vee was still upset with me enough to cancel our training session today. Fine, if she wanted to be that way, it's more than all right with me. What infuriated me the most was she thought I was purposely forgetting Scott. Just because I didn't want to go through another crying fest doesn't mean I want to forget about the person who saved my life. Fine, I would prove to her that I had no plans in forgetting Scott any time soon.
I dialed my mom's number for my morning check in. A few nights ago, I did my routine call and updated her with an edited version of what has been going on with me. I told her Patch was still gone and I was a little busy with schoolwork that I hadn't bothered hanging out with Vee much. The explanation was sufficient and she hadn't suspected anything.
By the fourth ring, her voicemail had picked up. It started to feel like last year when she decided to work for Hugo and travel around the country. "Hey, good morning, just checking in. I decided to visit Mrs. Parnell today. I mean, after Scott's death I haven't tried to find out how she's been coping. I'll probably be back around lunch so you can call me then if you want. I love you."
I hung up and swung out of bed. I showered, blow dried my hair, and pulled on a turquoise long sleeves with a pair of skinny jeans. I tied my hair up into a high ponytail, grabbing a few strands and curling it to frame my face. Winter was already full blown. Temperatures were easily on the twenties. I pulled on a pink scarf, a beanie I had bought a few weeks ago, and a thick black coat before tugging in my boots.
A few minutes later, I entered Scott's apartment complex, sliding into a parking spot near his building. I climbed up the three stories of stairs and knocked on his door. Mrs. Parnell opened it, looking a lot disheveled than the last time I saw her. Her eyes looked a little lost and confused for a second before she smiled mechanically.
"Nora! What a pleasant surprise!" she said, her voice was stuffy and though she tried to sound pleasant, I could only feel her grief. "What brings you here?"
"I just wanted to see how you were doing," I answered, hesitantly. "I'm sorry, I should have brought something."
She waved it off and stepped aside to let me in. "It's fine. Come in, come in."
I had been to Scott's apartment a few times when he was still alive. Though it was small, Mrs. Parnell saw to it that it was decent and clean. But now as I stood there, it was obvious that she had let go not only her looks. There were empty cans of sodas littered on the floor and on the coffee table. Boxes of Chinese takeout lined the kitchen table and dirty clothes were either lying limply on the couch or hung at the back of chairs.
"I'm sorry for the mess dear. I just haven't been feeling so well lately." Once again, she tried to be cheerful. It was painful to hear her efforts, not because she was failing miserably but it's because of the fact she was still feeling completely miserable. "You can sit there and I can whip up something for you. Mind you, I only have Chinese food. Would that be fine?"
"No, actually, I'm not really hungry Mrs. Parnell," I answered, placing a hand on my stomach. Even if I was hungry, I wouldn't have the appetite to eat. I chose to remain standing as well. But I did approach the couch and I realized the dirty clothes were Scott's. My stomach churned. I should've known it was a bad idea coming here. Her sadness and my own depression was a toxic mix. It's not good for either of us.
"Oh, all right," her face fell. For a second, she stood in the kitchen with no purpose. Then she sighed and mustered her strength to go back to the living room and sit on the loveseat.
"So how have you been, dear?"
I pressed my hands together, still standing. "I've been doing well. Just a little busy with schoolwork." I glanced around the room. Extreme pity couldn't even describe how I felt. "Uhmmm, I hope you don't see this as rude, Mrs. Parnell, but if you need any help you can just tell me and I'll find a way to help you."
She stared at me for a second before bursting to tears. She grabbed me and pulled me in close to her, sobbing in my shoulder. "Oh Nora, Nora," she sobbed. "I am so glad Blythe had decided to restart our friendship. I have never met someone as sweet as you. Scott was really lucky to have you as his closest friend. Oh, I miss him so much. There's not a day that doesn't go by that I don't think of him. What those men did to him was sadistic and I am glad the police had served justice. Oh Nora."
After the battle, the archangels had come down to explain, and when I say explain I meant brainwash, the families of the Nephils who had died in battle. Some of them didn't need the explanation since they knew about their family member's true identity but there were still others like Mrs. Parnell who knew nothing. I didn't like the idea of them lying to Mrs. Parnell so I pleaded that they at least tell her something a bit closer to the real story. They told her Scott's death was a random mugging and that even though he tried to fight, he was outnumbered. They had a long knife and had plunged it deep in his heart.
Hearing her tears made my own heart ache. I tried to push away but I really didn't have the strength to pry myself away from a woman barely keeping herself from crumbling. I patted her back awkwardly, trying not to cry myself.
"Mrs. Parnell," I spoke with all the sincerity and the strength I could muster. "I swear I'll never forget Scott."
She nodded, her face watery and puffed. "Thank you, Nora."
I couldn't stand being there any longer so I exited the house as soon as I could. The opportunity had presented itself when my cell phone began to ring. I told her it was my mom and she expected me to have my homework finished but I hadn't so I should be heading out.
I answered my phone on the third ring, just as I had began descending down the stairs. "Hey mom."
"How is Lynn?" she asked.
"I've seen her in better days," I sighed. "Mom, I was thinking, maybe I have a way of helping her out."
"What do you mean, Nora?"
I thought about it for a minute. "Maybe you can call up Dorothea and ask her to just look after her. I really don't think she'll survive like this."
She was silent for a few seconds but when she spoke, her voice was thoughtful. "I think you're right, Nora. I'll see what Dorothea can do."
I was on the last step and had just turned towards the parking lot when my eye landed on the person waiting beside my car. "Hey mom, can I call you back? I'm about to drive."
"Yeah sure, call me later before you go to bed, okay?"
"Sure. Bye mom." I didn't wait for her answer. I clicked on my phone and hung up.
I approached the car wearily, my eyes on Lisa Martin who was standing outside the driver's side. Seeing her without the robe she usually wore during the Nephilim meetings was a bit strange for me and made her feel more sinister. She was draped in jewelry, her platinum hair plied up on top of her head in an elegant bun. Underneath her elegant grey trench coat she had on a purple blouse and black dress pants. When she saw me, she smiled but it wasn't friendly. I immediately placed my defenses up, not knowing what this Nephil might do to me.
"Hello, Nora," she greeted me in a croaky voice. Her eyes flicked up towards Scott's apartment. "I see you're doing routine checks on the families of dead Nephils."
I didn't like her tone nor whatever it was she was implying. I especially didn't like how she said "dead Nephils". I was almost sure it was a threat. I suddenly felt a fear for Mrs. Parnell's life. She was not in the state to defend herself. Lisa Martin could easily kill her and make it look like an accident.
"What do you want, Lisa?" I demanded, my eyes narrowing suspiciously. "I thought I told you not to come near me after I give you your freedom. That's how far my responsibility for you and Hank's secret society goes."
"But I think it would be your responsibility to know where your own soldiers and members of your society are," she retorted, her voice was just as unpleasant as mine.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't think it would be a good image for you to have your father's family suddenly disappearing."
I scoffed, quickly identifying "my father's family" as the Millers. "They're in Italy. Now if you don't want anything else, I'd like to get into my car, please."
"You insolent child, I know they are in Italy! I want to know what happened to them and what is keeping Susanna or Marcie from contacting us."
I shrugged. "I lost my interest in keeping tabs on everybody after the war. Like I said, that's how far my responsibility in all of you goes."
"They are your family! She is the wife of your father and the mother of your stepsister!"
I growled. "Then they have no space in my life."
She grabbed me by the arm and slammed me back against the car, pinning me. The impact didn't hurt but I suppose it was meant to be threatening. "If you don't find Susanna and her daughter, I will personally see to it that something bad will happen to you."
"Are you threatening me, Lisa?" I hissed. My pulse had jumped up but I forced myself into a calm.
She replied meaningfully, "See it as a warning, oh great leader." She glared before walking away to her car and driving off.