"Ask me anything." Riley says. We're sitting on my bed, our legs crossed and facing each other.
"Why do you keep distancing yourself?" I ask quietly. My entire being is focused on him. Every single part of me. Even my soul.
"Because I need to protect you."
"From what?" I ask. He looks me dead in the eyes. His green eyes are dull, as if some life were sucked out of them.
"Myself." He smiles sadly. I stare at him for a few minutes before asking the next question.
"Why?" He takes both of my hands in his.
"Because I love you." He smiles. "I always have." He leans forward and gives me a quick kiss. My head feels light, like it's filled with air. Why do I always feel this way with him?
"Ask me something else." He smiles.
"What are you? What happened at the rave? Why everytime I look at you, I'm overcome with this suffocating grief?" He sighs.
"I'll tell you everything. But Autumn, promise me you won't leave." He stares me in the eyes. He's serious.
"I won't." I say quietly. He takes in a deep breath and let's it out slowly. I wait patiently.
"I'm an angel." He looks me in the eyes to see look for shock. I stay the same, my features not giving away any of my thoughts. He keeps going. "More like a Fallen Angel. I was trying to find something, so I acted quickly, not knowing the consequences. There have been other angels to try this, but we never heard from them after they fell. I've found them, some of them you know." I squint my eyes at him. "Olivia, believe it or not, is an angel." I shake my head and he keeps going. " If you don't have someone to keep you grounded, like an anchor, you turn into a demon. That's what you saw at the rave. When I punched that man, the darkest part in me began to come out, and it's hard to stop. I ran away because I was afraid it would happen again." He hangs his head. I put my finger on his chin and make him look at me. I smile.
"Who was that man? Why was there smoke coming out of his mouth?" I ask when he recovers from his guilt.
"That man was a demon. He was trying to place his essence in you, so he could feed of you. If he fed on you, he'd be the most powerful thing in the world. No one would compare. He didn't succeed but part of him was still in you. The effect of it makes you dizzy and nauseous, which is what you felt at school. I tried to help by taking his essence out of you but it didn't do anything." He has a look on his face that says he feels sorry. He quickly covers it up and stares at me, waiting for the next question.
"Is that why there were traces of drugs in my system?" He nods. I knew that the tests were wrong. If only they knew what it really is. After a few moments of silence, I do what I thought I would never do. I give Riley Jamie's journal. He turns it over in his hands and looks at me with confusion.
"Who am I?" His face softens. The way he looks at me makes me feel the guilt I felt on the first day I saw him. I close my eyes tightly to make it go away. His hands cup my face. I melt, finally feeling safe.
"You are the girl that everyone wants. You are the girl that is strong enough to take on a million demons. You could take on Lucifer. You are the strongest person in the world. Your aura is the most powerful. That's why everyone wants it."
"What am I?" I ask. He smiles and strokes my cheek with his thumbs.
"You have to figure that out on your own." He leans back, away from me. "Autumn, there's something else I have to tell you. There's a certain darkness after you. You felt it at the rave, it's evil. They know that your soul is powerful, and they want it for their own. We don't know yet who this darkness is. I'm protecting you. And someone is mad that I'm protecting you. I'm not your guardian. God, who is my creator, is upset that I am the one looking after you, especially because I'm fallen. I rebelled, and that's strongly frowned upon." He explains.
"Well, who is God? Maybe I can help get you off the hook." He smiles at me.
"I'm not allowed to tell you who he is. I'm sorry." I sit back, feeling defeated. He takes my hands again.
"We will catch the darkness. I won't let him kill you. Or even get close to you." I nod. I don't have the heart to tell him that that's not what I'm worried about.
"Can I ask one more question?" He nods. I take a deep breath.
"Who's my guardian angel?" I hold my breath, hoping he can actually answer this question. I cross my fingers and my toes and even my eyes. Figuratively.
"Do you really want to know?" He asks. I nod.
"Casper." He smiles. When he sees my confused expression, he explains."Think about it. You've never had many friends and typically it takes awhile for you to become comfortable with someone, right? Did you not think it was strange that he warmed up to you right away? He already knew you, and you knew him." He says.
"How did I know him?" I keep spitting out more questions. Riley doesn't seem annoyed with it though.
"You've been around awhile, Autumn. Remember when I said I fell because I was looking for something? I was looking for you. Casper is not a fallen angel, but a guardian angel, so he can follow you easily. I can't, so I fell and looked for you. Casper knew what I wanted to do, so he kept you away from me. He has many different forms. So an old lady that you saw from across the street, that you thought was adorable, could have been Casper." We stay silent for a while. It's not awkward though. It reminds me of my dark peace when I was in a coma.
"Wait, why were you in my darkness when I was in the hospital?" I ask suddenly. He smirks.
"I'm always watching over you."
