Supernatural in Real Life 4

Chapter 7

I go to bed shortly after that, and wake up the next morning with a hell of a hangover. I frown and roll out of bed, clutching my head and waiting for it to stop pounding. Finally, I get up and go out to the living room to find some Advil, but something stops me.
Lucifer is still lying in the floor, exactly where he had been last night. Michael is sitting next to him, watching his brother with sad eyes. Michael seems to notice my presence, because he looks up at me briefly before returning his gaze to the angel on the floor.
"Are you feeling any better, Lucifer?" I ask, not wanting to be an awkward wallflower.
"No," he replies shortly.
I'm not sure how to respond to that, so all I say is "Oh." I hope he gets better soon. He can only stay on the floor for so long.

It's been seven days. Seven whole days since Rob turned Lucifer into a match stick, and he's yet to return. Lucifer hasn't been able to stand up, though he managed to move out of the middle of the floor with Michael's help. For the last two days, Lucifer has been lying on the floor next to a wall, what's left of his wings drooping on the ground beside him. Michael hasn't left his side, and Lucifer has barely spoken to anyone but him.
Everyone that remains-Castiel, Jensen, Jared, Richard, Ruth, Osric, and I-have mostly stayed away from the two angels. We're all in one of the previously empty bedrooms, where we can have fun without having to worry about Lucifer. Unfortunately, that doesn't stop us from worry about Lucifer, and we don't really have any fun.
"Why is it taking so much longer for him to recover this time?" I ask Castiel, after a very long time of silence.
"Because Rob has never done anything like this," Castiel replies. "He's hurt Lucifer many times before, but this time was different. He's never touched Lucifer's wings. He knows how much it hurts, and he's never been mad enough to do that. This time, he burned them with holy fire. The pain that must have caused..."
"Oh," I reply. "Do you think he's ever going to get better?"
"It's impossible to know. Even for an archangel, recovering from that would be difficult, to say the least."
Unfortunately, there's no archangel for me to ask. Michael and Lucifer have been less than social with the rest of us, and Gabriel has gone into hiding since the incident. Even Jared has been unable to reach him.
"We need Rob back," Jared says. "He could fix Lucifer."
"He's the one that did it in the first place," Jensen reminds him. "I don't think Rob's in any hurry to fix it."
"Well, maybe he'd feel bad and do it anyway."
None of us believe this, though. If Rob was going to help his son, he would have done it by now. He wouldn't have stayed away from us all this time.
Suddenly, a large, glowing, purple oval appears in front of us. Out from it step two people. One is a boy with messy dark hair and tanned skin. The other is a girl about my age, with beautiful blue eyes and long, blond hair that I find myself envying. The thing that gets me about the girl isn't her flawless hair, not is it the fact that she came out of what seems to be a portal. It's the wings that come from her back, not black like an angel's, but golden.
Her eyes widen when she sees me, and she looks at the boy by her side. "I think we made it!" she says excitedly. The boy smiles, though he doesn't seem very interested in his surroundings. He appears to be happy not about being here, but being here with the girl.
"Who are you?" I ask.
The girl's smile disappears. "You don't...?"
"Should I know you?" I ask, confused by her reaction.
"I... I thought..." She sighs. "I guess I didn't make it home, after all," she says sadly, looking up at the boy by her side.
The boy gives her a reassuring hug before saying, "I'm sure you'll find it soon, Mace."
"Mace?" I repeat. "You're not... Macie?"
I can see the hope return in her when I say that. "Mom?" She runs up to me and gives me a huge hug. I laugh and hug he back, careful to avoid the wings. Finally, we step apart. "You're home?"
Macie nods, a big smile on her face. "Yeah, I am."
"Where were you?" I ask.
"I don't know. I think it was another dimension or something. But I made it back!"
"Oh my god, I've missed you," I tell her.
She looks around the room for a moment, then asks, "Where's Dad?" Noticing my hesitation, she says, "He's still here, right?"
I nod. "Yeah, he's here," I assure her quickly. "But he's kinda... He and Rob got into an argument, and... Well, he's not doing too good right now."
"Can I go see him?" Macie asks.
I look at the rest of the group, unsure if it's a good idea. No one else seems to have an opinion on the matter, so finally, I say, "Alright. But he might be a bit... Snappy," I warn her. "He's had a rough few days. Just keep that in mind."
Macie looks at me curiously, but she doesn't ask. Instead, she says, "Alright. Where is he?"
I begin to show her, and she grabs the hand of the boy she came with to drag him after me. I lead her to the living room, where Lucifer is lying in the floor with his eyes closed, the remainder of his wings laying limp with him. Michael sits on the floor next to him, just as he has for the last week. Michael looks up when we appear. He gives Macie a surprised look when he sees her before turning back to his brother.
"Oh my god..." Macie whispers, her eyes wide.
"Who's...?" Lucifer says, his voice hoarse. He opens his eyes, freezing when he sees her. "Macie?"
Macie nods, a smile on her face. "Hi, Dad."
Lucifer manages a small smile.
"What happened to your wings?" she asks.
"Long story."
"I've got time," she replies.
"It's nothing," he lies.
"If it was nothing, you wouldn't be lying on the floor, now, would you?" Macie replies.
"I don't know. The floor's pretty comf-" He stops talking only to cough up a puddle of blood. Immediately, it disappears, which I'm assuming is Michael's doing.
"Stop talking," Michael advises him.
"But-"
"Stop talking," Michael repeats. "
"M-"
"Stop talking," Michael says again. "Seriously."
"Why?"
"Because I'm older and I said so."
"That's not a valid rea-" Lucifer stops again to cough up some more blood, which Michael makes disappear as well. "Reason," he finishes.
"No, but that is," Michael replies.
"Mike-"
"What do I have to do to get you to stop talking?" Michael asks.
"You can't."
Michael sighs. "I know. Really, though, I think you should stop. You're not getting any better coughing up blood all the time."
"I'm not getting better either way," Lucifer replies.
Michael hesitates, then nods. "I suppose you are correct."
"Of course I am. I'm always right," Lucifer says with a playful grin.
"No, you really aren't," Michael replies.
"I choose to think you're just jealous that you aren't always right," Lucifer says, looking up at his brother. He grimaces and lays his head back on the floor.
"Last time I was here, I thought you two hated each other," Macie says. "What did I miss? Because it looks like a lot."
Michael looks down at his brother. "Should I...?"
"Sure," Lucifer replies.
"Lucifer got into a shouting match with Rob, and now he's half dead due to his own foolishness."
"Michael!" Lucifer whines.
"I think he described that perfectly," I say.
"Not cool, Bailey," Lucifer says. "Not cool."
"Rob did that?" Macie says in disbelief.
"Yes," Michael answers.
"When?"
"About a week ago."
"And you're still...?" Macie looks down at her father sadly.
"Unfortunately," Lucifer replies. "But enough about me. What happened-" He pauses to cough up some more blood before finishing, "What happened to you?"
Macie shrugs. "Not sure. I think I went to another dimension."
"What was that like?"
"Boring. Ooh, wait, there's more! This is my boyfriend, Jesse." Macie steps to the side to reveal the boy she came here with. He's been standing there awkwardly the entire time, and it isn't changing now.
"Boyfriend?!" Lucifer repeats. "Macie, you are eighteen days old. You don't need a boyfriend!"
"But I'm basically eighteen years old, so I don't see what you're freaking out about," Macie replies calmly.
"Because you're too young to have a boyfriend!"
"God, Dad, stop being such a... Dad."
"But... You have a boyfriend?!"
Macie nods. "Yeah. But the difference between us and you and Mom is that he's not going to get me pregnant."
I feel my face heat up, and Michael laughs. Glancing at Jesse, I can see him trying to hide an amused smile. Lucifer tries to look angry, but then he laughs, too. After a moment, he stops, grimacing from the pain. He squeezes his eyes shut, his muscles tensing.
"Are you okay?" Macie asks nervously.
Lucifer doesn't respond, so Michael does.
"He'll be better in a moment. His wings were burnt, so anything touching them or any movement from them of his back seems to hurt him."
Macie nods silently, looking down at her father with sad eyes once more. "Sorry," she apologizes.
Lucifer takes another moment to recover before responding. "Don't be. It was well played."
"Maybe I shouldn't have played it so well..."
"No, as long as it's true, I approve."
"I knew someone was going to make a 'use protection' joke, but I didn't think it would be you," Macie says with a laugh.
"No, I mean don't go there, because I have an angel blade that can kill just about anything and really freaking perfect aim," Lucifer replies.
"Hey, new rule. Let's not kill my boyfriend!" Macie says, throwing her arm around Jesse's shoulder.
"But I haven't gotten to kill anyone in years!" Lucifer whines. "Well, not on purpose. Please?"
"But Daaaaaad, I like my boyfriend!" she whines back. "Kill someone else! Kill Cas or something! Wait, you might actually do that. Don't kill Cas, either."
Lucifer looks amused, and I can see him trying not to laugh. "Fine. I won't kill anybo-" He stops again, coughing up blood once more. A small cough turns into a coughing fit, lasting at least a minute. Finally, he stops coughing, but it's clear his pain has increased greatly from it. He presses his lips together tightly, as if trying to keep from crying out in pain. I've seen what he's dealt with before, and he managed to get through it silently. If he's about to scream from just coughing, I can't imagine what it was like when his wings were on fire.
"Dad?" Macie says uncertainly.
Lucifer doesn't acknowledge her.
"What's going on?" Macie asks, panicking.
"Talking takes a lot out of him," Michael explains. "The coughing kills his back, and it's not very easy to recover from. He probably won't be able to talk again for at least an hour. You should go chat with everyone else for a while."
Macie hesitates before nodding. "Alright..." she says uncertainly. "Bye, Dad."
I hate to leave Lucifer, especially like this, but I know Michael is right. It would be best if we left the two of them alone. It hurts me to see Lucifer like this. I just wish there was some way that I could help him.