Divinity

Chapter 4

We were in London. I knew that because of the bells chiming, every fifteen minutes, and again on the hour. I had tried to take a peek past the curtain, wanting to see the famous clock tower that I had only ever seen through a screen – but Andrew had been quick to snatch me away from them. We have to keep a low profile. He had said. It's not safe for someone to see you here.

At least I was able to keep track of the time. By my estimate, we had been here for five and a half days. For that entire time, I had been kept here, locked away like a prisoner. I knew it wasn't Andrew's fault, it wasn't anyone's fault, really. The angels were just looking out for me, trying to keep me safe.

Still, that didn't make it any easier. I was going stir crazy stuck in here, only having caught a fleeting glance of the outside when Andrew left to buy food for me. We were staying in Andrew's flat, which, according to him, he never actually stayed in – which seemed to be true, the flat had that kind of empty feeling you get when a place has been unoccupied for too long.

That meant there was practically nothing to do here, he had a TV, a gigantic flat-screen mounted to the wall, which seemed a little over the top to me. Besides that, there wasn't much to keep me entertained, and the endless Friends reruns were starting to get a little old.

But I suppose I couldn't complain. I was here for my own safety, I was thankful to Andrew for letting me stay here, in his home. But some company would have been nice – Andrew spent most of his time on the roof of the building, keeping watch. Still, he came down every hour or so to check in on me.

Is that how the rest of my life is going to be? Constantly waiting around for one of the angels to be able to spare some time for me? Was that even a life worth living?

I sighed, standing up from the sofa – which was actually surprisingly comfortable, but I figured that meant it was expensive. Andrew seemed to have a lot of money if he could afford this place – I had no idea where that money came from, though.

"Andrew?" I said, no louder than if he had been inside the flat with me.

He appeared in less than a second, stood by the front door, seemingly on edge. "What is it?" he asked, sounding alarmed.

"Nothing I just... I can't stay in here forever." I sighed again, folding my arms across my chest.

"It's for your safety." He frowned, "They'll find you if you go outside."

"I'm only human." I reminded him, "I'll go crazy if I stay locked up inside all day, and then all of this will be for nothing."

He was quiet for a moment, deep in his thoughts. "I'll talk to the others, see if there's anything we can do."

I smiled at him, "Thanks. So... maybe we could go for a walk then?"

He shook his head, though a smile seemed to tug at the corner of his mouth. "Noah will be here soon, he's coming to replace me for a few days."

"He is?" As much as I enjoyed Andrew's company, a change would be nice. And a couple of days alone with Noah... it sent a shock through the butterflies in my stomach.

Andrew kept smiling, but for just a second it seemed to drop, and I was reminded suddenly of when he was helping me learn to fly... when he kissed me. Maybe it meant nothing, but I decided I would try to make more of an effort to hide my feelings for Noah around Andrew from then on.

"So, um." I tried to change the topic. "Why London?"

Andrew shrugged, "It's busy here, you're less likely to be singled out for something. Plus, there's no portals nearby, and I happened to have a flat here."