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  “Claudia,” he murmured, still kissing me. “pull…away…too…dangerous.”

  I understood what he wanted me to do as I put his words together, but I didn’t want to, nor did I do as he asked. It didn’t matter, because we were interrupted by the sound of my mother’s car door shutting. He released me, his hand in mine, and we lay there in silence, catching our breath. I was dazed, floating in heaven, and needed some time to come back to reality.

  “Did you tell me to pull away?” I asked, still catching my breath.

  “Yes, I couldn’t stop from wanting you.”

  “What makes you think I could?”

  He didn’t get a chance to answer. Michael stood both of us up when he heard Mom opening the front door. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he said, gently touching the beaded butterfly crystal necklace he had given me on my birthday and then my cheek.

  “I know,” I said, trying to sound cheerful.

  “I need to find out more about why I didn’t know you were in danger, but I believe one reason I didn’t know you needed me was that there were no fallen involved. The only other reason I could think of would be if you were in the presence of another angel. But how could that be? Impossible, I am your guardian angel.” Michael looked confused and extremely frustrated with this new dilemma.

  “I guess I wasn’t in all that much danger. I just wanted you here,” my voice low.

  He placed my hands onto his chest and kissed them both. “Te Amo,” he said.

  “I love you more,” I replied.

  Just as he disappeared, I called out, “Wait.” I wanted to tell him about the T-shirt and the strange hot feeling that shot through my hands, but it was too late. A sly smile crossed my lips; I couldn’t help but wonder how he was going to teach Ryan a lesson. I was a bit worried, but I let it go quickly. I guessed I’d have to wait to find out.

  Chapter Five

  I stood in front of my locker with it partly opened, drowning out the noises of the chatting and locker doors slamming. I was there to pick up my book and head to my next class, but my mind was occupied with thoughts of Michael and what took place between him and Ryan. Hoping to avoid Ryan, I hid behind the locker door. I also couldn’t stop thinking about the girl with the same name as me, who had gone missing.

  “Hey, Claudia,” Kristina greeted.

  “Kristina!” I jumped, startled by her appearance. I suddenly realized I was supposed to go to my literature class. I grabbed a book and a notebook, closed the locker door, and gave her a hug. “You never walk to my locker and walk to class with me. What’s up?”

  “Jumpy are we?”

  “I was just deep in thought.”

  “I guess I would be too if you were thinking the same thing I was thinking. Did you hear the news about that girl named Claudia Emerson, who is missing? I knew it wasn’t you for sure when they said her boyfriend, Ryan Weber, was missing too. I mean, not that I expected you to be missing, but I knew it wasn’t you so I wasn’t worried. You know what I mean?” she said, trying to be sensitive to the situation.

  “I know what you mean. Kind of creepy.”

  “Talk about creepy. That’s already two Claudia Emersons that died or went missing recently. First it was your friend and now her.”

  “There must be a curse on the name,” I joked, then kicked myself for saying something inconsiderate and stupid.

  “It better not be, for your sake,” Kristina replied.

  We started walking, waving hello to our friends as we passed them by; campus was busy with students on their way to their next class. In less than a year, this place would only be a memory. How quickly time flies, I thought. It just seemed like yesterday that I was a freshman.

  “How’s Michael?” Kristina asked, grinning, breaking the silence.

  “Gooood.” My heart started to beat faster just from the sound of his name. “I just saw him two days ago.” It was nice to be able to tell her some part of the truth.

  “What’d you guys do?”

  “The usual; some of this and some of that.” I giggled, thinking about how I fell on top of him on my bed.

  “That’s it? Not much detail in what you are telling me.”

  I didn’t respond to her question. I froze at the site of Ryan’s friends, but Ryan was nowhere to be seen. My anxiety disappeared, but I was still hesitant. I wondered where he was and what he would do when he saw me.

  “Claudia, you okay? Who are you looking for?”

  I didn’t want Kristina to worry and I didn’t want to tell her about that night. “It’s nothing. I thought I saw someone,” I lied.

  “We can talk after class. I want all the details about your date, but only if you want to share.”

  We were already in front of our literature class. “After class,” I said, finding my seat. But I didn’t know what parts I would share. It wasn’t a “normal” date–a dinner and a movie kind. We were flying across the sky, appearing in different countries. How could I share that information with her? My stomach began to flutter as I recalled seeing all that I had with Michael that night–breathtaking.

  My thoughts were broken when a strikingly handsome man appeared in front of the class.

  “Good morning. My name is Mr. Cain, and I will be your teacher for the rest of the school year. Mr. Moore had to take a leave of absence. I also want to remind you to sign up for the team project. You must at least be in groups of three, no less.”

  Mr. Cain had sandy blond hair with sky blue eyes. He wore navy slacks and a blue and white button down shirt that was neatly tucked in. What happened to Mr. Moore? I thought. Kristina and I looked at each other, angling our brows, perhaps having the same thought. Then Kristina mouthed, “He’s cute.”

  I shook my head and giggled.

  “Claudia Emerson,” Mr. Cain called.

  “Yes,” I answered, wondering if I did or didn’t do something I was supposed to do.

  Instead, he called another name. Then I realized he was taking roll. I stopped turning to Kristina because she was distracting me. After Mr. Cain was finished, we were asked to get our books out.

  “‘To be, or not to be, that is the question’,” Mr. Cain said, holding his book. “The question for today; think about Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia. Does he love her? Does he stop loving her? What evidence can you find in the play to support your opinion?”

  “Great,” Jeff, who was sitting behind me, mumbled sarcastically.

  I wasn’t paying attention to what other students were grumbling about. I was too busy in thought about the question Mr. Cain had asked. It reminded me of Michael. Would Michael love me forever? Was it even possible for Michael and me to have forever? Hoping Mr. Cain wouldn’t call on me, I tried to sink a little lower. In an attempt to be invisible, I hid behind Jackson, one of the biggest football players on our school team, who conveniently sat in front of me.

  “Jackson,” Mr. Cain called. “What do you think?”

  Jackson was silent and his body stiffened. Maybe he was in shock that he got called on. Whatever the reason, he seemed fine after the initial shock and started rambling about how he thought Hamlet wouldn’t love Ophelia forever.

  After school, I pulled up to park in the driveway; Mom’s car was already there. It was unusual for her to be home this early on a Monday. I wondered if she was sick, because it was so unlike her to take a day off from work. I clicked on my car alarm and headed inside.

  “Mom,” I called.

  “Hi, honey,” she greeted me with a hug. She didn’t look or sound sick. “I need to talk to you.” She took my hand and led both of us to the sofa.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “Do you remember my friend, Jacqueline? It’s been a while since you’ve seen her.”

  “I recall you talking to her on the phone several times.”

  “Jacqueline is like a sister to me. She’s really sick. She was diagnosed with breast cancer some time ago and unfortunately, it has spread to some of her other organs. Doctors
are not very optimistic about her prognosis and cannot be certain as to how much time she has.” Her voice was shaky as her eyes began to tear.

  “I’m so sorry, Mom,” I said, placing my hand on her arm.

  “Honey, what I’m trying to say is that I’m going to be gone for a week. Do you think you’ll be okay, alone? I wouldn’t do this, but…”

  “Go, Mom. Don’t worry. You know I can take care of myself. You can trust me. You need to be with your friend. I’ll be fine.”

  “I know,” she said, running her hand down my face affectionately. “I just needed for you to tell me that it was okay. With Gamma gone, I didn’t think it was a good idea.”

  “When will you be leaving?”

  “I was thinking Thursday night, after work. I’ll have to fly to New York, but…I don’t have to go.”

  “You need to go. Did you already forget what you always tell me, be good to those who are alive…”

  She finished my sentence. “What good is it when they are…” She paused. “But, I’ll miss Thanksgiving.”

  “Thanksgiving is overrated. And anyway, I only pretended to like turkey for Gamma’s sake. I’ll be fine, but if it will make you feel better, I’ll call Patty’s mom if I need anything.”

  “That sounds like a plan.”

  Even with our talk, I knew she would feel uncomfortable leaving me behind, especially because she would miss Thanksgiving, but what choice did she have? Her friend was sick.

  “It will be alright, Mom. I have school and work on the weekend. I’ll be keeping myself busy. The week will fly by in a flash,” I reassured her.

  “Okay, honey. You can invite your friends for a sleep over.”

  “Sure. That’ll be fun.” I tried to sound cheerful.

  “No boys allowed,” she said firmly.

  “I know,” I said, planting a kiss on her cheek, and stood up. But she didn’t say no angels.

  She gently gripped my hand. “Thank you for understanding.”

  I smiled and headed to my room.

  Chapter Six

  I was all alone. Mom’s leaving the night before had left me with unsettling emotions, but thoughts of Patty’s birthday party were helping me escape the feeling. I looked inside my closet, trying to find something nice to wear. It was difficult for Patty and me to spend time together, especially since we didn’t go to the same school. Our time spent together socially was infrequent, but it made it more precious when it happened. Today was a special day and I could hardly wait to see my best friend.

  While I was searching, I became excited about the party favor; I couldn’t wait for Patty to see it. Coming up with a party favor was difficult, especially since I hadn’t made one before. But one thing was certain; it had to be perfect. After hours of research and planning, I’d purchased a bunch of blank CDs and burned her favorite songs onto them. Each CD was also covered with a photo collage of her special moments with her friends. I placed them into paper jackets and carefully labeled them “Thank you for coming to Patty’s 18th birthday.” Hopefully, she didn’t suspect a thing and the party would be a great success.

  Needing to be there early, I quickly slipped on a new red long sleeved, form fitting sweater that I’d bought particularly to wear for Patty’s birthday and a black A-line skirt. I tied a sparkling black scarf loosely around my neck to add a special touch, but made sure that my butterfly necklace was showing.

  Since my hair is pin straight, always down, I decided to pull it back in a pony tail. Then I zipped on my high heel black boots, grabbed my black, thick overcoat and headed out the door. As soon as I stepped outside, the cold breeze stung sharply to my very core as the heavy gusts of wind pushed me back, caught my breath, and tousled my hair in a wild tumble. My face and my hands started to feel numb so I pulled out my black gloves from the pockets of my overcoat and slid them on, then hugged myself for warmth. As I struggled to get to my car, orange, brown, red and yellow leaves swirled in the air, like a mini colorful tornado. The vibrant crisp leaves danced as they fell to the ground. Though I was tempted to jump on them and hear the crunching sound, I thought twice about what I wanted to do since I would look ridiculous. Many lawns were covered with sheets of autumn colored leaves. I loved the change of seasons, and the beauty that came with it.

  Though it was a long drive there, I didn’t mind since the scenic route kept my mind engaged, and I was surprised to realize I was already there. When the waiter took me back to our private room, I realized that I was the first one there. Andrew had picked a perfect restaurant. We had our own private room with a rectangular cherry wood table and chairs. The table was set for eight people, small and cozy, just like Andrew said it would be. There was even a bouquet of beautiful flowers arranged perfectly in a glass vase, placed in the center of the table. As I carefully placed a party favor at each place setting, I saw Jane and Diane.

  “Hello,” I said.

  “Hello, Claudia,” they both said, giving me a quick hug, one after another.

  Jane and Diane were Patty’s friends from school. We didn’t hang out much, but I saw them once in a while at Patty’s gatherings.

  “It looks so nice! I didn’t know they had a private room,” Jane said, gazing at the details of the room. “Where should I put this?” She was holding a huge birthday gift bag. “It’s from Diane and me.”

  “You can set it there,” I replied, pointing to a small round table, and noticed Diane already seated.

  Diane didn’t seem to care about the ambiance of the room as much as Jane. She had already plopped herself down. She was holding a compact mirror, and smacking her lips while gliding on some lip gloss, then casually tossing her hair back. “Do you think Austin will be here?” Diane asked.

  My stomach knotted and I didn’t know why. The possibility of Austin being at the party hadn’t even crossed my mind. Austin was Andrew’s good friend; of course he would be here.

  Jane looked at me and started to speak. “I don’t know. What do you…”

  Jane didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence. Diane stood up with a huge smile and eagerly walked toward the door. I wondered who she was smiling flirtatiously at.

  “Hello, Austin,” she said, giving him a hug as she glued her whole body onto his.

  Austin looked at me and winked. Diane curiously looked at me, certainly wondering why I got a wink.

  “I want a hug too,” Jane said, draping her arms around him.

  The two girls were flaunting themselves at him, Diane more so then Jane. He ignored them as he checked his text messages. “Andrew is here. Should we get seated or hide?”

  Diane and Jane were moving around the room, clearly trying to find a place to hide…it seemed we were hiding. But where could we hide? There was no place to do so. As I turned to hide behind Jane, someone pulled me in for a hug. It happened so fast, I didn’t realize it was Austin until he released me in front of him. He was standing so close; I could feel his body lightly pressed against mine. Jane and Diane hid behind Austin. Though I felt uncomfortable having Austin this close, I didn’t move, in fear that Patty and Andrew would walk in any minute. I did not want to make a scene that would cause anyone to question why.

  “Good to see you,” Austin whispered.

  I didn’t respond with words. Instead, I turned slightly to give him a nod.

  We waited quietly, and then we heard footsteps. Anticipation and nervousness were running through my veins, till finally Andrew and Patty walked in.

  We all shouted, “Surprise!”

  Patty saw me first and then looked around to see everybody else. Her mouth was wide, open in surprise, stunned by the site of her friends. Overcome with shock, she stood there for a brief second, speechless–which rarely happens with Patty–and turned to Andrew to embrace him tightly.

  “Happy birthday,” Andrew whispered, planting a kiss on her lips.

  After Patty hugged all of us, we were trying to figure out where everybody was going to sit when two other girls walked in.

&nbs
p; “Sorry for being late,” one said.

  Dead silence filled the room as all eyes were glued on her and her friend, most likely awe stricken by them just as much as I was.

  “Everyone, this is Michelle and Gracie,” Austin introduced, not looking eager to see them.

  We waved hello with a smile, but Diane looked disappointed, probably seeing the girls as more competition for Austin’s attention.

  Michelle had long, blonde, curly hair and Gracie’s dark brown, short hair framed her face. They both looked like they had just walked out of a Victoria’s Secret magazine–they were gorgeous! Their skin tight dresses, clinging to every part of their womanly figures, made me feel, to say the least, underdressed. After the introduction, I sat to the right of Patty. Austin sat across from me with his two female friends–one on each side.

  I didn’t recall Patty ever mentioning Michelle or Gracie; I wondered if they were invited because they were Andrew’s friends. Whatever the reason, I didn’t care–I think. It was hard not to notice Michelle and Gracie flirting with Austin during dinner. Diane tried to cut in on their conversation, only to be shut out by Michelle. Patty was talking away about school and work as the waitress took our order and poured water in our glasses. Afterwards I sat there listening rather than talking. I didn’t have much to say since I didn’t know her friends that well.

  “You never told me about Michelle and Gracie,” I managed to whisper to Patty when she finally took a breather from talking.

  “That’s because I met them recently,” Patty replied.

  “When?”

  “Tonight. Austin asked Andrew if he could bring a couple of his friends.”

  “Oh.” I gave Patty a funny look, surprised by her answer. “They’re a bit flirtatious.”

  “You jealous?” she asked, giggling.

  “What? No.” I pushed her lightly. “Of course not.” But I wasn’t sure what I was feeling.