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Since I no longer had study period, I arranged with Misty to work on the school project in between my duties at the haven, once she finished cheerleading practice.
The day after my run-in with Oliver, I waited for her outside the office, enjoying the distraction of watching the residents, and the time to think about what had happened.
I hadn’t told Sam yet, and I wasn’t sure if I should at all. Oliver probably heard about me from Jake. I’d hold on to that logical explanation, until I was proven wrong.
I caught sight of Misty, waving wildly from the town sign. She had Zach in tow. I smiled, happy to see him. He and Simon had saved my life, more than once, and I enjoyed our long, rambling talks about pretty much everything. He was amazingly well read for being a recently fallen angel.
“Alex!” Misty bounded over to me and gave me a big hug. She’d been doing that since I’d nearly died before Christmas. I have to admit—I like it. “I heard Hern got out again. He’s okay?”
“Yeah. He just wanted to see the ocean. Sam promised to take him out again. Hey, Zach.”
He flashed his heart melting smile and wrapped me in an embrace that left me feeling calm and loved. He just had that way about him; probably a left over from being an angel. I could still see the gold aura around him, though today it was edged with blue.
“How’s Simon?”
“He’s on the trail of another potential resident. Though this one may end up in the Santa Luna haven. Mom likes to work with the demon possessions.”
Simon had disappeared after trying to help me save Sam. If ghosts could die, I figured what I witnessed was the closest thing to it. Simon was also the reason we lost our sentient shield.
Unlike the other haven shields, which were usually protection spells, this one turned out to be Elias, a fallen angel whose fall had gone horribly wrong.
Now Elias was somewhere in Simon’s consciousness—and Simon wasn’t dead anymore. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t been there to see it happen.
He and Zach track down the monsters now, demons and Others, who need sanctuary. It allowed Zach to use his talent for finding—and kept Simon out of town.
It’s hard to explain how you happen to be alive when everyone you know attended your funeral.
“Tell him hello,” I said. “And that he’s welcome down here anytime. There are several residents who would love to thank him in person for leading them here.”
“Thanks, Alex.” Zach gave me a smile. “Since he can hear most of my conversations, he probably already knows.”
“Oh.” I knew Zach really hoped that connection was temporary. I guess not.
Misty wrapped her arm around Zach’s waist and kissed his cheek, making him laugh. They were so cute together. Love at first sight that had blossomed into a solid relationship. I was thrilled for both of them.
“So,” she said. “Have you thought about the Spring Fling?”
The dance. I did a mental head slap. I’d been so busy here when I wasn’t at school that I completely forgot. Or blocked it out. I’ll go with forgetting—it will be less painful.
“I haven’t really—”
“You forgot, didn’t you?” She didn’t sound upset, just resigned. “Alex—you have a boyfriend now. Boyfriend equals social life. She’s still new at this,” Misty told Zach, much to my humiliation. “I have to prompt her every once in a while. The dance is next weekend. Did you even tell Sam about it?”
I had a ready answer for that one. “He won’t go. You know that, Misty. Since he left school, he’s already gotten his diploma, so technically he graduated.” After Mr. Emmett bullied the school board to let him finish out his senior year by homeschooling. He zipped through the required coursework, and got his diploma last week. Sam was my built-in excuse for not going to a dance, dressed up like a girly girl—
“Alex didn’t tell me.” Sam’s voice had me spinning around. He stood behind me, arms crossed, those grey-blue eyes on me. Crap. “Is this the annual spring dance, Misty? I’d love to take Alex, show her off.” Double crap. That meant I’d have to wear a dress.
Mom would be thrilled.
“Cool!” Misty did a single arm fist pump. “We’ll have so much fun looking for a dress. We’ll go this weekend—and we can make a day of it!”
Oh, good lord. An entire day? Of shopping? I may not survive.
Sam obviously understood. He moved in, slipped an arm around my waist, and kissed my forehead. “You fought off a Devil and Mrs. Hyatt. You can definitely take on a day at the mall.”
I let out a sigh, leaned my head on his shoulder. “Only for you,” I muttered.
With a smile, he kissed me, and I forgot about everything but the feel of his lips on mine. His arm tightened, and he pulled me forward, until I was plastered against his chest. I wrapped my arms around him and held on, my head spinning. By the time we broke apart we were both gasping for breath—and we had an audience.
They stared, some smiling, some embarrassed, depending on their comfort level with public affection. We lived in close quarters, and I tried not to make any of the residents uncomfortable. Sam had no such issues. His philosophy was if they wanted to be part of the human world someday, they’d have to get used to human behavior.
Nothing like being his guinea pig. But hey, I didn’t always object—especially when the experiment involved his lips.
“Show is over, people,” I said. They started to disperse, a motley group of monsters who would make the extras in any horror movie look like amateurs. Sam kept his arm around me as we walked back to the office.
Yeah, my life is strange, but I love it.