Miracle

Pt. 15

Lily watched as Alex let out a sigh, rubbing his hands down his face. "I don't even know where to start. I've never had to explain everything before."
Lily licked her lips, looking down at her lap. "Well, Alex, I'm going to need you to find a way. I was almost taken to... God knows where yesterday. Don't you think I deserve to know what's going on right now?" She lifted her head, looking into his eyes as he nodded.

"Of course you do. It's just... hard," he said, his voice softly trailing off. He'd never had to explain everything to a human before. The last thing he wanted was to freak her out, but it seemed he couldn't leave her in the dark any longer.

"Okay, here goes. I'm your assigned Guardian Angel," he began, nervously picking at his bottom lip.
"Assigned?... Assigned by who?" Lily asked, her brow furrowing.
Alex smiled, shrugging his shoulders. "God, duh. Who else would have that power? I mean, the High Council of angels told me to, but the order was from God."
Lily scrunched up her face, continuing to pet Momo.

She wouldn't say she was a very religious person. She went to church when she was younger with her mom, though she didn't even remember any of the stories in the Bible. At one point, they just stopped going altogether. She remembered her mom one day saying there was no point in going anymore, that it wouldn't change anything. Lily never really understood what her mom meant by that, but she didn't complain. She hated waking up early to go.

She turned her head quickly, looking at him. "Then why did I have so much bad luck growing up? You were supposed to be protecting me!" A sudden realization hit her: if he was her Guardian Angel, where the hell had he been all these years? All those times she needed him, he was never there. Did he have any idea how many near-death situations she had been in?

She thought of the time she learned how to ride a tricycle and was attacked by a wild dog. Or the time she was taking a stroll in the park and was almost hit by a stray arrow from someone practicing archery. Or just the time she choked on a noodle at Noodles & Company, and Emily had to give her the Heimlich in the middle of the restaurant to save her life. He could have literally saved her from all those things and a lot more. Did he just not want to?

He frowned, looking at her. "Lily, I just recently became your Guardian Angel. The day you woke up was my first day. Are you telling me you haven't had a Guardian Angel your whole life until that point? When the High Council gave me the job, I did ask what happened to your previous Guardian Angel, because everyone gets one at birth. But they told me not to dwell on the fact, and God told them to tell me just to protect you the best I can."

Lily made a confused expression. What could she have possibly done to piss off God this much? Sure, she wasn't the perfect human, but she sure as hell wasn't the worst. She believed in treating everybody as they treated her, with a kind and open heart. "I thought I'd just been unlucky my whole life, but it turns out God just hates me.... Perfect. Just perfect." Lily's voice dripped with sarcasm as she rolled her eyes.

Alex put a hand on her shoulder. "We don't know all the details, Lily. Maybe you did have an angel, they were just shit at their job," he said, letting out a little laugh. Most Guardian Angels took their jobs pretty seriously, but it was always possible for someone to slack off, even if you're immortal. He didn't want to think the worst - that God purposefully didn't give Lily a Guardian Angel. After all, why would He do that? There was no reason for him to.

For now, he would have to accept the fact that she went all those years without an angel and somehow survived. Most humans wouldn't understand how much effort it takes for an angel to keep them alive on the daily, but Lily fully understood. She'd been doing it all her life until he came along. He couldn't just confront God like he did with the High Council; you can't just meet with God whenever you want. He's a busy, all-powerful man.

Lily played with Momo's ear, biting her lip. Of course, there had to be some reason why she had grown up without an angel... but she would probably never know the reasoning. "So where did you go for the last year? Why weren't you there as soon as the monster tried to attack me?" she asked softly. It was a simple question, but the answer made Alex anxious.

He stood up, pacing in front of her. "Well, um, he was actually a demon from Hell. I'm guessing that's where he was trying to take you back with him."
Lily's eyes widened, and she stopped petting Momo. That... that demon was trying to take her back to Hell with him, but why? Why would he do that? It's not like she was some extraordinary person.

Why would he want her?
"And I actually was... um, don't be mad, okay? I was just trying to protect you the best way I could, and I'm just so attracted to you, and that's not a good thing, Lily, so.... I was trying to find you a new Guardian Angel." He said softly as he stopped pacing, facing her.

She sat frozen on the couch, looking up at him. "Why can't you be around me, Alexander? I don't get it. Is it... me?" she pouted, her eyes starting to fill with water. The rejection was literally crushing her inside. He shook his head quickly before sitting back beside her. He gently took Momo and set him on the ground, then took her hands, looking into her watery brown eyes. "No, Lily, you're perfect... too perfect." He paused, wiping her eyes with his thumbs. She bit her lip, looking down at their hands as he smiled at her.

"I was told being around a human will turn me human or... maybe even worse. The High Council doesn't have much information on these types of situations. I'm basically in the dark, Lily. I didn't know what else to do. I was trying to find you a new guardian, one that I thought would be suitable enough to protect you, but none of the ones I met seemed good enough. I would come and check up on you now and then just to make sure you were okay in between. I was actually in an interview with another angel for you when I could feel your intense fear. I teleported to you right away. I'm so sorry, Lily, I won't do something so dumb again." he said, closing his eyes tightly.

She laid her hand softly over his cheek. Now that he had told her the full story of why he just up and left, she was still upset, of course, but understood why he did what he did. He was obviously just scared of turning human or whatever else could happen to him. There was so much uncertainty. At least he showed up when she really needed him, when she was truly in danger.

"I forgive you, Alex. I think I can understand. Just don't do that shit again and stay my angel, okay?"
He nodded his head, smiling, pushing some of her black bangs out of her eyes. "But what are we going to do now? Where do we go from here?"
He shrugged, grinning as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Well, I'll stay your angel, but other than that... I have no clue."

(Mia note: This has to be one of my longest Chap's over 1000 words I'm really enjoying how this story is coming along so far)