Be My Guardian Angel

Chapter 4

Lauren

I slowly open my eyes to yet another blinding light. I'm getting really tired of all this light stuff. Once my vision focuses I jump straight up causing me to knock heads with the person who scared me.

"Why am I back here, Max?" I asked frustratedly putting my hands on my hips.

"Just come with me." He sighed, slouching his shoulders before sluggishly walking away.

I start to follow him and am about to demand for answers when I stop in my tracks.

He grabs his wrist and I realize he's got a knife. Oh my god. What is happening here? He appears to literally be fighting with nothing. I'm so confused. Before I know it, the knife is flown right out of his hand and into my chest.

"Really?!" I put my hand on Max's shoulder and turn him around to face me. He looks so sad with his big brown puppy dog eyes. Aww, I just want to hug him!

Okay, no. You're mad at him remember?

But I just can't be; not with that face.

"How did that happen?" I ask softly.

"Well," he sniffs, "I was just trying to get the knife out of his hand and when he finally let go I guess I wasn't expecting it." He pouts his lip and runs his hand through his hair while I take the other.

"Hey, it's okay." I coo. "It's okay, I forgive you. You don't need to be so sad. We'll just go back to the Council and ask them for another do-over."

"Lauren..," he rubs the back of his neck and looks everywhere but at me, "that was the last chance. We don't get another one. I'm so sorry."

I'm sorry, what?

"What?!" I yell, officially not feeling bad for him anymore. I can't believe this!

"I can't believe this! How could you mess that up?! That was my life! I had a wonderful boyfriend and best friend and yeah maybe everything wasn't perfect but it was my life and you took it away from me! Again!"

I immediately wish I could take back my words when I see the look on his face.

"Come on," he takes my hand, "let's just get this over with."

"Max I-"

"No, Lauren, it's okay. You're right. I'm not cut out to be a guardian." He whispers that last part more to himself than to me.

I decide to stay silent and think about what I did. I just yelled at an angel in Heaven for crying out loud. Why am I even here and not "down there"?

Max slides the doors until we once again hit 108C. He taps on the door and as it swings open we see Bill frantically running around the tiny office with papers flying everywhere.

"Um, Bill?" I ask. "What's..going on here?"

"Why don't you ask that one?" He said pointing at Max accusingly. "I was your record keeper and with you dead now, I'm out of a job! I don't know what to do with my time now. I've got no family. No wife, no kids, nothing. This job was literally my life. You see that big stack of papers over there?" He points to a humongous pile of paper in the far corner of the room. "That was my bed. Now I'm done for."

Max slouched his shoulders even more than I realized was possible and that made me feel even worse. I can only imagine all the sh-uh, crap he's going to get from everybody now that he's failed again.

"I'm so sorry, Bill." He pleaded. "I'll make it up to you."

"Yeah yeah whatever." He punched the red button hidden in his desk and the walls slid open once again.

"Well well well." Council Leader Waters tisked. "Look who we have here."

Max didn't even bother saying anything. Just bowed timidly and kept his head down.

"Lauren Price," the woman, whose name I still do not know said, "You have a choice. Since you are now officially dead you can choose to either be a guardian, a record keeper, or a worker."

"As for Max," said the older one, "you are being demoted to worker. You can no longer be trusted as a guardian angel. I am very sorry."

Max just sighed like he knew this was coming.

"Wait." I said getting everyone's attention including Max's. "I don't know if this makes a difference or not but I'm willing to give him unlimited chances to prove himself. At least let him stay my guardian until I die like I'm supposed to and then you can make him a worker. I don't want to have another guardian angel looking after me but I don't want to die either. I know I have more of a life ahead of me. You can't punish me for his little mistake."

"Lauren, you can't talk to them like that." Max whispers in my ear.

"I don't care." I say to him before turning back to the Council who actually look interested in what I have to say. "A mistake is exactly what it was. You know what happened down there. He actually tried this time and I know he can do better. You said yourselves it isn't my time yet. So shouldn't I have a say with what gets done with my life?"

They pondered what I said for a moment before looking at each other signaling they all thought the same thing.

"You're absolutely right." Said the woman. "You should have a say."

The older man spoke up. "If you're willing to give Max unlimited chances then so be it."

"However," said Council Leader Waters. "You will still not remember anything when you're down on Earth."

"That's okay with me. I believe in Max." I see Max's face light up when I say that.

"You may stay up here in Heaven as long as you like before going back to Earth. Also, we give you and Max the power to send you back down."

"Why's that, Council Leader?" Max asked with his hand on my shoulder.

"We have a feeling this is going to take quite a while.." He trails off, rolling his eyes. "We've got more important things to do."

"Thank you so so so much. You have no idea how much this means to me!" Max gushed, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Yeah, yeah. Now get out." Council Leader Waters smiled slightly before the wall opened behind us.

We walked back in to Bill's office and told him the good news which caused him to bounce around hug the both us way too tight before beginning to organize all the papers he'd thrown around.

"So," Max said, still smiling so big it looks as if his face is gonna crack, "you wanna go back?"

"Yes." I answered.

"Okay, here's goes nothing."

"Good luck." I say before he closes his eyes and snaps his fingers.

***

I open my eyes to the sound of my annoying ass alarm before lazily getting out of bed.

I shuffle to the bathroom when my foot catches on a cord from a lamp and I hit my head right on the corner of my coffee table.

***

I see Max staring at me sheepishly and glare at him.

"I'm so going to regret this, aren't I?"

*** Does anyone else imagine Council Leader Waters as Morgan Freeman? Cause I do.