Ark (#Wattys2016)

Voicemail

"A father is a man who expects his son to be as good a man as he meant to be."

- Frank A. Clark

It had been a week since Perch attacked Ark; a week since I found out that I was an angel, a week since a monster from my childhood reappeared in my life, and a week since I had almost killed as man in cold blood. Dylan had lied to cover me, although I didn't quite understand why. Laurel had canceled my suspension due to that night's events but I still hadn't returned to headquarters. Zane had, though. In fact, he had back to work the next day, refusing to stay in the apartment alone.

I didn't blame him. Our apartment didn't feel safe anymore. When Perch broke in, he had violated us in a terrible way. He had come into our home and threatened us. Even though he was currently locked up in the cells of Ark, I still felt on edge when I walked into our apartment, half expecting to find him there, sitting in the armchair with the same stupid smirk on his face.

Truth be told, I was worried about Zane. Something was off about him. He was jumpier. His laughs and smiles seemed seemed forced. He wasn't sleeping, wasn't eating. He just wasn't himself and I wasn't the only one who had noticed. Jasmine was just as worried as I was. In the past week, she seemed to always be by his side, not that he was complaining. Zane had always had feelings for the elemental, and if I was right, she shared those feelings. The only problem was that they were both to scared to say anything.

I was laying on my bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling. I had been up for hours but couldn't bring myself to move. My hands were folded on top of my chest, the golden bands from Salvador and Calla glinted in the sunlight that seeped through my curtains. I hadn't heard from them since that night. Baz and Laurel were shocked when I told them what I had discovered. They immediately began examining the bracelets, which didn't seem to come off. They were disappointed when all of their tests came back, revealing that the bracelets seemed as normal as any other. Just another mystery in the pile of unanswered questions.

I sighed heavily, wishing that everything would just go back to normal, and turned to look at my phone on the nightstand beside me. It had been going off nonstop with calls and texts from my friends but I didn't want to answer a single one. In fact, there was only one person I wanted to talk too. Unfortunately, he hadn't answered the phone in over ten years. I shook my head and grabbed the phone. What did I have to loose? Throwing my legs over the side of the bed, I dialed in the last known number I had for my father. My head hung low as the ringing echoed in my ears. I wasn't surprised when it went to voice mail.

"Hi. This is Patrick Hayes. Sorry, I cant get to the phone right but if you leave a message, I'll call you back as soon as I can. And if this is Pax, I love you kid." the beep was deafening, making me flinch. My mouth hung open for a second. I wasn't planning on leaving a message but I had so much to say that I couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Hey, dad. This is Pax. I know that I haven't heard for you in a really long time and I know that the chances of you getting this message are pretty slim but," my voice caught in my throat and I had to take a breath. This was so much harder than I thought it would be. My cheeks felt damp and my eyes stung. I didn't even realized that I was crying. "I've got nothing left to loose."

I wiped my face and took in a shaky breath. "I- uh, I found out about Ark. I know everything. I even know where I came from. Turns out, I'm an angel. Who would have thought, huh?" I forced a laugh. I wanted to hang up the phone but I couldn't stop thinking that he may somehow hear this message.

"Look, dad. I don't know what to do. I'm trying so hard to be the man that you wanted me to be but so much has happened and I feel like I'm losing it. I-" I ran my hand through my hair, my eyes clenched shut as I tried to find the right words. "I understand now why you left. You wanted to protect me and right now, I don't even know if you're still alive. I just really, really need you to come home now. Please come home."