Love and Angels

twenty-two

Kass

I didn't want to drop Laney off, but we'd already far surpassed her curfew and her parents are probably pissed. It was worth it. Tonight, my girl gave me the most precious gift. She gave me herself, fully, completely, without a single reservation. She will never give that to anyone else. Never.

Just as I'm pulling away from a kiss that is completely inappropriate for standing on her parents' doorstep, both our phones chime. Her brows furrow as she looks at me before digging in her purse to find her phone.

"It's from Sasha," she gasps, and her hand flies over her mouth. I find myself digging in my pocket for my phone.

The screen comes on and I pull up my messages. Sitting in my inbox are pictures of Laney and me. Tonight. Having sex in the park.

"Shit."

"What if she sent these to everyone?" Laney asks.

I run my left hand through my hair as Laney's phone chimes again.

Sasha: Park. 15 minutes.

Laney looks at the screen on her phone. "Maybe I can convince her to delete the pictures?"

"You're not going anywhere. I'll go meet her and make damn sure she doesn't have a way to send the pictures out."

Laney says something behind me, but I'm already getting in my truck.

My left leg bounces as I drive, speeding down the road, barely paying attention to what I'm doing when I reach the one-lane bridge. It's late and I don't expect anyone else to be out this way, so I race toward the park, not slowing down for the bridge. Immediately, I know it's a mistake.

Bright headlights fill my windshield, and there's no way for me to slow down in time to miss hitting the brand new black truck with pink stripes. I think I know that truck but then decide it's unimportant. The pick-up speeds up and appears to deliberately veer into my side of the bridge. The grill slams into the side of my truck, sending me over the short edge of the bridge and tumbling into the creek below.

Though we've been stuck in a drought, this part of the creek is still high. Laney could've drowned had she landed just a little further back that day on the bridge.

The water rushes past as the side of my truck breaks the ripples of the rapids. The cold water floods inside, filling the floorboard of the truck and my shoes, and my truck sinks faster than I would have thought possible. I roll the window down as fast as I can, hoping I can swim out.

A lightning bolt strikes far too close for comfort, and I am momentarily distracted from trying to save myself. It wasn't supposed to storm tonight. Ice cold water pulls my attention as the truck continues to fill.

A shiver wracks my entire body, and my hands shake as I try to unbuckle my seatbelt. The truck is old, and the belt sticks on most days, but I hoped I'd be lucky enough for today to be one of the few that it pulls away easily. It's not. I couldn't be that lucky.

With water up to my neck, the only thing flashing through my mind is how much I love Laney and how destroyed she will be when she finds out I'm dead. Seconds before darkness takes over, it all becomes too much, and I'm struck with the memory of where I've seen that truck. It's been parked in the front row of the parking lot at school for the last few weeks. I remember seeing Sasha step out of it each morning as I drove around looking for a place to park. The bitch has finally succeeded in taking me from Laney.

***

My eyes open to bright, white light. The hospital? I strain to hear the usual beeping noises of a hospital but am met with silence. I turn my head from side to side; the room is completely white with no doors or windows. The bed I'm lying on is also white, and I'm dressed in a white t-shirt and white pants. Why is everything so white?

"Good. You're awake." My head jerks to the right to see a man—no, an angel—walk through a door. The door closes, and I look around the man but all I see is a solid white wall. Where the hell did the door come from and why is it gone?

The bed dips and squeaks as the man sits beside me, his hands clasped in his lap.

"How are you feeling?" he asks.

I think about that for a moment before answering. "Fine, I guess."

"Good, good." He smiles. "Do you know where you are?"

"A hospital?"

He chuckles as if I'd made a funny joke. "You're in Heaven, Kassidy."

"Kassidy?" I question.

"Ah, right. Most call you Kass."

"Kass." The nickname sounds foreign on my lips.

He nods. "That's your name."

"Okay."

Why the hell don't I remember my own name?

"Do you remember anything?"

I sit there and stare at the man I've never seen, though I don't know where that knowledge stems from. I search my mind, coming up blank. I know words, languages, but I have no memory of me or any other person... ever. As far as I know, he's the first I've ever seen. No, that's not right. People don't have wings—I do know that—and his stand large and proud behind him, keeping me from seeing the other side of the room.

I shake my head, and he smiles.

"I trust you can walk."

I sit up and slide to the edge of the bed, standing slowly to catch my bearings.

"Good. I'll take you to the training room. Welcome to the team."

A mirror appears before me as the man moves out of my sight, and I see myself for the first time. Behind me are wings identical to his but smaller in size. What. The. Hell?