Nephilum

Chapter 11

I woke the next morning bleary eyed and sore. I was in my bed at the safe house with no recollection of how I got there. I yawned and slowly untangled my limbs from the bed sheets. I put a hand to my throbbing head and walked slowly down the stairs.

Michael and James both sat on the couch. Neither of them were watching the football game; they were both typing away on their laptops.

"Do we have any Asprin?" I asked. I plopped next to Michael on the couch and brought my knees to my chest.

He looked at me, his brows furrowed in concern. "What happened to you? You look like you got hit by a bus."

"She just tried to kill us again." James interjected.

I glared at him. "I did not. I tried to control it but if I didn't let it out I thought I was going to explode, literally."

"If only." He muttered under his breath.

"What?" I asked him, though I heard him perfectly.

'I said if only." He looked straight at me. My head was still pounding and it felt as if the longer I stared at him, the more it hurt.

I broke my glare with a grimace and put my hands to my head. I would have kept glaring at him, but it appeared as if my head didn't want me to. I groaned a little and Michael and James shared a confused glance.

James finally spoke, "Get Veronica, now."

Michael disappeared and left me alone with James. If I weren't in a fetal position on the couch trying not to cry, I would have slapped him.

James didn't say anything to me as he just sat there awkwardly on the couch. He attempted to pat my head in what I imagine was comfort for him, but I just swatted it away because it made me feel like a dog. Minutes later Veronica and Michael appeared directly in front of me.

"Hey." I managed to say around my grit teeth.

Veronica smiled tightly. "What's wrong?" she asked.

I didn't answer. My head felt like it was getting split open from the inside, so I just let one of the boys answer for me. Before they could utter a single word, it stopped. I blinked in confusion and relief. I sat up.

"It's gone." I muttered.

"What?" Veronica asked.

"It's gone." I stated a little louder.

"What's gone?" She asked.

"The pain in my head. It felt like I was getting repeatedly bashed on the head with a shovel."

Veronica stared at me for a moment, a look of pure bafflement on her face. "But you're ok now?" she finally asked.

I nodded.

She stood up from her kneeling position beside me. "Keep an eye on her. I'll be back in a few hours." She said to the boys. She disappeared and I looked up to Michael and James.

We stayed that way for a moment before I went to find food. I grabbed a donut and a cup of orange juice and plopped down next to Michael, who had sat down on the couch. James had disappeared.

"What's James' problem?" I asked him after taking a decent size bite of my donut.

Michael looked at me like he was trying to determine something. "He's not really bad once you get to know him. The only reason he doesn't really like you is because he was assigned to keep watch over you and got sucked into all this stuff."

Michaels striking blue eyes were so sincere, I couldn't bring myself to hate James as much. Michael seemed like a good friend. In many ways he reminded me of Sam-the way he dressed, not caring what other people thought and the way he carried himself.

"You remind me of a friend of mine." I told him suddenly.

He laughed. A sudden bark that made me jump. I couldn't help but smile at his reaction. "Oh yeah? What friend would that be?" There was a gleam in his eyes as he looked at me.

"Her name is Sam. She likes to read and wears glasses, but she isn't just a nerd." I trailed off slightly as I spoke.

"There's a lot of things I like to do, but reading isn't one of them." Michael said as he smirked.

I rolled my eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "That's not what I mean. You guys have similar character traits."

"Like what?" He turned to me curiously.

"Like the way you hold yourselves, the way you guys don't care what people think about you, and how loyal you are to your friends. You just remind me of her." I smiled sadly. I may never see her again.

"You talk about her like you've known her forever." He stated.

"I've actually only known her for about two years. She lived somewhere else, but she never told me where. She got adopted and moved to where I lived."

"How did you meet?"

I smiled at the memory. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not exactly the most cordinated person on Earth," I paused for a moment, "or Heaven apparently. Anyway, I was walking out of a cafe and had a cup of coffee in my hand. I was in a hurry and I wasn't paying attention so I ran into her and spilled it all over her. It was fine though because she let me help her clean it up."

He shook his head in amusement. "You'd be good for him, you know?"

I gave him a wierd look. "I don't like him that way. I don't really like him at all."

He seemed unconvinced, but he didn't say anything. I was begining to really like Michael. He was infinitely nicer than his friend. He furrowed his eyebrows for a moment and then sucked in a deep breath of surprise.

"What?" I asked.

"This girl, Sam. Describe her."

"What? Why?" I asked.

"Just do it. What does she look like?"

"She's blond, wears glasses, she's a little taller than me." I said, looking at him strangely.

"Does she have a freckle on her right temple?"

I thought about it for a moment. "I can't remeber." I finally addmitted. "What's your sudden infatuation with my friend, anyway?"

"I just-it's nothing."

I decided not to push him on it though. James chose that moment to walk in and he paused and looked at his friend. Michael had a worry line on his forehead and his elbows rested against his knees. James looked at him a moment longer then continued on his way up the stairs.

I stood up and chased after him. I caught up to him in the hallway and he paused. He looked at me and quirked his eyebrow.

"I need to talk to you." I stated. All questions from the comment Michael had made fled my mind. I crossed my arms.

"So talk."