Lucas ✔️

Fifty

Fluorescent light burned my retinas as I opened my eyes, instinctually lifting my hand to shield my face.

"Lilith." I turned to my left and right, yet he wasn't there.

"Hello?"

The ground was smooth and cold, like marble, except it was soft, like suede. I took a hesitant step forward, unable to see further that a metre in front of me.

"Lilith," the voice echoed again. It was soft, light, airy – like Lucas, but not. A hand gripped my arm and I stopped, turning to see the owner of the long fingers wrapped around my pale arm. "Lilith."

"Uriel?" I whispered, taking a step back as he dropped his hand from my arm. "What are you doing here?" The world spun as I looked around, the scenery adjusting. I squished my eyes together and took a deep breath. "What am I doing here?"

"You should already know, Lilith."

My hand lifted to my neck quickly and rubbed it, small tears welling at the edge of my eyes. In a sense, I guess I had always known what was coming. I just hadn't really thought much about the logistics of it. Asking Lucas to kill me was... really dumb. He'd done it though, so there was no going back now.

"Let's go." Uriel grabbed my hand and tugged it gently, pulling me to left until we stepped onto a platform that seemed to appear from thin air.

There was a stairway up, with intricately detailed of ivory handrails. It glowed brightly, as though it were pulsating with life and light. At the top stood Dad, the sunlight streaming behind him like some angelic ghost with his arms wide, begging for a hug.

"Dad?" I whispered, moving forward, my foot on the first step up. He nodded his head and I gasped, moving up another step. Uriel's cool hand curled around my wrist and stopped me.

"Lilith," he said gently, sending me a small smile. "You can choose either way, but you need to be aware of both decisions."

"What?" I asked, sending him and awkward look, pulling on my wrist gently.

Uriel pointed, and my eyes followed his arm instinctually, noticing the darkened steps heading down. I paused, taking a step back, away from the stairs that would carry me to my loving father. I didn't need to ask what it was, or what decision Uriel was asking me to make. It was obvious – Heaven, with Dad, or Hell, with Lucas.

I looked back at Dad and he smiled, nodding his head, as though he understood why I was hesitating to climb those steps into his soft embrace. I clutched my chest and turned away from him, hiding my tears. It hurt a lot more than I expected to see him watching me like that, knowing the decision was already made.

I looked at Uriel, who smiled knowingly and nodded his head, gesturing to the dark, burnt steps descending into the darkness below. His hair floated gently around him as he moved, as though we were underwater. I sobbed slightly as my hand curled around the handrail, the burnt wood scratching my skin. It was hot, as though it had only just stopped burning. I took a step down, looking back at Dad and mouthing the words I knew he wanted to hear.

"I love you."

My pale skin stood out against the dark step, warmth spreading along my bare foot. Uriel's smile grew smaller before he touched my hand lightly – a gesture of pity, concern, or admiration I wasn't sure – as I took another step lower into the abyss.

Hot wind gushed up the stairs from below, my skin grew flushed and tingled in response, my long red curls danced in the wind as it rushed past. I took one last look at Dad, Uriel, and the bright stairway that I dared not touch, before beginning my descent down.

It really was a long way down.