Saving Grace

Chapter 7

I tossed and turned all night. My agenda to sleep off the memories was a foolish task as I lie on my side, staring at the blank wall beside me. The murmurs of talking bleed through the bottom of my door. I twist my head to listen more closely.

"You didn't have to be so blunt. Like damn Michael, give the girl a break." Jackie's voice sighs in irritation.

"She wanted honesty and the truth, so I gave her it. What more should I have done?" Michael's voice rises.

"Oh, I don't know, to least try to smooth everything out and try not to sound like a damn creep?" Michael sighs heavily in defeat. Footsteps eventually scatter, and I'm once again left in the silence. I try closing my eyes again to finally find myself drifting off to a dreamless sleep.

***

I woke up again to a small stream of light coming from the crack of the door. Weird. I don't believe I left it open last night. I sit up, stretch, and push the covers away to come to a standing position. I make a move to the door and peak through it. The corridor is empty, but I hear a murmur of talking, like earlier last night. I'm not sure if I'm ready to face Michael, or even Jackie, after what I had learned yesterday. But I know I can't avoid them forever. So I step out and close the door quietly behind me.

I move silently, trying not to cause attention. When I come into the view of the main area, Michael is in the kitchen drinking, what I assume, is a cup of coffee, considering the smell permeates from that area. His back is to me, so he hasn't realized I entered the room yet. On the other side of the room sit Jackie and a man I've never seen before on the small sofa. He has long black hair that reaches the middle of his back. Brown angled eyes adorn his elf-like face, his downward-turned lips talking in a hush. I'm too captivated by the strange man that I don't notice how close Michael had appeared next to me.

"Good morning," He hands me a cup of coffee, "Did you sleep well?"

"As best I could," I take a quick sip of the bitter drink. It definitely wakes me up a bit. "Oh, thanks for the coffee." I finally say. He just nods and smiles. He then places his hand on my lower back and gestures to the couch where Jackie and the man are sitting.

"Come sit?" He asks, already leading me.

"Uh, s-sure." I stuttered, unsure of how to process the close proximity between him and I. We make our way towards them, and the man finally looks up. He smiles and gestures for me to sit beside him. I hesitate at first, but eventually give in, and plop down next to him. He reaches out a hand.

"I'm Remy Vamaris, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He smiles as he speaks, and im lured in by his melodic voice.

"Remy, don't even start it." Jackie's voice breaks me of the spell, and I look over to see her scowling, eyes slit.

"Excuse me?" He feigns innocence, "Are you implying something Jackie?" She scoffs.

"I'm not implying anything, I'm accusing. Stop using your damn powers and act like a normal person for once." Remy sighs dramatically and flops on the back of the couch. Michael, who has been sitting silently on the coffee table, has been shooting daggers at Remy.

"I don't do it on purpose you know." Remy rambles on.

"Yeah well, I know you also have control over it, so knock it off." Jackie orders in finality and finally looks at me, "I'm sorry about him, he can be a handful sometimes." She says with an irritated look still lingering on her face.

"Wait. You said he had... Well... Powers? What's is happening right now?" I question, already tired of being confused. She glances at Michael, and he nods as if giving her the go-ahead to do something. "Well, Remy here is an Elf. A Light Elf to be exact. He's here to help keep demons away, and to keep you safe," She finally admits, "Elves naturally have a charming seduction aura to them, which of course naturally draws anyone he lays eyes on in. But Most Elves can at least control who they draw in. They're not completely out of control." She gives Remy a pointed look. He throws his hands up.

"I meant no harm. Mostly." He winks at me. Heat slightly rises to my cheeks and I look away and clear my throat. I was about to ask some more questions about how being an Elf works, But there a knocking on the front door. We all glance at each other. Michael rises from his spot and speed walks to the door. He looked through the peephole that was there and quickly glanced back. He made hand motions to Jackie and Remy and mouthed 'cops' and pointed to the corridor. Jackie grabs and pulls me to through the corridor and into my room, Remy close behind. He quietly shuts the door behind us and we all shuffle to the far wall. I lean my head against the wall to see if I can hear anything. I can.

"Can I help you, officer?"

"We're looking for young women that went missing about two days ago. Her name is Grace Waters. She looks like this. Have you seen her?" The cop's deep voice echos throughout the apartment.

"I'm sorry, I've never seen her before." Something must have made the cop persist, considering I never heard the door shut.

"Do you mind if I check the place out?"

"Sure, why not?" Heavy footsteps began and a door shut. The cop was in the main room for a while, then I heard him walk towards us. Jackie suddenly whispered something in Remy's ear, then plopped on my bed. Remy grabbed me and pulled me to the corner of the room.

"You mustn't make any noise. Do you understand me?" He whispers quickly. I nod. By now the cop is right outside the door. Remy quickly hugs me, and the door swings open. I twist my head to see a brown-haired, green-eyed man about the size of Michael but not as tall. He surveys the room.

"Uhh, Michael whats going on?" Jackie puts up a confused front. She's sat up and leaning her back on the wall, legs crisscrossed, book in hand from the small pile on the end table Michael had left me yesterday. The cop acknowledges her and pulls out the picture of me again and shows her.

"Have you seen this woman at all?" The cop questions, his face hard as steel. She studies it, then shakes her head no. The cop seeming satisfied with his search gives one last infection of the room. His eyes pass right over me, turns, and leaves the room. Michael follows.

"Thank you for your time." The cop calls out over his shoulder. After he finally leaves Remy releases me. I turn to him.

"How did he not see me? Or you?"

"I can make the people I hold invisible and hard to detect. The reason I was called in to help keep you safe from demons." He gives me a toothy grin. Jackie comes into view.

"Well wasn't that fun!" She exclaims sarcastically. She looks at me. "Are you okay?" She looks at me worriedly. I just nod, too in shock to say anything. Michael comes back in looking worried as well.

"I think we should leave." His response was immediate upon entering the room. I look to him in shock.

"We can't just leave! This is where I live now! What about my parents?" I say in a panic, not wanting to go anywhere and just go home. Michael looks to me.

"If it means keeping you safe, then yes. Were leaving. Pack your things, we're leaving at first light." He turns and leaves then. My mouth is gaping with shock. How could he just make a decision without at least talking about it first, instead of acting rash and making decisions last minute? Jackie passes me with a sympathetic smile and leaves the room. Remy lingers.

"You know, he's only doing this because he cares." He says softly. Remy squeezes my shoulder in affection and leaves the room. I'm left alone with my thoughts once the door closes, and I sit on the bed. I need to contact my parents. Because if I'm leaving, I need to at least say goodbye, at least just for a little while. Because theres no way Michael would just let me go home, or leave any time I wanted.