Page 89 of Crimson Promises
“All of this sounds ominous, Ben. By the way, you could’ve used that after we played minigolf.”
He smirked. “You didn’t know I was an angel then. I couldn’t risk it. But there are perks if you’re willing to test them out later.”
I mocked, gagging. “Not. You lost your chance after your sneaky, snakey ways. So, just to be clear: A) You’ve beenresponsiblefor watching over me since I was a child
B) You’ve seen my healing gifts manifest since childhood. You were there the first time I used them on Charles
C) I have a gift called The Sight, which allows me to see angels when other humans cannot
D) You think that I’m not entirely human because of said healing powers
Well, that is all fucking great.”
I dropped my head into my hands. This was all too much to take. My mind was whirling from one critical life event to the next. It snagged on something Ben said. He was at the hospital that night. I remembered seeing a beautiful boy with inky hair when it dawned on me.
Ben.
Ben was the one who had saved me the night I had gotten into that accident.Did that mean the creature was real?
The next time I looked at Ben, I saw two of him.
Is that some angel technique?
The quiet, calm of the darkness enveloped me next. A shadowy figure stood above me. Everything became hazy. Two red lasers came out of its eyes. I could have sworn it uttered the wordsoon. The shadow retreated to wherever it came from.
Light returned behind my lids. I could feel the faint sweep of someone brushing my hair to the side and calling my name. I blinked a few times and squinted against the brightness. Ben’s head floated into my periphery, blocking out direct light.
“Aurora, you alright? You freaked me out there.”
I pushed my arms back through the jacket and grasped onto his arm to bring myself up slowly.
“Easy there.” He placed a hand on my spine and guided me so that I was leaning against my trusty tree. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure. The last thing I remember was trying to work through everything we discussed. Especially the night of the car accident, my mind kept whirling like a tornado.”
Once I felt rooted where I sat, I gently pried his hands from me. I appreciated his assistance but didn’t want any physical contact with him.
He moved back to where he was sitting earlier, and I exhaled a breath I didn’t know I had been holding.
“Maybe we shouldn’t talk about this if this is how you’ll react.”
I shook my head vehemently. “This is about me, Bennett. Ineedto know everything. No matter how overwhelming this all may be.”
“Alright, but I will only finish explaining all this if we hydrate you. You threw up earlier and just fainted. If you want to hear the rest, that’s the deal.”
I grit my teeth together. I didn’t see much of a choice. He had the answers I needed, and I didn’t have any other leads I could pursue at this point. “Fine.”
“Let’s walk down to the docks. The ocean air will do you some good, and we can get you water and maybe a smoothie if you feel up to it.”
* * *
The ocean air smelled like a sail whose billows had caught up water, salt, and the cold sun. The boardwalk was scattered with a few people: an older couple walking hand-in-hand, a guy skateboarding, someone jogging, and others talking on their phones or listening to something on their headphones.
Ben paid for the taxi as I turned to face the ocean. The breeze lifted the strands of my hair away from my neck. Some stalls had already closed for the day, but a few remained open, serving the later crowd.
“Wait here,” Ben said.
As I took a seat on a nearby bench I let my thoughts lull in and out with the crashing waves on the shore.
