Page 118 of Scrooged for the Holidays
I want to say “I know,” but how do I explain to her I was there but not really? “I’m here now,” I say quietly.
“So that means you’ll join us?”
I look at the outside of Avery’s family’s house, the large front window filled with their glowing tree. Memories of Christmas Past and Present, of the future I might have with people who care for me, people I care for in return, crowd my mind. The idea is nice compared to being alone, more than nice. Yet, I hesitate.
Avery steps close to me and takes my hand. “I know a lot has happened, Greer. But if you’re really sorry, if you really want to talk to me, to your parents, come inside. Spend Christmas with your family.”
My family. Including Avery, the one person who has never given up on me, who’s always stood by my side even when I was awful to her. Even when I did everything in my power to push her away, to convince her I was an Ice Queen.
“I know you’re saying it, but…” I swallow. “Do you really want that?”
She grips my hand. “You came here, on Christmas, the holiday you hate more than anything. We’re standing outside in the cold, and you’re apologizing. I may not completely understand why, but you’re my oldest friend. I’m always going to give you the benefit of the doubt.”
“Why?”
“Because I love you, Greer.”
“Even after how horrible I’ve been?”
“I won’t pretend you’ve made it easy, that I haven’t wanted to give up sometimes.”
“But you didn’t, even when you could have.”
“When I love someone, I stay, through the good and the bad. Especially when that person needs love, even if they don’t think they do.”
I step forward and throw my arms around her. Her surprised squeak hits my ear, but a moment later, she’s hugging me back. We stand there for a bit, just holding each other, and the little girl who still lives inside me heals as she hugs her friend again. She pushed her away because she didn’t know what else to do.
Heat blooms behind my ribs, and my eyes fill with tears. I pull back to see that Avery’s are suspiciously glassy as well.
“Are you sure you’re alright?”
I nod and swallow the lump in my throat. “Never been better.”
She drops her hand to mine and tugs me toward the house. “Come on. Everyone will be wondering what’s going on, and your parents will be glad to see you’re alright.”
Chapter thirty-six
Malachi
Ishouldn’tbestandingoutside Avery’s parents’ home, that much I’m aware of. In the hundreds of years I’ve been doing this, I’ve never once followed one of our jobs after they’ve left Elysian Pines.
We get a sense from our angelic grace that allows us to check in with them energetically, to make sure what we’ve shown them hasn’t harmed them in a way that requires intervention, but that’s never happened. The people we help in the way we helped Greer will always make a choice—to keep going toward the future Sam had shown them or to build a new one.
But damn me to hell, I couldn’t allow Greer to walk away and chance never seeing her again. Even with the hope that lingered inside me that she’d return, I needed to follow her.
From the moment she crossed over the town borders, I felt like a mess inside. Remi is not much better—he’d been sitting in front of the fire at the inn, staring into the flames, when I snuck off. Sam had disappeared to The Last Page, claiming he needed to be alone for a bit. With the two of them occupied, I followed her.
The sound of Greer’s laughter draws my attention back to her. She’s sitting next to her dad and Avery on the couch in the living room, looking at an old photo album. I’ve been temptedto watch from inside, to be closer to her, but instead, I’ve chosen to remain outside and look through the window. Nobody can see me unless I want them to, a nifty Nephilim trick, much like when I took Greer to the past.
I think again about going inside, but if I allow myself to be closer to her, I may never go back home. I’d appoint myself to watch over her forever, never leaving her side like some pathetic Nephilim puppy.
“You are a pathetic Nephilim puppy.”
My head turns from the window to a grinning Remi, who somehow looks more handsome than usual despite the bit of sadness in his eyes that reflects mine.
“I wondered if you would show up. I’m surprised it took you so long.”
He takes my hand in his, gripping it tightly. “Had you told me you were playing guardian angel, I would have come with you.”
