Page 133 of Other Side Of Never
He inclined His chin.“They’re in rough shape.”
My heart pounded in my chest.I didn’t want that.I never wanted that.“I can help?”
“They’ll eventually find their way on their own, but yeah.”He nodded.“You earned that, too.It’s your choice.”
I grinned.“Mom will never believe I turned into an angel.”
He laughed.Head thrown back, joy pouring out of every part of Him, reaching out to me and wrapping me in its warm embrace.“It doesn’t quite work that way.”
“I want to help,” I asserted firmly.
He stood.“I’ll let you know when it’s time.”
I stood as well.“So, do we hug or something?”
He quirked an amused brow.“Do you want to hug?”
I offered Him a crooked smile.“Not really?”
Turning, He walked away chuckling, that warmth carrying me to my next destination.
As vacations went, it wasn’t bad, but I was growing bored.Slouched in a lounge chair, I knew I couldn’t sit around too much longer.Just when the restlessness really took hold, He showed up.
“Hey,” I greeted Him.“You’re back.”
He nodded, his face serious.“It’s time.”
I jumped to my feet and followed Him as He explained.
“You won’t be able to speak to anyone directly, nor will you be able to touch anybody.For example, you can’t push someone back from the edge of a cliff, but most people are not so far removed from their beginnings that they can’t at least sense you.”
“How do I get down there?”
“Down?”He quirked a dark brow and winked.“Who said anything about down?”
It wasn’t what I expected.I thought I’d be like a shadow, following along in the dark, a silent guide.
Instead, I felt the ground beneath my feet and the wind in my hair like I always had.I eased in and out of their lives like a whispered ‘I love you,’ barely there at all.
But there were times that stood out.
And times that nearly crushed me.
I spent most of my time there walking the beach with my little sister.Max and Hawkley had turned into workaholics, and I couldn’t bear to see my parents for more than a moment or two.Harley seemed to draw comfort from my presence, her shoulders relaxed, her face softened, even her step lightened as I pointed out bits of sea glass in the sand.
But my mother?Whenever I showed up, her whole body stiffened.She spun around, eyes wide and searching as she could feel me like no one else.The hope and agony that flickered on her pretty face tightened my chest, brought tears to my eyes, and wrapped around my throat like a fist.
After a few moments, remembrance set in, and she would abandon whatever she’d been doing and retreat into a corner somewhere to grieve.
My dad would be overcome with anger.
Then tears.
I learned to stay away from my parents.Nothing on heaven or earth could comfort them.I knew they had moments of light and laughter, He assured me of that, but grief was never far away.
I watched Noelle land back in Hawkley’s life.She was beautiful and sweet as always.She’d been my best friend, her and Max.Warm and familiar, she grounded me at those times when I felt like my world was flying apart.
But it only took a moment to see what should have been plain to me even then.She was Hawkley’s.Made for him.
