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The truth spilled out of me, much like it always did
when I was nervous, and then I let my voice fall silent.
 I m sorry. I guess this means I m grounded from
Saturday nights with Claire for a while, huh?
I peeked at my clock: 4:23 a.m. My mom studied my
face. If she was looking for guilt, I m sure she found it.
 Teagan, there was a horrible accident. Her face
contorted and got that scrunched up look people get
when they re holding back tears. She placed a
comforting hand on my shoulder.
I stared at my mother as if she had two heads.
 Claire s dead.
In an instant, my dream found its way back to me. I felt
the sick swirl of nausea starting in the pit of my
stomach. Suddenly my room felt hot and dark and my
pulse pounded throughout my body, adding to the
strange tone my mother s voice had taken on, like it
was trapped in a metal can.
 Oh, sweetie. She threw her arms around me,
instinctively protecting me from the words she had
delivered.  Thank God you re all right, but I m so very,
very sorry about Claire.
She reached for the tissue box on my nightstand but for
some reason I wasn t crying. I was numb.
I looked at her, her mascara smudged beneath her
eyes. She was visibly more upset than I was showing. I
couldn t believe it. Claire?
Then, suddenly, something inside me snapped.
 We should have stayed together. I was shaking now.
 I shouldn t have left her!
I looked at my mother but it wasn t her face I was
seeing. It was Claire s with her vacant stare.
My mother sat down on the edge of my bed slowly, as if
not to upset me further.  How did you get home then?
 Claire wouldn t leave so I sort of found my own way
home with someone from school.
I don t think she noticed the quiver in my voice and she
didn t press for more. For now, all was safe as far as
Garreth was concerned.
Except for Claire.
All was not safe for her.
A tear escaped down my cheek as tiny pieces of my
dream began trickling in, the numbness wearing off.
My mother wanted to console me but I insisted I
wanted to be alone.
It was all starting to become a little more clear.
Hadrian. My father. Claire.
The connections were there, piecing themselves
together, and finally tears rolled down my cheeks as I
mentally tallied who would be next.
I can t let this happen.
I wrapped my arms around my body and for the first
time in years, I prayed for someone other than my
family.
I prayed for Garreth.
Chapter Sixteen
Feeling a presence, I turned to find my angel standing
silently in the corner near my dresser. He had a strange
look on his face, as if he was seeing me for the first
time.
 What is it? I asked quietly.
 No one s ever prayed for me before.
I held my arms out to him and he crossed the floor to sit
with me.
 I ve always heard your prayers. You prayed for me to
come to you when you had a bad dream. I even heard
you pray for a perfect, selfless, superwonderful boy to
fall in love with. But I ve never heard you pray for me.
I couldn t erase the thoughts stirring in my head.
 Maybe it s about time someone did.
 Why? he asked.
 You said Guardians become vulnerable when they are
protecting their human. I m making matters worse.
 Don t even go there, Teagan. Nothing is going to
happen to us. Everything will be all right.
He was reassuring, in a defiant sort of way, as if
worries like this surfaced all the time. Nonetheless, I
was responsible for placing him in the direct line of
danger from Hadrian, and living with this sinking
feeling was not at all pleasant.
Without a word, he gently wiped away my tears,
soothing me into a calm sleep.
When I awoke, he was gone and I was full of the
strangest sensation I could ever imagine. My mind
flickered back to Claire. My dream. My mother waking
me in the night to tell me the horrible truth that I
somehow already knew. Claire was dead. Not missing
from my life because she was still angry at me. Not
missing because she was still in the woods where I left
her.
She was gone.
Dead.
Somehow I accepted it but I couldn t comprehend it.
I reached for my phone. The inbox was empty, as I
should have known. Its silence screamed the ugly truth.
I wanted to check my e-mail but Claire never e-mailed
me. I wanted to look out my window and see her
waiting in her car at the curb.
I couldn t stop myself from imagining the normal.
Claire, checking her face in the mirror and singing
along to her music in an awkward voice.
Claire, reporting the latest gossip on someone,
anyone, anyone worth gossiping about except...she
wasn t.
She wasn t.
I felt myself sink to the floor but didn t feel myself hit it. I
felt wetness on my face. If I hadn t left with Garreth,
would I be dead too? Was that what this was all about?
Either way I looked at it, it didn t make any sense. So I
stopped looking at it. It hurt too much.
I pulled my hair into a ponytail and looked at myself in
the mirror with a blank expression. The smell of bacon
wafted up the steps as I walked down. I found my
mother at the stove, preparing a meal she knew I would
never eat, but like the good mother she was, that didn t
stop her from going through the motions. I sat down in
silence at the table and flicked at the curled edges of
the morning s newspaper with my finger.
She shot me a look of motherly concern and turned
back to the bacon.  I m glad you slept. That s the best
thing for you right now. She placed a plate of warm,
crispy fat in front of me. I just stared at it.
 If Garreth hadn t shown up to bring me home I would...I
might be... She looked at me with a tender expression
and I saw her eyes begin to fill up with tears. I couldn t
finish. I didn t have to.
 Garreth. That s an unusual name. I d like to thank him
for bringing you home safely. If I didn t know better, I d
say you have a guardian angel. She turned back to the
spattering fat in the pan and I felt myself blush.
If she only knew.
I guess I always assumed she would be protective but
it surprised me how easy this was. A smile appeared
without even trying as I thought of her meeting Garreth
and approving, but that smile soon faded.
 I heard that Claire s boyfriend is an emotional wreck,
she said cautiously.  He told the police he tried to stop
her. I just don t understand how a couple of kids could
sneak up to the roof unseen.
 Roof?
Mom sat down across from me and nudged my [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]