Guardian Angel

Chapter 22

      My eyes were aching, and to be honest I was starting to fall asleep. I couldn’t believe that Casey still had so much energy, it was impossible. Sinking deeper and deeper into sleep I overheard Casey.

      “Angie…?” Her voice was a couple notches to high, it wasn’t at the point of panic but I knew it was getting close to it. She wasn’t worried about me sleeping; she would have thought it’d be a good idea because I would see him. No this was something different.

      Only able to have my eyes open a little way I looked at her best I could. She wasn’t looking at me though; there was a picture in her hand. And whatever was on it was giving her a heart attack.

      Talking to her with a murmur of a voice I asked “Caseyy vat is it?” My words were slurred from sleep, but she was still able to understand.

       She held up the photo of an old portrait, and just as I fell asleep I caught a glimpse of the picture. But I was far from gone to get a chance to respond to it.

      I knew I was dreaming, but it all looked normal. I was in my room looking out of my Juliet window. The air was cool against my cheeks. I would have enjoyed the private time but I just couldn’t get the portrait picture to leave my mind.

       Moving from the window I sighed, my mind was so messed up because of him. Loving him was the easy part. Figuring out who he is… well that’s where everything starts getting complicated.

     Collapsing on to my bed I groaned with frustration. The photo couldn’t be real; it had to be a fake. There was no way that he could be there…then. I don’t care if he is Jophiel the Archangel, I could deal with that. But this I really couldn’t handle.

       Thinking over what I would say when he-who-shall-die-if-he-doesn’t-answer-another-question arrived; I reluctantly walked over to my window.

       I had no idea how I was suppose to call him; usually he would just be here. Sighing with frustration I called the first thing that came to mind “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?”

       And as if by magic I heard the sound of wings, it sent my heart on a rollercoaster ride. The wings came closer and closer, and then all I saw was Joe hovering by my window.

       His smile sent a bright light through my soul; OK I was defiantly sure he was Jophiel. I expected him to climb through my window, but instead he landed in my garden and knelt on one knee.

       I was shocked. He looked up to me and called “O speak again, bright angel, for thou art as glorious to this night being o’er my head. As a winged messenger of heaven, unto the white-unturned wondering eyes of mortals that fall back to gaze on him. When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds and sails upon the bosom of the air.”

      He stood up; his eyes stared into mine with every movement. “My dearest love, I do wish for thee to fly the skies on this very night. Trust my love and trust your heart as you leap from the window of despair.” He held out his arms to me, I gawked unattractively.

     He wanted me to jump out of my window and hope that he would catch me. No way in hell was I going to be jumping out a window. He might be an Angel but I’m not an idiot.

      Folding my arms tightly I walked away from the window calling out “I’m not moving, you’re not the boss of me.” I expected to hear him laugh or quote some other romantic thing to get me to jump.

      But what I didn’t expect was him to whisper in my ear “Are you sure I’m not?” I jumped cursing rather loudly. How does he do that?! I thought.

      After my heart beat slowed down to a slightly normal beat, I frowned at him. His grimacing expression told me he knew what I was going to ask. And he defiantly was not happy at all.

      I went to sit on my bed, my eyes never leaving his. Once sat down I raised an eyebrow at him “So Jophiel it seems there is something you haven’t told me.” Joe was the first to break contact; he looked out my window not able to say anything.

      “Would you like me to start? Or would you like a chance to explain to me how and why something like that is possible or even why it happened?” My tone was becoming sharper and sharper as I mentally through daggers at his head.

     He sighed heavily and turned to me. His eyes worn and tired, the expression on his face having changed from a grimace to a look of regret.

      Walking over to me he sat on the bed next to me, but at a distance. It was if he was afraid to be so close to me, like I was part of the reason.

      Looking off into the distance he spoke to me “The picture you saw was me. My name is Jophiel Isaiah Livorarte and I was born in 1635.” His eyes flicked to me and then straight back into the distance “I grew up in London with my mother Elizabeth and my father Fredrick. I had no other siblings as when my mother had me she was told she could have no more children.”

      “When I was 16 I was told that a young lady of the age 15 would make a wonderful bride for me. Our families both ran giant organisations and if we combined them by marriage we would be unstoppable.”

      Was it just me or did Joe’s expression harden at those words?

      “What my family didn’t know was that I was having a secret love affair with a girl I knew and loved. On my seventeenth birthday my parent’s announced my engagement and I was distraught. So while everyone was celebrating we ran away together.”

      “We planned to elope as so as we had left London. But just as we were about to leave London completely, a drunken carriage driver drove into us.” His eyes had been shining with tears; he didn’t seem to care because he continued his story.

      “She managed to escape though with only cuts and bruises, while I just didn’t wake up. The next thing I knew I was looking at my body from the outside.”

      He laughed with out humour “It’s funny; I’ve never really told anyone this story before. I’ve had to live with this heart break for a very long time.”

      Turning to look at me he smiled “But now my heart is healed” he took my hand in his “all because of you and your beautiful soul.”

      I smiled back, feeling a little guilty about having him tell me the truth about himself. But I was just glad I knew something about him.

       I did have one question though

      “Um, Joe…?” I asked cautiously, I didn’t want to hurt him again.

      “You want to know her name?” He mused, a small teasing in his voice. I nodded slowly.

       He looked me right in the eye; it was as if he was checking to see if I was ready to know. Smiling at me more brightly he answered “Her name was E-“

      His voice stopped. He couldn’t talk.

      “Joe? Joe, what’s going on?” I panicked; something was happening and whatever it was it was not good. I reached out to Joe, trying to shake him back to common sense, but just as my

      He had vanished.

      And I was awake. skin made contact.