Water and Fire

Chapter 25

When Lena opened her eyes she saw nothing but white.

The walls of her room were white, the ceiling was white, the furniture was white, the sheets of her bed were white. Everything was white.

Everything was white because she was back home. She moaned and she closed her eyes again. Even though she knew that nothing would change and nothing would happen, she hoped that as soon as she opened her eyes again she would be back in the human world, back in her dorm room, back in the house with Brian and Maria in the rooms next to her.

Maria.

Lena sat up in bed and she placed her feet on the cold white floor before she realized that she had her wings back. She didn't have to walk. Not anymore.

"Honey? Are you up yet?" Her mother opened the door of her room with a smile on her face. When they had come home her mother had told her father everything. The more her mother had told her father, the more Lena had started to feel ashamed.

She had broken so many rules, she had done so many stupid things, she had made choices she shouldn't have made. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn't regret it. She couldn't regret liking Brian, she couldn't regret falling in love with him, she couldn't regret kissing him and she for sure couldn't regret starting a relationship with him.

"I hope you slept well?" Her mother kept on smiling and she lead Lena towards the kitchen. Fresh baked bread was on the table and her mother had even added a few scrambled eggs.

"I'm not really hungry, mom..." Lena shook her head and she pushed the plate away from her.

What would Brian do now? Was he waking up in his own bed too? Was someone making him breakfast?

She already knew the answer and she felt a tear escaping her eye. "I'm sorry..." She used her own thumb to wipe the tear away.

"Don't be sorry, Lena. You've got a good reason to cry. A lot has happened and I can imagine that it's all a little confusing right now." Her mother placed a hand on Lena's shoulder. "You're thinking about him, aren't you?" She spoke softly as if she realized that the wounds were still fresh and that Lena simply needed time to heal.

"Do you think they have punished him?" Lena stared at her mother and she remembered everything Brian had told her.

Demons didn't feel love. Demons didn't care about people. His own father would be capable of killing Brian if he had to.

"What do you think?" Her mother cocked her head and she kept on rubbing Lena's shoulder.

"What if they killed him?" Lena's eyes widened and she felt her heart beating in her chest. "Falling in love is a sin in hell!" She raised her voice a little and her cheeks heated up.

"Falling in love with a demon is a sin in Heaven too, Lena." Her mother smiled a little, but Lena couldn't smile along.

"He told me what life is like in hell, mom." Lena whispered and she leaned on her elbows. "They are not even allowed to love their own children. They are not allowed to love at all." Lena shook her head.

"O, Lena..." Her mother grabbed both Lena's hands and she squeezed them. "Hell is a dark and dangerous place, but Brian grew up there. That's where he belongs."

"No, that's the problem." Lena took a deep breath and she swallowed. "He doesn't belong there anymore. He fell in love. With me." She raised her voice and her mother sighed.

"Lena, he didn't fall in love." Her mother spoke slow and she leaned a little towards her daughter. "He fell in love with the idea of someone taking care of him." She paused for a short moment.