Paradise Made

Sixteen: Like Heaven

I looked briefly at Pen for help, but he was near unconscious again, held upright by the leather jacket clad fallen angel.

“See you around then,” I called, as the two watchers exited, Pen suspended between them.

I even did some homework that night, so intent was I on keeping my mind off the matters at hand. It had just seemed that I might have a hope of catching up when the door flew open, revealing Clay and Lily.

“Xavier!” She beamed. “Are you doing homework?” She sounded incredulous, peering over my shoulder like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

I shrugged.

“Man, Clay, maybe take some clues from Xavier, eh?”

“Don't know why I would,” Clay muttered jokingly, “he's a fucking nerd.”

I took that as a cue to put it away for the night. Clay and I were discussing maybe showing Lily a bit of the city when Clay's phone rang. Jessie was awake. We rushed to the hospital. Gregor and the rest of Lily's family would be right behind us, but we had to find out how much she knew before springing them on her.

June was already there when we arrived. I'd forgotten that her and Jessie had been friends independent of this whole demon debacle. We'd told her about the possession, of course. I got the sense we would be working with her closely. The four of us went in together, approaching cautiously, unsure of what Jessie's reaction would be.

A nurse fussed around her bed, writing on her chart and asking her questions. We waited patiently near the edge of the room. Jessie met my eyes and I tried to smile, but she looked away again quickly, back to the nurse. When she finally left, Clay was the first to speak.

“Hey Jessie, glad you're awake. This is my cousin Lily.” Lily waved. “We just wanted to come by to see how you were doing.”

“And what you remember.” I decided to get straight to the point. “About what happened.”

“You want to know if I remember the demon?” Jessie asked, deadpan, without pause, and the three of us stiffened. “Don't worry. No amnesia here. I felt it, clear as day, as it pawed through my subconscious.”

“That...” Clay paused. “Is a relief, I guess.”

“I remember everything,” Jessie continued, “from the stink of sulphur to the fact that it wanted to know about Sara.”

Clay, June, and I may have been in shock, but Lily was beaming, and she plopped down right on the edge of the hospital bed.

“If it's not too much, I'd love for you to explain it to me some time, what it was like.” She held out a hand for Jessie to shake. “I'm Lily, and I do this kind of thing on the regular, though I don't normally get to stick around long enough to get an after report.”

Jessie seemed to like her right away. Truly, it would have been hard not to. Clay's cousin held a sort of charisma that made the entire ordeal easier, somehow. Jessie was ready to be checked out right away, and we all headed over to the family's hotel room to discuss strategy, and other things.