Jessie's eyes snapped open. Her body was covered in a cold sweat. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest. Scared, she wrapped her arms around herself. The nightmare she had flashed in her mind. Jessie's body shook with fear as she remembered her sister screaming for help before she was killed.
“I can't lose her too. She is all I have.” Tears slipped down her face. “I need to find my sister.”
Jessie stood up from the mattress and made her way to the bathroom. She stripped down her garments and turned on the shower. She sighed as the water touched her skin. Jessie stood in the shower for some time before she began to scrub her body. After she was done, she dried her body and put on her clothes.
“I need to leave now before anybody comes in here,” Jessie whispered.
She went straight for her window and peeped down.
“Gosh, I hope I don't fall and break my legs.” She took in a deep breath. “It’s now or never, Jessie,” she encouraged herself.
But before she could take her first step, she heard a knock on her door.
“Really?” she huffed.
She quickly closed the window before she answered the door. Jessie had expected Elena, but to her surprise, Ariel was standing outside with a smile on her face.
“Good morning,” Ariel chirped.
“Good morning,” Jessie replied.
“Well, Mom asked me to call you. Breakfast is served,” she announced.
“Oh,” Jessie stated and glanced at her window. 'I need to find Sunshine,’ she mumbled to herself. “I will skip breakfast,” she said aloud.
“No, you won't,” Ariel said sternly, which made Jessie raise her eyebrow at her. “Breakfast is necessary for the body, and it's not good to skip them,” Ariel lectured. “Let's go downstairs.” She pulled Jessie out of her room before the latter could protest.
***
Elena looked at the hold her daughter had on Jessie as they both walked down the stairs. “Why are you pulling Jessie?” she asked.
Ariel let go of Jessie's hand. “Well, she was refusing to come downstairs for breakfast. So, I had to pull her here,” Ariel explained.
Elena gave her daughter a stern look before she turned to face Jessie. “I'm sorry about her behavior. But she's right; it's not good to skip breakfast.”
Jessie nodded her head with a soft smile before she sat down. “Where is everyone?” she noticed some family members were not present.
“Raguel, Raphael, and Michael went out early this morning. My parents are still in their room,” Elena explained.
“Why didn't you call your parents to join us for breakfast?” Jessie asked.
“Well, they are having a good time, you know,” Elena said with raised eyebrows.
Jessie chuckled as she shook her head slightly.
“Mom!” Ariel cried out. “Stop embarrassing Grandma.”
“She does that a lot to your father and me. It’s just payback,” Elena laughed. “I can't wait to see her face when she comes downstairs,” she grinned.
Jessie chuckled. They heard the front door open with Raguel, Raphael, and Michael coming inside with a grin on their faces. Michael slightly shook his head at Elena.
“I'm guessing you all heard our discussion?” Elena asked.
“We sure did,” Michael said. His eyes connected with Jessie’s, and he gave her a beautiful smile, which she returned. “Hi,” Michael said to her as he moved closer to Jessie and sat next to her.
“Hey,” Jessie replied softly.
“How was your night?” Michael asked.
‘Horrible.’ That was the answer in her head. “It was fine,” she replied to Michael. She didn't want anybody to find out she had a nightmare. ‘I can handle it myself,’ she said in her mind. “How was your night?” she asked.
“Good,” Michael said.
Jessie nodded her head and started eating her food. After breakfast, Jessie helped with the dishes and was heading to her room with a plan in her mind.
“Wait!” She heard Michael call out. She watched Michael take a step until he was standing right next to her. “Join us in the living room?” Michael asked.
Jessie was about to deny, but Ariel intervened.
“Please, Jessie, join us. We are about to watch a very interesting movie, and I promise you will enjoy it,” Ariel said.
Jessie turned her attention back to Michael. “Please,” Michael placed his hands on hers.
Jessie looked down at her hand, and like just before, she felt a tingling sensation. She expected Michael to drop her hands, but instead, he held her tightly. Jessie's breath accelerated rapidly. She looked up at Michael, whose eyes were already fixated on her. Jessie could not explain what was happening between them. She had never felt this kind of intense feeling before. They were so lost at the moment that they had forgotten there were other people with them.
“Guys, the movie is about to start,” Ariel's voice pulled them back into reality.
Michael quickly dropped Jessie's hand as he looked at his surroundings. Jessie took a deep breath before she walked past Michael and sat down. Michael had a terrific urge to sit next to her, but he ignored it and sat next to Raguel.
‘I have never felt this way before.’ Michael placed his hand on his chest, which was still beating very fast. He could still feel a slight tingle in his skin. His eyes glanced at where Jessie was seated.
And as if she knew he was looking at her, she turned her head, and their gaze connected for a few seconds before Jessie averted her eyes.
Michael sighed. He tried to concentrate on the movie, but his thoughts kept drifting to Jessie. ‘I need to talk to her. I know I'm not the only one feeling this way.’ That was the last thing on his mind.
Two hours later, the film ended. Michael watched Jessie stand up from the couch and was making her way upstairs. He quickly stood up from the couch, but Raguel held him back before he could take any further step.
“What is it? Michael asked.
“Sit down,” Raguel said.
“Why?” Michael asked as he glanced at the stairs. “I need to do something real fast. I will be back soon.”
“Sit down, Michael. I need to discuss something with you,” Raguel said sternly.
Michael was clearly irritated, but he sat down anyway. "What is it?"
“You tell me,” Raguel said.
“Really?” Michael muttered. “We are going to play the question game right now? Well, Raguel, I'm in no mood to play. I have something I need to do now.” Michael attempted to stand up, but Raguel held him back.
“What's going on between you and Jessie?” Raguel asked.
“What do you mean?”
“It's an easy question, Michael. Answer it.”
“Well, it's nothing.”
“What happened between you and Jessie a couple of hours ago didn't seem like nothing to me,” Raguel pointed out.
Michael sighed and rested his back on the couch. It was difficult to hide things from his friend. He could no longer keep up exchanging words with Raguel.
“I don't know what's happening,” he finally admitted. “I can't explain what is going on, Raguel.”
“Is she your soulmate?” Raguel asked softly.
“No, she is not,” Michael wanted to tell Raguel everything. He wanted to say to him he was not going to have a soulmate. Michael wanted to share the reason behind it. He wanted his friend to know what he was going through, but he couldn't bring himself to say any of those words. He was afraid of his friend's reaction to what he did.
“Do you have feelings for Jessie?” Raguel asked.
“I don't know,” Michael said honestly. “I'm so confused about everything going on around me.”
“I want you to understand something,” Raguel spoke up softly. “I know you want a soulmate, Michael, but just know that she is out there somewhere and whatever you feel for Jessie now will fade away with time.”
Michael did not say anything. He rested his head on Raguel's shoulder. ‘Only if he knew.’ He closed his eyes and enjoyed the comfort of his friend.
****
Jessie was seated on her mattress with her eyes closed. She replayed what happened with Michael downstairs in her head.
“What is happening? I didn't bargain for all this. I came here for them to help me look for my sister and not to have feelings for an Angel.” A sigh escaped her lips. “This is so messed up,” she muttered.
She stood up from the bed.
“I must leave this place right now. Looking for my sister is of paramount importance. I can't continue to wait on the Angels.”
She moved to her window and opened it. Her eyes glanced around her room. She sighed and closed her eyes briefly. When she opened her eyes, she was determined.
“I'm sorry, Michael," she whispered. She climbed down the window and left the house.