question. “What do you mean?”
“Your age?”
“Oh. Uh, what year is it?”
She cocked her head to the side, looking at me like I’d lost my mind. “Are you serious? It’s 2011.”
I did some quick math in my head. “Oh. Okay, then. I’m one hundred and one.”
“You’re lying.”
“No, I’m not. I was born in 1910.”
She sucked in a gasp. “How old were you when you died?”
“Sixteen.”
“I’m sixteen.”
“I know.”
We stood there in silence as she marinated on what I’d told her. Why did it matter to her how old I was? I was dead. Dead was dead and age didn’t matter anymore.
She nodded slowly, seeming to come to terms with things. “So. I’m going to die.”
“You’re supposed to, anyway.”
“You don’t want me to.”
It wasn’t a question. She smiled sadly when I shook my head to confirm her words. “You’re kind of strange, you know that, right? You’re all dead, aren’t an angel, but don’t want me to die. Isn’t that like totally counterproductive to your plan or something?”
“I’m not the Grim Reaper, Hannah.”
She laughed. “So why are you in bad angel land?”
“You mean hell?”
“It’s real?”
I sighed. Humans could be so naïve. “Yes, hell is real.”
She nodded numbly. “Okay. It’s real. So why are you there?”
“I’d rather not discuss it.”
This was getting more and more awkward. Why were we talking about me, anyway? Wasn’t she supposed to be the one freaking out and begging not to die or something? There was a knock at the door, then her dad came in. Hannah freaked. “Dad, I promise I didn’t plan on it –”
“What are you talking about?”
She looked behind her to see me sitting on the window sill with my fingers pressed against my lips. She was confused, but recovered quickly. “Sorry, Dad, I just hadn’t planned on telling you about Levi tonight.”
He smiled. “It’s okay, Sweetie. He’s a little quiet, but he’s respectful. Don’t let him get in your pants.”
“Dad!”
He laughed and kissed her on the forehead. “I love you. Get some sleep.”
“Thanks, I love you too.”
When he closed the door she turned to me. “Only I can see you.”
“Only you can see me all the time,” I corrected.
“So you pick and choose?”
“Basically.”
She shook her head. “If I live through tomorrow, will you stop being so cryptic and tell me things about yourself?”
I laughed. “Sure. But you have to live through tomorrow.”
“I have you, so I’m good, right?”
A stab of unease crept through me. “Well, I’m all you’ve got, so you better hope so.”
TEN
Hannah left her window open so I could sit and watch over her. I draped one leg out of the window like she had only last night.
It felt like that had happened ages ago. She’d refused to talk to me, and now she was asking me questions about my past. Funny how things could change so quickly.
Everything that moved made me jump. I kept expecting another Fallen to show up, trying to derail my last twenty-four hours with Hannah early. Why had the Fallen come after Hannah and Angie in Rome, anyway? Sure, Rome was an ancient city full of dark history. Weird things happened in Rome all the time. But for them to seek out a human specifically – to stalk them – that was something I’d never heard of.
I started thinking about all the things Hannah would never get to do if she died tomorrow. She’d never grow up. She seemed genuinely concerned about me when she’d heard I’d died at her age. She felt for me. She loved her family. She loved photography and playing her violin. Her favorite color was purple, which was the color of the bedspread she was now sleeping underneath. She hated spiders and she always rooted for the underdog in sports.
These were just some of the things I’d picked up while being her Guard for the past three years. I still didn’t know what kind of soul she had.
Why I wasn’t
“Your age?”
“Oh. Uh, what year is it?”
She cocked her head to the side, looking at me like I’d lost my mind. “Are you serious? It’s 2011.”
I did some quick math in my head. “Oh. Okay, then. I’m one hundred and one.”
“You’re lying.”
“No, I’m not. I was born in 1910.”
She sucked in a gasp. “How old were you when you died?”
“Sixteen.”
“I’m sixteen.”
“I know.”
We stood there in silence as she marinated on what I’d told her. Why did it matter to her how old I was? I was dead. Dead was dead and age didn’t matter anymore.
She nodded slowly, seeming to come to terms with things. “So. I’m going to die.”
“You’re supposed to, anyway.”
“You don’t want me to.”
It wasn’t a question. She smiled sadly when I shook my head to confirm her words. “You’re kind of strange, you know that, right? You’re all dead, aren’t an angel, but don’t want me to die. Isn’t that like totally counterproductive to your plan or something?”
“I’m not the Grim Reaper, Hannah.”
She laughed. “So why are you in bad angel land?”
“You mean hell?”
“It’s real?”
I sighed. Humans could be so naïve. “Yes, hell is real.”
She nodded numbly. “Okay. It’s real. So why are you there?”
“I’d rather not discuss it.”
This was getting more and more awkward. Why were we talking about me, anyway? Wasn’t she supposed to be the one freaking out and begging not to die or something? There was a knock at the door, then her dad came in. Hannah freaked. “Dad, I promise I didn’t plan on it –”
“What are you talking about?”
She looked behind her to see me sitting on the window sill with my fingers pressed against my lips. She was confused, but recovered quickly. “Sorry, Dad, I just hadn’t planned on telling you about Levi tonight.”
He smiled. “It’s okay, Sweetie. He’s a little quiet, but he’s respectful. Don’t let him get in your pants.”
“Dad!”
He laughed and kissed her on the forehead. “I love you. Get some sleep.”
“Thanks, I love you too.”
When he closed the door she turned to me. “Only I can see you.”
“Only you can see me all the time,” I corrected.
“So you pick and choose?”
“Basically.”
She shook her head. “If I live through tomorrow, will you stop being so cryptic and tell me things about yourself?”
I laughed. “Sure. But you have to live through tomorrow.”
“I have you, so I’m good, right?”
A stab of unease crept through me. “Well, I’m all you’ve got, so you better hope so.”
TEN
Hannah left her window open so I could sit and watch over her. I draped one leg out of the window like she had only last night.
It felt like that had happened ages ago. She’d refused to talk to me, and now she was asking me questions about my past. Funny how things could change so quickly.
Everything that moved made me jump. I kept expecting another Fallen to show up, trying to derail my last twenty-four hours with Hannah early. Why had the Fallen come after Hannah and Angie in Rome, anyway? Sure, Rome was an ancient city full of dark history. Weird things happened in Rome all the time. But for them to seek out a human specifically – to stalk them – that was something I’d never heard of.
I started thinking about all the things Hannah would never get to do if she died tomorrow. She’d never grow up. She seemed genuinely concerned about me when she’d heard I’d died at her age. She felt for me. She loved her family. She loved photography and playing her violin. Her favorite color was purple, which was the color of the bedspread she was now sleeping underneath. She hated spiders and she always rooted for the underdog in sports.
These were just some of the things I’d picked up while being her Guard for the past three years. I still didn’t know what kind of soul she had.
Why I wasn’t
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