Meant to Be (The Saving Angels 1)

“I think she would, and I think she did. You didn’t see her face after you left the kitchen. She looked like a lioness protecting her cub. She thinks you’re in danger, so she’s protecting you.”

“She can’t do this. I can’t be away from him,” I said as the despair welled up in me. I felt the waves rolling in.

“I know, but you have to fight back the emotions,” Sam said, from what sounded like a long way off. “Krista, you have to fight it.

I heard her in the distance, Sam was right. I needed to calm myself.

Everything felt like it was spinning. I held my breath and closed my eyes. “Go away,” I thought as I fought to smother the waves.

Finally they receded. “I did it,” I said, still a little shaky.

“Good job, I thought you were a goner there. I’m so proud of you. How do you feel?”

“Not bad, just a little weak, but I’ve had much worse,” I said, looking at my watch. “We better hurry.”

It seemed crazy to be rushing off to class when so much was going on. I couldn’t wait until I was done with the whole school charade.

Sam and I slid into our chairs just as the bell rang. Neither of us missed how everyone went silent when we walked in the room. So, I was the new gossip material. “Twice in two weeks, that had to be a record,” I thought, sarcastically.

The rest of the day passed at a snail’s pace. Eventually, as the day progressed, the comments of the other students began to reach me. Surprisingly, the gossip didn’t bother me. I had been the outsider so often, it no longer fazed me. All I cared about was what was going on with Mark. I was anxious to get to fifth period to see if he was there yet.

When the bell rang for fifth period, my heart began to race. When we walked through the classroom door though, my heart dropped like a stone.

He wasn’t there. Only the teacher was there, and he was busy writing notes on the chalkboard. The rumors were true.

The class started to buzz.

They fired him, how could my mom do that to him? This was not the way she acted; usually, she was so even tempered and willing to talk things over. I felt betrayed. The rest of the class passed in a blur. I never opened my book and I didn’t take a single note. I no longer cared.

The rest of the day passed much the same way. Every once in awhile, Sam would look at me with a look of sympathy mixed with worry. I appreciated her concern, but I could say nothing to reassure her. Though I learned to control the sickness, it didn’t lessen the emotions that would try to race through me. By the end of the day, I was exhausted from fighting them back.

Feeling lethargic, I gathered my books. I missed Mark so much that my body ached, adding to the feeling of tiredness. Sam walked quietly by my side as we headed out the door.

I felt Sam’s excitement as we exited the school.

I followed her eyes, Shawn was here. I scanned the area looking for Mark. My eyes filled with angry tears. He wasn’t here. “Damn my mom for acting so irrational,” I thought to myself.

Sam hurried to Shawn’s side and threw herself in his arms. My heart ached and my insides seemed to clench inwards as I watched them.

Sam beckoned me over. “Shawn has a message from Mark.”

“Mark said not to worry, he doesn’t blame your mom she was just trying to protect you. He said that you two would find a solution. This works anyway because he and I are going to take a short road trip.”

Sam was shocked. “You’re leaving?” she asked anxiously.

He pulled her into his arms. “Only for a few days, we found out where one of the others was dropped off.”

In my current dilemma, I had completely forgotten about the others. “Where?” I asked.

“New Mexico. We think it will only take three or four days for us to find out what happened to her.”

“A girl?” I asked. “You found one of the cities where one of the girls had been left?” Even in my current frame of mind, I couldn’t help feeling excited.

“Mark wants you to continue to practice with Sam and to be careful.”

“Why, did you find something else?” Sam asked.

“No, we just want you to be safe while we’re gone.”