“I don’t know,” Maddy said, feeling tired. “I’ll have to talk to Jacks.”
Mitch laughed. “Jacks doesn’t have to come. You know how he sometimes gets about events. You’re your own Angel.”
Maddy had never thought of it that way. “We’ll see. I’m only part Angel, remember? They still might not let me in.” She hugged Mitch goodbye and they split ways, the athletic Angel waving at her as he walked off towards the car park.
As she watched him disappear under the towering palms that lined the drive, she thought about what he had said, about what Jacks had accomplished before he even became a Guardian. What Jacks must be going through every day now.
And she also thought about the last comment Mitch had made. It struck her as strange, but also true in some ways.
Your own Angel.
These thoughts swirled in her mind as she drove towards Jackson’s parents’ house, her aching and bruised body protesting after the day of awkward crashes while training. Jackson had told her to meet him at the Godspeed residence, since he had to pick something up for his mom. Maddy had changed back into her skirt and top from the photo shoot – would Jacks notice? – and was listening to a playlist she’d made a few nights earlier on her brand new MacBook Pro, drowning out the sounds of traffic and congestion around her in rush hour traffic before she crossed Sunset and started heading up into the Hills. Slightly annoyed, Maddy realized that Jacks had both called and then texted her a couple of times during the drive asking where she was. It wasn’t like him to be so needy.
“Coming,” she had texted back twenty minutes ago, and then put her phone to silent, enjoying the music and the drive as she wound her way up the Hills after leaving behind the traffic on the Halo Strip.
By the time she reached the Godspeed house, dusk had settled over the Angel City basin. The last of the sun was a thin orange thread hanging along the horizon; it signified the end of her first full day with wings. Maddy took a big breath as she parked her Audi behind Jacks’s Ferrari. It was strange – where were everybody else’s cars? She checked her phone: no text back from Jacks.
The house was oddly dark. That’s weird, she thought to herself as she walked towards the impressive structure. Through one of the windows she could see there was a solitary light on across the other side of the house. Maddy thought back to the first time she’d come to the home, when the ADC agents were taking Jackson away. That was also the first time she had met Kris and Chloe. Not exactly ideal circumstances to get acquainted with your boyfriend’s family.
Reaching the front door of the home, Maddy reached for the doorknob and realized the door was cracked open. The hair on the back of her neck instantly stood up. The door was never open. Looking left and right for anything unusual, Maddy gently pressed her fingertips against the door. With a torturous creak it slowly swung open on to the foyer and entryway. It was dark and silent inside.
Adrenaline pumping through her veins, Maddy took one step forward. Then another.
“Hello?” Her voice carried into the darkness. She wished she had been paying more attention instead of just skimming the aerial combat part of the textbook last week in training – but she hadn’t even had wings at that point, after all. As Maddy stepped forward, she could feel her Immortal Marks growing warm, starting to ache. Every part of her was alert.
Maddy took another step into the dark foyer.
“Hello? Jacks?” she said.
All of a sudden she heard the sound of someone behind her. And they were moving quickly. Turning in a panic to meet the attacker, she found—
“SURPRISE!!!!” a chorus of voices burst out.
The lights in the home instantly blitzed on, turning the scene blinding white for a moment before Maddy’s eyes could adjust. She was face to face with Jackson, who was stepping towards her with a bouquet of flowers! He took her in his arms and spun her around.
“Congratulations, Maddy!” he said. Her heart pounding in her chest, it took Maddy a moment to realize what was happening. It was a surprise party! She looked around and saw that everyone was there: Mark, Kris, Uncle Kevin, Chloe and even Mitch – he had done such a good job of not saying anything! As Jacks spun her around, she saw all their smiling faces. They were there for her.
“I don’t know what to say. . .” Maddy said, her face burning in embarrassment at the sudden unexpected attention. At the Seventeen shoot earlier in the day, she had felt confident and alive, but now, with her friends and family, she once again felt awkward and the unwanted centre of attention.
“Don’t say anything, then,” Mark said, stepping up to shake Maddy’s hand, smiling wide, before embracing her. “Welcome to the Angels.”
Uncle Kevin stood off to the side, looking mildly uncomfortable but also proud. Mark looked over his shoulder at him. “You have your uncle and Jacks to thank for this. I just showed up for the cake,” Mark joked. The Archangel stepped aside and motioned to a large gourmet frosted cake shaped like wings – like Maddy’s specific wings, oblong and with a slight purple cast. They had had it custom-made that day.
Jackson was grinning at Maddy. “We’re really happy for you, Mads.” He reached his hand down and touched her face lightly with his thumb. “You’re going to do us proud.” Jackson leaned in close to her ear and whispered: “You look beautiful, by the way!”
Uncle Kevin gave his niece an awkward hug. “I know you hate surprises, but, well, this young Angel thought maybe you wouldn’t mind this one so much,” Kevin said, motioning to Jacks. “It’s a big day for you, after all.” Maddy’s uncle looked deeply into her eyes. She knew he was thinking about her mother and father. Once again Kevin was there to witness something in place of her parents.
Mark’s phone rang, and he pulled it out to see who was calling. His face turned grave. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to take this,” he said as he walked out of the room. Kris’s eyes followed him with concern.
“Probably the Immortals Bill,” Jacks said under his breath to Maddy. “He’s been fielding calls all day.”
Jackson’s sister, Chloe, walked over, munching on a carrot stick.
“Your outfit is super cute! We should totally go shopping sometime.”
“That’d be great,” Maddy said warmly. Although she knew they’d probably be followed by a camera crew filming the second season of Sixteen and Immortal, which was now Seventeen and Immortal, of course. It had taken Jacks’s sister a little while to warm up to Maddy, because Chloe had idolized Jacks’s ex, Vivian.
Jackson leaned in. “See, I told you she’d start to come around.”