Meant to Be (The Saving Angels 1)

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.”

I had always been in tune with other people’s emotions and could always sense when someone was lying. I could tell Shawn was hiding something. I looked at Sam and could tell she knew he was lying also.

I was just about to confront him when I heard a car horn beep. Everyone on the front lawn turned to look. Parents normally didn’t honk.

“You have got to be kidding me,” I muttered, “She is literally killing me.”

Sam stifled a laugh.

“You have to go; Mark said he will call you later.”

“He can’t, my mom confiscated my phone,” I said desperately.

“He’ll call you on Sam’s phone. I have to go now anyway, our plane leaves in a couple of hours, I love you,” he said to Sam as he pulled her into his arms for one last kiss.

I walked away to give them a chance to say goodbye and climbed into the car without a word to my mom. Sam caught up to me and slid in the backseat beside me. My mom didn’t question my silent treatment. Sam, feeling uncomfortable, was unusually silent.

After dinner, Shawn called Sam on her cell. I sat on my bed and let Sam use the sitting room so she could have a little privacy. After a while, she brought me the phone and quietly walked out of the room.

The moment I heard his voice, I began to cry. “It’s going to be okay, we will work it out,” Mark told me, trying to calm my tears.

“I know. I just miss you so much. I don’t like being separated from you for twenty four minutes, let alone twenty four hours. My heart feels so empty with you gone,” I told him.

“I know, it’s the same for me. The separation is messing with me also. We’ve discovered it affects our bodies’ quite strangely.”