any of the intensity of thought as he looked from the cabinet then to me. My jaw dropped, and I instinctively started walking toward him. I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to reach out and touch him, but was afraid.
“Her doctor said she’s being released tomorrow, that it was just a stomach bug. Are you all right in there? Do you need me to help you carry something?” Mrs. Larson offered, a hint of exasperation in her tone.
I’d never heard of a stomach bug that leaves you with broken ribs.
“Good,” Mr. Larson said emphatically, as if they could both enjoy their snack without worry for me or my condition. He turned his eyes from me. I stopped short of touching him, realizing he couldn’t really see me, but maybe he could sense me. Maybe my presence brought me to mind, and that’s why he asked Mrs. Larson about me.
Then I wondered how the heck I was supposed to drive a car if no one could see me? I guess someone would notice InvisaGirl driving a Maserati. Since flying was out of the question (so far, just a few sorry, itchy feathers), and walking would take too long, the odds of my attending the concert were pretty bleak. In fact, being an invisible, wingless half-angel made me no more capable of attending a rock concert than anyone. Go figure.
***
“Is she OK?”
Dad?
“She’s OK, just left us for a little while, but she’s back now.” Nurse Cipher’s voice was cool and collected as she left the room, leaving me with someone I could not see clearly, but that sounded exactly like Dad.
“It’s OK, Gracie; everything is going to be OK. Just relax now.” My dad’s voice was like a twenty-ton boulder being dropped on me. He wasn’t screaming, but his voice boomed in my ear.
I sat up in bed, trying to get a better view. As I projectile puked all over my blanket, it became clear that sitting up was not the smartest idea I’d ever had.
“Holy cow. I heard you’d be able to astral project when you ascended. How was it?”
Remi? Oh Remi, you came! I was beside myself with excitement, followed by a crushing sense of nausea. It felt like vertigo, I think, considering I’d never had vertigo.
Dad reached over and removed the soiled blanket, and quickly replaced it with a clean one from the drawer next to my bed. Remi wiped my mouth with a tissue, discarded it, then blotted my face with a wet, cold cloth. My breathing was erratic and more noticeable. My emotions were a jumbled mess of sorrow, regret, pain, excitement, loss, fear, anger, love, and resentment. Tears stung and fell steadily from my bloodshot eyes. I didn’t even know how I ended up back at the hospital. Everything I’d thought about over the past few hours came falling out of my mouth in one garbled, snot-filled speech.
“Mom came and told me that she’s really an angel and that I’m an angel, well, a half-angel. Remi is too, but I can’t hear his thoughts anymore, unless he wants me to, and for some reason he doesn’t want me to. Nurse Cipher’s been watching over me, but I’ll be released soon. I have no idea what happens after that. And, Gavin Vault … I’ve been hearing his voice since I was nine, and I had no idea who he was until a day ago. And I don’t know how that’s even possible. But I’m in love with him, or his voice, and now he’s a real, live person, and I have no idea what to do. He came to visit me, here. How come neither of you came to visit me? What is he? Gavin. Is he an angel too? And what about all that stuff I read about in the book Remi gave me, Praefatio? What’s it supposed to mean? Remi. Remi, you’ve been an angel this whole time? How could you not tell me? Why were those creatures after us? And that girl, she looks just like me. Is she my sister? What’s going on? Do you both think I’m crazy? Dad, Dad … You’re alive. Oh God, you’re alive. Please don’t leave me.”
Exhausted, I closed my eyes, afraid to face the answers to my questions. I clutched a box of tissues instead, wiping snot and tears alternately as they fell. Neither Dad nor Remi moved.
Finally, Dad took my hand in his and whispered, “Gracie, everything’s going to be OK. I promise. You’re ascending. You’ve