Fall From Grace(101)

Gabriel’s face was expressionless as always.  His features were more angelic than I’d ever seen, his skin was pure ivory and his eyes were the reflection of heaven itself.  His form hummed with an invisible current that made me yearn to touch him.  I clenched my cup tighter and focused my eyes on the dark wood of the table; the dark patterns of the knots of wood twisting and turning in their stillness.

His eyelids lowered and he tilted his head nodding to the side of us.

I glanced over to where his eyes had directed me.  There, through a now transparent floor, was the image of a stark hospital room; Grace lay on the bed attached to machines and tubs.  Just like before.

I felt my shoulders slump when I saw Shane and Lea occupying the seats in Grace’s room.  They seemed to be in a heated discussion. As always, Shane was raking his hands through his hair.  Even out of Grace’s body, I felt a tingly heat rise to my cheeks when I saw him.  He was beautiful, perfect.  I tried to swallow, but the emotion got caught in my throat and tears rolled out of my eyes.

“I hate you, Gabriel.  I hate all of you,” I whispered through my tears.  I could no longer hold back.  “Humans have more goodness in them then angels.  You have such emptiness in you.”  I slammed the chair against the table and walked to the transparent part of the floor, brazenly sitting and hanging my feet over the side of the abyss.  I would no longer go by anyone’s rules but mine.

I could hear his beautiful raspy voice.  It echoed through the foggy opening and traveled right to the core of whatever was left of me.

“I pushed her, I pushed her too far.  I practically pushed her right to Blake,” he murmured.

“No.  Shane, trust me.  She didn’t sleep with him.  You don’t understand,” Lea’s tears manipulated her words.

Shane leaned his forehead in his hands, “I told her I was in love with her.”

Lea looked up at him, shocked.

He slid his hands through his dark hair and gazed at the ceiling exactly where I sat.  I couldn’t catch my breath as his eyes slide over mine, wishing he could see me.

“What?” Lea gasped.

“I messed up.  I thought she felt it too, I didn’t know she was really into her ex-boyfriend.  I messed up and we fought. I pushed her away and now she’s here, I wasn’t there to protect her.”

“Ex-boyfriend?

Shane wiped at his eyes.  “Yeah, that’s what she said in the Jeep when we were stuck in the snow.  She didn’t want anyone but him.”  He laughed roughly, “My f*cking luck, the only time I let myself feel something for someone and there’s no chance, and now she’s got f*cking machines breathing for her.”

“Do you think she’ll make it, Shane?  Do you think...”

He stood up abruptly.  “No.  Life isn’t made of miracles, roses and cotton f*cking candy, Lea.  She’s in a coma. That sick bastard knew exactly where to cut her to make her bleed to death, to weaken her entire body before we could get her to a hospital.  Think about what she felt!  Think about what she suffered the whole time.  How many times did they have to revive her? Even the doctor said to pray for a miracle in the same sentence he said how long we should wait before stopping the machines breathing life into her! There’s no such thing as miracles.  Life doesn’t work that way, there’s no beauty in it, there’s no hope.”

He walked over to the bed that Grace’s body laid on and sat next to her.  He leaned forward and brushed a dark lock of hair off her face.