Angel Love

Chapter 7- The Visitor

"Why are you here?" Maree asks suspiciously and guardedly to Lucas who's standing by the door wearing a blue sweatshirt and a gray winter jacket. "How'd you know where I live?"

Seeing Lucas in front of her almost sucked the breath out of her. Her mind becomes foggy and confused. He looks even more magnificent when he's not half dead. She almost forgot what horror he brought her.

"Hi to you too," Lucas replies with the chuckle, exposing his perfect set to teeth and sparkles in his eyes.

Maree almost fainted if not for the door she's holding on to. She needs to close the door to his face now and run away from him. In the life she lives, she is very good at smelling trouble from afar. Lucas smells like trouble all around.

Trouble that smells too good.

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed resting?"

"Can I come in so we can talk?" He flashes a big smile at her, something he is not known for.

Other angels tease him for having no humor and for being so stingy with delightful facial expressions. He can't blame them for thinking so, but he's not a sour angel. Maybe a little serious, but for a good reason. There's much to be done in heaven and on Earth.

However, Maree seems to elicit his hidden cheerfulness. He can see her light, and it's different from most men. She's calm after all she's been through. Yes, he looked her up in the records in the Head Quarters. It's strange there's only one entry about her life, but then again, HQ's records are only for those men whom angels worked on. After all, it's not the Book Of Life.

Tough life doesn't kill her bright spirit, and doesn't tamper her inner strength. What she lacks is hope. A hope that she can have a better life.

Maree sizes him up from head to toe, trying to ignore how amazing he looks and how good he smells. If he tries to do something bad to her, she just need to be fast to escape because there is no way she can fight him. He wants to talk; she wants answers.

She finally steps aside and open the door wider. Lucas walks inside and her studio looks even smaller with him in it. She watches him look around her apartment, and she suddenly feels naked and a little ashamed. Being poor is an accepted truth in her mind, and people who finds out how poor she is pity her and stay away. It doesn't bother her much, but she learns it is better to keep people at the distance. Their judgment is something she can live without.

Insecurities and embarrassment creep through her body as seconds pass by. Letting him in is a huge mistake.

"I like your place," Lucas finally says and sits down on the couch. It creaks as he takes half of space.

She doesn't believe him, but says nothing about it.

"What do you want to talk about?" she says to get down to business. She figures, the sooner they finish this conversation, the sooner he will be gone from her life, and everything will be normal.

Lucas stares at her thoughtfully. He still can't read her mind and her face perfectly masked by a stoic expression. He sighs to let go of his frustration. There's an urge in his core to reach out to her, and to know what she's thinking now. Not being able to do that is making him uncomfortable.

"Well," he begins. "Thank you for helping me."

"You're welcome," Maree replies, keeping her face straight is not an easy task. Being in front of him is making her giddy, like something is tickling her on the sides. She wants to giggle and grin at him, but it's not wise to do so.

"Do you mind if I eat?" He asks, picking up an unused chopstick. "I have eaten nothing since yesterday."

"You eat?" she asks in surprise.

"Of course I do," he answers. He looks at his choices and bows down for a few seconds before picking up a shrimp. He puts it in his mouth and chews slowly, nodding his head.

"You have no food in your house," Maree states as-a-matter-of-factly, folding her arms to her middle. "Your huge refrigeration is empty."

"I eat out a lot," he replies.

Angels who lives on earth tend to develop their different likings. Some are into movies, taking care of pets, building businesses and other things men enjoy. Lucas likes food even though he doesn't get hungry. He likes to try different cuisines from different places.

"What are you?" Maree finally addresses the elephant in the room. She has no time dancing around the bushes.

Lucas stops eating and put down his chopsticks.

"I'm an angel," he answers flatly, but his eyes are on her, challenging her facade.

Silence.

"Ha, ha, ha!" Maree blurts out a long fake laugh. She paces around her apartment laughing so hard. "You're... you're an angel?" she repeats mockingly and she follows it with another fake laugh.

"It's the truth," Lucas says, but this time his voice echoes inside the room, commanding attention.

Maree stops and look up at him, stopping herself from shaking. The house starts to feel warm as Lucas walks up to her until they are toe to toe. When Maree's head bends down, he lifts it back with his index finger. The touch is nothing he's felt before. It's warmth and cold at the same time.

To her, his touch is like a flow of life. It's nothing like when she touched his forehead, it was imposing and scary. Their eyes meet and it lingers there. Unknown to Maree, a glow of light is emanating from their bodies. Lucas sees the different colors escaping Maree's skin.

She's beautiful, he tells himself without knowing it.

Maree lifts her fingers to his face and touch his cheeks, admiring the depth of his eyes and fine line of his lips. He feels soft and smooth under her calloused hands.

"Who are you, Lucas?" she mutters.

To Maree's disbelief and Lucas's surprise, his wings come out for behind him, occupying every bit of space in the tiny apartment without breaking a single thing. He didn't mean to do that at all, and fear fills his chest.

Maree gasps for air as she witnesses the most splendid thing she's ever seen in her life. He is indeed an angel with wings of gold.

"How can this be?" she asks as tears fall on her cheeks. The emotions are too overwhelming to contain inside her.

"I'm an angel," he repeats his first answer, only this time he's not challenging her faith, but simply telling her the truth.

"Why are you showing this to me?" Is this something angels just throw around? Do they just tell people who they are at a whim? She now believes he is who he says he is. But as far as getting answers, she only ends up with more questions.

"I have no idea," he admits.

This night proves to be one for the unexpected. He planned none of these and he feels out of control. There is a line he's about to cross that will alter him. He needs to walk away right now and forget about Maree.

But Lucas does the opposite. He closes the gap between them and his wings encage them both. He cups her head and slowly lowers his head to hers.

Maree's heart is in the overdrive. She grips Lucas wrist for support as their lips meet.

A huge light explodes around them as their kiss linger, savoring the taste of each other. Both their first time and if they have presumptions about kissing, this moment surpasses them a million times.

Lucas catches her by the waist as she faints.

"Nathaniel, I need to talk to Shekinah," Lucas insists to the General. It's not the first time he requested this, but everytime he asks, he is given a hard no.

"Out of the question," Nathaniel answers firmly.

They are in his office in the Assembly of Angels Head Quarters. This place is just outside the heaven's gate where angels on missions convene. It is also a place for returning angels to purify themselves from the baggage they bring from earth. They don't have a prison because all angels who fall go straight to hell or stay on Earth to join the legion. But there is one that is detained their for several years now. She is the one who committed the gravest sin an angel can do.

"I need to get clues from her on where to find her child," he says frustratingly. For years, Lucas followed leads after leads of finding the child. He always ends up with nothing.

He needs to finish his mission and go back to heaven for good.

"You can do this with out her help," Nathaniel replies.

"Brother, why won't you let me see her?"

"Because she is not what she used to be, Lucas."

Nathaniel is the only one who has seen her after she was brought the the head quarters. At present, she has changed a lot, not only physically, but more in spirit. It is a nasty sight.

Lucas knows it's a defeated battle and he trust Nathaniel's judgement. But if he talks to Shekinah, there are questions that might be answered.

He needs to see her without permission, Lucas resolves to himself feeling sorry for going behind his brother's back.