How to Be a Guardian Angel -- Chapter 7

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Chapter Seven

“When were you going to mention that we can’t actually sleep?” I said, leaning up against the wall that Cash’s door was a part of. Cash seemed to smile a bit at the question.

“Oh, you noticed that?” He asked, already dressed and ready for the day. I leaned there, still in the shorts and the tee shirt, probably looking for all the world like a disheveled high school student – unready to face the coming dawn. It was six in the morning, and I’d heard Cash moving around starting fifteen minutes ago.

“Yes, I did.” I snorted, almost shocked that he took the unmentioned accusation with stride.

“We don’t sleep, because we aren’t mortal. We can appear to sleep – and we have visions, but we don’t sleep in the same terms as a human does. I highly doubt you would notice that yet – they don't always happen right away.”

“Visions?” I asked. “What are those?”

Cash looked over at me with purpose, but his expression was as if he didn't quite know what to say. “Messages, essentially? Sometimes, they’re direct. Other times, they’re tests of your abilities. The higher-ups are funny that way.” He took a hand and ruffled it through his hair, looked behind him for a moment towards his room, then looked back at me. “They can sometimes show us the future, as any one of us might see it.”

I looked at him. “Did you have one about me, before I died?” My question was asked quietly, and Cash seemed to freeze there, as if thinking about whether or not to tell me.

“Yes, but I was unable to interpret it at first. It wasn’t until that phone call that I actually understood what the message had meant.” Cash said, placing a hand on the back of his neck as he looked at me, his head lowered slightly. It was an interesting position, as if he was apologizing for something. I cocked my head to the side, but disregarded it for the most part. Walking over to the mattress, I made the bed quietly.

“You hungry?” He asked.

“How could I be,” I stated. “If I’m immortal, why would I need food?” He chuckled.

“Well, we can function without food, but I don’t happen to like the hollow sensation caused without eating something. Most angels will eat something to get the sensation to go away –it’s not because we need the nutrients.”

I sighed. I knew that hollow sensation. “Yea, then. I am.” I admitted, and then looked back at him. He smiled, then got to work on a breakfast.

While Cash was focused on breakfast, I decided to change into another pair of jeans, and a camisole. Leaving a sweater on the counter, and placing the rest of the bags carefully by the air mattress, I walked over to a bar stool and began sipping at a bottle of orange juice that Cash had pulled out of the fridge and placed there for me.

“So, what do you do all day if you’re a guardian angel?” I asked, watching as he began making scrambled eggs for the two of us. He looked over at me, then back at the eggs – seeming to plan an answer.

“Depends on the day. Some days, I just step back and chill out. My charge doesn’t need much help, despite what the higher ups think. She’s got her work cut out for her, but overall she’s smart enough to avoid dangerous situations. I can tell when she’s in trouble though, and she calls me when she definitely is.” He began plating the first bit of eggs while I wondered just exactly who the ‘higher ups’ where.

I couldn’t remember if he’d told me, and I almost felt afraid to ask. “Archangels,” he said, as he walked over to the bar and put a plate in front of me, a cool apple next to the eggs. “How did you know what I was thinking?” I asked, suddenly angry at him for knowing my thoughts. He laughed at my expression, then patted me on the head.

“Babe, your face made it plain.”

Scowling even harder, I took a fork and began eating, accepting his answer. “Let me explain some more. Archangels control the goings on with angels on earth. In heaven, they’re more like a police force. Here, they’re the law. They know practically everything that goes on – unless you’re careful.”

Careful? I asked internally. Wondering what he meant, I figured it couldn’t have been healthy. “Oh,” I said, and shrugged – trying to pretend like it didn’t mean anything to me. I’d always obeyed the rules, but Cash? Cash had always seemed the fringe kind of guy, even if it seemed like he was on the good side at the time.

Taking another drink, I then finished my eggs. The apple’s temperature normally would have made my teeth seize in pain from the cold, but now I bit in easily. Cash stood across from me, eating his own eggs, and watching me every so often. Something in his eyes made me want to shiver, but each time it rose I quashed it with sheer will – hoping that somehow this weird sensation was normal. I couldn’t really remember if I’d ever felt this way around him.

Somehow, Cash still managed to finish before me. Picking up my plate when I was done, he placed both of our dishes in the sink and ran water over them. Washing the dishes quickly, and then placing them on a rack, he came up behind me while I looked out one of the large windows. I freaked out when he reached a hand around my waist, but I smiled when I felt the familiar sensation of a metal object in my pocket.

“You remember that, right?” He asked, as I pulled it out of my pocket as soon as he’d backed away.

“My knife? Yeah, of course I remember it!” I said, turning to look at him.

“Thanks, Cash. You really have been a great friend.”

He nodded, and then turned on the TV. “It’s up to you today – unless I get a surprise phone call, we have nowhere to be. I’m supposed to be taking care of you, you know. Showing you the ropes.” I looked at him, smiled, then nodded.

“Well, showing me the ropes wouldn’t hurt. But, what is there to know? All you have to do is protect somebody, right?” I asked, feeling like I was a little more cocksure than I should have been.

Cash arched an eyebrow, but said nothing more than a ‘you’ll be surprised,’ before beckoning me over to the couch like I hadn’t said anything, and leaving me with a weak sense of foreboding.