Redemption (Stand-Alone, Spin-Off to Reaper Series), page 8
Isaiah looked shocked and borderline offended. “Who’s Ed Sh-? Who’s Ed Sheeran? He’s only the best musician on the planet right now!”
“I take it you’re a fan, then, Isaiah?” Javan asked, smirking.
“So, what, he’s famous?” Eve asked.
Isaiah just shook his head. “Wow. Seriously, just… wow.”
“What?” Eve asked, pretending to be offended, but grinning.
“I’m gonna have to make you buy an album on your phone or something,” Isaiah said.
“I don’t have a phone,” Eve replied.
“My God, it’s like you live in the Dark Ages!” Isaiah cried dramatically.
“Well,” a new voice suddenly said from nearby. “Speak of the Devil!”
“Excuse me!?” Eve snarled, whirling around to face the speaker, her green eyes blazing with fury.
“Eve, this is Brett Davies!” Javan quickly said, rushing to introduce the middle-aged man in the tuxedo who had approached him. “One of the biggest benefactors we have for our homeless shelters.”
Davies had broad shoulders and beady eyes, which Eve didn’t like the look of at all. They seemed to look at the world with disdain, his face set in a permanent scowl.
“Hello, darling,” Brett Davies said briefly to Eve, who frowned at the title. Then he turned back to Javan and said, “As I was saying, I was just speaking to my wife about you. We were starting to wonder when you were going to arrive, this being your party and everything.”
“Benefit,” Javan corrected.
“Yes, yes, whatever makes you feel good,” Davies replied dismissively. “You might want to buy a watch with all the money I’ve donated to your shelter. Which reminds me, I wanted to ask you. Why do you insist on living in the same building as those people?”
“Well, those people mean a great deal to me,” Javan replied, somehow maintaining his smile and a polite tone. “But since you brought it up, there is a matter of finance I was planning on discussing with you.”
“Jeez, why not just take my credit cards?” Davies replied, huffing somewhat. “You know I only donate anything because my wife insists I ‘give back to the community.’ If I didn’t get a tax break from this stuff, I’m not sure I’d like you.”
“The feeling’s mutual,” Javan said, just quietly enough for Eve to hear him.
“What’s that?” Davies asked, leaning forward slightly.
“It’s slightly unusual,” Javan replied. “But I think you’d be interested. And the right investment could see a huge return.”
“Investment, eh?” Davies replied thoughtfully. “Now you’re speaking my language. What are we talking here? Housing? Business? Pharmaceuticals?”
“How about we discuss it somewhere more private?” Javan suggested.
Davies finally smiled, but it was even less pleasant than his scowl. “Ah, one of those investments, is it? Secret business, good stuff. Alright, you’ve got my attention. Let’s talk.”
Javan turned to Eve and said, “I hate to ditch you here, but I’ll only be a few minutes. You okay by yourself for a while?”
“Sure,” Eve nodded.
“I’ll keep you company,” Isaiah said, nudging Eve with his shoulder and winking, causing Eve to smile back, feeling her heart flutter again.
“Great,” Javan said. “I’ll be right back. Enjoy yourselves!”
“Nice meeting you, Elle,” Davies said curtly to Eve. Then he nodded at Isaiah and said by way of farewell, “Isaac.”
As Javan placed an arm around Davies’ shoulders and led him away, Eve and Isaiah both stood side by side and watched them go. At the same moment, both of them glaring at Davies’ back, they both said, “What a douche.”
Eve and Isaiah glanced sideways at each other and grinned. Eve brushed a lock of her bright hair out of her eyes and said, “So, what do we do now?”
Isaiah grinned. “Well, you can come with me if you want, but I’m gonna see if I can find Ed Sheeran!”
As the night progressed, the band came to life, as did the entire party. Waiters with platters of tiny morsels of food and drinks circled the room, couples took to the dance floor to show off their years of dance classes, and Eve was seated at a table with Isaiah as meals were served. Eve had to laugh when the band stepped down and let the musician Ed Sheeran take over, resulting in Isaiah getting so excited he knocked over his drink as he leaped to his feet. And still, Javan had not returned. Eve had been having such a good time with Isaiah, talking and laughing and enjoying the sights and sounds of the event, she had almost not noticed how long Javan had been absent.
“Javan’s been gone for, like, over and hour,” Eve said, looking around.
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Isaiah said, sipping his glass of water. “Davies is rich, but cheaper than a beggar. He’d be grilling Javan about every little thing each dollar he invests would go to.”
“What’s Javan getting him to invest in?” Eve asked.
Isaiah shrugged. “No idea. Could be a bunch of stuff he’s got going on. Housing developments, more shelters, a new book deal, a seminar tour, who knows?”
“I thought you were like Javan’s go-to-guy?” Eve teased.
“Oh, I am,” Isaiah grinned. “Go-to get coffee, go-to get dry cleaning, go-to get the car… Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot better than what I’d be doing if Javan never helped me off the street. Anyway, enough about what I do. What about you, Eve? What’s your deal?”
“My deal?” Eve repeated, flashing a grin.
“Yeah. All I know about you is that Javan is really excited about you showing up, and you once saved his life somehow. Like, I feel like I’m missing a lot of information, here.”
“Maybe that’s how I like it,” Eve said mysteriously.
“Come on,” Isaiah urged. “You know what I do for a living, at least give me that much. What d’you do when you’re not attending charity balls?”
“Oh, well…” Eve began, stalling by taking a drink of water as she thought of an answer. “I work at… a community garden. Kind of.”
“Kind of?” Isaiah pressed.
“Yeah,” Eve said, not offering any more information as she flashed another grin at Isaiah, who grinned back at her.
“Okay, you want to keep the mysterious edge, I get ya,” he laughed. “But please, for the love of God, can you just tell me one thing?”
“Depends what you want to know,” Eve replied, feeling nervous.
Isaiah pulled his chair closer to Eve’s and leaned forward, looking around as though checking to see if anyone was listening in. He leaned closer to Eve and asked quietly, “What have you got against shoes?”
Eve laughed. “Oh! That. Nothing, I just never really wore them growing up. And I like the way grass feels on my toes. Shoes are just too… I don’t know, like I’m strangling my feet.”
Isaiah nodded as he smiled. “Okay. Now, I have just one more question for you.”
“Well, aren’t you nosy?” Eve joked.
Isaiah grinned, then suddenly rose to his feet and held out his hand for Eve to take.
“May I have this dance?”
Eve felt her face flush red once more and damned her cheeks for brightening so easily. Afraid that she wouldn’t be able to answer properly, what with her mouth having suddenly gone dry, Eve simply placed her hand in Isaiah’s and rose to her feet, allowing Isaiah to gently hold her hand in his as they walked to the dance floor together.
As though Ed Sheeran had been waiting for them, he finished singing Don’t and began a rendition of Give Me Love, a slower song resulting in those already on the dance floor to draw closer together, wrapping arms around one another and slowly swaying together. Isaiah, keeping Eve’s hand in his own, turned to face her and placed his other hand on her hip, stepping close enough for Eve to smell the scent of his aftershave. Nervous, Eve placed her free hand on his shoulder and let Isaiah take the lead as they began to slowly move on the spot to the song.
“I, uh-” Eve stammered, feeling her heart beat faster and faster. “I don’t really dance like this very often. Well, actually… never.”
“You’ve never danced like what?” Isaiah asked.
“This,” Eve emphasized.
“You mean, with a man?” Isaiah asked.
“Not so close,” Eve admitted, then felt embarrassed for having said anything. “Forget it, it’s stupid.”
“No, it’s not,” Isaiah said. “I just find it hard to believe that no man would want to dance with you until now.”
Eve smiled, but felt even more embarrassed. “I spend a lot of time by myself. But lately… Well, I spend so much time working. Sometimes it feels like that’s all I ever do. It’s just, I’ve been feeling like I’ve lived all these years, but I’m missing out on just… living.” She suddenly realized that she was possibly saying a little too much, but Isaiah seemed not to notice anything weird. He just nodded, looking like he was thinking about what Eve had said.
“Well, I’ve got a couple of years on you, I think,” he began. Eve decided against correcting him. “But what I’ve learned is that your experiences are only what you make them. You can choose to look back and think about all the stuff you missed out on, or you can think about all that you had. You know I said I was homeless, right?”
Eve nodded. After a moment, Isaiah continued.
“I ended up on the street when I was thirteen, after my parents died in a car crash,” he said. “I didn’t have any other family and I didn’t want to go live in a foster home. I knew enough about them to know I didn’t want it. So I ran. Now, I could think only about how I lost my parents and a home, but I choose to think of those years as an experience. Something that taught me who I am. How to be the best me. To be kind and good and take care of people. Something I learned every day. And even more so when the Angels invaded.”
Eve missed a step at this and almost fell off balance, but she managed to keep her footing.
“The Angels?” Eve asked hesitantly. “What do they have to do with it?”
“Well,” Isaiah began. “You know what happened. The Angels in black armor just killed anyone they saw. Like it was a game to them. I saw them do… really bad things. Horrible things. But I don’t look at only the bad, because I also saw other Angels trying to stop them. It was amazing, the way they fought to protect people. I wanted to be like that. So I did everything I could to keep other people safe during all the fighting. Except…” Isaiah’s thoughts seemed to trail off and he looked into the distance, like he was looking at something that wasn’t in the here and now.
“What?” Eve asked.
Isaiah snapped out of his reverie and continued. “Except I died,” he said flatly. “The Angels in black armor spotted me trying to hide a bunch of people inside an abandoned building, and they killed me. I don’t know what happened to everyone else.”
“You died?” Eve asked in a whisper. “What happened then?”
“It’s kind of a blur,” Isaiah said, screwing up his forehead as he thought. “But I do remember that I ended up somewhere light and warm. Somewhere where I saw my parents again. I guess… I guess it was Heaven. But then I was suddenly back. I was alive again. And all the Angels were gone.”
“That sounds…” Eve struggled for the right word. “That sounds awful.”
“Most would say that,” Isaiah said, smiling. “But I see it as something amazing. Because I died! And here I am! Whatever happened that day, even with all the terrible things that went down, I can look back and remind myself that I experienced something special. I don’t focus on having missed out on a family or a home. I think about what I actually experienced. So don’t worry about anything you’ve missed out on. You’ve experienced great things, and you’ll experience a lot more.”
At this, Isaiah gently leaned in, lowering his face to Eve’s. He pressed his lips against hers, softly kissing her as they danced. Eve knew she shouldn’t, but kissed him back anyway, feeling the warmth of his lips on hers. She felt a tingling sensation on her lips, as though a gentle electric current was flowing through him and into her. When they came apart, they continued dancing as though nothing had happened, but Isaiah was smiling down at Eve, a gleam in his blue eyes.
Eve fought to smile back. She wanted to smile, to hold Isaiah closer, but she was still shaken by the fact that Isaiah had been one of the millions of humans who had died during Abzu’s invasion, only to be resurrected by her father when all the fighting was over. This was the first time Eve had spoken to anyone who had died and come back during that time and she wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“So…” she began. “Aren’t you curious?”
“About what?” Isaiah asked.
“About why you came back?” Eve said. “About why there were Angels fighting, or about Heaven, or God? It’s great that you look on the positive side of it all, but don’t you want to know what it was all about?”
Isaiah shrugged. “Well, yeah, obviously. I mean, if I knew what had happened, maybe I could…” He suddenly trailed off and stared blankly into the distance again.
“What?” Eve urged him to continued.
Isaiah looked back at Eve, suddenly solemn. “Maybe I could sleep again. See, I have nightmares all the time about the fighting and death. But what really bothers me is that I don’t even know why it happened. No one does. And then you get those nut job anti-Angel freaks going around telling everyone that the Angels want us all dead. I don’t believe it, but still… I just wish I knew. If the world knew what had really happened, maybe then so many of us wouldn’t feel so…”
“Lost?” Eve offered.
Isaiah nodded. “Yeah. Lost.”
Eve fell silent as she thought, considering everything Isaiah had said. Isaiah noticed her sudden silence and seemed concerned.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “Should I not have kissed you?”
“No!” Eve replied a little loudly. “I mean, yes! I mean, the kiss was good. I just… you’ve just given me some advice.”
“I have?” Isaiah asked, surprised. “What about?”
“About something that someone should have done already,” Eve said sternly.
Glancing past Isaiah, Eve suddenly saw Javan milling amongst a group of people near the dance floor, talking and laughing. At the sight of him, she made up her mind. She gently pulled away from Isaiah and began to walk toward Javan, turning to face Isaiah as she walked backwards.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I just, I need to talk to Javan real quick. But, wait…”
Eve suddenly stepped quickly back to Isaiah and wrapped one arm around his waist and placed her free hand on the back of his neck, pulling him in and kissing him once more. Isaiah quickly fell into the kiss and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her back.
“Okay,” Eve said, nodding once when they finally broke apart. “I just wanted to do that one more time. Just in case.”
“In case what?” Isaiah asked, but Eve was already walking away toward Javan. Whatever was happening in the group Javan was a part of, he suddenly didn’t look too pleased. He was frowning for the first time all evening and was barely responding to anything anyone said to him.
When Eve reached him and the small group of people he was talking to, Eve grabbed his arm and pulled him aside without a word.
“Whoa, Eve!” Javan cried in surprise. “What are you doing?”
“I’ll do it,” Eve said, turning to face Javan.
“Do what?” Javan asked.
“The press conference,” Eve said. “I’ll do it. Just like you said.”
Javan stared at Eve as though he couldn’t believe it. “For real?”
Eve nodded firmly, her face dead serious. “I think people need it. They need to know, at least a few things. They have so many questions. I just want to help them not feel so… lost.”
Javan placed his hands on Eve’s shoulders and grinned with barely contained excitement as he squeezed.
“This is great news!” he said, trying to keep his voice down, but struggling. “Great! I have to make an announcement.”
“I thought you might,” Eve sighed, looking back towards Isaiah.
Javan dragged Eve toward the stage, just as Ed Sheeran finished the song. Javan bounded up the stairs beside the musician, reaching out to shake his hand. Javan whispered something into Ed Sheeran’s ear, who then nodded and stepped aside, allowing Javan to stand before the microphone with Eve beside him. Eve looked from the stage and saw Isaiah, staring at her with a small smile and a look of curiosity. She swallowed hard and fought to control her nerves. What would Isaiah think?
“If I could have everyone’s attention for just a moment, please?” Javan said into the microphone, his voice carrying through speakers all over the room. “I’ve just been given some amazing news by my friend, here, Eve. A few days ago, I asked Eve if she would be so kind as to join me in a press conference in which we address some questions that the entire world has been asking. Questions relating to the Global Revelation.”
The crowd suddenly fell completely silent as Javan had captured the attention of every single person. Even then waiting staff had stopped moving about the room to listen.
“As most of us know,” Javan continued. “There were Angels on Earth that day. Some wanted to hurt us, others were clearly trying to protect us. Many people died, but then came back to life. Eve here has some answers to the questions we all ask ourselves and each other every day. And she has agreed to share what information she can with us. So that we can all find peace once more and move on into the future, as better people.”
“And what does she know?” someone called out.
“How could she know anything?” someone else yelled. “She’s just a kid.”
Javan grinned as though he had anticipated these questions. He offered no response to those who had called out. Instead, he simply turned his head to Eve, grinning mischievously at her.
“Eve?” he began. “Do you mind showing them?”
Eve didn’t need to ask what. She took a deep breath, steeling her nerves. She wasn’t worried about what anyone in the room was about to think of her, except for Isaiah. She didn’t want his opinion of her to change, but it undoubtedly was about to. In the next instant, Eve spread her wings to their full width.
