Her hands escape from mine as she pointedly turns away from me. My heart cracks at the absence of her touch.
“I know it sounds crazy, but this is real. After Kai passed away, he went to some place called the Middle Realm and the Archangels gave him a choice between immediately ascending or being your guardian angel for a period of time. He didn’t hesitate—he chose to be your guardian because he could see you struggling. Throughout his guardianship, he has helped you countless times. You just didn’t realize it,” I say softly, stroking her back. “He introduced himself to me early on, but I swear I didn’t know he was your brother until recently.”
“None of this makes sense,” she mutters, shaking her head and burying her face in her hands. “Kai is gone. I’ve come to terms with that. How do I know you’re being honest?”
“Well, for starters, I know Katherine is his ex-girlfriend—his one regret in his life is breaking up with her. He is unbearably protective of you, so much so that I resisted the urge to pursueyou forweeksdue to his nagging,” I say, turning her to look at me again. Then, I see her eyes brimming with tears. “If that isn’t enough, Kai slips up and calls you Irie when talking about you sometimes.”
In an instant, tears stream down her cheeks. I brush them away the best I can, but they don’t slow down. She still hasn’t said a word. Instead, she silently cries, holding back all sound. I wrap my arm around her, pulling her into me. She leans into my hold and lets out a sob.
“I’m sorry.” Her voice breaks. “This is just… a lot.”
“Greene, what did I tell you about apologizing? There is no need. What can I do for you, love?”
“I don’t understand… Is he here? Right now?” I look around and shake my head. “Why did he choose to stay?”
“Do you even have to ask? To help you get through this,” I say. “Once you find peace, he will ascend.”
She weeps and then shakes her head solemnly. “Then he will never ascend.”
“Don’t say that, baby, you’ve been making such good progress—”
“Progress? Am I a project in your eyes?” She narrows her tear-filled eyes at me. “Wait… Have you known since the beginning I was struggling?”
“What? No, of course not, Greene,” I affirm. “I learned after we had already met that you had a guardian angel, but I didn’t know the exact reason. You’ve never been a project for me.”
“It’s just hard to believe that, given the timing. Why now? Why tell me now? You’ve been keeping this to yourself just fine,” she accuses.
“Baby, keeping this from you was eating me alive—I couldn’t wait a second longer to tell you. Especially after I found out who he was to you.”
“Well, why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Emotion swirls in her eyes. My stomach drops. She’shurt. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so hurt.No, no, no.
“I wanted to, I really did, but Kai wouldn’t let me. I swear, if I had known from the beginning who he was to you, I would’ve told you sooner.”
“I am feeling so… confused,” she says, tightly shutting her eyes. “Why can you see him? Why can’t I? Will I ever get to see him?”
“I… don’t know, Greene,” I whisper. “I wish I had answers for you. When Kai first told me about his role in your life, I had similar questions, but he asked me to help you.”
“So, you’ve just been talking to my dead brother this entire time? How do I know whether any ofthisis real or not?” Her voice cracks. “Have you only been getting closer to me to help him ascend or whatever?”
“What? No, absolutely not,” I affirm. “This is real. I’ve never felt this way before.”
“How do I know you’re not saying that just to help mefind peace?”
“Please, just trust me, Iris—”
“Jasper, I want to trust you. I want to believe you. More than anything,” she says firmly. “But at this moment, my feelings are undeniably real, and right now, I’m feeling all sorts of emotions I can’t fully understand. I need to honor my feelings and myself.” She stands up, wipes her tears, pats her gown, and begins to walk away. Instinctively, I stand and reach out to grab her hand, pulling her back.
“I’m so, so sorry.” Despite my best efforts to remain calm, my voice breaks. “Iris… will we be okay?”
She gazes back into my eyes somberly. “I hope so, but only time will tell,” she says while continuing to wipe her tears away. “I’m going to hitch a ride home.”
“What? No, please let me take you home,” I plead. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so anxious in my life. This feeling—this pain, it’s burning a hole in my chest. If Iris walks away from me tonight, I fear she won’t come back.
“It’s okay, man.” Kai walks up behind her with sorrow in his expression. “She needs space.”
She catches me looking at Kai over her shoulder.
“Is he here? Right now?” she asks frantically, looking around with a hint of hope causing my heart to break even more.
