She cleared her throat and held up a Wookiee costume from the bench. “How would you like to work at the Star Wars bar for eternity? You’d get to see Evey every weekend with one hipster after another, her heart getting more mangled each time. Maybe we’ll reassign her to Abigail.”
“No!” I said, banging my hand on the table. I could handle the Star Wars bar for eternity, but I could not handle knowing self-absorbed Abigail would be looking out for Evey. “You have to get her someone better.”
“I don’t have to do anything. I know what you’re doing, Lucian. You’re trying to get banished. You want to sabotage yourself because you’re some kind of masochist.”
“I’m not, Mona. That’s the thing.” I shrugged. “If I were, I’d enjoy watching Evey date these cretins she goes out with.”
“This is so out of the ordinary. It has to be all the drinking. You’re just not thinking clearly. I don’t want to have to go to my supervisor with this.”
I smacked my hand on the table again.
“Stop doing that!” she said.
I was getting so tired of the cryptic shit. “Who the fuck is your supervisor? Is it him?” I pointed up.
“No, no, of course not. It’s David.”
“Like as intheDavid?”
“No, a different one. He’s just my supervisor,” she said.
“Where is the big guy? Let me talk to him.”
“You know you can’t do that.”
I took a deep breath. I felt like I was going to throw up. Zack, Bob, and Lauren were all at the bar now, eavesdropping. I motioned for Mona to lean in over the table so I could whisper to her.
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not falling for that one. You’re so arrogant.”
“Please, I’m serious,” I pleaded.
She huffed then finally leaned over the table toward me.
I cupped her ear. “I’m in love with her,” I whispered.
She yanked her head back and scowled. “With who?”
I mouthed, “Evey.”
“That’s impossible. She’s human. You don’t even have the chemicals in your body to be attracted to her.”
All three angels at the bar turned on their stools and stared at me with wide eyes.
I stood abruptly. “Oh, fuck all of you. You don’t understand.” I rushed out of the door and took off toward the sky.
We couldn’t actually breathe outside of the atmosphere, so as soon as I hit about ten thousand feet, I started gasping and choking—plus I was freezing my ass off. I just had to get away. Nothing made sense. We were living and breathing just like Evey. I had a heart that beat. I could smell and taste and touch just like Evey. I came barreling back toward the ground, landed in the same spot I’d taken off from, and stumbled to my left. Zack was sitting outside the soda shop, watching me.
“What happened to you? You used to be so good at that,” he said.
“Everything is turning to shit.” I sat down next to him at the curb. “What did Mona say after I left?”
“She thinks it’s the drinking.”
I looked at Zack; he had strawberry-blond hair, freckles, and a boyish face. He was my best friend, and half the time I knew he was looking out for me. The other half of the time, he was heckling me. We were like brothers. He was the closest thing, besides Evey, that I had to family.
“What’s eating you, man? And why’d you tell Evey? You know what you’re gonna have to do now, right?”
“I know.”
