“Hey guys,” she said. “Do we need to start charging you rent, Lucian?”
“He’s not feeling well, Brooke. He’s gonna go lie down for a bit in my room while I work on some sketches.”
“Oh, right, I’m sure that’s what you guys will be doing.”
“Shut up, Brooklyn,” I blurted.
She turned around to look at me. “What is your problem, weirdo?”
I kept forgetting that she had only just met me. “Nothing, I’m sorry. I’m really cranky.”
“Come on,” Evey said as she pulled me down the hall.
I WAS SKETCHINGon the small drafting table in my bedroom while Lucian rested on the bed. My mind was somewhere else. I had spent an hour sketching and had nothing to show for it but a pile of crumbled up papers at my feet. I couldn’t focus. All I could think about was how strangely Lucian was acting. I had to remind myself that he was an angel and this was uncharted territory. I wondered at what point I would start to freak out. How was I so accepting of this reality?
I looked at him and noticed his eyes were closed. “Lucian?”
He didn’t move. When I sat on the edge of the bed, he stirred before opening his eyes. He blinked a few times and then opened his eyes very wide. “I just fell asleep,” he said, in shock.
“Weird. Does this mean you’re becoming a human?” My voice was hopeful.
“I don’t know. I have to find Mona tonight.” He kept saying that, but nothing seemed to be getting answered. He stood and spread his massive wings while laughing. I couldn’t tell if he was shocked or excited about the fact that he had fallen asleep. “Well, those are still there. That’s good, I guess,” he said.
“Don’t you want to be human, Lucian?”
He stared at me for several long seconds. “I don’t think that’s how it works. I’m going to have to find out more info.” He focused his attention on the bed then laughed again.
“What?” I said.
“I had a dream. It was so strange.”
I fully expected him to tell me about a dream that would reveal something really important, but he just continued to laugh. He buckled over, holding his hand to his stomach. I could no longer see his wings, and he just looked like an average guy, standing there in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. Above average guy, I should say.
“Tell me about it, Lucian.”
“I think it was actually a nightmare, but it was hilarious.”
“Oh no, what was it?” I asked.
“I was being chased, then I got eaten by a giant chocolate chip cookie.”
“What? That’s really dumb.”
When he fell onto the bed laughing, I joined him in the hysteria. He tried to calm down but was still chuckling when he said, “I was actually really scared. Dreams are weird.” He was experiencing the world anew.
“So that’s the first one you’ve ever had?”
“Yes. How can you humans handle being part of something that is completely out of your control? I couldn’t even control my own body.”
“Well, it’s not real, obviously. Otherwise, you would have been eaten by a cookie and you wouldn’t be lying here talking to me.”
“No, I know.” He turned on his side, cupped my cheek and ran his thumb over my lower lip. His eyes were fixated on my mouth. He looked thoughtful and curious. “I guess I’m still trying to figure things out. It’s so confusing.”
When I leaned in to kiss him, he rolled onto his back. I straddled his waist as he unbuttoned my shirt. Pushing it off my shoulders, he said, “I want to look at you.”
“You’ve seen me.”
He laughed. “I want permission to look at you.”
