CHAPTER 4

Evelyn’s farewell party was held on the following Sunday evening and during this time, Monica couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong with Andrew. The blond angel never returned to the church or to the apartment where she and Tess were staying at. And his attitude the last time she’d seen him was strange: he was distant, worried and even a bit harsh. The little angel could also detect he was trying to hide something from her, although she couldn’t tell what it was.

Even during the party, she couldn’t stop thinking about her dearest friend and wondering what was happening to him, like now, when she finally had a break and voiced her thoughts to Tess.

“... I was under the impression that he wanted me to go away... that... that my presence there was bothering him...”

“Oh, no, angel girl. If there’s something I can say it’s ‘impossible’ is angel boy wanting you away from him!” the supervisor replied, but then frowned with concern, “But that attitude is in fact a strange one...”

“I wish there was a way to help him but...”

“Pay him another visit, baby. Maybe that wasn’t really a good moment, as we both know that he’s dealing with a very difficult assignment.”

“Tess? Monica?” Evelyn spoke, coming closer to the angels with a happy smile on her face, “I just want to thank you both again... I’m just so happy and I’m so grateful for what you did to me...”

“Don’t thank us, baby. Thank God!” the old supervisor said.

“I know I’ll spend my whole life thanking Him but... But I’m also grateful that He sent me you two to be my angels...”

Monica reached out and held her both hands, “All we ask from you is that you live in God’s teachings!”

“I promise I will...” the young lady’s face clouded over and her smile faded away, “What will happen to Roy?”

That question brought back the angel’s concern, “A very good friend is taking care of him and you can be sure that Roy is in good hands.”

The young woman nodded and her smile returned, “If you say so, then I believe you! And I trust that your friend can really help Roy...”

“He’ll do his best, Evelyn.”

The party was a happy one, as the people who worked and helped at the church were very fond of the young lady and truly hoped she had a very happy life from that moment on. Evelyn was moved to see how many good people there were in the world and eternally grateful for meeting them. It was difficult saying goodbye and not shedding a few tears of emotion.

*

A few hours later, in the other part of the city, a young man walked fast along the deserted streets. He was all dressed with dark clothes and had an anguished expression on his face. It was past 10 PM on that Sunday night and all the shops were closed, so the only living soul who noticed his presence was an angel, whose heart seemed to be equally anguished at the possibility of seeing the boy’s soul lost to evil.

Roy couldn’t see Andrew, as he was in his angelic form, but not even the glow that surrounded the blond angel, an evidence of God’s love, was able to send away the fear of failing that assignment. A life depended on him and also the safety of his dearest friend – he simply couldn’t fail.

“... don’t do that, Roy. You know this could ruin your life...” he whispered at the boy’s ear, in an attempt to speak to his heart and soul the words sent by the Father Himself. “... you’ve never done this before, you could end up in jail for the rest of your life... Think about all the chance you could have if you let go of the drugs... You cannot let them control you...”

But the boy seemed to ignore the sudden voice inside his heart that told him to stop while he could. He stopped walking near the coffee shop, just a few blocks from the school where he studied. Then, certifying that there was no one around, he pulled out a gun hidden inside his coat. The expression on Andrew’s face was one of panic, “No! Roy, please, don’t do that! You know it’s wrong! You know the police will get here in a minute if the siren is activated!”

The young man walked towards the place, once again ignoring the voice that spoke to his heart.

“Think about Evelyn’s words... Think about those people who helped her and how they could help you too...” the blond angel’s last try was in vain. Hidden in the shadows of the night, Roy managed to break through the shop.

“What amazes me is your insisting on this guy, you know... Don’t you think it would be wise to worry about the ones that really matter?”

Gregory’s voice made Andrew turn around already with an angry expression on his face. “Go away from here! Leave this boy alone, in the name of God!” the angel spoke, with a harsh tone in his voice.

But that only made the demon smile with pleasure, “Asking me to leave is as useless as trying to convince the guy that he should give up and be a ‘good boy’! His soul is already mine, Andrew!”

Andrew narrowed his eyes and stared at him, “If you are so certain that his soul is yours then why are you here, Gregory?”

At that moment, the siren of the coffee shop echoed through the neighbourhood, breaking the silence of that dark cold night. The demon smiled broadly and watched, together with the angel, as Roy left the place in a hurry, running along the deserted streets.

“Does that answer to your question?” Andrew’s jaw clenched and he felt his heart filled with anguish and despair: yes, it seemed that he would fail the assignment. “The battle is lost, buddy. If I were you, I’d leave before I try to ruin your little existence even more!”

“I’m not leaving, Gregory, you know that!”

“Well, then I guess I’ll have to pay a visit to your sweet ‘angel girl’!”

Even though that threat terrified him, Andrew tried to remain firm, staring at the demon with cold eyes, “Monica is an angel of God. She has a light around herself that represents God’s love and you’d probably go blind if you just looked at her!”

The look in Gregory’s eyes was such, that for a moment, the blond angel nearly panicked, “That’s the problem with you... ‘angels’! You trust too much.” He said, and vanished at the moment the police sirens were heard through the streets.

*

On the following day, Tess took Evelyn by car up to her hometown, a two day trip from the small city where they were staying at. Once more, the young lady thanked Monica for everything and bid her farewell, eager to hold her parents again and ask for their forgiveness. The Irish angel watched as the red Cadillac finally disappeared around a corner and lifted a silent prayer for her young assignment. Then, carrying a piece of cake from the party on the previous night carefully wrapped in silver paper, she headed to the school where Andrew worked. Maybe now, early in the morning and on daylight, he would be able to open his heart to her and tell her what had been troubling him all that time.

In his room, Andrew had been standing by the window, lost in his thoughts and wondering how he would manage to get through to Roy. The boy’s behaviour was getting worse day after day and his growing hate could be seen in the spark of his eyes. Andrew knew very well that the only reason why he still attended classes was the possibility of stealing money and a few objects from the other students and that soon he would have to disappear from school. And on top of that, there was Gregory’s constant presence at the boy’s side, speaking to his mind evil things that only a creature like him would be able to speak. The blond angel sighed deeply whispering words only heard by a loving One. “Father... Please, help me... I have to find a way to talk to him... before it’s too late.”

The window in Andrew’s room faced the school backyard, where a few students enjoyed their break time. He watched them for a while, when a soft knock on the door took him out of his reverie.

“Andrew?” Monica poked her head inside and her gentle voice a pretty smile would be a breath of fresh air to his troubled mind if it wasn’t for the fact that he’d also been trying to protect her from the evil that had been lurking around.

“Monica?” he spoke, frowning a little at her unexpected visit. The Irish angel could easily read all his anguish and worry written on his face. She gave a few steps inside and closed the door behind her, determined to do whatever it took to help him with his assignment.

Monica placed the small package with the piece of cake she’d saved for him on the table and tentatively gave him a light smile, “Hello... I’m... I’ve just been granted some free time and I came to see how you are and if you need any help...”

“Where... where’s Tess?”

“She took Evelyn back to her parents’ house this morning. And I’m confident that they’ll accept her back...” She could detect a certain tension in his eyes from the moment she’d come through the door and wondered if what he was trying to hide from her.

Andrew was going to say something but a quick glance back at the school backyard caused him to panic: Gregory was standing at the soft green grass looking at the window with an evil smile. Nervously, Andrew turned his eyes to his dearest friend not paying too much attention to what she spoke.

“Evelyn told me she would pray for Roy and I told her he’s in very good hands, you know.” Monica came a bit closer and tilted her head to look at him, trying to read what was on his mind, “But I guess sometimes even angels need a friend, right?”

With his heart racing, he looked at the yard once again and saw as the demon waved at him and walked away, disappearing a second later. He must have followed Monica up to the school building and would certainly follow her anywhere she went. But with her assignment over, the Irish angel could return Home and be safe there. All he needed to do was to keep her distant from him.

And that would hurt terribly.

“Monica, what are you doing here?” his voice was bitter and hard, and she wasn’t used to hearing him speaking like that.

“I... well, I thought that maybe you’d be needing someone to talk to and-”

“You said your assignment has finished, so I think it’s time you went back Home.”

The little angel frowned, “I told you, I’m here to see how you’re doing, to ask you if there’s anything I can do for you... And I can tell from the look in your eyes that you could use a friend right now...”

Trying to escape from her inquisitive and soft brown pools, he turned his back and walked away from her, “Monica you’re not supposed to be here... Please, go Home now that your assignment has finished. I’ll handle Roy, I’ve had difficult assignments before, certainly more than you did, and I managed to accomplish them. With this one it won’t be different.”

Andrew closed his eyes for a moment, aware of the pain he was inflicting in her heart by talking to her like that. But she wasn’t going to quit that easily and, even a bit hurt by his words, she followed him and stood right in front of him once again, “I know you had more assignments than I did and that you can do your job wonderfully, Andrew... I never forgot how many times you were there to help me and even to protect me during my own assignments...”

There was so much love and affection, so much gratitude and other loving feelings in the spark of her soft brown pools that Andrew’s heart ached with anguish and guilt about what he was doing to her.

With patience and trusting that he would open his heart to her, she searched for his hand and squeezed it gently, “...But I can read your soul and I can see a conflict in there, and my heart is telling me that I should be by your side to help you-”

Escaping from her once again, he walked up to the door and tugged his hands in his pockets, “Monica, I guess you should go... Really... I have too much work to do.”

“Sending me away is not going to solve the problem, you know?” she replied, still trying to ignore his rude behaviour.

Sighing deeply, he took the courage to speak and stared at her, “Have you noticed you’re always doing things you’re not supposed to, Monica?”

That statement had the effect he expected – Monica’s heart started to beat fast and she felt the presence of tears in the corner of her eyes. Once, while working on a difficult assignment, something he had said caused the same effect. Andrew never forgot that horrible night and swore not to repeat it again, but now... Now the blond angel felt ashamed of what he was doing – he was breaking that promise and hurting the one who least deserved, his dearest friend, his soul mate, and he would never forgive him for that.

“I... I know you don’t mean it...” she said, with trembling voice, holding onto her last hopes to get him open his heart to her and talk about what was bothering him.

“I’m trying to tell you that you should focus on your work as an angel if you really want to be a good angel. The way you insist on doing things that you shouldn’t, things that don’t belong to you is... It bothers people more than you can imagine! Your lack of abilities to cook and sing are good examples of what I’m talking about! Of how you are always trying to do things for which you have no talent!”

This time he reached his goal: his harsh, mean words broke Monica’s heart into pieces at the moment that they came out of his mouth – never had Andrew spoken to her like that before; never had she expected to receive so much anger and bitterness from the one who she considered her dearest, beloved friend. Had those cruel words been spoken by any other person, they wouldn’t have hurt her so much, and for a moment she even doubted that she’d heard them and wondered if that was part of a nightmare.

“Why... why are you talking to me like this, Andrew?” the little angel managed to say, tears falling freely from her doe-like eyes, “Have... have I done anything to you? Is... is my presence bothering you so much that-“

“Yes, Monica, in fact, I’m trying to work here and if you could leave, it would help me a lot.”

If Monica’s pain and total disappointment were almost unbearable, his own suffering would be etched in his memory forever, and he knew he would never forgive himself for what he was doing – the blond angel was aware that it was not only his dearest friend’s heart he was breaking and betraying, but also God’s heart. A shadow of shame covered his soul when he saw the look in her eyes and all the pain he had inflicted. He would never in a thousand years forget the sorrow reflected in those brown pools, nor the tears that rolled down her red cheeks, and his only comfort was to know that, from that moment on, she would be away from him and, therefore, away from danger.

Covering her mouth with her hand and stifling a sob, she lowered her head and, without saying a word, left the room in a hurry. Only then, when he was sure there was nobody around, did the blond angel show the great sadness he was feeling inside. With tears falling freely from his green eyes and an evident spark of anger at himself, he slammed the door and punched the hard wood. “... I’m so sorry, angel... I’m so terribly sorry... Just hope you can forgive me...” he whispered, leaning against the door, feeling the pain that was flowing from her own heart through the connection that had always brought them together.

Monica was so taken aback by Andrew’s hurtful words it took her a while to find the right exit from the school building. She passed by Mr Parker in a hurry and the old man could easily see the tears that she was trying to wipe but which never stopped from falling. The Irish angel bid him a feeble goodbye and crossed the school gate, leaving the old man frowning with concern and with evident disapproval. Certainly she and Andrew had argued and he was sad to think that Andrew could hurt the feelings of someone so friendly like Monica. In those few weeks he’d met her, he had become very fond of the ‘beautiful young lady, with lovely accent and an adorable smile’ and lately he’d noticed the rude way Andrew treated her. Were he her father, Mr Parker would certainly have a serious talk to the blond teacher.