CHAPTERS 2 & 3

Chapter 2

 Stacey jumped, startled when she heard a knock at her dormitory door.  Hesitantly, she laid down the book she had been reading and slowly got up.  Approaching the door, she reached for the knob, but then thought better of it.

“Who is it?” she called out cautiously.

“My name is Monica,” a voice, laced with an Irish brogue responded,

“I’m your new roommate.”

Bewildered, Stacey slowly opened the door and came face to face with the petite woman behind the voice.

“You’re a student?” Stacey couldn’t keep the surprise from showing on her face.  The young woman standing in front of her was beautiful, but a college student she was not.

“Yes, I am,” Monica smiled, her brown eyes twinkling,

“As I always say, better late than never.  May I come in?”

Stacey suddenly remembered her manners and stepped aside,

“Uh, sure…come on in.  You’re my roommate?”  Try as she might, she couldn’t keep the genuine surprise out of her voice.

Monica tilted her head to the side, her eyes meeting those of Stacey’s,

“You sound surprised.  Why is that?”

“I’ve never had a roommate for more than a couple of days before,” she admitted softly,

“I imagine you won’t be here much longer than that.”

“Why would you say that?” Monica watched Stacey as she moved back to the bed and sat back down.

Stacey was quiet for a minute before meeting her eyes with Monica’s once more,

“Because nobody wants to room with the fat girl,” she said finally, her voice barely audible and holding traces of anger.

Monica drew in a deep breath and moved to sit down across from Stacey,

“Well, then, it seems to me that everyone else is missing out on getting to know a kind, good person then and I’m not sure that I want to follow in their footsteps.”

“You don’t know me.  You don’t know what kind of person I am.” Stacey met her bitter eyes with Monica’s.

Monica bit her lip, realizing just how tough of an assignment Stacey was going to be.  She thought hard, and then said a quick prayer for guidance in her head.  She smiled thankfully when the answer came floating down to her waiting heart,

“I think you’re a very kind person, Stacey, but a wee bit lonely perhaps.  I didn’t mean to offend you, I just don’t believe that what a person looks like has anything to do with who they really are.”

As Monica had spoken, Stacey had gotten up and wandered over to the window.  She didn’t turn around when Monica finished but muttered more to herself than to her new roommate,

“Yeah, well a lot you know then.”  Stacey turned around again to face her,

“Look, half the room is yours so go ahead and get settled, but lets get a few things straight right now, okay?  I don’t really have any choice in this living arrangement, but I can assure you that I’m not looking for a friend, or someone to lay up nights confiding my dreams to.  I gave up wanting that a long time ago.  Secondly, don’t expect me to sit around and listen to you analyze me.  If I wanted to know that I was lonely and why I was lonely I’d of signed up for a psychology course.  You certainly don’t know enough about me now, nor will you ever to offer me any advice.  Are we clear on these small points, Monica?”

Monica was too shocked to even respond at first, but once she had gathered her senses, she was able to nod her head.  Before she could think of anything to say, Stacey had grabbed her backpack and slammed out of the room.

“Well, now what?”  She asked herself, before letting out a frustrated sigh.  As she stood up to try to find out where her new assignment had run off to, Andrew materialized before her and she started to wonder if things were going to get worse before they got better.

“Andrew?  What are you doing here?”

Andrew smiled at the concerned look in her eyes,

“I’m on assignment, but not in the way you think.  At least, not as far as I know.”

Monica breathed a sigh of relief.  Fond as she was of her friend, his being the Angel of Death unnerved her now and again,

“Stacey has two angels?”  She asked, deciding to keep the conversation professional, at least for the time being.

Andrew shifted his weight uncomfortably,

“Well, not exactly.  Stacey has an angel and then her angel…has an angel.”

There was complete silence in the room for several moments as Andrew tried to read the look in Monica’s brown eyes.  Nothing, however would have prepared him for her reaction to his words.

“This was your idea, wasn’t it?” Monica snapped, her eyes and expression filled with an angel’s fury.

Andrew was speechless for a moment, trying to understand the reason for her anger,

“No, Monica, I assume it was His, handed down to Tess, just like always---.”

Monica’s eyes filled with tears as his words pierced deeply into her heart,

“The Father?  Tess?  All of you are behind this?  I cannot believe you would do this, Andrew!”

“Monica, what on earth are you talking about?” He reached for her arm, but she jerked away from him in anger.

“You know, you were there that night too!  I may have made a mistake with Nancy, but I didn’t make it alone!  You just want to put all the blame on me and now, thanks to your blame, everyone thinks I need a babysitter!  Someone to make sure that Monica doesn’t lose another assignment she isn’t meant to lose!  Is that it?”

Andrew was flabbergasted by her words and by the pain that was behind them.  He was quick to know that she was feeling guilty about Nancy and just as quick to know that for the first time in the years they had known each other, that she was feeling genuine anger towards him,

“No, Monica, you’ve got this all wrong---.”

“No, Andrew, I don’t think that I do.  Angels don’t need angels and they certainly aren’t assigned to angels!  If you were assigned to me, it’s because you don’t trust me anymore.  Not you, not Tess, not the Father….” Her voice trailed off, the latter of those three almost being more than she could bear.  Her hands flew to cover her face and she sobbed helplessly for a moment.

Andrew drew in a shaky breath and tried once more to approach her,

“Monica, please listen to me----.”

“No!”  She lowered her hands and looked at him defiantly.  Her brown eyes were filled with a combination of anger and hurt, but she had pulled herself together somewhat,

“Leave me alone, Andrew.  I’ll prove to you, to all of you, that I don’t need any angels to keep me from making mistakes.  I may have made one with Nancy, but you helped me to make it.  Do you know why I turned away from her?  Because I heard you in the hallway!  I wasn’t expecting company and it startled me!  If you want to ask me ‘whys’, then why don’t you ask yourself why you didn’t just appear in the room with us!  That wouldn’t have scared me the way hearing someone in the hallway did.  So, if you’re looking for someone to blame, then look no further than any mirror, Andrew! “

Andrew’s face had paled as she had spoken to him.  He had never heard her so angry, her tongue so sharp.  He and Monica had always been close, but everything was different now.  He stared at her in complete silence for a minute before he began to speak, his voice, usually so warm, kind and caring, was now low and cold,

“That’s fine, Monica.  I’ll tell Tess she can take me off this assignment because obviously you don’t need any help.  I have no problem with that.  But what you might want to do is think about Who it is that you are serving.  I am trying to do what He wants, not what I want.  As for you, I’m not sure I have any idea of what you’re doing.  I’m not even sure I know who you are anymore.”

“Maybe you never did.” She replied, her voice scarcely a whisper.

Andrew met his eyes with hers one last time and after a moment, he simply nodded his head.  Turning around, he walked out the door and vanished before he ever reached the end of the hall. 

Monica watched him go as her lower lip began to tremble and silent tears filled her eyes.  Her anger, however, remained and would not allow the tears to fall.  She was far to upset and hurt to mourn the stake that had now been driven between she and Andrew.  She then thought about Tess and more importantly, the Father, knowing she had probably disappointed them as well with all of this.  Yet, she was sure that they had been a part of this as well.  She had handled plenty of assignments on her own and she would prove to them all that just because she had made a mistake didn’t mean she wasn’t capable of working on her own.  She would show them all.  

Grabbing her jacket, she slammed out of the dorm to try and find Stacey; the one person who could help her put this whole disaster behind her.  She would be Stacey’s friend if it killed them both.

Once the door was closed, Kathleen materialized, her body stretched out across Monica’s bed.  A very pleased smile played on her lips, having been witness to the scene that had occurred moments before.

“Good girl, Monica, “ She laughed deliciously as she vanished into the air once more.

Chapter 3

Andrew walked alone through the woods that stretched out for miles behind the campus, his thoughts in turmoil.  He had left Monica over three hours ago and had been walking ever since, trying to make sense out of what had happened between them. 

Oh, he understood that she had completely misunderstood the situation; at least he thought she had.  He hoped with all his heart that Tess had not given him this assignment due to her having lack of trust in Monica’s abilities as an angel.  Monica had saved more lives than any angel he knew; so surely one error couldn’t make Tess and the Father doubt her.  But even if that was the case, which he was sure it wasn’t, the fact remained that Andrew was hurt. 

In all the years he had known Monica, he had never known her to be so angry and hurtful, it just wasn’t like her at all.  He knew that part of it was guilt she was feeling about Nancy, but what about the rest of it? 

Andrew slumped against a tree and sighed heavily,

“Guilt you made her feel, Angel Boy.”  He told himself aloud as he shook his head sadly.  He knew he had done a number on her, but he hadn’t meant to.  He had been just as upset over Nancy as Monica had been and he had been looking for someone to blame, much in the same way that she had blamed him a few hours ago for distracting her.  When she had said those words, he had felt absolutely heartbroken.  He had never thought it had been he who distracted her that night and to hear it from the angel of truth had been a lot for his heart to hear. 

He closed his eyes, seeing as he did his friend’s face as she had stood before him, her eyes so filled with grief and so vividly holding pain.  Andrew couldn’t help but feel that something terrible was going to happen and he remembered Tess’ warning.  Maybe Monica felt it too; maybe that was what had caused her to lash out so violently at him.  He knew he should be close to her right now, but how could he be?  She would know he was near and he didn’t want to make things worse than they already were.  He knew that Monica had meant in no uncertain terms for him to leave her alone.  She had made that crystal clear. 

Not knowing what else to do, Andrew knelt by the side of the tree and raised his concerns up to the Father,

“Father, please help me to do Your will.  I know that You can see all and You know what is going on here.  Monica and I are having some problems and I don’t know how to reach her right now…or maybe part of the problem is that I’m hurt by her words and I’m unwilling to try and reach her.  I’m not sure, Father.  I do love her dearly, but I don’t know what is going on in her mind.  I know I placed blame on her for Nancy’s death and I should not have.  Please forgive me for that.”  He paused as he felt the warm light on his shoulders from the Father’s loving forgiveness and it was as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders at that moment.

“Tess mentioned Monica being in danger, but how can I help her when she won’t take the help that is offered?  She feels that You and Tess want me to keep an eye on her because she could fail this assignment and I pray that isn’t it.  She is one of the best angels I know and she takes each loss to heart.  I don’t want to see her lose her way over this, Father.”

Closing his eyes and opening his heart, he listened as the Father instructed him on what he needed to do.  He listened as the Father told him he needed to talk to Monica and make her see the truth.  But as Andrew continued to listen, his heart began to pound erratically in his chest.  He shook his head, his eyes opening and filling with anguish,

“What do You mean it’s too late for me to protect her?  I just left her, she wasn’t in any danger!”

Violent images began to appear before Andrew’s eyes.  Monica hurt…hurt badly.  Beaten nearly to the point of death.  Tears filled his eyes as the image of Monica became clearer and he realized she had been hurt so badly he could barely recognize her. 

“When is this going to happen?” He demanded, getting to his feet and looking up to the heavens.

The answer floated back to him gently, sadly, much like the grieving tears of a parent,

“It is happening now, Andrew.”

Andrew fell back to his knees, his hands clutching at the grass in anguish,

“No!!!”