Fly Me Away

“Maggie.”

Almost fully and blissfully asleep, I chose to ignore this. There was an incredibly long moment when silence engulfed the room. Of course it wasn’t going to last. I heard slight shuffling, followed by the low, pleasing voice of my angel repeating himself, “Maggie?”

I took a deep breath in and exhaled dramatically, leaving my eyes shut, “Hmm?”

“Wake up.”

I shook my head and pulled the blankets over me. What was the time? It must have been morning. Jackson placed an annoying hand on my shoulder and jiggled me.

“Maggie…” he cooed in front of my face. At least it was a nice change from him ripping the curtains open and blinding me with light….

My hand jutted out from under the covers, aimed directly at where I thought his voice was coming from. I was attempting to hit him in the face, something that would surely fail, but get my point across effectively.

As I expected, he caught it, but after I struggled for exactly 2 seconds, his grip softened. He brought it daintily up to his lips and held it there, not quite kissing it, but jolting my body with enough electricity to start a fire. My eyes shot open.

He grinned from behind my useless hand and chuckled, “There you go.”

“Cheater,” I mumbled. My cheeks were as red as tomatoes.

He shrugged carelessly. “Come on, up you get,” he pushed, rising to his feet and, due to his grip on my poor pathetic hand, forcing me up with him. I left the comfort of my bed all too eagerly, memories of last last night flooding my brain. How perfect was that? I’d finally struck a chord with him – a very nice one. Would he wake me like this every morning now?

I checked the clock then looked at him, startled. He dropped my hand.

“You’re not going to school today,” he answered my unasked question, floating off and turning back to stare out of my balcony window.

I nodded knowingly, more memories coming to mind. Were we going to search for Pip today? I watched him fold his arms and furrow his eyebrows. There were no birds outside, which was unsettling. Jackson wasn’t watching anything in particular, and not long ago he seemed happy…hmmm. I was uneasy to say the least.

“Would you wear something Blue for me today?” He asked, sliding one of my doors open and letting a gentle breeze enter the room.

What did he just say?

I looked down to check my attire, fully expecting to be in the same jeans and t-shirt as last night. Low and behold – same t-shirt, yes, but I was missing something.

Pants.

“It was me this time,” Jackson read my thoughts.

I….wasn’t sure what to think. My face burned a crimson red, but something about the way he said it made it seem so innocent. He just wanted me to be comfortable while I slept. But…where we close enough for that to be okay? Was he officially aloud to take off my pants?

It didn’t take me long to realize it was all trivial, and Jackson couldn’t have cared less about it. He showed no remorse or embarrassment, just that deep in thought frown directed out into my backyard. Something was wrong.

“…what’s going on Jackson?” I asked, pushing my pants into a later conversation.

He turned to me then, his face stern. I suddenly noticed my heart beat quickening, like I was expecting bad news. Pip…? Oh My God, did he find her….

“Pip’s still missing.”

I let out my breath loudly. How dare he freak me out like that? Not shocking news but still very bad. Now I wasn’t in a good mood.

I snatched a blanket from my bed and wrapped it around myself. “There's something wrong with you,” I observed, not giving him my full attention anymore. I waddled over to my dresser still surrounded by plush blanket and swished my hand around a draw looking for clothes.

“I know what happened to her now Maggie,” Jackson whispered in a low warning tone from right behind me. The words hit me like a tidal wave of toxic water.

There was silence as my throat closed over. I pulled my hand back and stared him directly in the eye. It was only a matter of time before this happened, but… I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know. I wasn’t good with situations like this. I was nothing like my Mom in that sense, I would be the girl curled up in the corner dying of shock.

Then suddenly I felt brave, just as quickly as I had felt scared. The fear had curled so much in my stomach it changed. I just wanted to know.

“Tell me,” I demanded.

His eyebrows lifted. He was impressed with me; something that rarely happened.

“Demons.”

I nodded, expecting that much.

I continued my gaze into his eyes, not faltering like he thought I would. Jackson nodded back and continued, “The angels from this town are on high alert, something that wasn’t just my doing. I asked some of them for help, but there are more now. They can sense it too.”

That assertive wall that impressed even my angel was crumbling. “Pip. Is…is she..?”

He stroked my cheek bone with his thumb and smiled sympathetically, those green eyes softening, “I don’t know for sure.”

“Is Mom okay?”

“She’s fine,” he dismissed.

“Did she come home? I don’t remember…”

“She came home very late and found her beautiful sleeping daughter nestled in my arms, looking quite at ease,” He smiled sweetly, his face suddenly very close and his voice quieter, “I’m not sure whether she was happy you were happy, or worried that you were too happy where you were…”

My checks blushed fluorescent red; I was embarrassed that Mom saw something like that, however innocent it would have looked. She was my parental. Jackson didn’t look worried, he smiled softly, maybe even a little bit smug.

My eyes darted automatically to his lips as his smile grew.

I swallowed, “Is she…okay?”

He frowned slightly, his hand dropping from my face lightly onto my shoulder. “I told you, she’s fine, just a little bit down. I had a talk with her but you were fast asleep, you wouldn’t have heard. They have had no luck with Pip, no leads, no traces of her being anywhere at any time. Your Mother is letting me whisk you away today, for your sake of course. She gave me the task of cheering you up.”

Cheering me up? That’s not what I wanted. I wanted Pip back. I didn’t even think it was possible to be completely cheered up. I slumped away from him and scruffed my hair before turning hastily back to my dresser. He watched me for a moment as I stirred through the materials, searching aimlessly for an item of clothing that didn’t exist in my draw.

“Wear something blue please,” he asked quickly as he walked away and out towards the balcony.

Why blue?

When I twisted around to ask what he was on about, he had disappeared. The balcony door was flicked open and it bounced off the wall lightly.

-------------------

Mom cooked Jackson and I brunch. She seemed very eager to let him steal me away for the day. It never surprised me how much she trusted him, there was something undeniable reliable about that boy. Maybe we measly humans could inwardly sense the presence of an angel, but we were too stupid to realize? Yes, I’d given the whole angel thing a lot of thought.

Jackson didn't waste any time ushering me into his fancy black car. He never told me exactly where we were going, but I wasn’t worried, not about this. Even though I didn’t recognize our surroundings and It had been a good half hour since I'd seen any signs of life. I was a hundred percent certain though that there was nowhere he could take me that would make me feel better.

“Could you tell me a bit more about the demons that took her?” I asked quietly, fiddling with a ring on my middle finger.

He sighed but nodded as if it was his duty to keep me informed. “Thank you for being patient Maggie,” he cleared his throat, “Things are escalating around here, but the fact that the demons are attacking people without their own Angel means the rest of my ‘Angel society’ are migrating in to help.”

I took a moment to breathe. Deep breathes that cooled my body and assisted Jackson in calming me down. I knew it would come down to something like this, but they were attacking now? Where there are angels, there were demons I guess.

“How many angels?” I asked, my eyes gazing steadily at the road as we drove on, trying to focus a bit more on the positives.

“Plenty.”

“And you're a hundred percent positive that it was a Demon took Pip?”

Jackson sighed. I could imagine the creased above his eyes forming, but was neglecting to look. The scenery outside was so much more settling. “I can’t be a hundred percent sure Maggie.”

“But it’s likely?” Questions tumbled out of my mouth like air.

“….yes.”

“She…she could still be alive right?”

“Yes, definitely,” He said confidently. Relief flooded my soul, “The reason for taking her in the first place would be to get a hold of you and they can’t do that if she’s—”

“—this is my fault?” my voice wavered. A large lump formed in my throat. It made sense that I was to blame. Taking her would be a very effective way to get to me….

“No,” Jackson huffed, frustrated, “Of course not.”

Thoughts swirled through my head like wildfire.

“….Why am I wearing blue?”

“Safety precautions,” he responded, his tone serious.

My eyebrows knitted together, “Wearing blue is going to keep me safe?”

He nodded, finally taking his eyes off the road and gesturing towards my blue cardigan, “A lot of demons detest things like this. Blue things.”

“…the color blue?”

“Bizarre, I know. It’s also one of the reasons why most of them come out at night.”

He pointed up subtly and I followed his finger to the sky. Bright blue and completely cloudless….wait….

“Why have you only told me this now? I could have dressed head to toe in blue from the very beginning!” I grumbled.

He smiled then, despite my attitude and his eyes sparking in the sunlight, “perhaps….but you look nicer in red.

I stared at him in disbelief, “That’s the only reason?!”

“No no,” he laughed, “an item of clothing can only do so much Maggie, I am much more capable of protecting you.”

“But…if there’s anyway I can help…”

“You’re always helping. Keeping me sane....most of the time.”

I sighed, and shook my head. I actually wanted to help him.

I folded my arms and put my feet up on his dashboard. We were surrounded by woods now, and I watched lazily as we passed tree after tree. My eyes closed and I placed my head back against the seat, ready to dose off. I couldn’t think of much he could do to cheer me up at a time like this. I couldn't even fully appreciate him confessing his undying love for me, that’s how depressed I was.

“Where are we going Jackson?” I finally asked, having neglected to do so since we’d left the house.

He didn’t hesitate in answering, “We’re going to find out where Pip is.”

My head snapped up so quickly I almost got whiplash, “What?! How?!?!”

“….An acquaintance of mine has…..methods.”

“Methods?”

“Yes.”

“Explain….?”

He shook his head hesitantly, “I can’t explain. I’m not sure what she’ll do, but it’s our best chance.”

I stared at him for the longest time, trying to pick him apart. She….who was she? What was she? Questions that needed to be asked, but wouldn’t be. The second he drove his car off the road and head on into the woods, I knew I wouldn’t get the chance.