Nocturnal

I hadn't slept.

It was Saturday and the streets were empty. Which wasn't very surprising. It was six a.m.

I had tossed all night long. Thinking about monsters, visions, Phillip, Cameron, Vanessa... I tried to find things on the Internet—scrolled through dozens of sites. Vampires were a hot topic, but was any of it true?

Wood seemed to hurt V yesterday, so maybe that. But sunlight? She'd been going to school without a cinch.

And according to most sites, Nephilim were son's of Angels with mortal women; they were also giants. Cam and Phill were tall, but six-foot boys didn't qualify as giants.

I'd been ready to make a list with questions but I hadn't been able to hang around my room. I needed air. Needed to walk. Needed to go to their house and get my answers. It was early for a social visit, but to hell with that.

I think I walked almost a mile, my feet were achy and my hoodie felt soggy from transpiration. Yuck.

When pine scent filled my world, and a path into the wild showed up, I knew their house was up ahead.

The garage was closed, the blinds, curtains were down and drawn. They were probably sleeping, this had been a bad idea. I would have to wait on their porch until they woke up and—

The door was pulled open. My fist had been half-way to knocking.

I lowered it.

"Huh... hi." I waved lamely.

The man with honey blond hair slit his eyes. I felt the air tighten. He was... breathtaking. Older than the twins, maybe late twenties? He wasn't as tall as them, either. And... his eyes... they were the color of rich champagne—wise and dangerous.

"Nina Cortez," he wasn't asking. "I was expecting you." Did he have a crystal ball or something?

My spine tickled, "Stop being cryptic, Raph. It's not cool. Neither is opening the door before people knock." Cameron pushed the man aside, throwing an arm over his shoulder. "Normal people get scared when that happens—" our eyes clashed briefly. "Normalish people, I mean."

I think that answered the first question on my mental list: they knew I wasn't human—or totally normal.

"Come on in," Cam pulled Raph away from the entrance—the blond gave a scowl. "Don't be grumpy. You'll scare her away before we tell her the juicy details."

"I am not being... grumpy." He said the word like he was testing it out. "I am merely tired, having spent all night here. Duty is calling and I haven't got much time to spare."

"You were the one who popped in yesterday. We told you what happened, that we could handle it—but you insisted on staying." Cameron plopped on the couch, relaxed where I was tense. "No blame's on us, pal."

I stood at the entrance of the huge parlor. Gazing around, nothing had changed. But everything had changed.

I jumped when Cam's glossy eyes found mine. He straightened in the couch, throwing an arm over it.

"You can sit down," he patted the leather seat. "No one will bite you." I drew my arms closer—letting out a curse when my left arm burned. "How's the arm?"

I stumbled when his voice came from so close, he was standing right there—in front of me. His arm wrapped my waist, keeping my footing steady.

He'd gotten there so fast...

"Did I scare you?" he mused softly, so much so, I almost leaned into him. "It wasn't intentional." But a grin formed. I perked an eyebrow. "Well, maybe just a little." I smacked his shoulder, not thinking twice.

"Douchebag," I scoffed putting distance between us. "I really don't like you." My gut churned.

Okay, maybe I didn't hate him. The guy had saved my life.

"The feeling's mutual." He sneered—but there wasn't much heart into it.

Was he wearing the mask now? I couldn't tell.

"Look what showed up on our doorstep, baby bro." My eyebrows lifted—I followed Cam's gaze, whirling towards the stairs. "Your lovie-dovie."

Phillip was coming down, hair wet, combed backward. Clean shirt and jeans, wearing only socks. Phillip always went for a run on the weekends, it was the only time when he woke up on his own, early.

"I'm not his," Phillip's sigh rocked the room. "Or anyone's." I hated the thought of belonging to someone, like I was some object.

Cam spun around slowly tilting his head at Phill, "Someone's cranky."

"Lay off." He mumbled walking into the room. "You're still here." Phillip looked to Raph.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Cam snorted. "I can't get him to leave. I've tried everything, short of taking my clothes off and running around naked."

I stiffed. Do not picture a naked Cameron, do not picture it, no, don't—too late, I was eying him up and down like a giant piece of candy. The worst part was the thing he did with his eyes, total smug bastard.

I glared away, fuming.

"Thanks for the image, brother."

Cam flashed a grin, "Anytime—"

"Enough," and suddenly everyone and everything in the room stood quiet, and still. "I did not come here to listen to your bickering. I've come here," Raph's eyes criss-crossed me, leaving me short of breath. "For her."

For me...? What did that mean? I just knew that all of a sudden I felt trapped—like I'd walked into a trap and now it was going to bite me in the ass.

Phillip approached some more, never really getting close to me, or meeting my eyes. Good. Cameron delivered a chilly glare at Raph—whoever he was.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he bit out.

The especially beautiful man pushed away from the wall, meeting Cameron's chilling gaze.

"It means I'm here to make sure she learns all about her heritage." He swiped hair swiftly, giving Cameron a look over before shifting eyes to me. "What did you think I meant?"

Cam took a step back, standing between me and the blond. His body wasn't as tense as the night before, ready for battle, but it showed cramped lines.

"I never know with you Angels."

I inhaled so sharply I thought my lungs were damaged—Angels? This man was... an Angel? Well, he was hot enough to play one. I'd been expecting more, though—wings and a halo?

Showing a twitch of lips, the Angel said, "You're always so distrustful, Cameron. If you never trust anyone you'll end up alone."

"Trust breeds trust," he shot back with a sly smile. "Give me your trust and I'll give you mine. That's how it works. I just don't think you've earned mine."

Phillip silently sat on the leather couch, elbows on his knees, carefully watching the exchange. His shoulders were shaking in slight tension, as well. I didn't think the reasons were the same, though, 'cause when Raph and Cam dropped it, he relaxed.

Now I had even more questions. Joy.

"What do you mean my heritage?" I decided to brave-up and do what I came here to do. Who I got my answers from didn't matter—still, there was a freaking Angel in the room. An Angel! "How do you know I'm not... human? Did you always knew, since our first day—how could you tell? How—"

"One question at a time, Rapunzel. You'll get everything you want with a little patience." I'd been walking to him, my attempt at being intimidating—what a joke—now our chest were brushing when we breathed.

Snap. Could he read my thoughts? Vanessa apparently could... God, that would be awful, just... awful.

"Maybe you should sit down first." Raph perked from behind the twin. "You seem plagued by many questions. It might take some time—"

"I'm sure we can answer anything she wants. You don't need to be here, overwhelming her." Cam snapped over his shoulder.

"He's right," Phill said. "We can tell Nina all she wants to know. Why are you insisting on being here?"

Phillip's electrical irises were sharp, as Cam's eyes were.

"Because Michael wants me to deliver a message." He looked between the twins. "To the three of you."

Michael? I blinked once, twice. Michael... as in...

"Yeah," I mumbled walking around to sit on the couch, on the opposite end of where Phill was. "Sitting down is good." I whispered.

Cameron zoomed quickly, sitting on the couch's arm. Right beside me. Great; now I was sitting between two twin Nephilims.

The blond walked over to an arm chair, sitting with a cross leg. Very civil.

Clearing my throat, I spoke, "You're an... Angel?" he nodded. "You came from up there?" I pointed upward, feeling bug eyed.

Raph gave me a smile—it wasn't big, it was small, polite and understanding.

"Not really," he started. "I came from Heaven, yes. But Heaven is not a place that exists above the clouds. It's a parallel dimension to Earth."

"Oh..." that made me feel stupid, especially when I was the only one in the room who didn't know. "I guess it makes sense, since astronauts never reported any winged-people while they were up in space." Lame, so, so lame and embarrassing.

Cam chuckled. I almost hung my head. He stopped then, abruptly.

Raph ignored this, "Earth is set between two parallel dimensions. Heaven and Hell. Angels exist in the first one. Demons, Fallens, and sometimes Witches habit the second."

I frowned, "What about Vampires?"

"There are three types of Demons," Cameron beat Raph to the punch. "The one from yesterday? That was a Possessor. They're worm-like things that crawl into humans or even animals, and control them."

I swallowed thinking about that worm-thing, "That thing was... big."

"Yeah," he nodded. "They can change sizes." Tricky. "There are Beasts—those never leave Hell. At least, not that we know. And last," he paused as if waiting for a drum role. "There are Freeloaders, they're the kind of Demons who turn humans into Vampires."

"Was that... what attacked Vanessa and her dad?" Cameron's jaw became tight on that topic.

"No," my head turned. "What attacked them was a Vampire. Once a human turns, it can infect others, transforming them as well." Phillip was quiet explaining, shut off. He could probably tell what my gaze screamed: liar.

I nodded, "Demons can cross into... huh... Earth?"

"Yes, if they come through a Hell gate, or if a Fallen brings them." Oh, so they couldn't just pop up—

"What's the message?"

"Cameron—"

"I'm curious." His teeth were gritted. "And I really wish you'd leave. Each time you come around the Demon population grows around here. We can fill Nina on anything she needs. Whenever she wants. She doesn't need an overload of information."

Immediately, I wanted to know why Demons would be attracted when Raph was here. I bit my lip; unable to say that the Angel didn't make me shifty.

Raph glared around the room, a sigh escaped.

"Very well. I realize my presence here does attract evils. So, I will tell you Michael's message and leave." He got up with grace. His eyes leveled with Phillip's, mine and lastly, Cameron's. "There is a weapon," he licked his lips. "Hidden on Earth, a weapon that can help Fallens eradicate Heaven, and Angels. We cannot find it. But you can," his eyes befell me and I felt myself shrink. "You have the ability to see into the past, and future—" one: how did he know about my ability? Two: into the past? "We would like you to assist Cameron and Phillip, by helping them find it, so they can destroy it."

"If you can't find it, how will the Fallens get it? Did any of them posses retrocognition?"

Retro-what?

The Angel shook his head, "No, it's a very special ability to see into the past. It hasn't been owned by any supernatural being in a very long time. And, surprisingly or not, the people who did have the ability to see into the past or even into the future were all descended from Nephilims." His eyes scurried a glance at me—holy hell. "Like you."

"I'm a... I'm a... what?"

"Way to break it down, Raphael." Phill rolled his eyes.

Cameron ignored everything walking up to Raphael... wasn't that another Archangel name? Yep, pretty sure it was. OMG. This was... off the scale. I was standing in the room with an Archangel—probably—and... had he just given me a mission or whatever?

"Let me get this straight," Cam pushed out. "Big Chief has been spying—"

"Observing,"

Cam scoffed, "He's been spying on Nina, or else there's no way you'd know what she is, or what her ability is. And you've probably known for a long time now... why didn't he send you to her sooner?"

"Her ability has been growing since she arrived here," he crossed the strong muscled arms atop his chest. "Only now did she call out his attention. There are some like her, with a smaller amount of Power in their blood, they cannot do more than have what humans call dejá vu. She can." He spared a look at Phillip as he got up. "Her bloodline is powerful."

"Archangel powerful?"

"No," he frowned. "You know that's a privilege that you two own alone."

"What a privilege..." Phill muttered.

"You expect her to help you?" Cam carried on. "She's been living normally for seventeen years and now you want to pull her into this crappy war?"

"War?" they ignored me. Nice.

"It's not her war. Our involvement, I get. But her... pulling her into this mess isn't right."

"You don't win a war with fairness, Cameron."

"It's not her—oh forget it." He rubbed his face in exhaustion. "She at least deserves a choice, right? You can't force her to work for you." Cam's head whipped in my direction, he forced a smile. "I'll tell you in advance, the pay sucks."

I giggled despite everything going on. Despite that I didn't fully understand what they were discussing, that this Angel wanted me to become a soldier in favor of Heaven.

Raphael stepped back, "As Nephilim, you are descendants of Angels—of Heaven. She is a descendant of Nephilim, and, therefore, also of Heaven. If you don't help in the war against Fallens, you will all be marked as traitors, as enemies. Do you really want to turn your backs?" his twinkly eyes seemed sad as he spoke, but the strength and power never left him. "You must assist us. After all, that's why you were born."

I froze. Those words hit something, not just in me, in them. Their faces bleached, jaws hardened.

My eyes burned when the most brilliant light encased the living room. I think I yelped; there was someone by me, pulling me into their arms. Little by little, I peeked. Eyes adjusting to the bright radiance, my mouth dropped open.

Two large wings, white as dove's, spread on either side of Raphael.

That answered the wings-question.

Suddenly his body faded out, all that was there, was a shape of light. It had the form of a body, arms, legs, hands, a head—but I couldn't make out anything else.

It hurt my eyes, to the point where I felt my nerves snap—begging me to look away. I was too fascinated.

Then, his wings twitched, they wrapped the body of light... and seconds later Raphael had left the building. He and his light vanished. Like thin air.

And I was seeing spots.

"Would it kill him to give a heads up?" I heard Phillip grumble.

Someone moved me; the back of my legs hit the couch, I sat. Squinting my eyes I saw Cameron hovering closely.

"What... was that?"

"That," he breathed. "Was Raphael being a jackass." I cocked my head with a tiny scold. "What you saw was Raph turning his molecules—his body—into light. An Angel can travel between Heaven and Earth because their wings allow them to become light. And at that kind of speed, they break the wall between our dimensions."

"That's... kinda cool." It was. And Cameron was smiling a bit—warmly. "Can you teleport too?"

"No, we don't have wings. That's an Angel only thing." He crouched, and the seat next to me sank—Phillip was there.

"Still spotty? Your vision?" he asked.

I chewed my lip, not looking at him, "No, it's okay now." I saw him nod from the corner of my eye. We would have to talk about 'us' soon. "Can I have a glass of water?" my voice was croaky.

"I'll get it." Phillip said.

He went at normal-human pace. I heard his footfalls growing further away. Leaving me and Cameron by ourselves.

"How freaked out are you?" he asked honestly.

I glanced ahead, where the fireplace was.

"I... I don't know. I mean, it's weird but... I feel like I should be running away. I'm not." I tucked away my waves. "Maybe I'm just soaking up all the info, so I can break down later." I smiled sourly.

Cameron got up wiping his hands on the jeans he was wearing, than he sat right beside me. His hand fell over my knee.

"Somehow I doubt that will happen." He shared quietly. My eyes were trained on his hand, his thumb stroking my knee... "You don't strike me as the scared-little-girl-type."

My eyebrows and mouth lifted, "What do I strike you as?"

"As the type of girl who isn't afraid of being in a room with two Nephilim and an Archangel." Ah, I'd been right. "And you have bonus points for not crying last night, or fainting, or running away. It makes you the toughest girl I've ever met."

I studied his profile; the obsidian gaze was on my leg. Our shoulders brushed when I tilted forward, readjusting my injured arm.

"Was that a compliment?"

His eyes flexed on mine, "Of the highest order."

I regarded him delicately. Sincerity roamed his eyes freely, pouring it out to me.

"Who knew you were capable of those."

We shared a smile—it dissolved when Cam's hand fell away. Seconds later, a glass was being shoved towards me. I took it.

"Thanks." I drank it without paying attention to Phillip's expression. I tried ignoring the feeling of betrayal. "So, what is a Nephilim? 'Cause according to Wikipedia you're supposed to be giants terrorizing the Earth."

The twins' exchanged a look.

"You went to Wikipedia?" Phillip's brow furrowed—I breathed deeply, deciding to be professional and put my scorned feelings aside. Right now, this was much more important.

"I went to plenty of them."

"Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Nope."

Cam sighed, "You should've brought her coffee instead of water." Phillip nodded. "Those sites are wrong. Obviously, we're not... giants." He rolled his eyes as if the thought was the stupidest one yet. "Nephilim are born from the union of an Angel and a human. We have a mortal soul, but our blood is angelic. Basically, we're part human and angel." He shrugged.

"Angelic blood... that's what gives you power?"

He nodded, "Every supernatural being has a certain amount of Power in their blood. God or whatever you want to call it—made the three dimensions. Created every being. Angels call Its power the Power of Creation." And just like that, I knew I was in for a story. Good thing I was sitting. "Demons were the first race. They have the lowest abilities. Like spitting acid? That's nothing. When they proved to be too destructive—slaughtering and killing innocent animals to survive—even each other, Hell was created and they were cast down." He leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands. "Angels came afterwards. They were made to be perfect, powerful and devoted." His lips gave a wry twist—I wondered why. "Their ranks depend on their Power. Archangels are the highest rank—they are the most powerful in Heaven. But, even between them, there is one who has the title of Seraphim. He's the Prince of Angels—"

"Michael?"

Their eyes widened.

"It seemed pretty obvious. Raphael's an Archangel and he was here doing Michael's biding..." I shrugged. "What are Fallens?"

"They're Angels who were cast out of Heaven." Oh, yeah. Fallen Angels—Fallens, made sense. "When an Angel falls, they are stripped of their wings, meaning they can no longer alter their molecules—they can't enter Heaven. Or even see it."

"They can either roam the Earth or roam Hell." I winced; not liking the second choice one bit.

"Okay." I mumbled situating myself. There was no way I was going to remember all of it—it was so much... so overwhelming. Maybe I wasn't as tough as Cam believed. Maybe I would start to bawl... "And where do I fit into all of this? Raphael said I was... a descendant of a Nephilim? But that can't be—because my mom doesn't have freaky dreams and no one I know—"

"Nina," Phill called. Our eyes met, his were soft and guilty. "Calm down, you're getting ahead of yourself."

"You," Cam began lounging on a chair. "Are a descendent of a Nephilim with a human. It's rare, because Nephilims were wiped out a long time ago—"

I crinkled my nose, "What? But you two are Nephilim."

"We're the only Nephilims alive, Nina." Phillip informed shoving his hair back.

Horror filled my heart; my hands curled up in a nervous tick.

"W-why?"

Cameron racked through his hair, hiding his face in his hands for a moment. When he faced me, he was looking livid.

"The first Nephilim was an accident. An Angel fell in love with a human and back then there wasn't contraception." I blushed. "When the girl got pregnant the Angel begun to get weaker, tiring like a human. His abilities diminished. Little by little, the Angel became mortal. His soul was no longer immortal, indestructible. And by the end, when the child was born, his wings withered completely. The Angel became human." I placed a hand to my lips, hiding the gasp. "It turns out the father and child become linked during the nine months and the Power transfers to the unborn child." Cameron glanced at his twin. "We don't know why that happens, no one seems to know."

"What about... God?"

"God's been gone for a long time." Cam thought about it. "Or so Angels say, so we have to take their word for it."

"G-gone? Like dead?"

Phillip shook his head, "No, not dead. You can't kill a power source—I think—they say It left. To another universe."

"God has plenty playgrounds," I frowned at Cameron's choice of words. He smirked, "It can travel between time and space, It rarely returns to check on Its creations. That's why Michael's in charge of Heaven. Like I said, he's the big boss."

I didn't know how to feel about that. God was a source of power that went around creating life, then left it? What kicks did he—It—got out of the situation?

"So if you were thinking of going to a church and pray to God, might as well pray to Michael. If you're lucky you're on his speed dial, since he seems so interested in you." Phillip mused.

"What's up with that—you said he's been watching me?"

"Michael watches everyone, technically. Before going off to wherever, God, gave Angels the job of looking after Its most beloved creation—mankind. Michael's job is to keep humans safe from Demons and Fallens. If he detects someone's being attacked an Angel is sent to end it." That sounded comforting. "Unless you're not human. Then you're on your own."

That sucked. Since, apparently, I was a descendant from a Nephilim bloodline. Then I bit my lip recalling Raphael's words: You must assist us. After all, that's why you were born.

Softly, I buried myself into the couch, the smell of expensive leather lulling me.

"What did Raphael mean... when he said you were born to assist them?"

"Ah, that," Cam's mood took a bad turn—I almost wished I hadn't mentioned it. But this involved me, too. "Angels can't enter Hell. If they did, their wings would begin to desiccate. They would become Fallens." I shivered. "After the first Angelic War—the one where Lucifer got cast out—Hell became home to Fallens. They found ways to control Demons. And so, Fallens unleashed them on Earth." Side note: Fallens are the baddies. "Angels began to fail their task of protecting mankind when humans got dragged into Hell. They couldn't follow." He heaved a soft sigh, pausing. It sounded exhausting that he knew all of this—but incredible. "Like I told you before, Nephilims don't have wings..." realization began to dawn on me. "Angels began conceiving with women. Nephilim were sent into Hell to retrieve humans. Many never returned." I could hear coiled anger behind those words. "Anyway, all the breeding-Nephilim business put Angels near extinction. That's why Michael forbid Angels from getting it on with human women. It's been that way for centuries."

"Near extinction?"

Phillip nodded somberly, "One more Nephilim means less one Angel."

"I know, the whole Angel-becomes-human-thing. But can't Angels, you know, just make babies of their own? An Angel-boy with an Angel-girl?" Cam's lips turned up. I rolled my eyes.

"There's a big difference between Angels and Demons." I waited. "Demons can reproduce among themselves. Angels cannot. "

"Holy crap..." they were like an endangered species. Poor peeps. "But—wait. You two were born seventeen years ago, right?" they nodded, "If Michael forbid... relationships between Angels and humans..." I knocked the words around my head, I knew the parent topic was sore.

"How were we born?" I nodded at Phillip. "Our father," Phillip went on—and Cameron's face became cold-stone— "Was Gabriel. After Michael, he was the strongest Archangel. He fell in love with our mother and broke the rules."

I felt like an idiot sliding my eyes between them. Their father had been an Angel—not just that—an Archangel. The second, most powerful one.

Damn.

"Archangels are like royalty," Phillip rubbed his neck. "Our father was the only Archangel to have children. There have never been Nephilim as powerful as us." I watched both of their pained expressions. They made all the royalty-thing feel like a curse, rather than a blessing. "After Fallens... burned down our house," he whispered quickly as if to get it over with. I could tell there was more to that sad, tragic episode then just that—I wouldn't ask, though. "After that, it was like we became Heaven's property. They protected us, sending Raphael to guard us—"

"Wait—is... he your uncle?"

At that, Cam's lips itched into a small smile.

"Clever girl."

I balked, "But what about paperwork, ID's and... meetings at school?"

"Paperwork's fake—that's easy. And he just shows up when we need him to fill in the role." Phillip shoved his hands into his pockets. "He stuck around most of the time until we were like... thirteen?" Cam gave a bored nod. "He deemed us trained and ready by then."

They'd been living alone for four years? In this big mansion?

"But you were so young—what if something broke in?" if Michael didn't send help to those who had Power, he wouldn't send anyone to defend them.

"Demons and Fallens aren't welcome on holy grounds." Cam gestured around. "There used to be a church here, meaning this house was built on holy ground, all the clearing is safe." He pointed to me. "That's why I wanted you to come over for our project, it was my test for you. You passed, by the way."

His test? I didn't recall Phillip giving me any tests...

"You thought I was a Fallen?"

"Or a Vampire. Never a Demon because they can't walk in the daylight."

"Okay..." I rubbed my aching head. "But getting back to me... I'm a descendant from a Nephilim bloodline?"

"Yes. It must be an old blood line, too. Your ancestors were lucky to avoid death, Fallens hunted mercilessly. Little bloodlines escaped." Cameron shared, a touch of sympathy and compassion in his velvet tone. "Psychic."

"Excuse me?"

"That's what you're called. The ones who descended from Nephilim have a tiny piece of Power and it leads to the development of a sixth sense. It may be underdeveloped or not. It depends on the person. Power responds to us, to our personalities, emotions and believes."

This all sounded so complicated... maybe I should've drank coffee. Lots of cups of steaming coffee. I was getting sleepy. Which was bad. I still had truck loads of questions—but I was beat.

Cameron shared one more look with his brother, before getting up. I rubbed a hand across my eyes; heaviness flooded in, my bones turned to mush and no matter how I tried, I couldn't fight the yawn clawing its way up my throat.

I felt like a little kid.

"Nina?" I heard somewhere. "Did she just fall asleep?"

"What, you mean that wasn't what the amazing history lesson was for?" Phillip boosted, with a chuckle.

I scrunched my eyes tighter and their voices became distant, more than before. I still listened, but it was like I was under water.

"You're such a bone-head." Cam threw back.

I knew it was impolite to fall asleep. It was even more awkward because I was in their house. The events from yesterday and tons of information was weighing me down mercilessly, like a massive paper holder.

"The food's all gone. I'll swing by the store." One of them said. "Can I take the car?"

Something chinked, "Scratch the paint and I'll slash your tires." I rubbed my face into the leather couch. That was Cameron talking. It was unmistakable.

"And I'll break your neck."

"Ouch," Cam mocked. "Bring some apple-pie."

"I'm not going to the Lighthouse just to grab pie. Get it yourself." Phillip argued.

"Aw, come on." Cam whined—maybe I was hallucinating, because that was too freaking hilarious and... cute. So yeah, delirious fit me just fine. "I'll let you copy my History homework for a whole week?" he waved the bribe like a mouse in front of a cat.

Phill clicked his tongue, "Huh-uh. Swear on that."

"Really, Phillip? Swear on it? Isn't my word good enough—"

"Nope."

"You're an obnoxious little brother, you know that?"

"Yeah, well, sorry about that." The million dollar smile filled his voice.

"I swear you can copy off my homework stuff. Did that make you happy—or do you want me to pinky swear?"

"I'd like to see that," Phillip chuckled and there was a smack— "Ow, fine, fine. I'll bring your stupid pie—"
"Apple-pie."

"Whatever, apple-fetish-maniac." That's when my head found a pillow; my hand latched to it, grasping it. "Make sure she's okay."

"So she can yell at your ass? Sure, no prob."

"Cam—"

"You know it's going to happen." Cam was so smart. And this pillow was so comfortable... "I told you not to lie. I told you not to mess around with her, Phillip. It wasn't right."

"You aren't always right, Cam."

"Ah, yeah, I am. That's like a universal rule—big brothers are always right. Always."

"No, you're—"

"I am, so shut your mouth." He shot briskly. "I always know what's best." Cam cooed annoyingly.

Phillip snorted, "So it's best if you keep pushing Nina away?"

There was dead silence. Probably, because I groaned when I heard my name.

I could imagine Cam swallowing, slow motion and all.

"What do you mean?" he whispered having lost every edge of brotherly humor.

"You know what I mean." Phill said. "You aren't stupid, neither am I. I see it everyday, every time you're around her. I never saw you like that before." More silence; I wondered if this talk was even real, or if I was dreaming it up— "The storm? That was a massive bitch. I never saw you pull one off like that before. Why was that, anyway?"

"Leave me alone." He ground moving somewhere.

Phillip sighed, "I know you better than anyone else, bro."

"Screw you." Cam hissed, sounding slightly hurt.

Whether this was reality or a dream, I didn't like the thought of him hurting. It broke me.

"You know why I'm with Nina, right? It's not like that with me and her—you don't need to push her away." There was a low noise, something that sounded much like a growl. "She'll probably never want to see me again when she finds—"

"Shut up, Phillip." Cameron breathed dangerously low. "Leave me alone."

With a last heavy breath, Phillip must have left.

My eyelids stopped twitching, permanently, when a finger brushed hair away. There was shifting, something solid and hard slipped under my knees, then below my torso—arms, I thought, as my run-down body rolled into a taut surface—a chest.

My injured arm got maneuvered carefully; I tilted my head into the woolen sweater on instinct and I mumbled. What I said, I had no idea.

What I knew next, was a soft surface underneath and warmth wrapped my frame blissfully when a blanket was tossed over me.

Eucalyptus, my exhausted brain thought, Cameron...

There was a final touch upon my face—a touch that relaxed every intricate tension knots—before I heard a door creak softly, falling into a deep, peaceful sleep.