Beyond (57 page)

He closed his eyes
and took a deep breath, but he felt a big hole in his heart. It hurt so much . H
is body felt so heavy , h e didn ’
t know if he could take flight .

“
Austin, ”
Claudia muttered , her tone slightly shaking.
“
Do you still think I ’
m sheltered?
”

“
You ’
ll always be my sheltered one, ”
he winked.
Though she didn ’
t need him the way she needed him before, in his eyes, she ’d always be the Claudia that once was .
With those th oughts in mind, he soared away, leaving Claudia sobbing , feeling like he had just lost h is best friend.

It had been at least a week since Claudia was completely healed. Durin g the week, the Twelve, venators and the alkins visit ed her , but at different times. When Claudia ask ed about Austin, they would tell her he was busy , b ut Claudia knew the true reason for his absence . He was purposely avoiding her. Though it broke her heart that it had to be th at way, she understood.

Avalon was pardoned from siding with Callum and for taking the forbidden apple out of Island of Eden. Ironically, Aliah having the forbidden apple helped them defeat him by Claudia ’
s doing. It was presented as such at the tr ia l by Austin and Davin. Their words set Avalon free. She was grateful and swore she knew where she stood the whole time with the angels. She had proven herself, fighting alongside the ve n ators , and that alone was proof enough.

Michael visited frequentl
y and stayed as long as he could.
He told Claudia he was doing something special for them , and she just had to wait and see. Waiting and being patient was not one of her virtues , especially when she was pretty much locked up at Island of Eden. Just when she couldn ’
t stand it any longer, Vivian appeared.

“
Hello, Claudia. You ready to get out of here? Katherine said it would be fine as long as you were okay with it.
”

Claudia ran
toward the double door where Vivian s tood and hugged her tightly, unaware of her strength. She was ready to leap off the cliff if she had to.
“
Are you kidding? I ’
m all better. I ’
m ready to get out of here.
”

“
Claudia, not too tight, ”
she moaned.

“
Oh…sorry.
I forget sometimes , ”
she said , releasing her hold on Viv ian with an apologetic look.

“
That ’
s okay. It ’
s an adjustment for me too , to see you this way. But before we leave, I want to tell you tha t you won ’
t need to take anything with you. Michael and I already took care of all that. We went window shopping and had tons of fun…well…I had tons of fun.
I can ’
t wait for you to see everything we got for you.
”
Vivian giggled, her eyes beaming with delight.
“
You have a new home now , if that is where you want to stay. It would be up to you of course.
”

“
A new home?
”
Claudia murmured , wondering what Michael was up to.
As long as they would be together , it eased her mind.

“
Claudia, ”
Vivian broke her stare.
“
Don ’
t you want to see what ’
s in the box?
”

Too excited to see Vi
vian and knowing that she was t here to take her to see Michael, she hadn’
t notice d the box.

“
Well…don ’
t just stare at it. Open it.
”
Vivian gestured.

The box was white and long. Around it was a red bow with an envelope attached to it. She detached the note and read it.

My dearest Claudia,

I love you with every fiber of my being. Please wear this dress and join me tonight. You missed your prom because you were saving the world. Allow me to be your date.

In my heart, in my soul—M

After reading the note, she untied the red bow. Wh en she opened it , she saw the most beautiful red scarlet dress she had ever seen. Tuck ed inside the box was a pair of black high heel s . Vivian helped her z ip on the dress, curled her hair lightly , and added a soft touch of makeup.

Sliding her heels on, she looked at the closet
door mirror. There she saw the girl she finally recognized . Her red scarlet dress with thin spaghetti straps shaped every curve of her body. Thoug h it wasn ’
t skin tight, it lay on her perfectly with a long slit i n the back. With the added sparkle from the butterfly crystal necklace, it was even more perfect. This time, her eyes reflected back with a glow , and she was happy. The girl looked content, fulfilled and not so alone. With a satisfied warm smile, she looked at Vivian , remembering those days when Vivian would help her get ready. It wasn ’
t that long ago, yet it seemed years ago. So much had happened, b ut the important part was where they were now—together.

“
Can we go now ?”
Claudia asked , feeling anxious.

“
Not without us, ”
Davin said , appearing out of the blue.

Claudia turned to see Davin and Caleb
all dressed up in black tuxedo s .
Right beside Davin, linking her arm in his, was Avalon. She wore a sky blue strapless dress that formed her upper torso and flared out in a n A-line shape. Her hair was half way tied up with lo o se curls that hung below her shoulders.

“
Of course not, ”
Claudia said happily.
F
eeling ecstatic to see them , she turned to Vivian , who had already magically changed to a dress in her favorite color. Made from black velvet, designed like Avalon ’
s dress, it was form fitting at the top and flared out slight ly at the bottom.

“
Now we ’
re ready to take you there, ”
Vivian cheered.

“
We even have a limo waiting for us, ”
Davin said.
“
It will be a short ride since we ’
re not really going anywhere. But I can ’
t tell you where because it ’
s a surprise. D
on ’
t worry. I promise not to touch every button I see…well , maybe, ”
he winked.
“
And I ’
m not driving.
Oh by the way…
.
”
Davin gaze d down to his feet .
“
Do you like my shoes?
”

“
I love them, ”
Claudia replied excitedly , gazing at them . They were black and glossy.

“
Me too, ”
Davin said with a huge giddy grin .
“
She likes my shoes , ”
Davin said to Vivian and Caleb.

“
Yippie, ”
Vivian said flatly and rolled her eyes playfully.
“
I already told you Claudia would like it.
”

Claudia giggled
, thinking how adorable Davin was , and that having them t her e was like the old times she missed so much. Speaking of missing, s he couldn ’
t wait to see what Michael had in store for her. If her memories were correct, he always swoon ed her with his magical touch.

When they were ready to leave,
Vivi an linked arms with Caleb and Avalon did with Davin, but Davin link ed his other arm with Claudia ’
s.
Claudia looked over her shoulders to see her room. It suddenly looked empty , and her heart went limp.
There were many memories here , and she hoped she could come back someday soon when she and Austin could sit like old friend s a nd hold a normal conversation—w hatever normal was.
Then she gazed upon her frie nds she loved so much .
She would always be grateful for h ow they had been there for her .
She knew she was h eavenly blessed by their love, support and friendship.
Never in her wildest dream s wou ld she eve r have fathom ed she’d have friends from beyond. Evidently, love and friendship kn e w no boundaries.

Chapter
3
8

The night sky was painted with thousands of brilliant stars. They were far away, yet they felt so close , as if Claudia could reach out and touch them. The sudden soft breeze felt soothing to her skin . The draft brushed back her hair and clung to the curve of her body. Vivian and Avalon giggled , watching Claudia gaze in wonderment as if she had never seen the stars before.

Though the stars reminded her of Gamma, sadly
they reminded her of Austin , too. He knew so much about them. It was one of the things she admired about him. Looking far into the distance, i t was difficult to see what lay ahead , but she could tell there were vast field s of trees from the scent of evergreens.
As the five of them stood on a cliff, Claudia wondered where Michael was.

“
Claudia, l ook behind you, ”
Davin said excitedly.

When Claudia turn
ed , she didn ’
t know what to say . All she could do was open her mouth to speak, but she was speechless.
F
ive layers of wooden platform s , each at least the size of a room , tiered upward and anchored to the surrounding trees for stability . Though there were walls made from wood, the first and the last level s were wide open. It was modern yet fairy tale like, perfect and magical in its own uniqueness. In ways, it reminded Claudia of a place where Tarzan and Jane would live.