Free The Guardian by Carey Corp Page B

desperate for oxygen. As the abyss wraps around me, I pitch backwards.
    Suddenly I’m outside—standing on the sidewalk. The air is so bright I have to shield my watering eyes. I suck great gulps of air into my aching lungs, as if I’ve just been pulled from a burning building. Vaguely aware of being restrained, I pull away from the hands that seek to pull me back inside, lurching forward like a crazed, wild animal.
    The voice is there—calling my name—offering reassurance. I search blindly for the speaker, but my surroundings are too brilliant. Disoriented, I open my arms, begging for help. The voice envelopes me, wrapping around me protectively, like a cocoon. Then there’s the sensation of leaving the earth—hurtling through space toward the source. It’s like being pulled into the core of the sun.
    I come to my senses in Gabriel’s embrace. Although I have no recollection of the journey, we’re on the steps of the Fosters’ blue and white porch. Since I’m still unable to support my own weight, Gabriel gently lowers me to the top step, sitting by my side. I slump heavily against his shoulder, grateful to be encircled by his protective, solid arms.
    For a while I’m content to sit and nuzzle the soft cotton of his shirt. Inhaling deeply, I let his essence—laundry soap, evergreens, and hardwood—flow through me, washing away the lingering impression of soot. Beyond the shelter of the porch, rain is falling in a steady drizzle, a dense wall that shuts out our surroundings.
    When storm picks up ferocity, turning into a hard, cleansing rain that pounds against the earth, I am reminded of the red umbrella and the music store.
    “We left your umbrella.”
    The words have a lazy, dream-like cadence to them, and I don’t realize I’ve spoken aloud until Gabriel murmurs, “I’ll get it later.”
    The thought of returning to that place makes me cold. The shivering begins. I breathe in Gabriel until my body calms. “What was that thing?”
    “I’m not sure.”
    “Was it human?”
    “Yes.” Gabriel doesn’t move, but because of the way he’s wrapped around me, I feel him stiffen. Angling my head to see his face, I notice his jaw is tense. There’s a hard set to his features as he stares into the rain.
    “How did you know?”
    A rigid muscle in his jaw ticks, his left eyebrow dips, and then with a forced exhale, his face is as smooth as a mask. “Know what?”
    Slowly, I reach up to touch his cheek, but he subtly moves away, a nearly imperceptible shift. Although he’s averting his eyes, I see their haunted and distant quality.
    “About me?”
    When he pulls back to answer me, his beautiful eyes are flat, as if their light has been extinguished. “What about you, Alexia?”
    My own eyes grow huge as I stare at him. With a steady sinking in the pit of my stomach, I repeat the question, carefully enunciating every word. “How did you know about me ?”
    Gabriel turns away. He can’t even look at me as he speaks. “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”
    “Yes, you do.” I scramble away from him, certain to my core he’s lying. But I have no clue what his motivation is for doing so. My voice is sharp and higher in pitch as I continue to accuse him. “Why are you lying to me?”
    He stands—a quick jerky motion that makes me jump to my feet in response—and rakes his hand though his hair in frustration. “Why would I lie to you?”
    The fact he still can’t face me speaks volumes. My trust—my faith –shatter into shards of rubble at my feet as I watch Gabriel close himself off. I can barely get enough air into my lungs to respond. “You tell me.”
    In the following silence, anger floods through me mixing with the hurt of his betrayal until I can barely contain my fury. I can’t ever remember feeling anything close to the wrath that now consumes me. It propels me forward until I’m standing next to him with my hands fisted on my hips, my muscles taut and quivering with