Free Heaven or Hell by Roni Teson

her father. So she sat quietly and listened to what possibly explained this existence of hers.
    “And if you think about it, here I am sitting with you, my baby girl. Had I known this day would come, I might not have stepped off the wagon all those years ago,” he said.
    Angel nodded.
    “Life is a big circle. It does come back around.” He gazed at her with an emotion she couldn’t fathom.
    “Were you religious—or if it’s true, were we a religious family?” Angel asked.
    “No, we never did the church thing together. Your Aunt Jessie and I had to go to Catholic school, and that was enough for both of us.”
    “Tell me about the woman you say is my mom.” Angel relaxed and propped herself up on her side.
    The man smiled at her. “You use to lie like that in front of the TV. I’ve missed my girls … Your mother is, and has always been, the strength behind this man.” He tapped his chest. “She saved my life twice, and now she’s helping to resurrect my soul.”
    “Resurrect?”
    “Okay, that’s a bit dramatic. She’s reluctantly helping me so that I can help you.”
    “Oh,” Angel responded. The thought of her mother wanting to help her in some way gave her a warm feeling, though she didn’t really know who her mother was.
    “Quite some time ago, I’d wake up and have a vague recollection of your mother yelling at me. I realized it was part of a dream, but then over time the images fully invaded my dreams. Your mother had worked hard and learned how to communicate with me from, I guess, the other side. After all, she is deceased.”
    The man—her father?—took a deep breath. “She was so angry. She’d waited for you to follow her. She spoke to you and tried to get you to go with her when she passed, but though you promised to be there soon, you’re still not with her. Your mom has been trying to get your attention ever since.
    “For a long time after, she sent me visions of you here in the clouds. As these dreams occurred and grew steadily stronger, I only drank more. I thought I was being haunted, and so I tried to escape.”
    The man touched his stomach and his arms, and then he looked down at his hands and flexed his fingers. “I feel as if I need a drink of water. Or, no, I think my time with you here is running out …”
    “Don’t leave me hanging, please keep talking,” Angel begged him. She believed she was very close to learning what had happened to her.
    “According to Marion, your mom, it was all my fault and she’d had every intention of making my life a living hell until I fixed it. Who could blame her?” He glanced around as if unsure that he was still with Angel.
    “How’d she tell you that?”
    “Oh, I’m jumping ahead …”
    Angel turned away from the man for a second to look at the sunset and see if she could locate the girls. Belle and Kail were usually back by now, but maybe the sight of a stranger in their cloud had kept them away.
    As soon as she took her eyes off of him, she knew it was a mistake; the cloud tipped up and she felt the space behind her go empty. The man she’d been speaking to was gone.

CHAPTER 7  
    TERESA RESISTED THE TEMPTATION TO TAKE the journal she’d found in her father’s house and burn it later. Instead, when she’d dropped off her aunt, Teresa gave her the book and told her to throw it away if she didn’t want it. Teresa’s shoulders were tight and her brain had gone numb.
    She’d headed toward JJ’s school and let her mind go empty. A few minutes later, she looked up to see the familiar flag in front of the building, but didn’t remember a single image from the drive.
    She sent JJ a text to let him know she was waiting out front. Teresa smiled as she reread her message to JJ, every word spelled out. He’d teased her about her texting skills because she always spelled each of the words.
    His response came through with a rattle and a beep. It appeared he’d be out in about fifteen minutes; at least she wasn’t completely