I've heard it said before that Angels are supposed to be perfect brings. In fact, the person who made this claim to me was a preacher. This happened a long time ago, back when Missy and I first met. Her mother was quite a religious person and had insisted that I accompany them to church one Sunday shortly after Missy and I met.
It didn't end up going so well. After the service, which I'll admit was rather nice, I ended up getting into a small debate with the preacher over aspects of Heaven and Hell, not to mention details about Angels and Demons and their influence within the world. He did have back down to me after we brought up different passages from the Bible, but it was still rather begrudging for him to do so.
I guess one could say that that was where the feud between Penny Stanley and I began, although I suspect that she wasn't that fond of me from the beginning. She never did feel comfortable with Missy's immediate closeness to me.
But I now believe that your perceptions tend to get warped easily when you come from a family like ours. I suppose that there were many factors in my life that could've attributed to my views on such things. I'm sure that anyone who's heard so far about our childhood would certainly blame the traumas of our parents' constant fighting and Noel's kidnapping for our at times warped sense of selves, not to mention the trouble that ended up following Raphael's transformation.
But I can't say that I've seen it that way. I've come to believe that even the highest Angels in the Heavens are not as perfect as humans like to believe. After all, if one really looks at religious philosophy as a whole, is it not said that man was created closest to God, who is the one perfect Being in existence?
But as we all know, man is far from perfect, and so are we. Although our parents were trying hard to support us with all of this, there were still major difficulties.
Namely, our youngest sister.
Even as Raphael, Gabrielle, and I remained close to our parents, Noel kept her distance. She was distrustful of them, and becoming more and more secluded, even from me and Gabrielle. She began refusing to go to therapy, and still kept up her insistence on being close to Raphael at almost all times.
But even with as hateful as she was becoming towards them, our parents still did their best to try and forge a bond with her. It did little good though. Noel still bit back at them every chance she got, and even began shunning Gabrielle and me for being close to them. The only one she seemed to feel anything towards was Raphael.
It was around this time when he got his wings that I had begun to suspect that something more was very wrong with this picture of him and her. In the following month, Raphael also began to act more and more distant toward us. He barely spoke to any of us, often staying up in his room for hours with just Noel. All of us began to fear that she was somehow warping his perceptions too.
However, no matter how hard our father tried to intervene in this, he just couldn't seem to loosen her grip on Raphael. Noel was steadfast in rebuffing him at every turn, and Raphael often sided with her now. It felt like it was becoming a hopeless situation, and the rift only grew between her and our Dad, along with dragging our older brother into the middle of it.
Another year would pass with all of this heating up before another new set of headaches began setting in. But these events would also become the ones that would shape our family for years to come.
It all started when Noel began trying to turn our parents against each other again. She began playing sides against each of them with our mother, father, and Raphael. She was especially sneaky when it came to our mom. She knew that Mom desperately wanted to bond with her again, and it allowed her to edge into her comfort zone. She'd act sweetly around her when it was just them, getting Mom to feel better about being with her and trusting her.
But this in turn was a bad thing, because she also began lying to our mother about things our father and Raphael were doing. It upset Mom because she believed her, and often times she would be upset with them for no real reason at all. I began realizing some of what was going on when I started walking in on them together and hearing the way Noel was talking to her about our father. Needless to say, it bothered me enough to where I had to intervene, telling her to leave our mother alone and stop trying to make our father look like someone he wasn't.
As one would expect, Noel became furious with me each time this happened, and at times she'd even try to hit me. But I'd become good at defending myself against her, and I was also older and bigger than her, so I could stop her easily enough until she'd give up and stomp away.
This happened a few times before I decided to talk to Gabrielle in private about what was happening, and she ended up confiding in me about what Noel was up to. She'd started listening in from the stairs whenever Noel would hang out with our mother and heard everything. Noel was saying horrible things to Mom about Dad, even accusing him of doing things that we both knew he'd never do. It was enough for me to want to put a stop to all this nonsense before she ended up causing our parents to split, so I took it upon myself to tell our father everything.
Unfortunately, while I still feel that this was the right move to make, it also led to the big blowup that was probably coming from miles away.
I sat up in my room that night, doing my best to far remove myself from the blowup between Noel and our dad. The screaming and yelling downstairs was loud, and I could tell that they were really at each other's throats this time.
Sitting at my desk, I turned up my radio in a vain attempt to drown them out. I admit that I was so sick of all of this now. I'd already warned Raphael that I was leaving home as soon as I turned eighteen. I'd visit with our parents, but I wasn't staying there anymore and putting up with all this craziness with Noel. He'd asked me where I thought I'd go, but I didn't have an answer for that yet. I just said that I'd figure something out. I knew I had the smarts to survive on my own. I could deal with whatever I needed to. Besides, I was sure that Mom and Dad would help me out too as I needed it. All I had to do was sit down and explain how I felt about all this stuff with Noel.
Another issue was also looming in my mind as I sat there. I was now fifteen, and my anxieties were growing over getting wings like my brother. However, I also showed no signs of getting sick. In fact, it seemed like I was showing no signs at all of getting wings. It was strange, and I had been trying to figure out why.
Could it be skipping me? I wondered as I sat there.
Even though Dad had told me over and over again that it wouldn't and all four of us were eventually going to develop those wings, I wasn't that sure now. He could've been wrong. Maybe only Raphael would end up getting them because he was the oldest.
I glanced at the nearby clock sitting on my nightstand. It was nearly eight now. They'd been fighting for the last half an hour. I let out an exhausted sigh. Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut. But I also knew that I couldn't have done it. Not when I was so worried about Mom.
"Michael?"
I hadn't noticed that my door had opened until I heard my name being spoken. I looked over to see Gabrielle standing in the doorway. She looked upset.
"Hey, you alright?" I asked her as I turned my chair to face her.
"I can't take it anymore Michael. Can I stay in here with you for a while?" she requested. Her eyes looked hopeful as she clasped her hands at her chest.
"Sure. You know it doesn't bother me, and I do get it." I assured her.
I thought about turning down the radio, but decided not to. Obviously, this fighting was getting to her. She didn't seem to mind either as she closed the door and sat on the side of my bed near me.
"Thanks. I thought I was going to go crazy listening to all of that. I really hope Mom's okay." she admitted.
I turned back to my sketchpad, shaking my head, "I know. I had to tell Dad about all of that because I've been worried about her. But seriously, Noel needs to stop all of this now. She's only making everything worse, and Dad's going to end up sending her away if this keeps up. He told me that when I talked to him. He's really worried about Mom and Raphael too. He thinks Noel's trying to break them down." I informed her.
"I think she might be trying to push him just to see if he'll break. You know how she's gotten, Michael. I'm starting to think that she hates all of us now except for Raphael, and it's like she particularly hates Dad for some reason." Gabrielle responded. She leaned forward a little to peek at what I was doing, "What are you drawing?"
"Nothing in particular. Just sketching whatever I think of."
"You're such a good artist. Why don't you try to go to an art college? I'm sure you could get scholarships, and Daddy told me that he'd love to see you do that too. Your work is amazing." Gabrielle continued as she got up to look at my sketching from over my shoulder.
"I don't want to be told what to draw. Just about everything else in my life feels like it's always been controlled, so I don't need that. Besides, Dad's a great artist too. Sometimes I wish we could sit down and draw together more." I confessed.
I kept my eyes on the wing that I was currently shading. How ironic. I'd been drawing an Angel. I must have had this stuff on the brain.
"I think he really wants to, but he's had a lot on his mind with all of this. Like I was saying, I'm worried that Noel's really wearing him down. Dad looks so tired anymore, and so does Mom."
She had a point, and it made me angry at Noel. I wanted to have a normal relationship with my siblings and my parents, and I definitely wanted more quality time with my father. But she never allowed me or Gabrielle that luxury. She always made sure that things stayed strained.
"Then it's better if Dad sends Noel away. He can't just let her destroy us." I stated, doing my best to keep my tone in check.
"I know, and even though it hurts, I do agree with you." Gabrielle hesitated before laying a hand on my shoulder and leaning down to speak a little lower, "Have you listened to any of that fight since it started?"
"Nope." I answered, although I knew she'd tell me details anyway.
"It's really bad this time. Noel's definitely crossed the line, and Daddy's about done with her. He's even telling her now that he's going to make her leave the house and live with our aunt." Gabrielle admitted.
This was getting interesting. Apparently more was said down there than I'd realized.
"Why? What did she say?" I asked Gabrielle.
"She told him that she loves Raphael." she answered as she sat on the side of my bed again.
She spoke so quietly that I almost didn't hear her over all of the noise around us. But she may have also feared being heard.
I frowned at her, "So what? Of course she does. He's her brother. You and I both love him too."
Gabrielle shook her head, "No Michael. I mean she said that she is in love with him." she emphasized.
I turned sharply in my chair, hearing it squeak loudly, "That's a sick joke Gabby. You know better than to say something like that." I warned her.
"I'm saying it because she actually said it. That's what she told Daddy and why he's so angry at her now. She says that she wants to be with Raphael. She swears that she can't live without him, that he's God or something in her eyes. Daddy flipped out when he heard that. That's why they're still arguing. Even Mom's arguing with her over it. She told her it was disgusting that she could even think such a thing." Gabrielle explained to me.
She was being completely serious about all of this. I could see it in her eyes as she spoke. But it also confirmed my worst fears. Noel had to be using Raphael in some way. God only knew what she was making him do when no one else was around.
I let out a long sigh as I resigned my mind to all of this, "Then she should go live with our aunt. She needs serious help if she thinks that being in love with her own brother is okay." I stated as I turned back to my desk.
"But aren't you still worried Michael?" Gabrielle asked me.
"About what?"
"About Raphael. Noel practically has him wrapped around her finger now. It's too weird. It's like she's controlling him. What if making her leave causes something to happen to him?"
I knew she was right to be afraid of that, but I didn't want to tell Gabrielle my own insecurities over it. I felt like it would damage her vision of me being the stronger-minded older brother. After all, I'd always ended up being her rock through all of this, whether I meant to or not.
"I think it'll be okay. Raphael wouldn't do anything stupid, even if she is trying to use him." I reassured her.
Gabrielle wasn't buying it, "I don't know. It seems like Noel has a lot of power in this house, doesn't it?"
I was about to say something in response when we felt the entire house begin to shake violently. I immediately jumped up and shielded Gabrielle from the books falling off of the shelves hanging near my bed. It was like we were having an earthquake.
The shaking lasted about three minutes before finally letting up. I slowly sat up, looking around in shock as Gabrielle held onto me.
"What the hell was that?" I said in disbelief.
"I don't know!" Gabrielle began to cry as she hugged me.
I held her as we sat there, straining my ears to listen for any sound. My radio had fallen to the floor, pulling the plug from the wall so that everything had gone silent. I knew in my gut that this hadn't been any kind of natural occurrence. Something major had just happened to all of us.
I slowly began hearing talking downstairs, but I couldn't make out what was being said. I gently made Gabrielle pull back to look at me.
"Come on Gabby. It'll be okay. Let's check on everybody else now." I encouraged her.
Gabrielle quickly shook her head, not letting go of me, "No! I don't want to go down there! What if it happens again?!"
"I'll protect you." I insisted, "Come on. We need to find out what's going on."
Gabrielle didn't like it, but she did reluctantly let me go and follow me off of the bed. I opened the door and held her hand as we went out into the hallway. We could hear voices downstairs, but I was only able to make out my father's. He actually sounded scared. I'd never heard him sound afraid of anything before. What in the world was going on?
I got my answer as we came to the top of the stairs. I could see Dad standing in the den room, keeping a hand on the side of the couch. Raphael stood in front of Noel across the room from him, and I could make out the satisfied smirk on her face. I didn't even see our mother at first. Peeking around a little more from the side of the wall, I finally spotted her sitting behind our father. She looked thoroughly frightened.
"Don't do this Raphael." Dad reasoned, "You know she's only using you. She wants you to turn against all of us!"
"I told you that you're not going to send her away like that. She's done nothing wrong here. You're the ones who've been using all of us our entire lives. You wouldn't have gotten that inheritance if you hadn't had us." Raphael accused, his wings flapping a little.
That was when I'd realized that he'd brought them out. This wasn't good. With him being this angry, anything might happen.
"You know that's not true! Maybe things did get bad before, but we've never used any of you! She's using you now because of what's gotten to her!" Dad insisted.
What's using her? I wondered.
Another tremor went through the house, and I held onto Gabrielle as we knelt down to keep our balance. Raphael remained where he was, staring our father down and refusing to listen to anything he said.
"I won't let you touch her. I'll make sure you can't." he threatened.
A strange feeling suddenly went through me as I heard that, and at that moment, I knew that I could stop all of this. I didn't have my wings, but somehow, I knew that I could break whatever hold Noel had on Raphael.
"Stay here Gabby," I ordered as I got up. Then I jumped over the side of the railing, getting in front of Raphael and looking him dead in his eyes, "Stop it before you end up killing us!"
As I said this, I felt an incredible surge of warmth radiate through me. It was like someone else was in control of me, and I could hear their voice come through my own mouth.
"Free your mind from this darkness! Break!" an unfamiliar male voice commanded.
Raphael fell to his knees as this happened, holding his head tightly like he was in severe pain. Noel immediately knelt beside him, looking extremely alarmed.
"Raphael, what's wrong?!" she asked frantically. That fear turned into fury as she glared back at me, "What did you do?!"
My mind was still reeling as that presence left me, but I managed to find my voice and respond to her, not bothering to hide my anger.
"I didn't do anything except help to stop your madness! It ends right now Noel! You're not going to make us kill each other just for your sick pleasure!"
"Don't you get it?!" Noel spat, "You know what they've put us through! They don't really care about us! All they care about is what that Angel wanted!"
"Noel..." I heard Raphael breathe.
"It doesn't matter!" I snapped, "They've always tried their best to protect us! You're the one who's hurting us!"
"Who do you think you are?! You don't know anything about what we've been through! You've always been the protected one in this family! You and my stupid sister!" Noel argued.
"That's enough Noel!" Raphael shouted.
Noel stared at him as he slowly stood up, "Raphael?"
Raphael paid no more attention to her, only looking at me. His eyes were clear like I'd always remembered them. Whatever had taken over him was now gone.
"You're right Michael. This has to end. We can't ignore what's happening to us anymore." he agreed with me.
"But Raphael...!" Noel protested as she stood up with him.
"Our father is right Noel." Raphael interrupted, "It would be better if you went to live with our aunt. It's obviously not good for you to be here. It's only made things worse for you."
Noel stared at him in shock, "You can't be serious. You know I can't leave you." she whispered.
"You have to. You can't live your entire life under me, and you can't destroy your own family because he twisted your views of the world. You have to leave to help yourself now." Raphael insisted.
Noel immediately turned to me, the fury returning in her eyes.
"You did this! I know you somehow did this!" she accused.
"You need some serious help. You're acting like you've lost your mind." I informed her.
She pulled back like she was going to hit me, but something seemed to stop her. She glared at me a moment longer, then ran back upstairs with an angry yell. We heard her door slam within seconds.
Dad was now helping Mom to stand, and I could see that she was still shaking, but trying to pull herself together. For his part, Dad looked a little shaken up too, although he was doing his best not to show it.
"That was too close." he breathed.
"We can't keep doing this Melvin. We've got to send her to Dot now. She'll end up killing us all if this keeps up." Mom told him.
"It's alright. I'll handle it, so just calm down. We'll take up Dot's offer and send her to her. If anybody stands a chance at helping Noel now, it's probably my sister." Dad reminded her.
Mom relaxed in his arms as he hugged her. She looked close to tears, but was still doing her best to calm down.
Raphael let out a soft sigh, then walked over to them.
"I'm really sorry. I don't know what happened to me. I'd never want to hurt anybody, especially you." he apologized to them.
"We know. You've always had a gentle heart." Mom responded as she let go of Dad and hugged him, "I just want our Raphael back now."
"I am back. I promise." Raphael assured her as he hugged her back.
Dad ran a hand through his hair as he watched them, "You don't need to apologize to us. We know it wasn't really you doing all of that. But Noel needs to be away from here. This isn't healthy for either of you, and I'm worried that she's been controlling you somehow." he admitted.
"I get it, and I'd prefer that too. I don't want to go through this anymore." Raphael easily agreed. He looked at me as Mom let him go, "Thanks for helping me too. I owe you one."
"I'd say you're welcome, but I don't even know what just happened." I confessed.
"As crazy as it is for me to admit it, it was my father stepping in. I guess he's still looking out for us whenever he can." Dad spoke up.
"You mean the Angel?" I asked.
"Yes." Dad let out another tired breath, "I'd know his voice and presence anywhere, even if I haven't been able to see him for years now. He found a way to free Raphael, and I'm sure he's the one who's been pushing me and your aunt to send Noel to her. Even if it's not going to be easy to let her go, we need to do this. It might be the only way to save her from herself."
"Yeah. I think so too." Raphael agreed.
Then excused himself and went to the stairs, where Gabrielle was still sitting, and offered her a hand to help her up. I felt relieved as she hugged him. Yes, this was the real Raphael, not the one that Noel had somehow been controlling.
Yet the idea of all that was happening bothered me for the rest of the night. Needless to say, sleep for me was nearly impossible. This turned out to be the first of many mornings where I'd sit up by my window and watch the new day dawn with incredible uncertainty in my heart.
I admit that I had no doubt that my father was right about who had been influencing me to help Raphael. That warm surge of power was unlike anything I'd ever experienced, and I was sure that it must've been what others described when they talked about being touched by the Holy Spirit. This Angel, he was still watching over us, he was still helping my parents and us. He knew what was happening with Noel, and he'd stopped her.
While I should've been grateful for that, a part of me still couldn't quite accept it. I had never wanted to be a Nephilim, nor did I ask to be born into a family of them. Maybe I did love them, but at that moment, I detested what appeared to be my destiny, and I didn't know if I could keep surviving much more hardship like this.
It was that very morning that my Aunt Dot arrived at the house, ready to take Noel with her. Although she protested and fought all the way to the car, Dad and Aunt Dot forced her to get in. The odd thing was that when she did, Noel instantly calmed down and sat in that passenger's seat willingly. Raphael, Gabrielle, and I watched all of this from the front window, and I know all of us felt sorrow in our hearts for this, regardless of all the issues Noel had caused. We'd tried so hard, yet we just couldn't help her.
We saw Aunt Dot talk to our parents and give them hugs, then get into the car and started it. She took a moment to talk to Noel too, gently brushing her hair back and holding her, which Noel didn't reject. Instead, it looked like she was crying as Aunt Dot pulled away.
The incredible part was that as soon as she was gone, our household felt a hundred times lighter. It was like a darkness had lifted that we hadn't even known was there, and although we all felt sad that Noel couldn't stay with us, we also had to admit that we were relieved to have the light back.
Before I even knew it, almost three years went by. I admit that they were a great three years. We actually became a normal family, spending time together and enjoying our lives. Our parents got along better than ever too. For the first time in our lives, our household had become warm and happy. It was a welcome change from the trauma of our past.
The only lingering issue in the background of all this contentment was Noel. As awful as it was, we all knew in our hearts that keeping her away from us was the best thing for everyone, including her. It wasn't that we didn't love her or want her. It was just that we all knew that we couldn't handle her. It was like a premonition we had deep in our minds that if she came back, then we'd all end up torn apart, including her.
Not that she didn't try to convince Dad to let her come home. Although Aunt Dot took good care of her and Noel appeared to be listening well to her, she called home every chance she got to talk to Dad. A lot of those times, she'd actually speak civilly and even talk to him about what was going on where she was and ask about us. But occasionally, she'd end up begging him to let her come home. Even though it hurt him, Dad kept up whatever ruse he could think of to dissuade her. In the end, he always did tell her that she could eventually, but never gave her an actual time for it.
For her part, Noel seemed to accept that, and that was enough for him. At least she could be safer and happier there.
I don't think that any of us minded this, as harsh as that sounds. She was safe there, and we could move on with our lives. Raphael was so much happier too now that she wasn't around to influence him. He even ended up meeting a girl that second year, a beautiful young woman named Maya Bivens. It wasn't long at all before she became his girlfriend, and our parents were thrilled the first time he brought her home to visit with them during our Senior year of high school.
I still recall the beautiful girl that stole Raphael's heart very well. She was an amazing person, very smart, and gifted in playing the piano. With bright green eyes and wavy blonde hair, she had a personality as sweet as a kitten. It was very easy for her to fit in with me and Gabrielle, and we quickly came to love her like she was another sister.
Our parents easily did the same, not hesitating to invite her to family dinners and outings. Our mother loved planning shopping trips and salon visits with her and Gabrielle too. I like to think even now that Maya was practically married to Raphael long before she truly was.
However, when it came to Maya, none of us dared to mention her to Noel. Even though she was all the way out in Tennessee, we feared what repercussions could come out of her knowing, and we didn't want Maya to be in any danger. If we had to keep secrets from Noel, then we would.
As for me, I still hadn't gotten my wings either. It was very odd, considering that our father had thought that all of us should have our wings around sixteen or seventeen. But I didn't have mine and showed no sign of getting them, even though I was nearly eighteen now. At that point, I was truly beginning to believe that I wouldn't get them. Maybe it was a fluke with Raphael after all. Dad very well could've been wrong. He only knew what our grandfather had told him back when he was a teenager. Maybe he'd misunderstood some of it.
Time continued to march forward, and as the summer came after our graduation, our parents decided that we'd take a family vacation to Miami Beach to celebrate. It was all very exciting for us, considering that we'd never had such a big family vacation before. Dad had always been too busy with work for it, but had taken the time off especially for this. I would dare say that he was as excited as we were.
Raphael and I were also looking forward to this trip as our first time to really be out on our own somewhere other than the Eastern Shore. Dad told us that we were allowed to do what we wanted when we got down there, so long as we didn't get ourselves into any trouble. For all of that, we were sure it would be great.
What I never expected was that I was going to meet the person who would change my life forever there.
It was a hot summer day in July when we arrived in Florida. After checking into our hotel, Raphael and I decided to do a little sightseeing. Gabrielle declined to go with us, opting to enjoy the hotel pool with our parents instead.
After walking around and checking out the nearby stores for a few hours, I decided to go off and explore on my own. Raphael was fine with it, saying that he wanted to get back and call Maya to let her know that we'd made it there and were settled in. He had joked that she'd probably lay into him because he was supposed to call her when we got to the hotel.
I smiled as I sat on a blanket at one of the more secluded beaches and thought about that. Raphael was very taken with Maya, and he'd told me a few days before that he was planning on proposing to her soon. I hoped they'd end up having a happy life together, as I was sure that she'd say yes.
Feeling content with these thoughts, I pulled my sketchbook from my backpack and sat it on my lap, sketching out the landscape before me. I'd been lucky enough to find one of those hidden little beaches with a nice view of the ocean. There were a few boats out in the water that day, and they added to the picture very nicely.
I really was liking Florida already, and thought about moving down there once I got out on my own. But I knew that might take a while too. At least until I was sure I'd be able to earn a decent living. I wanted to carve out my own path now that I'd graduated. I wanted to make a good life for myself, and hoped that I'd meet a girl eventually too. It would've been nice to have someone to love and spend my life with.
I was so lost in my sketching and thoughts that I didn't hear someone step beside me.
"Hi. Mind if I join you?"
I looked to my right and saw a girl that looked my age standing there. I confess that she immediately captivated me. She was absolutely beautiful, with bright brown eyes and long dark hair that shined in the afternoon sunlight. She wore a nice blue sundress and smiled sweetly at me as she waited for my response.
I had the vague notion that she was also flirting a little as she stood there, and for the first time in my life, I had to struggle to speak.
"Y-yes, I don't mind at all."
The girl giggled, sitting down beside me and sneaking a peek at my sketch, "Wow, you're really good. Are you going to the art college here?" she asked me.
I shook my head, finally getting my bearings back, "No. My family just came to Miami Beach on vacation, and I thought I'd take advantage of the scenery here."
"Oh? That's cool. What do you think so far?" she responded.
"It's beautiful. I bet it's a nice place if you can afford to live here." I answered.
I was now feeling extremely lucky. This pretty girl had boldly walked up to me and wanted to talk to me.
She looked towards the water, her long hair blowing around her, "I've lived around here for most of my life. It's okay I guess, but I wish I could escape sometimes. It gets old after a while, you know?" she admitted.
"I get it. I've been wanting to escape my home life for years." I told her.
"You've got some family problems too, huh?" she guessed as she looked at me again.
I shrugged, "I guess you could call them that."
Far be it for me to get into what those problems were. She probably wouldn't believe me anyway.
"By the way," she continued, "I'm Melissa Stanley, but everybody calls me Missy."
"I'm Michael Renaldi. Nice to meet you, Missy." I responded.
She gave me another flirtatious smile, "Michael. I like that name. It fits a cute guy like you."
This was a fateful meeting for me when I look back on it. Missy truly was this beautiful girl, both in looks and personality. We ended up spending the next few hours together, talking and flirting with each other, and for the first time in my life, I felt truly happy. I was certain by the time I headed back to the hotel that I'd found the girl I was meant to be with. Even if I was only seventeen, I believed that I had fallen in love. I'd never felt anything like I felt with her. But I decided to wait to mention it to anyone else for a while.
Of course, a while ended up being the next day when I was out at the beach with my family. As Raphael and I were checking out some dunes a little farther from them, we ran into Missy out there. She immediately recognized me, and happily greeted me like we'd known each other forever. This in turn led to me having to introduce her to Raphael, who was kind of surprised when he saw all of this, but also accepting and glad to see me look so happy.
I've often wondered now if those things were playing out by fate. Missy had shown a definite interest in me from the beginning, and I knew how she made me feel. Even as I laid down to sleep that second night, she was all that dominated my mind. I was sure I loved her, and one way or another, I was going to make her mine.