Chapter thirty-one – Angels

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It's crazy knowing that Reiss is going to live at father's house. Honestly, just when you think all the possible events that could happen have occurred, another one happens. It's still a shock hearing about Clover and Marco. The way she told the story has left me speechless; I can't believe all of that happened to her.

At this moment in time we're just arriving home. Father said Reiss could be settled in his home by tonight, as long as he gets his things together and everything. It's going to feel funny having one less person in my house, but at least father will have extra company. Father's happiness will always come before my own.

"Have you got everything, Uncle?" Michael asks Reiss, grabbing his jacket from the coat rack and handing it to him. "And here's your jacket."

"Yeah, I think I got everything now kid. It's been great spending time here with you both; I've really enjoyed it." He then walks up to me, resting both hands on my shoulders. "Citria, you're a godsend for everything you've done – for both Michael and me. Bless you, kid."

A smile starts to form on my face. "It's no worry, Reiss. We'll come see you some time; we go to see father and Clover very often, now."

"I'll look forward to seeing you," he answers, quickly kissing my cheek in appreciation and farewell. "Now, keep being that amazing girl you are, okay?" With this comment, he winks, to indicate he's being playful.

"I'll try," I chuckle, watching as he walks over to Michael.

"Michael, I guess I'll see you soon." He then whispers something into Michael's ear, so that I can't hear it, but when he pulls away, Michael seems to be smiling. He then looks at both of us in general. "Right, I better be off then. See you both soon."

Michael and I both wave as he heads out the door, closing it behind him. Feeling the sudden silence around us, I exhale loudly to shatter it a little. After this, Michael looks at me, the smile from when Reiss whispered in his ear still going strong on his face.

"What are you smiling at?" I question, grinning in amusement. "What did Reiss tell you?"

His smile dissolves into a smirk, as he too chuckles. "If I was supposed to tell you, he wouldn't have whispered it, would he?" Then, with no other words, he walks out the hallway, into the living room.

Of course, I follow him in there, finding him sitting on the sofa. Joining him, I find the remote and switch the television on, to try and find a programme that will most-likely be switched off again because we'll start another deep conversation. That always seems to happen to us, now. Eventually, I find a home video show, leaving it on for Michael. It's funny how they always seem to be playing, no matter what time of day we turn the TV on.

"Aw, yes!" Michael suddenly perks up, his eyes quickly becoming fixated on the screen. He watches intently, and this goes on for a few minutes, until he starts to laugh loudly. "Ha! Dude on TV just fell off his snow ski and landed on a snow man."

"Michael ... I'm watching the same thing as you. I can see what's happening on the screen," I remark jokily.

He, however, sees it differently to a joke. "Sarcasm levels, Citria! What's gotten into you today?" He laughs, shaking his head in mock disapproval, his eyes flitting to me. "And using it on your own boyfriend, too. How harsh."

"It wasn't sarcasm. It was a joke. Now can we cuddle?" I plead, pouting a little to try and appear cute.

His eyes are back on the TV, so my pout is pretty much pointless. This proves itself when he answers. "Hmm, not sure. After all, what kind of person is rewarded with cuddles after being sarcastic, huh?"

"My-kull," I frown, crawling up to him on the sofa, before squeezing his cheek with my thumb and forefinger. "Pwease."

This time, he looks at me, noticing my pout and puppy dog act. He snickers. "What normal person can resist that face?" he asks rhetorically, before bringing me into his embrace. "Come on, then."

Being so close, I'm able to feel his breathing against my face now. Our eyes momentarily meet, which gives me the irresistible urge to show my affection. Leaning in a little, I let my lips capture his in a kiss, which causes him to close his eyes before I've even had the chance to think about doing the same.

So what do I do? I keep my eyes open a while, to see how Michael looks. Even the way his eyes are closed is perfection; his eyelashes look so graceful, lightly pressed together, and his eyebrows are furrowed ever-so-slightly. This is also showing me that he's really involved in the kiss – as if he cares about nothing else but me right now. That's cute.

Before we pull away, my eyes close too, so that I can enjoy the moment like he seems to be. All too soon, however, we separate, but our lips and noses remain close. His eyes meet mine once again; they contain a glint that fills my heart with so much joy whenever I see it.

"Aww," he sighs contently. "Surprise kisses. I love that." Having no more to say, he takes his bottom lip into his mouth, looking downwards for no apparent reason.

"Yeah; maybe you could try that some time," I hint playfully. "I think I'd love it just as much as you seem to."

"So ... a surprise kiss is a kiss that kind of just comes randomly – like, you don't know it's going to happen, but I do?" he asks.

A small smile forms on my face, as I nod. "Yeah, that's it." Out of the corner of my eyes, I see Michael looking at me, as if he's plotting to surprise kiss me. "I know you're planning it Michael ... and I'm not surprised."

"Damn!" he frowns, knowing that I got him. "How did you—?"

"I'm not stupid," I laugh. "It was easy to tell."

"Oh. Well ... I'll get you when you're not expecting it." He smirks, licking his lip to moisten them a little, before snickering softly. "Count on it."

"But if I count on it, then I'll know it's going to happen, and then it won't be a surprise, will it?" My forefinger taps lightly against the tip of his nose. "Silly."

Realising this error, his cheeks redden subtly. "Yeah, well ... I'm just going to get you. It may not be today ... it may not be tomorrow ... but I will." With this, the smirk, once again, resumes.

"Okay Michael." My tone indicates that I disbelieve his words, even if I actually kind of don't. It's obvious that he'll do it at some point.

"So ... what now?" he questions, changing the topic completely.

"I'm not sure. What do you feel like doing?" My arms slowly move upwards, wrapping around his neck to bring us closer together. I nuzzle my nose against his, which causes him to return the favour affectionately. "I really don't mind."

"Neither do I. Looks like we're compromising again, doesn't it?" He inhales gently, as if thinking what else to say. "At least we'll both agree on it."

"Yeah. How about the fields? Or ... picking berries?" Then, I come up with another idea. "Do you still have the remainder of your family's ashes in that pot? Maybe we could go scatter them."

He knits his eyebrows together. "Uh ... well ... I think that would be sweet. We've been needing to do that for a while, now. But ... wouldn't Reiss want to come with us too?"

"That's a point," I reason. "Invite him along; we can go do it tonight. It'll make it special."

"That sounds perfect." He gives a closed-mouth smile, leaning in to briefly kiss me. "Thank you, Cit."

The thought is shrugged off quickly. "Don't even thank me; it's okay. I'm doing it for you, and that makes me happy."

"Even after the weeks we've spent together, I still can't believe how selfless you are." His forehead leans against mine, our noses touching now. "I wish everyone in the world was just like you."

"The world would be a boring place if it was only made up of Citria Espinosas," I chuckle, letting my fingers lightly run through his curls.

"Would it, though? I don't think it would," he starts explaining. He slides his hand downwards, so that it rests against the small of my back. That always makes me feel so protected. "Because then everyone would have a part of you."

"My God; you've thought this one through haven't you?" I laugh, pressing my nose harshly against his to bring us even closer. "But I guess that's cute."

"And you should never doubt the Knowledge of Michael, either. Surely you remember that, right?"

My eyes roll in amusement. "Of course. How could I forget; what with you reminding me every day, multiple times?" Before he can answer, I stand myself up from the sofa. "Come on – we need to get ready for tonight. And we also need to call Reiss, to make sure he can come too."

"Good idea." He too gets up from the sofa. "Let's do it."

* * *

Reiss told us he was able to come tonight, so he's going to be able to witness the ashes being scattered. Right now, Michael's wearing the pendant which has a small amount of each person's ashes within it, and it's beautiful. When I saw it, it made me tear up because I wish I could have done that with my mother's ashes.

Anyway, we're currently walking towards Michael's old house, and Michael's getting a little emotional. Reiss is walking ahead, whilst Michael's walking by my side. He's looking down at the floor, though, tears in his eyes. He isn't even holding my hand right now.

"We're here for you Michael," I assure him, resting my hand on his shoulder as we walk. He feels my touch, nodding in answer, with no other words.

I wouldn't even call him upset right now – more, he's feeling down because of what's happening. It's completely understandable; I feel this way from time to time, too. When you've lost someone you love, sometimes you feel like you're actually doing okay; as if you're going a little too strong considering you've lost someone. Then, other times, it's like your heart's been stabbed with the sharpest knife; those are the times where you simply feel like you're weak; you're nothing. I'm assuming Michael's feeling that way right now.

We finally reach Michael's old house, and predictably, as soon as Michael catches sight of it, his sad mood worsens. This event was supposed to be sweet; it was meant to be a nice tribute to his family. Instead, he's getting emotional, which is fine, but ... I want him to smile a little. It's hurting me seeing him this way.

"Okay, so ... who wants to say their words first?" I ask the men.

"I'll go," Reiss offers, stepping forward a little. He takes a deep breath, before beginning his brief eulogy. "Uh ... I miss all of you guys. I'm still in denial about all of this. Astrix, son ... I love you. You may have done some bad things, but ... I really love you." He starts to struggle on his words now. "And ... and at least you're with your mother now ... " He squeezes his eyes tightly shut, to try and stop the tears, but it doesn't work, and he begins to cry.

Michael consoles him. "Oh, Uncle ... " He sniffles a little, entering Reiss' embrace hopelessly.

Feeling sympathy for them both, I try to comfort them both myself. "That was lovely, Reiss. Michael, do you want to do yours now?"

He pulls away from his uncle, nodding slowly. "Yeah." The pot of ashes is in my hands, so he takes them from me, keeping a firm hold on them to make sure he doesn't drop them. "Well ... how many times can I say the same thing, huh? You all know that I miss you by now. You knew from the very start. My God, the things I would do to bring you back ... but I know that I can't do that. I'm just blessed to have Reiss and Citria here with me now; they're helping me no end ... " Before continuing, he exhales a shaky breath, obviously containing his cries. "Uh ... yeah. You'll always be here with me in spirit. I love you all."

He then opens the pot of ashes, scattering them nicely. We all watch as they start to float away into the air, then Michael blows a kiss to the night sky, where all the stars are coming out now. Silence takes place between us as we watch this sight, until I turn my head to look at Michael, noticing that he's on the verge of tears.

"Come here," I say, bringing him into my arms.

He falls into my arms, immediately starting to sob, the loud sound of his cries echoing throughout the street, despite my clothing muffling them a little. He quivers in my arms, almost as if he's cold just from the light Autumn breeze. Moments later, Reiss joins in with our group hug, holding tightly onto Michael and I to give us all a little warmth.

"Michael kid ... we got you," Reiss reminds him, his voice now muffled because we're all so close together.

"I know," Michael sniffles, trying desperately to let his cries subside now. It's a difficult task for him, but after a few minutes, and much throat-clearing and heavy breathing, he manages to. "I-I can't describe how painful it is ... "

A sympathetic sigh passes my lips. "It's hard; we all know that sweetie. Just ... I don't even need to tell you again that Reiss and I are here for you. For forever and a half, remember?"

By now, we're all separated from one another, so Michael closes the gap between the two of us by hugging me again – most likely, in appreciation. "Thank you Angel ... I love you." His tone is close to being hopeless-sounding.

"I love you, Michael," I answer softly, kissing his forehead the way he kisses mine normally.

"Okay, so ... do you guys want to stay out here a little while longer, or are you going to go home?" Reiss asks softly, sitting down on the curb by the house. "Because I don't mind at all ... " His voice still sounds pained from the fact he's lost his son, as well as all the rest of his family.

My gaze meets Michael's, anticipating his answer. Whatever he wants to do, I'll do too. After all, this is his family, not mine.

Michael knits his brows together in light thought. "Well ... I'd like to stay here a little while. Just ... clear my head, a little, that's all ... "

Reiss nods his head in understanding. "Sure, kid. You can do that if you want. Do you want me to stay, or go? Because I don't mind at all."

"I don't mind either, Uncle. If you have stuff to do back at father's, then you go do it. Or, you can stay here too. It's your call." Michael sits on the curb next to Reiss, heaving a small sigh to himself.

"But do you want me to stay or not?" Reiss presses politely.

"Like I already said: it's your call, Uncle." Michael flashes a brief, faint smile.

Reiss sighs in response, standing up. "You know what? I'll give you some alone time. I think you need it, kid." He smiles at his nephew, ruffling his hair.

"Reiss, what did I say about the curls?" Michael snickers, trying to cheer himself up, now.

"Sorry Mike. Didn't realise they were so special," he laughs, beginning to walk away. "See you guys soon though, okay?"

"Bye Reiss," I say, waving at him.

Michael waves too, also saying a small, "Goodbye."

Soon, he's out of sight, leaving just Michael and I alone. Michael looks up at the sky, at all the stars up there.

"Say ... " As he speaks, he doesn't look away from the sky. "How many stars do you think are up there right now?"

"Well ... millions and billions, Michael. Too many to count in a lifetime," I answer quietly, as not to break the now-peaceful atmosphere that surrounds us.

"The stars all represent an angel that has gotten their wings, you know." He then pauses, remaining completely silent.

"Of course they do. Most of them being related to you. All of those stars ... are your family."

"And you ... and your mother." He shifts his gaze to me, a thin layer of tears in his eyes. This, in turn – along with the talk of my mother – causes tears to form in my own eyes. Michael notices this, before pulling me into his embrace. "Come here."

"But me?" I mutter. "I'm still alive."

"You're a living angel. See, you're more than just a star to me." He kisses my temple, bringing me closer to him.

Then, we both sit, taking in the night sky ... where all our angels are.

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Ending was kinda abrupt. Sorry!
On a better note, happy fifty-eighth birthday, Michael sweetheart! I love you all the world. 🌍❤️✨
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :)