Snippet #2812623

The group had been driving for several hours. They had passed various sceneries along the highway, from Florida’s swampland to uncultivated land with cows and horses to dense forests to high bridges where you could see the buildings or water underneath and felt as if you were touching the sky.

All throughout it, Alejandro had been fighting with Connor over music. With two very different tastes, every couple of songs the genre did a one-eighth turn. Laila had sat quietly, contemplating the view from the window. It was so fascinating to see how, in the matter of a few hours, they had seen so many different landscapes and they hadn’t even left the state yet.

It was around five when they reached the first small town where they were supposed to rest for the night. The highway exit took them into suburbain homes, their one- and two-floor buildings carefully planned out so that it all looked uniform. In a way, suburbs reminded Laila of her own home. Organized, clean, planned.
A few blocks down, they reached the end of the road and took a right. Laila’s eyes widened as she saw the beach.

”Lilith, we have to go to the beach tonight,” she said.

Alejandro heard them and figured Laila must love the beach but was surprised by her excitement. After all, she lived in Florida. Well, perhaps she hadn’t grown up by the coast where the beach is easily accessible.

”Well, I think we should stop somewhere to eat before finding a place for the night,” Alejandro said, looking at the time. He had been eating his snacks and drinking his water all along, but his stomach was calling for actual food. After all, they hadn’t stopped to eat lunch.

He kept driving until he reached a road lined with buildings, including hotels, family-owned restaurant, and stores showcasing everything from boutique clothing to antiques. Laila read all of the sign. She saw some beautiful things through the shop windows, thankful that the speed limit was very low and Alejandro had to drive slowly compared to when out on the highway.

”How about there?” Laila asked, seeing an Italian restaurant up ahead that looked very cute.

Lilith mostly spent the journey in and out of sleep. She didn’t realise how tired her mind was even though physically she was relatively okay. Unfortunately, it seemed like she couldn’t find herself fully able to relax and fall asleep properly and so decided to just keep her eyes closed. The pounding in her head was still going strong and she wondered whether it was just because she wasn’t used to a human body.

Connor, on the other hand, was sitting at the front beside his brother much to his annoyance. To make matters worse they couldn’t even decide on what to listen to since they both had completely different tastes. The bickering was reminiscent of their childhood days and it felt weirdly comforting as if nothing had changed between them.

After what seemed like decades for Lilith, she opened her eyes and a blinked quickly in order to get used to the light. She looked over at Laila who was motioning towards the beach and with a smile she replied ”you can grab a cute bikini from your bag for me then”.

Lilith’s stomach rumbled quietly as Alejandro mentioned grabbing something to eat. ”Laila, I thought humans eat three meals a day?” she asked the Angel who just awkwardly laughed as if she was joking.

Connor glanced behind him at the two girls and shook his head to himself, they were definitely weird. The Italian restaurant that Laila was mentioning did, however, get his attention. ”Italian sounds good to me.”

Alejandro nodded, thankful that Connor had agreed to the restaurant without a fight. Part of him was embarrassed to be fighting with him in front of the girls, the other part forgot that they were there whenever they started fighting over the music. He didn’t think he could fight over something like that throughout all the trip; he would have to figure something out.

Laila figures that, at some point, she would have to talk to Lilith about what was appropriate to say around humans and what wasn’t. She just wasn’t sure whether Lilith was doing it innocently or on purpose but, either way, it was always easier when the humans didn’t suspect a thing.

Driving up to the restaurant, Alejandro parked the car and got out.

”So, are you two from Florida?” He asked as they walked up. He needed to learn more about them if they were going to continue.

”No, but I’ve lived here most of my life,” Laila replied. It was better to keep things as vague as possible.

Alejandro nodded and turned to Lilith. Every time he looked at her, he felt something weird on his chest. ”And you, Lilith?”

Connor got out of the car and quietly followed behind the group, making sure he was maintaining some distance between them. However, hearing Alejandro asking the girls some questions that he was curious to know he stepped forward to close the gap.

Lilith smiled at Alejandro and gave a small shrug, ”I’m not really tied down to any one place, but Laila convinced me to stay and help her out,” she said carefully. Looking over at Laila she gave her one of her signature smirks as if to say look I’m behaving.

Laila saw Lilith’s smirk and returned a small smile, thankful that the Reaper had trolled with a... human answer. At least for now.

Alejandro nodded, ”You two must be really close then.”

Laila didn’t say anything and instead turned to Connor, who had approached them, with a small smile. She had read his file but his information had been more limited to her since he wasn’t her human.

”Your mom told me that you’re going to be visiting different universities,” she said, ”What are you planning on studying?”

Lilith released a quiet laugh at the mention of the two being closed, ”I’m sure we’ll only just get closer from here onwards.”

Connor was slightly disappointed at their response, especially Lilith’s since she really didn’t give any information away that could help him. Laila at least gave a location, but even then, it wasn’t much to go on. He was caught off guard, however, when she asked him a question instead.

”Photography,” he simply stated, not wanting to go be rude and not reply but also not wanting to carry out a conversation either.

Alejandro raised an eyebrow at the answer and looked over at Connor as they entered the restaurant, holding the door open for them.

He heard Connor’s short response. So, he had gone with photography after all. He now understood a little better why his parents had mentioned arguing with Connor throughout the past months over college. For him, however, he didn’t see anything wrong with that; good little brother was a really good photographer.

”That’s really cool, Connor,” he said before going up to the hostess and asking for a table of four.

Laila agreed with a nod. She needed to understand Connor a little better to help and she needed to get the siblings to talk.

”That is. What kind of photography do you take?”

Connor mumbled a thank you to his brother as he walked through the door and shrugged at his positive comment. It was nice to get a positive response to his choice after all the arguing with their parents even if it came from Alejandro. ”Thanks,” he repeated, except this time it sounded genuine.

As the group waited for a table, he turned his attention to Laila who had asked him a follow up question much to his dismay. ”I don’t really have a preference, I tend to like taking photos of people just doing their thing and day to day life,” the corner of his lips twitched upwards subconsciously as he walked about his passion, ”I mostly work on film so the effect it gives it makes even the basic things seem more special.”

Laila loved to see the change in Connor as soon as he started talking about photography; it was that same look children had when showing off their favorite toy.

”That’s so unique, you’ll have to show me sometime,” she said, taking a seat on one side of the booth while Alejandro took the other side. ”I’m sure you’ll have many opportunities to take photos during this trip.”

The waiter introduced himself and sweet the menus down for them, leaving to give them some time to look over the food. Alejandro picked up one of the menus and started to look through it.

Laila did the same, her eyes reading over the letters. She hadn’t had lasagna in some time.

Lilith wondered who she should sit with, but after quickly realising that it may be more helpful for Connor to side besides his brother, she took a seat beside Laila and shuffled in closer so that their shoulders were touching. ”Do they have chocolate – covered strawberries here?” She asked Laila, her eyes skimming the incomprehensible menu.

Connor watched as Lilith sat beside Laila and so took the only available seat beside Alejandro, although he wasn’t complaining since he much rather sit with someone he actually knew. However, Laila’s encouraging response made him feel slightly validated and he smiled back warmly. ”Yeah I can show you some of my stuff.”

Laila was glad Lilith sat next to her. After all, Alejandro needed to get closer to his brother one way or another. When Lilith scooted closer to her, she glanced over for a moment, biting her lip as she felt the cool brush of her shoulders. Laila quickly raised the menu for a moment so that her face was less visible to those around her.

After a deep breath, she put it back down, as if just having made her decision.

”Great, I’m looking forward to it!” she said to Connor with a smile.

Then, she turned to Lilith. ”Not here, but you should get the gnocchi.”

Alejandro has made his decision as well. He was surprised how open Connor was to showing Laila his photography. It hurt him to think that, if he asked, Connor would just brush him off. ”The fettuccini Alfredo sounds really good too,” he said, putting down his menu and looking towards Lilith.

Lilith gave a small pout as Laila broke her food dreams of eating more of those sweet treats but regardless, she looked at the menu, mostly at the pictures and struggled to decide what to get. As Laila recommended a dish called gnocchi which she whispered under her breath in trying to pronounce it, Alejandro also chimed in.

Looking between the two she tapped her index finger against the table in thought for a few seconds. ”Okay, I can’t say no to a recommendation by such a handsome guy like you so sure, Fettuccini Alfredo.”

Connor was somewhat amused by this interaction, he felt as if Lilith was a child and the two were her parents of some sort. A weird combination of people had come into his life, including his brother who he felt like he didn’t know anymore. ”I’ll just get a small Margherita pizza”, he looked over at Lilith and added, ”Lilith you can have a slice too to taste if you want.”

Alejandro grinned at Lilith’s response. There was still something about her that terrified him, made him want to run away, to make his stomach drop, but there was something else that called him to her. Almost like a feeling of luring one into a peaceful sleep.

Remember this isn’t about you, it’s about helping Alejandro, a small voice in Laila’s mind said as she heard Lilith’s response, You tried that last night and you saw how it worked out for you.

Thankfully, the waiter came up to them to take orders. Laila ordered her lasagna and Alejandro ordered two plates of Alfredo.

Lilith smiled, glancing around the restaurant. It was small and quaint as Laila may have described it but it didn’t really fit her. That wasn’t a surprise though as the Reaper always wore heels wherever she went and would only wear clothes that would cost well over an average human’s budget. Her sunglasses remained next to her hands and she fiddled around with it as she contemplated whether to put them on or not; her migraine was getting worse.

Connor noticed Lilith reaching towards the sunglasses and asked, ”is there a particular reason why you wear them indoor?” He motioned towards the black shades, ”I couldn’t help but notice you wearing them back at the hospital.”

With her elbows on the table, Lilith rested her head on hands and smiled at him. ”I’ve always been in darkness so my eyes aren’t accustomed to these bright lights,” she left it there and looked back over at Alejandro.

”So, how did it feel nearly dying?” She was curious to his response, ”did you see a light?” Lilith found it funny when humans believed there was a light as they were dying. There was a light to some extent, but it came from the soul the Reaper was taking out from there body and once removed there was only darkness, Lilith’s favourite.

Connor’s question was interesting. Laila, of course, had noticed the sunglasses but hadn’t thought much about their purpose. Angels were being of the light so even the brightest or hottest day did not bother her, but she supposed it was different for Reapers, who lived in a much darker part of the world.

"I-" Alejandro was taken back by such a direct question. He still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that something like that had happened to him; as an athlete, he had to take care of his body and was constantly going through physicals to ensure his health. The doctors too had mentioned how odd it had been and, therefore, had attributed it to stress. "I didn’t expect it since I’ve never had health issues."

He thought for a moment. He couldn’t remember anything well after he passed out until he woke up at the hospital. However, the thought made him feel a chill go down his back and, for the briefest of moment, Laila and Lilith appeared to blur in his vision.

"I might have… " he said, shaking his head. He really preferred not to talk about it. "I can’t remember well, honestly."

He did remember his last thoughts and his eyes shifted to Connor briefly.

Laila had never been able to ask what a human felt during his last moments before death nor did she know if the souls remembered their passage way into the afterlife, so the question fascinated it. However, she never liked her children to think about death too much; danger was always such a present with them that Laila just tried to make things easier for them. She hoped their food would come in quickly.

"So, what do you do, Lilith?" Alejandro asked, trying to make conversation. There was something about the two girls he couldn’t quite pin down but, while he felt a certain comfort around Laila, he wasn’t sure what to make of Lilith.

Hearing Alejandro talk about his near-death experience was interesting, although his response wasn’t as dramatic as Lilith would have liked. ”That’s the thing about death, no one can escape from it even if you’re ‘young’ or ‘healthy’” she added quotation marks around the terms, and with a big smile added, ”you’ve escaped it for now but no matter, your soul will be claimed so,” she gave a small nod towards his younger brother, ”you should thank your Guardian who fought for you to come back.”

Lilith felt a pang in her chest that she couldn’t describe, was it the leftover transference from Alejandro’s soul? She shook her head to herself, no this seemed different somehow. She quickly brushed off the feeling, putting it down to the fact that she was still adjusting to her human body.

Whilst Alejandro was replying to Lilith’s question about dying, Connor felt himself grow more and more uncomfortable with the topic. It reminded him of his initial reaction of worry and guilt thinking that his brother was going to die leaving their relationship in ruins. Glancing over at Laila and Lilith, he was secretly grateful that they had been there that day to save Alejandro but something about Laila’s personality made him think she was the one who had done something, and perhaps Lilith helped after. Again, this was all just a mess of thoughts which he didn’t want, especially since this road trip was meant to be for fun and freedom. What’s taking the food so long?
”Oh aren’t you a curious one,” she chuckled, ”keep this up and I’ll think you have a thing for me.” Lilith joked but kept her eyes locked on Alejandro. When she smiled, it seemed as if she was after something, there was something quite mischievous about it compared to Laila who exuded warmth and love.

”It’s complicated, but ironically I’m in the business of Death,” she glanced over at Laila before looking back at Alejandro, ”but if I tell you, I’m going to have to kill you so.” She put a finger to her lips and winked.

Laila wanted to kick Lilith under the table as she went on about death in a way she expected no normal human to speak. Why did Reapers have to be so… morbid at times?

Connor echoed her thoughts as he mentioned the food, her eyes glancing over at the waiter who was moving between tables, praying that the food got here fast.

"Perhaps," Alejandro replied simply with a raised eyebrow.

He was used to being around women, his position in the soccer team and amongst people his age meant that he wasn’t a stranger to flirty behavior, but this was something completely different than he had ever experienced. Lilith was a weird mix between elegance and what he associated goth as. Her answer to what she did was not helpful in calming the nerves he was starting to feel.

The water came over to their table with their drinks and a basket of garlic bread. Alejandro secretly laughed at the thought that perhaps Lilith would be repulsed by the garlic; at this point, if she told him that she was a vampire, he might’ve believed her.

Laila quickly took her glass of water and drank some of it. She never had to deal with something like this; it was always the humans that posed trouble but now she had a Reaper to look after. Nonetheless, Laila couldn’t help but feel bothered by the suggestion that Alejandro would end up liking Lilith.

"I will be back with the food shortly," the waiter announced, much to Laila’s relief.

"So, I guess we have to look for a place to stay tonight," Laila said, trying to shift the conversation as she picked up a piece of bread. "Do you guys know anywhere we could stay?"

Alejandro glanced at Connor and shook his head, "No, not really, but we can look around."

Laila nodded. "Sounds good. I’m guessing we can take some time to explore the town, no? Might as well, since we’re already here."