“Nice skirt,” I said.
“Fuck you,” she said in her thick Scottish accent.
“All right then,” I said, “Right here, out in the open? You’ve got easy access. I’m game.”
“Take a hike, buddy. You’re drunk,” said Joel’s angel.
“What’s everyone’s problem? Geez.” I gave them both a dirty look.
“You don’t remember me at all, ye bastart?” the Scotty bitch said.
I looked her up and down, shaking my head. “Why would I remember you?”
“Maybe cause we had a Tinder date last week and you showed up pissed, you fuckin’ dunderweed. Pissed like ya are now.”
“All right, all right, it’s coming back to me.”
All of us redirected our attention to the steps where Evey and Brooklyn came prancing out. The proximity thing is when you’re with a group of angels, we are always naturally positioned nearest our souls. We can transport our own bodies (think teleportation) when we are within a one hundred yard radius of our souls, but once that barrier is broken, we have to fly the distance. Meaning, once your soul is out of range, you have to get back in range in order to move your energy from one space to another within an instant. When you get too far away, you have to go looking for them like any other person. The fact that we can hear their voices from several miles away helps, but if they’re not talking, well then you’re screwed. This is how a lot of people get kidnapped or killed. Their angels were out of range.
Evey got out of range once when she was fifteen. I had been bored to death, sitting outside her childhood home in Oakland when she snuck out the back door and climbed her neighbor’s fence to meet her boyfriend a couple of blocks away. He was sixteen and had just gotten his driver’s license. T.J., that little shit. I was frantic, searching for her. I found them about three miles away in a Burger King parking lot, making out in his dad’s Buick.
There was nothing I could do to stop that relationship. It was innocent and pure, and T.J. was actually a good kid until Evey told him she wanted to wait until she was eighteen to have sex. Good girl. He broke up with her.
Then there was Byron, her real first everything. He was nice—good parents, good grades. They had sex in his parents’ garage when Evey was seventeen. I took off the moment they started kissing, but I got to hear every word of their conversation about protection. I almost stepped in front of a bus that night.
Mona had sat me down afterward and asked what was wrong with me. I told her I was worried about Evey’s heart getting broken. Mona had said, “It’s not your job to protect her heart, just her body and soul.”
What’s the difference when you love someone?
I was walking down the street, mindlessly following Brooklyn, Evey, and the two dumbshits along with the bitchy Scottish angel and the other one.
Evey said to Brooklyn, “Where are we going? I have to get up early for work.”
“Tomorrow’s Sunday, you don’t have to work, and we’re going to Oakland. Joel got tickets to the Chainsmokers. Like you’d miss that.”
Evey beamed. “I was going to work on some sketches, but who cares? You’re right! This will be awesome. Tracey can sketch her own stupid jeans.”
I got a sinking feeling whenever I heard Evey talk about being irresponsible. I wanted to jump inside of Keith’s body, make him do something really stupid, and end the whole double date right there.
The Scot was skipping down the middle of the street, humming some stupid old folk tune. I ran up next to her. “Listen, I need to ask you for a favor.” She ignored me and took flight. I tried to catch up to her in the air, but I couldn’t. I was drunk and dizzy. I hit the ground a little too hard and fell over. I could hear her laughing.
“What’s your name?” I yelled.
She popped up beside me. “Greer’s the name. What the fuck do ye want?”
“Will you let me borrow Keith for a minute?”
“Ye are crazy, aren’t ye?”
We were following the group onto the BART subway to head to Oakland. It was crammed with people, so we sat on top of the train with a bunch of other angels as we zipped along through the tunnels.
I had to yell at her over the noise of the train. “Please! I won’t hurt him. I just know Evey is going to make some terrible mistake tonight. I’m just looking out for her and him. She’s reckless right now. Been going through a lot.” I was sobering up, and Greer looked as though she was buying it.
I popped down into the subway car. Evey was laughing hysterically at something Keith had said. Keith’s blond shaggy hair was sprouting out everywhere below his low red beanie, which matched his red T-shirt. His jeans were hanging off of his ass, revealing his plaid boxers. So unoriginal, really not Evey’s type at all.
Greer was standing behind me. “What’s in it for me?”
“Take the night off. I won’t tell anyone.”
She glanced over at Joel’s angel, who shrugged, and then whispered something in her ear.
“You gonna watch Joel as well?” Greer asked.
“Fine,” I told her. A moment later they were gone.
As I stared at Evey, Brooklyn, Joel, and Keith, it hit me that I was now responsible for all of them. No more drinking tonight, I chanted over and over in my head.
When we got to the Fox Theater, I saw Keith hand something to Brooklyn. She popped it into her mouth. The crowd was thick inside, and I was trying to stay as close to all of them as possible, hoping they wouldn’t separate. Evey and Keith made it to the bar and did shots while Joel and Brooklyn watched the beginning of the show.