Falling: The Complete Angels Among Us Series

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I stare up at the ceiling, thinking of Ceri. My body relaxes into the bed, the tension beginning to ease. I wonder if she can feel my thoughts. What did Ethan say? We’re either here to learn or to help. Am I here to help Ceri, or is Ceri here to teach me something? Is my path crossing hers or is it the other way around? I said that nothing strange had ever happened to me before I met Ceri, just over two years ago. Is that true? I let my mind wander. I have no recall whatsoever of having a bad dream prior to that time, of course that doesn’t mean to say I hadn’t had any, only that it wasn’t a concern. Why is it that I can remember these dreams so clearly and they keep repeating the same message—protect Ceri but don’t get too close? Watch her from a distance, but always stand back.

I pick up another of Ethan Morris’s books from the bedside table. The title is Worlds That Collide and it’s fascinating. He believes that there are multiple planes of existence and they all inter-relate. When we are here on the earthly plane, in our sleep we leave our bodies and go back to the ethereal plane to continue the work we do there. It isn’t easy reading, but I’m halfway through the book now and trying to get my head around his ideas. I’m beginning to see what he’s asking the reader to do, and that’s to stop thinking about life here on earth as being the sole purpose of our existence. Instead he’s suggesting we think of it merely as a place we come to learn lessons. We then return to the ethereal planes, where our energy will be advanced by our experiences in this life. Some ‘energies’ come back more than once. Well, I think that’s what he’s saying. It’s not easy to take in, that’s for sure.

CHAPTER TWELVE (#ulink_d42748af-8ab8-50f7-874d-fd62a4eb14d3)

Life Without Her (#ulink_d42748af-8ab8-50f7-874d-fd62a4eb14d3)

I’ve found myself another job. Fortunately not everyone gets on with the influential Mason Portingale and once the news was out that I was looking, well, wheels within wheels. Grey’s Advertising is small and I guess in many ways we are a perfect fit. I’m flexible and live for my work—well, that goes without saying. What else do I have in my life? No Ceri, that’s a fact. She hasn’t been in touch and it’s been over a month.

Ironically my dreams have virtually stopped. That might be because I’m hardly sleeping; I spend hours thinking about her and wondering what happens next. Sleep usually comes around four am and then it’s only a few hours until the alarm clock wakes me for another day. Without the new job I have no idea what I would do. I know I can’t sit around moping all the time, but that’s my life pretty much outside of work now. I’m arriving early and staying late. At least the new boss is happy, although he must wonder why I don’t want to go home at the end of the day like everyone else.

I had an email from Sheena and she made it clear Ceri didn’t know she was getting in touch. It was brief. She told me that I’d broken Ceri’s heart and that I was a rat. ‘Stay away,’ she said, and that was it. The thing is, when you are confronted with the truth about a situation, what can you say? There’s no point in trying to deny what happened and there is no justification. The best thing I can do now for Ceri is to bow out of her life and hope that she finds someone who deserves to be with her and can keep her safe. She’s bright, beautiful and a catch; she has no idea how truly amazing she is and that’s because she hides herself away. At work she is outgoing, but the moment she lets down her armour, she’s running scared. The other side of her life bewilders her and she’s constantly seeking answers; that’s the bit that other people don’t understand, and there are moments when I’ve been with her where I too felt freaked out by something she told me.

I’ve decided I’ll still meet up with Ethan next week. I’m going to take a day off work and visit a couple of interesting psychic bookstores while I’m there. I don’t know if spending time with Ceri has awakened something in me. Ethan’s idea that I write up all of the dreams I could still remember with some sort of clarity, has been useful. It has certainly made me wonder whether there’s a message in there for me. What if meeting Ceri wasn’t a coincidence? What if it was fate? I also told her a lie. At the time I felt I had no choice, but I’m not a guy to give in to fear. It doesn’t sit well with me and my knee-jerk reaction ended up in my lashing out at her. I don’t know how to undo the damage, because at the time I thought I was protecting her. Whether the warning was for real and the consequences could put her life in danger—I don’t know, but that’s not a risk I’m prepared to take.