Chapter 12
Lazarus~
Three days later, I was still thinking about Elisabeth, Bodhi, and his crazy prophecy. Instead of enjoying one of the few holiday weekends that we got, I had spent it reading The Bible, researching Archangels, and going down a rabbit hole of religious mental defects.
I also hadn’t gone back to visit Bodhi. While I’d wanted to speak with him again, I hadn’t wanted to without Elisabeth with me.
Since Bodhi’s claims revolved around her, it hadn’t seemed right, and so I had reached out to her to tell her what Bodhi had discussed with me after she’d left Friday night.
When I approached the lobby’s front doors at St. Dymphna’s, I could see that Elisabeth had already been waiting for me, the offices closed for the day.
I also couldn’t help but notice how tired she looked, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why.
If I’d been kept tossing and turning over what Bodhi had told us, then I could only imagine that Elisabeth hadn’t faired any better.
As soon as Elisabeth opened the doors, I walked inside, and she was quick to lock them again.
Then, without a word, she turned to head towards her office, and I automatically followed her, letting her set the tone of the meeting.
Since I had already overstepped a few times, I didn’t want to risk it again.
Truth be told, I was terrified of her cutting me off again, and I’d do anything to make sure that that didn’t happen a second time.
Once we reached her office, I shut the door behind me, something that I was sure she didn’t mind when you considered the topic that I was here to discuss. The last thing that we needed was for someone to overhear our craziness, committing us both.
As I took a seat in one of the chairs, I said, “I thought of nothing else all weekend.”
Elisabeth’s hazel gaze studied me for a bit before she admitted the same. “Same here. In fact, I spent most of my morning replaying the tape from Bodhi’s interview.”
“Well, I spoke to him again after you left,” I told her.
“And what did he say?
“He spoke about how women were stronger than men, though most of them didn’t realize it,” I answered. “Then he brought up how God hadn’t killed Eve for her betrayal. According to him, God hadn’t killed her because Adam would have been left to live a life of crippling loneliness and pain.”
“Well, since she was fashioned from his rib, I would imagine so,” she replied smoothly.
“He said that God can still recognize consequences when dealing out his punishments,” I went on, ignoring her sarcasm. “When I asked him what any of that had to do with you, he circled back around to you being more powerful than you realize.”
“Powerful enough to slay demons?” she deadpanned. “Do I get my own sword and everything?”
Again, I chose to ignore her sass. “Then he went on to talk about our night together.”
“What about it?” she asked, her voice void of any emotion.
“He said that when I first touched you, it shook the heavens,” I told her, my gaze locked on hers. “He said that we experienced something special that night, and that only a few people in the eons of history have ever felt the same thing. He claims to know how we both felt that night.”
“Because he was there?” she huffed, arching a brow.
I leaned back in the chair, letting out a low sigh. “When I asked him how they could let me fuck things up if what we really had shook the heavens, he mentioned free will again and how that is the key to our success. You have to believe all on your own, Lissa.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then Hell will be unleashed where we stand,” I answered. “When I pointed out that Hell wasn’t a tangible place for humans, he corrected me by pointing out how some of us were already living in Hell.”
“Is that all he said?”
“No. He also mentioned how Heaven also existed for us, mentioned things like the birth of a child, animals, love...stuff like that.” I let out a deeper sigh this time. “I ended up asking him why God doesn’t just let us all suffer for our choices, and he said-”
“Because we’re His children, and like most parents, He can’t just stand by and watch us destroy ourselves,” she remarked, interrupting me and also being correct.
“I still don’t understand what any of that has to do with me,” she added, the wheels spinning behind her beautiful eyes, and it really was hard not to feel inadequate around her as I was learning more and more.
“Well, when I pushed him some more, he explained that,” I admitted. “I wanted to know why you, and he was willing to accommodate me.”
Her back immediately straightened. “What did he say?”
“He said it was because of the way that you believe,” I informed her. “He said that you don’t believe blindly, and that your mind is open in a way that both Heaven and Hell have been able to reach and see inside you.”
She shook her head in confusion. “The way that I believe?”
“You don’t just believe that God exists, Lissa,” I explained.
“You want to know why He exists, and according to Bodhi, that level of understanding makes you powerful enough to give you a direct line to God and Satan or whoever knows it. He knows it, and that’s why Hell has been trying to possess you since you were a small child. ”
“If that’s true, then why not come for me when I’d been a child and unaware?”
I gave her a faint smile. “I asked him that.”
“And?”
“They did go after you,” I replied. “However, I was there to stop them every time.”
“And if my connection to you was powerful enough to keep me from going with them as an innocent child, then that’s why they believe that you and I are...are whatever they think that we are,” she surmised on her own.
I nodded. “He also said that if I can’t convince you to take this seriously, then I’ll lose you forever,” I told her, finally telling her everything.
“By his accounts, humanity would be doomed, so his warning is hardly a personal one between just me and you, Russ,” she countered, and it still floored me that I was buying into this a lot faster than she was.
After a few seconds of silence, I asked, “Have you eaten dinner yet?”
Elisabeth shook her head. “No...I’ve been...I’ve been swamped.”
“Let me take you to dinner,” I told her. “I’m starving, and we still have a lot to talk about.”
When she didn’t immediately shut me down, hope soared in a dangerous way.
With or without the peril of the human race resting on our shoulders, what I felt for Elisabeth was the real thing, and I didn’t care if it was natural or something that’d been orchestrated by God himself.
When Elisabeth had cut me off all those months ago, I’d felt it significantly enough that sixteen-hour days had been the only thing keeping me going.
They’d also kept me from going after her.
Finally, she said, “Yeah, that’s fine. I could use some food.”
“We can take my car, and then I can bring you back here afterwards, yeah?”
She gave me a tired nod. “Sure.”
“Where do you feel like eating?” I asked as I stood up from the chair, Elisabeth doing the same.
“Hilmar’s sounds good,” she answered easily as she removed her lab coat, then proceeded to gather her things. “It’s also Tuesday, so I can’t see them being that busy.”
Nothing more was said as I escorted Elisabeth to my car, and I was grateful that she didn’t give me any flack as I opened the door for her, helping her inside my truck. Normally, I drove my jeep, but with the evenings cooling down, that wasn’t ideal.
When I got in on the other side, I looked over at her in just her professional blouse and slacks, then asked, “Do you want me to put the heater on?”
Elisabeth shook her head. “I like the cold.”
“Well, then I guess we better not let Hell take over,” I muttered as I started the engine.
Neither of us spoke as I drove us to Hilmar’s, and as far as restaurants went, it was one of the better ones.
They served a little bit of everything, and I guess you could compare them to a national chain like Applebee’s or Chile’s.
They were definitely a step up from fast food, but they weren’t fancy, and you didn’t need a reservation.
Once we got to the restaurant, Elisabeth kept allowing me to open all the doors for her, and then we waited patiently to be seated, hope continuing to soar in my chest, though I knew that she was just being polite.
While Elisabeth was passionate, she wasn’t combative just for the sake of being combative.
She was not one of those I-can-do-it-myself females.
Elisabeth had too much confidence to allow men to intimidate her, whether they were opening her doors or arguing with her about something.
At any rate, we waited until after we’d been seated and our orders taken to take up the conversation again, and I was internally thankful that our hostess had chosen a secluded table in the corner to continue a discussion that no sane person would ever have.