Or it could’ve made things so bad there was no hope of fixing them. Things might already be beyond fixing. This was the crux of Uriel’s warning. The way forward was narrow. Get it wrong and we fall off the ledge.
My phone rang, startling me out of my thoughts. I glanced at the caller ID hopefully and saw that it was Trevor. Just what I needed, the angry protector calling.
“Hey, Trevor.”
“Don’t ‘hey, Trevor me,’” he said. “What the hell did you do to make Nick think you dumped him?”
Ignoring he reported to me, I bit down the angry response and remembered how close he was to Nick. “It’s complicated.”
“Complicated?” Trevor scoffed. “Then uncomplicate it. Fast. Nick’s really hurt. Worse than I can remember. He cried when he told me you dumped him. Cried. He hasn’t done that since his first heartbreak.”
Hearing how much Nick hurt was a gut punch that took my breath away. I clenched my fist and silently cursed Uriel. Except it wasn’t his fault. He sounded genuinely sorry when he told me the future he’d seen.
“It’s not that simple. Uriel called me right before we went to dinner.”
“Oh shit. That’s the work call you took?”
I didn’t need Grant to tell me Nick noticed my change in mood. “Yes. He said quite a lot.”
For the next few minutes, I recounted everything Uriel had said. Normally, Trevor Grant wouldn’t be someone I’d confide in, but he was Nick’s best friend and had more insight intoNick than anyone else. I ended by telling him Nick and I wereHKarlin.
“Soul mates?” He sounded as incredulous as I had when Uriel told me.
I resisted the urge to gloat, because I needed to be better, but I wished I could’ve seen his face when I dropped that nugget. “That’s what Uriel told me. It also fits how fast we clicked.”
“Yeah. Wow. I’m sorry I thought you were just trying to sleep with Nick.”
Grant surprised me. I expected him to avoid that topic. “We’re good. You were protecting someone you love. I respect that.”
“Thanks. But wow. Uriel didn’t make it easy for you, did he?”
I might respect him for defending Nick, but we weren’t friends. I wasn’t going to bare my soul to him. “No, he didn’t. Getting back to your original question, I thought I was doing the right thing. He’d been upset, then he drank too much, so I told him let’s wait.”
“Fuck,” Grant said in a loud whisper.
I thought he’d be happy I didn’t sleep with Nick when he was drunk. “What?”
“Listen, Henry,” Trevor began hesitantly, his voice low and serious. “There’s something you should know.”
“What?” I asked warily, feeling my stomach tighten with unease.
“You know how Michael told us to make sure he didn’t have a human boyfriend?”
I could see where this was going and the frustration pent up inside was ready to burst like a thunderstorm. “Yes.”
“Well, one of the things we did was manipulate his dates’ minds and have them say things like “let’s wait” or “I want the first time to be special.” Then they never called back.”
My fists clenched at my sides, and I paced around my apartment, trying to work through the whirlwind of emotions coursing through me. I wanted to rage at Grant, but it was my fault. He and the others had followed Michael’s orders. I never asked for specifics when I’d read they made sure his dates never called back.
“Now it makes sense.” I huffed out a breath and rubbed my face with my free hand. “He thinks I was trying to dump him.”
“He thinks you did,” Trevor said softly.
Of course, he did. Now I understood the urgency of Uriel’s call. If he hadn’t warned me, I’d tell Nick the truth and prove it by using my powers. I needed to speak to him, but first I had to figure out how to make this right. “Thank you, Trevor. You’ve been a big help.”
“Hold on. Don’t call him while he’s out with Alex.”
Grant was starting to wear on my nerves. I was the mission leader. “Grant, I appreciate everything you did, but I’ll take it from here.”
