Chapter 17

Lucifer's POV

"So this is where you've been staying?" We arrived at what was a little cabin a few feet away from a small river. It was a small two-story black cabin. A dark brown wooden porch wrapped around the top and lower level and a matte black door served as the front entrance. Small little white flowers lined the entryway to the door.

Moon flowers.

"It might not be as nice as Gabriel's but it's mine." A slight blush appeared on her cheeks as she turned to face me,

"Would you like to come inside?"

More than anything.

"I would like that."

Still clutching my hand she led me up the small four steps and onto the front porch and into her little home. The smell of vanilla and lavender greeted me.

The same scent as her library.

The walls were also the same as her library, that dark green color with dark brown exposed wood beams throughout. Like Gabriel's house, hers was open. The living room connected to the kitchen with black cabinets that had gold hardware and just like Gabriel's place she had all stainless steel appliances and an island in the middle but instead of the fully white piece that Gabriel had, hers was a mixture of Black, dark gray with flecks of gold throughout, and a small dining area with a small dark brown table that could fit six. Dark hardwood floors accentuated the floors and the walls were decorated with pictures. Lots of pictures. A long black sofa faced the stone fireplace she had and just above it was a large wall-mounted TV. It was dark but ultimately very cozy and welcoming. It was her.

"How did you find this place?"

Catalina shrugged as she walked into the kitchen and placed her bag on the island,

"Technically Gabriel found it, but it was all worn down and he said it gave him haunted house vibes but I liked it so he helped me fix it up over the years."

"I thought you stayed with Gabriel?"

"I do but this is where I come when I want to get away from everything."

I took another look around and my eye lingered on one photo in particular on the fireplace mantle with a familiar face on it. The glass frame was shattered as if someone had thrown it and tried to superglue the pieces back together.

"Is this your family?"

Catalina nodded as she made her way to the fireplace,

"We don't talk anymore and honestly for everyone except my mother, I miss them sometimes."

She stared at the broken photo and then glanced back at me,

"Do you miss your family?"

Yes.

"Sometimes I do but I understand why they stay away," I said as I gently placed the broken picture back on the mantle.

"Gabriel comes around though."

I don't know why.

Gabriel had been "visiting" me on and off for years. I never understood why he even bothered. We weren't super close growing up. He had always been plastered to Micheal's side as younglings but as he got older we grew somewhat close.

"I've never seen Gabriel act the way he did the other day."

Neither have I.

"What's going on between you two?"

I can't tell her.

Catalina reached over, taking both of my hands in hers.

"Please." Her voice was so soft and delicate as she looked up at me with those big beautiful green eyes of hers.

Anything. Anything for her.

"I had a feeling that your gift of fire wasn't just an ordinary gift. Your flame felt different. So Gabriel and I wanted to know more-"

"My gift is from Hecate. Gabriel said a lot of her followers have gifts like mine."

Fuck this is going to hurt her.

"Your gift is not from Hecate."

Her face slowly began to pale,

"Gabriel and I reached out to the Fates and they showed us what your gift is and how you got it."

She squeezed my hand a bit tighter,

"And?"

"They showed us that when your mother was pregnant with you she had a bad feeling, so she went to see a psychic and was shown something that frightened her. She met with a man-"

"My dad?"

Fucking Hell. I can't tell her this.

"The man who raised you is not your biological father."

Catalina's eyes widened in surprise and I could see the millions of questions plaguing her mind but I continued,

"Your mother was upset that he didn't want to be with her so she wanted to take you from him and she did. Unfortunately, she learned the only way to get your father to come around and see her was if you were somehow hurt. I guess your mother had enough and one day lit a house on fire. With you in it. Your father rushed in to save you and he did, he got to you in time but your father had enough, he knew he couldn't come around anymore but he wanted to make sure that you would be safe so someone he knew granted you a gift to keep you safe. The gift to wield Hellfire."

"Who is my father?"

I gripped her hand, slightly pulling her closer to me,

"How much do you remember of the biblical studies your mother gave you?"

"A decent amount."

"Did she ever teach you about a man named Cain?"

Catalina nodded her head,

"Yes, Cain and his brother Abel, they were the first two sons of Adam and Eve. Cain killed Abel out of jealousy. Why does that-"

"Cain is your biological father."

Fear and utter terror filled her eyes as she looked up at me.

"Cain is my father? How is that possible?"

"Cain is immortal. His punishment for killing Abel was to spend eternity wandering, never settling in one place."

Staring at her face I could see the resemblance between them, those big green eyes resembled Cain's perfectly, her pink full lips matched his perfectly, and the attitude she had? Almost identical to Cain.

Catalina looked down at our joined hands.

"And my fire is HellFire?"

"Yes. Straight from the pit itself."

Look at me. Please look at me.

Still looking at our joined hands, Catalina in a low cracked voice whispered,

"She tried to kill me?"

"I am so sorry Catalina."

She didn't deserve you anyway.

Finally, Catalina glanced up at me as a single tear escaped her eye,

"So I was just a pawn to her all these years?"

A small sob escaped her,

"What was wrong with me?"

Before I even knew what I was doing I pulled her into me and held her.

Don't let her go.

I could feel her tears as they slowly fell from her eyes, soaking through my shirt. I didn't know what to say so I let her cry as I held her close and gently kissed the top of her head.

I hooked my finger under her chin, lifting her head so I could see her.

Beautiful.

Even with tears in them, her eyes were so beautiful.

"There is and there never was anything wrong with you Catalina. You are an extraordinary human being and if your mother is so evil that she would go to the lengths she did, then she did not deserve you."

And one day I will make that woman pay for these tears.

"You are a shining star in a world that is plagued with nothing but darkness."

Catalina leaned into me as I wrapped my arms around her.

"Everything is going to be okay," I whispered to her as I slowly untangled myself from her as I gently picked her up, carrying her to the large black couch in the middle of the room. I kept her on my lap and pulled her close to me as I tightened my grip on her. She settled into me as she rested her head on my chest. Tears still leaking from her eyes.

"Everything is going to be okay."

* * *

She's asleep.

I should get her into her own bed but I don't want to let her go.

Against my instincts, I gathered her back up into my arms and carried her up the stairs to her room. It wasn't difficult to find, the house itself had only three bedrooms, one of which was particularly larger than the rest and housed some more photos of her and others. Her room was big. The room was painted black with matching dark hardwood floors and a huge floor-to-ceiling glass door that led to the upper-level balcony. A large king-sized bed with black silk sheets and a large dark green blanket was in the center of the room. A dark wooden end table accompanied each side of the bed, both decorated with gold lamps. A simple black dresser, that housed many more books, pictures, and little crystals was pressed up against the wall. A fairly large black rug with a crescent moon etched on it lay beneath her bed in the center of her room.

Cozy.

I pulled back her sheets gently laying her down on her bed and tucked her back in.

How many times had she done this? How many times had she cried herself to sleep?

I hated it. I hated the thought of her upset. The thought of her crying herself to sleep was enough to make me want to hunt down every person who caused those tears and see just how much torture they could endure.

I would. I would do it. I would do it for her.

I turned around to leave. To let her get some sleep in peace but I felt her as she gripped my hand and gently tugged me back.

"Stay." Her eyes remained closed as she whispered as if she was in that sweet place between sleep and reality.

Always.

I reached down and kissed the top of her head as she pulled the blanket down and I slid in next to her. She laid her head on my chest and just for a second I forgot how to breathe. It had been so long since I had shared a bed with another. I had plenty of lovers before but I had never welcomed them into my bed or even let them rest next to me. This was new. Different. I had never welcomed or wanted this sort of intimacy with anyone. But with Catalina… it felt right. I pulled the blanket back over us and pulled her in closer.

"I will stay as long as you wish."

* * *

I have to be dreaming.

She was still here, her head on my chest. She's here. This was real.

I don't want to get up.

Yet I had to. I gently moved her head to the soft pillow and got out of the bed, careful not to wake her, and gently tucked her back in.

If I wake her up before she's ready she'll kill me.

I made my way down to the kitchen.

Coffee. I need coffee.

I had thought last night might have been some elaborate dream that I had conjured up. That maybe I had fallen asleep thinking about her again and my mind had played some kind of trick on me. But it was real. She was here, with me and after waking up next to Catalina, I decided at that moment I wanted to wake up next to her forever.

Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me.

"Well, you two certainly seemed cozy last night," Gabriel said with a sneer on his face as he leaned back into his chair.

"Nothing happened Gabriel."

Gabriel sprung from his seat at the island,

"BULLSHIT!"

He strutted over, stopping just a few mere inches from me,

"I told you to stay away from her."

"And I told you it wasn't your decision to make!" I stared at my brother as rage wore on his face, death gleaming in his eyes,

"Did you fuck her?"

"WHAT!"

"Did. You. Touch. Her?"

"Nothing happened, we just talked and slept. That is all."

"What did you say to her?" His voice was lethal as he spoke.

"I told her about who her father is, The Hellfire, and what her mother did, she was upset and needed a friend."

"I AM HER FRIEND!" Gabriel screamed,

"Well, you sure as hell haven't been acting like one!"

I heard her soft little footsteps seconds before Catalina entered the kitchen, her hair tousled and eyes puffy.

"What's going on?"

Gabriel, without taking his eyes off me, answered her.

"I need to speak to my brother privately."

I looked back at Catalina.

If she tells me to go I'll go, if not then I'm staying right here.

Her head dipped ever so slightly,

"I'll get breakfast started while I wait for you guys."

I turned my gaze back to Gabriel,

"Outside. Now." I said to him as I brushed past him and walked out the door.

* * *

Following Gabriel, we walked the ten minutes it took to get to the small creek in silence.

"Nothing happened Gabriel."

He ignored me and continued to make his way closer to the creek.

"GAbrIEL!" I shouted at him. He wasn't going to ignore me like we were children. He wanted to talk, then we were going to fucking talk.

"You need to leave Lucifer."

"I'm not leaving."

Gabriel turned and looked at me,

"You don't have a choice."

The hell I do!

"You didn't tell her the entire truth about that vision, did you?"

I hadn't. I told Gabriel the truth that day. I wanted her feelings for me to be genuine and if I told her about what her mother had been shown and told about what she would be like, why she was so worried, It would destroy her. She would be afraid and believe there was something wrong with her and shit it might have been selfish but I worried she would also be afraid of me. She would push me away and I didn't want that. I didn't want to be apart from her.

"What do you want, Gabriel?"

He stiffened,

"I'm feeling generous so I'll give you two options. You can leave and let Catalina live a normal, human life or I'll go right to Catalina and tell her what you left out. That you are the reason her mother didn't want her. And since we both know how she feels about being lied to, we both know she will never want to see you again."

"Why are you doing this Gabriel?"

He turned away from me.

LOOK AT ME YOU FUCKING COWARD!

"GAbrIEL!"

"BECAUSE IT IS MY JOB TO KEEP HER SAFE!"

"SHE IS SAFE!"

Gabriel turned silent and once again looked away from me.

He's hiding something.

"What do you know Gabriel?"

Silence.

"Gabriel. What. Do.You.Know!"

If she's in trouble and he knows something and won't tell me-

"I am keeping Catalina safe. And keeping her safe means keeping her away from you. If you want her to be safe then you'll go. I'll give you an hour to come up with your answer."

He had no right. He had no right to try and push me out of Catalina's life. If she was in trouble it was better for me to be at her side where I could keep an eye on her to make sure she was okay. But if keeping her away from me was the only way to keep her safe then-

NO.

I didn't want to be apart from her. I wanted to be with her every single day. I wanted her by my side.

But if Gabriel told her the rest of the vision…

She would hate me.

"What changed Gabriel? She was safe when we first met and now all of a sudden she isn't? So what fucking changed!"

"You."

Before I could even respond, Gabriel took off.

Why did it matter all of a sudden to Gabriel if Catalina and I got close?

He was the one who had asked me to help her in the first place! And now all of a sudden because I fell for her there was an issue? Why was it such a big deal to him? And what the fuck was I going to do! I couldn't leave her but if keeping her away from me meant she would be safe…

What the hell am I going to do?

* * *

Catalina's POV

"Remember when I warned you how dangerous my brother is."

WHAT THE SHIT!

I turned to see Gabriel standing by the front door.

How the hell is he so quiet?

"Remember that people like Lucifer will always say and do anything if it means getting what they want in the end."

"Gabriel, what are you talking about?"

Gabriel walked over and gently caressed my cheek,

"I've always been honest with you but has he?"

What?

Before I could even ask him to explain, he was gone.

Lucifer wouldn't lie to me about anything. I understood why he and Gabriel hid the vision from me. They were worried and hell they needed time to comprehend everything. Hell, I needed time to comprehend everything but Lucifer wouldn't lie to hide anything else from me. Last night he had comforted me. I cried in front of him and he held onto me as I did. He held me so tightly. Held me as if he cared about me. It was as if the tears that had fallen from my eyes had pained him.

He had stayed. He stayed the entire night, next to me. His arm wrapped around me as my head lay on his chest. I wasn't alone. He hadn't left me alone.

"Catalina." I turned around and saw Lucifer as he walked through the front door and watched as he made his way to the kitchen.

"We need to talk."

This isn't good.

"Yeah. we do." I said as I took a single step towards him.

"I'm leaving."

W-What?

"Leaving? Why? I thought everything was-"

Lucifer placed his hands behind his back as he stiffened and stood up a little straighter.

"My favor is Gabriel is complete so I am done here."

"So you're just gonna go? You're just going to leave?"

He has to be messing with me. He has to be.

"My job here is done."

JOB!

"Job?! Is that all I was to you was just some task you had to complete?!"

Lucifer remained silent.

"ANSWER ME!"

Lucifer walked back towards the door, and when he reached it he turned his back to me,

"I'm sorry Catalina."

LIAR!

I grabbed the coffee pot off the counter and threw it at him. I missed by half an inch. I watched as the glass shattered across the floor in front of him as Lucifer spread his dark wings and flew away.

I backed up against the nearest wall and slowly felt myself sliding down until I was on the ground. I thought after last night that things would be different. He told me everything was going to be okay. He told me I was worth fighting for. He said all the right things-

People like Lucifer will say and do anything if it means getting what they want in the end.

Gabriel's words replayed in my head over and over again.

What did he want though?

I brought my knees to my chest and just sat there for a while. Trying to figure out exactly what Lucifer could have wanted.

We hadn't slept together and he never once even pressured me for anything and it wasn't like I was a pure soul to take either. So what the hell did he want? I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Again.

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

I woke up in my bed at Gabriel's house.

It was just a dream. A bad dream.

He was still here. Still somewhere around the house. I climbed out of the bed and raced into the living room.

Empty.

I checked out the kitchen.

Empty.

Maybe he's outside with Gabriel?

I ran towards the window.

Nothing.

He's gotta be in his room then.

I raced down the hall towards Lucifer's room. I wanted to tell him about the ridiculous dream that I had. I wanted to see him laugh at how ridiculous it was while I curled up next to him. But his room was empty.

It wasn't a dream. He was gone. His room was empty except for the bed in the middle of the room. Everything was empty. Except for the closet. Where a single black shirt lay on the ground. A piece of him here to haunt me. I grabbed the shirt and changed into it. His scent of tobacco, vanilla, and warm spice still lingered on it. I crawled into his bed and folded the covers over myself. Alone. Once again.

Everything's going to be okay.

Eventually.