Chapter 19

Isaac

" T here's a tall man dressed in white at the door." Zed says casually as he walks into the backyard before running and jumping into the pool.

It's been about a month since we came back to Earth. Everything has been normal for the most part and that's what we needed. We don't leave the house much, and Zed has yet to go back to Dark Night. He doesn't seem to have any desire to. We're still taking things day by day.

"What?" Abby asks, putting her book down and looking at me with furrowed brows.

Shrugging, we both stand up and head to the front door. Zed was right, there is a man standing there. He's all dressed in white as Zed said.

"Can we help you?" Abby asks, sounding confused but guarded.

"Abigail and Isaac." He says our names not as a question but like he knows exactly who we are.

"Yes," I say, narrowing my eyes.

"I am a messenger of God, here to formally inform you that our Lord himself has requested a meeting with you two. As well as Luke and Noah."

Well, fuck me. That's something I never thought I'd hear. Yes, our dads saw God often but they made it clear that anyone outside God's close circle of people never got to see him, no matter who their connections might be.

"Ahhh." Abby is just as stunned as I am. "What do we do?" she asks me.

"We go?" I have no clue. I don't even know what I'd say to God and why he would want to see us of all people.

"Do you think he wants revenge for killing Michael?" Abby whispers.

"God does not seek revenge on anyone for any reason," the angel states, keeping his face blank and his tone level.

"Can we ask what this is regarding then?" Abby asks.

"I am not aware of the details of this meeting, just that the Lord himself asked me to come and bring you."

"We're not going to be in any danger are we?" Abby asks, sounding skeptical about the whole thing. I don't blame her.

The angel blinks at Abby. "Absolutely not. You never have to fear God."

"Sure," Abby mutters. "Unless it's his little henchmen."

"What do you want to do?" I ask her.

"Do we have a choice?" Abby asks the angel.

"God always gives you a choice of free will," he responds. "But I assure you, there's nothing to fear. He's eager to meet you four."

Abby chews on her lower lip and looks at me. "I've always wanted to see what Heaven looked like."

"Let's go get the others, I guess." Never thought I'd be going to Heaven and meeting God, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised by anything anymore. I have a lot of questions for the big man in the sky. This is my only chance at getting answers to them.

We head back into the house and to the backyard where everyone is.

"Who was it?" Luke asks, drying his hair off with a towel.

"An Angel of God," I tell him.

Both he and Noah pause, frowning. "What the fuck does he want?"

"Guess God wants to have a meeting with us," Abby states.

"What?" Noah's eyes widen. "Why?" I can see the panic in his eyes.

"No idea. Angel man didn't say." Abby shrugs.

"Oh yeah, this is going to be just great," Luke huffs. "Going to have a one on one with the man who controls the world. The one who's very against same sex couples. I'm sure he would be just peachy to know the three of us are mated. News flash, mates fuck."

"I'm sure he already knows that," Frankie joins in. "He's God, he sees all, knows all isn't that how the saying goes?"

"He didn't know the fact that the three of his most powerful angels were running amuck on an island he put them in charge of," Luke mutters. Point taken.

"What do we do?" Noah asks.

"I'm going," Abby says. "I want to know what he wants."

"I'm going because I have questions that need answers. And I know you two do as well."

Noah and Luke look at each other and a moment later, they nod. "Guess we're going to Heaven."

"The angel dude said God only wants to meet with the four of us. Are you okay with that?" Abby asks her three other mates.

"We're fine, Princess." Frankie says, giving Abby a kiss. "Go have a talk with the big man in the sky." She winks, not seeming worried at all. But this is Abby, she can handle herself. And I don't think God would go as far as actually harming anyone, even if he has the power to do so.

Leo, Frankie, and Zed say goodbye to Abby while we get dressed. Once we're done, we meet at the front door, finding the angel still there, standing tall, his blond hair practically glowing.

"Is that what we're supposed to look like?" Luke whispers, eyeing the Angel up.

"Maybe if we were in heaven," Noah answers.

"So, how do we do this?" Luke asks, looking up at the sky. "Do we just fly up until we hit Heaven?"

"No," the angel says. "That would just bring you to outer space. Heaven is a dimension of its own." Then he waves his hand. A swirling bright white portal opens up.

"Oh. Right." Luke blushes.

"So, we just step through?" Abby asks. I take her hand, then Luke's. He takes Noah's.

"Together," I tell them and then we step forward, unsure what we're about to walk into.

"WELL THIS IS FANCY as fuck." Luke mutters, earning a look from the angel, the first sign of any real emotion. "Shit, sorry, I mean fancy as Hell."

"Babe, just stop talking." Noah sighs.

Abby and I share a grin. If God has an issue with it, then he shouldn't have invited us in the first place.

We walk through the pristine white hallways of a castle-like building. Everything is prim, proper, and clean. What you would expect Heaven to look like.

I can't help but feel a little nervous. Why does God, of all people, want to see us? Is he going to punish us for what Abby did to my dad? How would it be right for him to kill Zed, but not someone else to kill him?

Of course, that's what this is about. He's going to hand us our asses for the parts we played in Michael's death. I swear I will kill him again myself if Michael shows up.

My stomach turns at the idea of seeing him again. Is he here right now, waiting to confront me? What would his God do if he knew what his favorite soldier was really like?

We come to a stop in some sort of waiting room. "Abigail, if you would sit here and wait, our Lord would like to see the men first."

"Sure..." Abby looks at the three of us. "Everything will be okay." She smiles. "And if it's not, walk out and we can go home."

I look at the guys, their faces matching the worry on mine as we follow the angel through a door.

My heart pounds in my chest as we enter a garden. "Trippy," Luke whispers.

Looking around, I see the angel is gone, and so is the door. I spin around, starting to panic. Where is the way out? Where are we?

"What the..." Noah says, doing the same thing as me.

"Boys." A deep, soothing voice sounds behind us, and we all turn to face the one and only God.

Standing by a massive oak is God. He's older than I thought he would be, a little bit of grey in his hair and beard. I guess that's to be expected when you're as old as Earth.

"I'm so glad you've come."

"That's what she said," Luke chuckles under his breath and grunts when Noah elbows him. "Sorry," Luke hisses as I shoot him a glare.

"Hi." I nod my head as he approaches us. He's dressed in a white robe, hair down to his shoulders. His skin is a few shades lighter than Noah's, but darker than mine and Luke's.

"I'm sure you're wondering what I've called you here for." He gives us a kind smile.

"Yeah, pretty much." I nod again.

"Let's get right to the point, I'm sure you have better things to do," he chuckles.

"Could you start by telling me if you knew what our fathers were doing?"

His face falls, and he lets out a sad sigh. "No." He shakes his head. "I put my trust in them, trust that they would do what was right, to spread my word to Ethereal. To guide Angel kind, teach them. But they have failed me." He looks at Noah and Luke. "Your fathers came to me after Michael died and told me everything. They said they were so overcome with grief about their wives, and because I refused to bring your mothers back, they wanted revenge." He sighs sadly. "And this was their way of getting back at me."

"Why didn't you bring them back if you had the power?" I ask, never understanding why all these years.

"Everything's meant to happen for a reason. There's a plan put into place for every living soul. It was their time to go. If I brought them back, then I'd have to bring back every soul that passes. If I kept doing that, Earth and other realms would become overcrowded and soon everything would become chaos. Angels are not any more important than humans. If I don't do this for humans, then I can't for anyone else."

"So you just let three men grow angry and bitter, causing them to make not only the island of Angels, but most humans who believe in you to become judgmental assholes?" I cross my arms, giving him a glare.

"As I said, I was not aware of what was happening on the island. That is my fault. I will take responsibility for that."

"Are you going to take responsibility for the fact that your son, your head Angel, would beat his child? What about how he abused his wife?"

God's face falls and he actually looks heart broken. "I am so sorry you had to go through that, Isaac. He should never, ever, have done anything like that to you or anyone else. He will be punished, that much I can assure you." He looks at the guys. "As will your fathers."

"Good." Is all I say.

He looks at the three of us and smiles. "I'm glad you've found love. That you three are happy."

I swallow hard, looking at the guys. We all share a panicked look. "Yeah. Abby is amazing. She's everything we ever wanted, needed. Even if it took us a while to see it. We got our heads out of our asses." I look back to God.

God steps forward and my whole body tenses as he places a hand on my shoulder and another on my cheek. "I want you to know, I'm proud of you, Isaac. For the man you've become. For being a good partner to your mates." He says mates, as in plural,my heart races faster as he looks to the guys and back to me. "I know you've struggled, I know the things your father made you believe. The things he said in my name."

He gives me a kind smile, a fatherly smile and I hate how much emotion is running through me. "They are not the truth, Isaac. I am not ashamed of the way you choose to love. I do not think it's a sin, that you should be banished to Hell. Love is love. All I want is for everyone to be kind, helpful, and respectful. How someone chooses to love is not a sin. I will love all my children the same, no matter what. Male with male, female with female, it doesn't matter. The heart is filled with so much love. Why would I want to force someone to withhold that love when they can offer it to whomever deserves it. And everyone deserves love. Even you, Isaac."

Damn this man. Fuck. Tears sting the back of my eyes. It took me a long time to not feel the shame my father beat into me for loving another man. For loving more than one man.

He was the most homophobic person I've ever known. The things he would say, the way he would act. It was heartbreaking and sickening. And he would endlessly tell me that God would hate, banish, and shun me from existence if I ever dared have even a thought about another man.

So to hear it from God himself that it's all a lie. That he doesn't think it's a sin. That he would still love me no matter who I chose to love, it's everything I needed to hear.

Choking back a sob, God pulls me into a hug. I cling to this man, a man I've only known for a few minutes, but feel more loved by him than I ever have my own father.

My eyes are sore, tear streaks on my cheeks when I pull back. I sniff and wipe my eyes. "Thanks," I mumble, looking away and feeling a little embarrassed.

"You're a cool man, you know that?" Luke says with a smirk, his and Noah's eyes are glassy too. "It's nice to know I'm not going to burn in the pits of Hell for liking men." He grins. "Not that I would. I happen to know the man who runs the place. We're besties."

Noah and I snort a laugh, both damn well knowing Luke is terrified of Lucifer, as God chuckles.

"I'd like to talk to Abigail first regarding the punishment of your fathers and she can fill you in, if that's alright."

"Yeah." I nod and so do the others. "That's fine."

"Wonderful." He smiles. "Now, before you go. I'd like to do my best to make up for what's happened. I know I can't undo what's been done, but I hope this helps. Be good boys, make good choices. I believe in you and I'm proud of the men you've become."

One second we're standing in front of him and the next we're in another room.

"What the..." Noah whispers. We all look around, wondering where we are.

"Why are we in the woods?" Luke asks.

"And is that a cabin?" Noah asks, pointing to the wooden building before us.

"Heaven is a weird place," I mutter. "Let's go check it out and see what this gift of his is."

I'm still floored by what happened with God and the conversation we just had, but when we get to the cabin, the door opens and three women walk out onto the front porch. Three people I thought I'd never see again in my life.

My heart pounds, eyes widening and I feel like I'm a little boy again. "Mom."

Luke

WE ALL STAND THERE , mouths agape as we stare at our mothers. Holy fucking shit. This can't be real. This is a dream, or some sick joke, right?

"Boys," Isaac's mom gasps, eyes widening in pure joy. "Isaac, baby."

"Luke." My mom grins so wide. She looks the same as she did before she died. Long blonde wavy hair, bright blue eyes. She looks young, way too young to be a mom. But she's mine, and she's here..

I take off running, praying that when I wrap my arms around her, she's not going to disappear.

"Mom," I choke out as I squeeze her tightly.

"My baby." She sobs into my chest. "I've missed you so much."

Noah and Isaac hug their moms too. We all stand there for a few moments before anyone talks again.

"Come inside. Let's talk, catch up." Isaac's mom smiles. "I know we don't have long."

We follow them inside the little cabin, sharing a look with each other.

I'm a fucking mess. I don't know if I should laugh, cry, or puke right now.

"Sit, sit," Mom says excitedly.

"You have no idea how elated we are to see you three." Noah's mom grins from ear to ear.

"To tell you how proud we are of you all." Isaac's mom smiles.

"You always had a special bond. We were so happy for you when you found out you were mates."

"How did you know?" My brows knit together.

"We check in on you when we can," Noah's mom says.

"So," Mom says, taking my hand. "Tell us all about that pretty little mate of yours."

And we do. For a half hour, we sit and talk. We tell them all about Abby, about our lives. They listen to everything, hang on every word. Isaac's mom pulls him to the side and they have a heart to heart. She's crying by the time she's done, and I catch bits and pieces of their conversion. She tells him she's sorry for everything his dad has done, and if she knew, she would have tried to do something about it. I guess when you're checking in on people from heaven, they only show you the good parts.

"Our time is up," Mom says, giving me a tight hug. I hold her, not wanting to let go. "I miss you so much, my sweet boy. Remember, I'm always with you. Anytime you wanna talk, I'm listening. I love you. I'm so proud of you, Luke. Go, live your life. Be happy, love hard. Have babies and enjoy life."

"I love you too." I sniff. "I miss you like crazy."

And just like that, we're gone and standing in front of Abby again.

It's a bittersweet moment, but as I look at the guys, we're all happy. This is something we've all needed. To see our moms happy and safe, that's all we ever wanted.