Recap:

"I am a fallen angel." Rhys says after a long silence.

Chapter Nine

A breath whooshes out of my lips. I study his face to see if he's teasing me, but Rhys is serious. Deadly serious. He waits for my reaction but his words haven't settled in yet.

My boyfriend is a fallen angel. What?!

"What do you mean? Fallen angel? What does that even mean?" I ask, my heart thudding again. It seems to be doing that a lot, for all kinds of reasons. Fear, passion, loss.

"I am a century old. I am not immortal, I just age very slowly." Rhys tells me, "I used to live in what you call Paradise, but I call Riré." He pronounces Riré like 'Ree-ay', "I was a Primary Angel. Meaning, I was in charge of a large cluster of angels. One day, I was sent on a mission to Earth. I met Eliza on Earth and then I didn't want to go back. I knew she wouldn't be allowed back there."

"Why not?"

"She was human. Humans aren't allowed where angels are unless they're dead. Thousands of angels came down to try and convince me to come back. I wouldn't listen. I said I had found someone. I had a life, where my choices were my own, where my will wasn't controlled, where my path was mine to choose. One where I had freedom. But it came at a price."

"What price?"

"I had to give up my identity. I was stripped of my wings and banished from Riré but I didn't care. I had Eliza; I thought I had everything. Our relationship wasn't perfect, we argued quite a lot but we loved each other."

"And then she went." I mutter.

"And then she went." Rhys repeats, "I was heartbroken. I had lost the girl I loved and I didn't have anybody else on Earth. Everyone who I knew, was back in Riré. I tried to go back, but the Master wouldn't hear of it."

"Master?" I echo, "Like... like, God?"

"Not really, but similar." Rhys gives me an amused smile, "They said I had chosen a life here, and here I would stay. So I resigned myself. I became a shell, I wouldn't talk to anybody. Not that there was anybody to talk to. I was well and truly alone."

"You don't have to..." I want him to stop. I can see talking about it hurts him and I'm sorry I ever brought it up.

"No. You wanted to know and this is me telling you. A good few twenty years after Eliza's death, I decided I had had enough of being alone. I enrolled in the school. But old habits die hard." Rhys lets out a bitter little laugh, "I wanted to stay away from you, to avoid any pain. But it got too hard and you kept showing up here. I just gave up and let you in. I couldn't keep it up for any longer." Rhys finishes and sighs heavily.

I don't want to probe any more, but I haven't got the answer to my question, "What has the tower got to do with it, Rhys?"

"When they banished me, I didn't have a place to stay. So the angels manifested the tower for me. This is my home and it's not just a building. It's my life. And Eliza's memories are in here. I didn't... I felt as if I was betraying her by even thinking of you. But I know now that she'd be proud of me for moving on."

I only realise I'm crying when a tear falls on to my jeans. "Hey." Rhys says and wipes a tear away with his thumb gently, "Why are you crying, Donna?"

"I'm sorry." I sniff, "It's just, you've been through so much and I was just so noesy and I didn't stop to think for one moment that things might have happened to you that are bad and way worse than anything I'll ever experience."

Rhys leans in and gives me a gentle, consoling kiss.

When I wake up, I'm back at home, in bed. I plan the day ahead. A relaxing day. Spend half the day in the jacuzzi, then the other half watching romantic comedies. Then I remember what day it is. My birthday. Sighing heavily, I get up and take a shower. As I'm shrugging a robe on, there's a knock at the door, "Hey, Donna, your mom is on the phone!"

I open the door and take the phone from Dad, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." says fresh-faced Dad, "Happy birthday, sweetie." He kisses my forehead and then leaves to his own room.

I press the phone to my ear, walking back into my bedroom, "Hi, Mom."

"Hi, baby. Happy birthday. What are you wearing?" Trust Mom to say that. Not 'I miss you' or 'I love you' but 'What are you wearing'.

"Nice, Mom. So you don't miss me at all?" I try to swerve away from the direction of our conversation.

"Don't you try to change the subject. I want you to wear a nice, fancy outfit, please."

"But, Mom-"

"And your father will tell me if you don't. So, beware. I miss you, baby." Mom says.

I sigh and then smile into the phone, "I miss you too, Mom. It's getting boring without you."

"Aw, baby. I love you too. Oh, I have to go. Remember the outfit." The phone goes dead. I smile into the phone, shaking my head and then put the phone on the vase table in the landing. I go back to my room and take out an outit that Mom would approve of if she were here. It's a white vest top, a woolly cardigan and scantily short denim shorts. I zip up some leather boots and let my hair down. I ring a couple of necklaces (varying in length) around my neck and then shove my phone into my pocket. I wander downstairs into the lounge.

Dad motions for me to sit down beside him. I go over and sit next to him, tucked under his muscular arm. "Happy birthday." Dad strokes my cheek, "You're growing up so quickly. It seems like yesterday when I was helping you walk."

"Yeah." I say, "Time is an extraordinary thing."

"It sure is." Dad agrees, smiling, "I'm glad it brought us to you. You're an amazing girl and don't you ever forget that."

"Thanks, Dad." I say, "You know, I kinda miss being your little girl."

"You'll always be my little girl." Dad chuckles, "No matter how old you are. You're my baby girl, Donna. No one can take that away from you. Not even me."

"The difference is that I'm not that small, am I?" I ask him, already knowing the answer, "Everything is flying by so fast. I'm afraid that the time I have with you guys is going to be over too soon and I'll be going away to college or something."

I burst into tears, snivelling into Dad's shirt.

"Hey." Dad rubs my arm, "What's brought this on? Why are you crying?"

"I'm lucky to have you and sometimes I take you for granted." I sniff, "If something happened one day to take me away from you guys, I wouldn't be able to live. Some people don't even have what I have. Two loving parents." I hug Dad, not wanting to let go. Ever.

"Oh, baby." Dad kisses my forehead, "I'm right here. We aren't going anywhere, okay? Neither are you."

I nod and wipe my eyes, "I'm sorry. I'm so weird. I'm crying on my sixteenth birthday."

Dad laughs and his eyes twinkle, "You are a little strange, aren't you?" I whack him with a pillow and then the Great Pillow Fight commences.

"Mom is going to kill us, Daddy." I say as I pull a feather from my hair. Dad and I look around ourselves. The lounge is drowning in pillow feather. We glance at each other and then explode into a contagious round of laughter. "You're right." Dad chuckles, "We are so dead." We both laugh for a little while longer and then collapse back on the sofa. I feel so content, so happy. I never want this moment to end. I wouldn't even mind if time stopped. Someone raps on the door and Dad gets up to answer it. He comes back in with a grinning Avril. I get up and she throws her arms around me, "Happy birthday, babe!"

She hands me a gift-wrapped box, "I also have another surprise for you. Come on in, Surprise." We all look towards the doorway and Rhys walks in, dressed all formal in a collared shirt and trousers. He gives me a wry smile and then, like the perfect old-time gentleman, shakes Dad's hand, "I'm Rhys, sir. Rhys Hart. I mvoed here from Arizona a few weeks ago. I'm er... Donna's friend."

Dad nods, "I'm Rob Morrison. Her father."

Rhys nods and then glides over to me and gives me a hug, "Happy birthday. I can't believe you didn't tell me."

"I kinda forgot." I wince and then groan as Rhys takes out a little gift box.

"Your present."

"You didn't have to." I say as I take it, "I would have been fine with just a card or something, Rhys."

"You three." Dad says, "I want you to stay in Donna's room. I'm going to be busy. I've cancelled all shoots today and yesterday I took the liberty of inviting all of Donna's school friends over for a party."

"Let me guess, Mom?" I ask. Dad nods, grinning and then ushers us up the stairs, holed up inside a room where we can't cause any damage.