The last bit of Angels Among Us

Actually, the name has been changed to "The Impact Book 1 The Impact of Friendship", due to the fact that it's going to be a Trilogy.

Here's the rest


Chapter 14
Christmas Eve

The next day, Christmas Eve, around one, Vanessa, now with her permit, hopped in the car with her dad and headed to the hospital.
“Dad?” Vanessa asked while they were stopped at a red light. “I’ll call you when I’m ready to come home. This-This could take a while.”
Her dad nodded; he understood what it was like to want to spend all possible time with someone.

When they arrived, Vanessa hopped out and her dad took the wheel. He rolled down the window,
“Honey? Take as much time as you want. You should be in no rush.”
“Okay.”

She walked in and immediately saw Elizabeth. However, instead of being her normal happy self, she was trembling as a doctor sat next to her. Vanessa only caught the end of the conversation.
“S-So you mean?”
“What I mean,” began the doctor, “Is that the blood infection might shorten his life span.”
“B-But don’t you people test blood transfusions?”
“Yes, we do. This was just one of those freak coincidences.”
The doctor left and Vanessa approached the slowly crumpling Elizabeth. Sitting down next to her, she gave her a hug. Elizabeth began,
“T-They say that the blood transfusion was contaminated. They say that this will shorten how long he lives. God, Vanessa, I’m so worried.”
“Shh, it’s going to be okay, Elizabeth.”
“V-Vanessa, why are you here?”
“Mike called me yesterday.”
“Oh, that’s right, I gave him your number.”
“Yeah, I told him that I would come today and tomorrow.”
“Why tomorrow?”
“Elizabeth, it’s Christmas.”
“Already???”
“Yes.”
“Vanessa, I need to get my mind off of this blood thing. Can I come and see Mike?”
“Of course.”

When they walked in, Mike was awake and sat up when they came in. Vanessa looked at him. He looked better than before, but Chad and his friends had defiantly caused about ten times the damage as the first cafeteria fight.
“Vanessa, it’s so good to see you.”
Vanessa began to cry and Elizabeth rubbed her lightly on the back.
“It’s really nice to meet you Mike.” Elizabeth said, shyly.
“I want to thank you for watching over Vanessa for me.”
“My pleasure.”

Before they had the chance to talk about anything else, the same doctor that had been talking to Elizabeth about Josh walked in.
“Miss. Hudson, can you come here for a minute?”
Elizabeth nodded and left, leaving Vanessa and Mike alone.
“Vanessa, I’ve really missed you.”
“Mike, I have too. I have waited for a month to see you.”
They sat there, looking into each others eyes, just soaking up the beauty. Mike had been waiting and longing to stare deeply into those vibrant green eyes. Vanessa tried to ignore the bruises and swollen parts of Mike’s face and focus on the sky blue eyes that shown, clear and sparkling.
“Vanessa, I have been meaning to tell you this for a long time.”
Vanessa just kept on staring into his eyes. He returned the constant stare.
“I really, really like you.”

That night, Vanessa considered what Mike had said, about liking her. She liked him, it was obvious to her. They had certainly been through a lot together and knew a lot about each other. She knew a few crushing guys at school, such as Chad, but there was no way that she would ever give those idiots a chance. But Mike; she thought Mike did deserve a chance. She liked him, he liked her. Why not? The next thing was to tell him she liked him back.




























Chapter 15
Christmas

The next day, Christmas, was a happy, yet cold one. Vanessa spent the morning with her dad and made calls to her grandparents. Then, about noon, she grabbed a wrapped present and jumped in the car with her dad.
When she got to the hospital, which was like a second home to her by now, she walked into the normal waiting area and saw Elizabeth.
“Elizabeth, is everything alright?”
“T-they don’t expect him to live much longer. He just has to make it through the New Year. He was born at exactly midnight, you know? And if he can live to be seventeen, it-it would be really great.”
“Elizabeth, don’t worry. He’s going to make it.”
Elizabeth nodded.
“Oh, and Merry Christmas, Vanessa.”
“Same too you.”
“Are you going to go and see Mike?”
“Yeah. You going to see Josh?”
“No, they won’t let me in.”
Vanessa gave Elizabeth a look of general sympathy.
“Would like to come on with me to see Mike?”
“No, thanks. I’m going to go and see one more time if I can go and see Josh.”
Vanessa left and walked into Mike’s room. He was sitting up, for the first time since the day in lunch when the fight had happened.
“Hi, Vanessa.”
Vanessa nodded and pulled up a chair. Sitting down, she put the present on his lap as the exact same moment he put one on hers. They smiled at each other and started opening up the presents.
Mike couldn’t believe what was in that box, wrapped up in layers of tissue paper. A small porcelain schipperke pup, painted black, with green eyes the exact color or Sparky. It was beautiful, and he put it on the little side desk in his room. He, to express his gratitude, kissed Vanessa’s fingers. She blushed about 12 deep shades of purple. Then, she turned her attention to the gift that Mike had handed her.
Inside was a picture frame, elegantly carved with swirls and hearts. Framed, was the picture that Mike’s mom had taken of them before the Snowflake Ball. Tears sprang into Vanessa’s eyes, blurring her vision temporarily. It didn’t even look like her. She then realized why people at school thought they looked like a couple. She hadn’t really realized that they looked really, well, cute, together.
When Mike realized that she was silently crying, he kissed her fingers again. She smiled and looked at him.
“It-It’s so beautiful.”
Mike let her cry it out. Then, he suddenly remembered something.
“Weren’t you and Elizabeth going to go and see Josh today?”
“We can’t. Josh has taken a turn for the worse, and the doctors won’t even let Elizabeth in by herself to see him.”
“Tell her I’m sorry. And you really should go and see her now. She needs you more than I do.”
“Are you sure?”
Mike nodded.
“Well, alright, then. I’ll make sure to call you later.”
“Oh, and Vanessa?”
“Yes?”
“Come on New Years Eve?
Vanessa nodded and left.








Chapter 16
New Years Eve

The next five days, Vanessa would be caught up in the world of love and sadness. Love because she knew that Mike liked her and she really liked him back. Sadness because she didn’t want Elizabeth to lose her best friend. She was upset that she didn’t have Elizabeth’s phone number; she desperately wanted to know what was happening.
As for Mike, he was worried about Josh a little bit, sure, but he was more thinking about Vanessa and how much he liked her and how much he wanted to show her he did and how much he wanted her to like him back. He figured that maybe he would find out more the night of New Years Eve.
Elizabeth spent almost all of her time at the hospital, pressuring the doctors to let her see Josh. She had too. But they weren’t caving in as they had when Chad had pressured them into letting him and Vanessa see Mike for the first time. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t crack them.

New Years Eve, Vanessa walked into Mike’s room to find the television on and Mike grinning.
“What are you up to now?”
“Nothing. Just happy.”
“That’s good.”

As the night went on, Vanessa and Mike spilt their guts on what they were worried about. Finally, Mike said,
“I’ve just been thinking about how much I want you.”
Vanessa took a deep breath,
“Mike, I have to tell you something.”
“Yes?’
“I-I really like you too.”
Mike just smiled.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth cracked the doctors into letting her see Josh and she was allowed to go in and see him. It wasn’t anything physical like from the accident. Seeing him so sick made her break down. She couldn’t believe it. Crying, she pulled up a chair and sat down, burying her head in Josh’s chest.

When the clock struck midnight, Mike leaned over and kissed Vanessa.

And Vanessa kissed him back.

Elizabeth leaned over and kissed Josh lightly.

The full moon gleamed brightly through the windows.

And Josh’s heart monitor went blank.

Chapter Thirteen--Friend Disputes---Angels Among Us/The Blessing

Chapter 13
Friend Disputes

Vanessa pulled out her cell phone and punched her father’s number in. She was furious; how could she have been so stupid? To think that Chad had really changed that fast had been wishful thinking on her part.
“Hello?”
“Hi dad, it’s me, can you come and pick me up?”
“Sure, I’ll be there is about five minutes.”
“Ok, see you then. And dad?”
“Yes?”
“Hurry.”
“Alright, see you in a minute.”
“Bye.”
She pressed the red button and hung up. After putting it back in her purse, she began praying fervently that Chad wouldn’t find her
And he didn’t. But Elizabeth did.
“Vanessa! What’s the matter? What did you mean by…”
“By me saying that he couldn’t have changed so quickly?”
“Yeah.”
“It all links back to why Mike is here, ok? Chad beat Mike up, ok? He beat him up so bad; he’s been here for a month. After the accident, he began feeling guilty, or so I thought, because his best friends had beaten me up. Apparently, however, I was mistaken. It just makes me angry that he is thinking about himself right now, and that he doesn’t seem to understand how much I care about this situation.”
Elizabeth stood there, now knowing and understanding why Vanessa had gotten so furious. She couldn’t believe that Chad had been the one who had landed Mike in the hospital.
Just then, Vanessa’s dad drove up and she jumped in the car. She waved by to Elizabeth and jumped into the car.
It was that night, a Saturday that Vanessa talked to her dad about the situation with Chad. The result was a very interesting conversation,
“Have you ever thought that maybe you could change Chad? Remember when the youth minister a few years ago that you should try to turn someone from their evil ways? And I remember you telling me that you would never know anyone who would be evil enough for you to change. Well, you now have a person to turn from evil.”
“But-.” Vanessa stopped short. She was about to argue, but had realized that she didn’t have anything to day, because her mother made perfect sense. As the phone rang and her mother ran out of the room, she began thinking about how she would be able to ‘convert’ Chad.
Then, she realized that there was one thing that she knew he didn’t know. She had even complained about this. He didn’t know the pain that she was going through. She went to her room and began to think up of ways to show Chad pain in a way that he would always remember. Just as she was pulling her notebook out so she could jot down ideas, there was a knock on her door.
“Come in.”
Her dad walked in,
“The phone’s for you.” He said.
Vanessa put the phone up to her ear,
“Hello?”
“Hey, Vanessa, this is Chad.”
“How did you get my phone number??” “Mike.”
“Just now?”
“No. It was a while ago.”
“What do you want?” Vanessa asked roughly.
“Can’t you use a nicer tone with me?” Chad asked.
“What?! Tone?? Who are you, my mother or something??”
“No.”
“Well, then what the hell do you want!!??”
“I wanted to say that I’m sorry.”
“For what? For making me feel like no one else except Elizabeth knows what I went and am still going through? You know what? I hope that someday, someone beats you up. Then, you can come to me and I’ll ask you one question. How does it feel? And then, if Mike is still alive, you can go and talk to him. And he will ask you the same question.”
Right before Vanessa was about to hang up on Chad, he said something,
“Wait! Don’t hang up on me yet. What do you mean by, ‘if Mike is still alive’?”
“Oh, don’t pull this with me! You know perfectly why!”
“No, I don’t, seriously. Tell me.”
“Because he’s in a coma! Haven’t you been wondering at all why he hadn’t woken up yet! Was your whole goal to cause skull and spine damage?? Because if that was, you certainly met it!”
With that, Vanessa hung up and flung herself down on her bed. Into her pillow, she screamed, then cried, then screamed, then cried some more. The thought that Mike could come out of that hospital with more physical disabilities than before the fight hurt her inside.

The phone rang again, and this time, she picked it up from her phone.
“Hello?”
She was surprised when she heard a weak voice at the other end of the line.
“Hey Vanessa.” It seemed to whisper.
Vanessa was confused.
“Who is this?” She asked, confused.
There was a long silence while the person on the other line had a fit of coughing. “Mike.” He said, weakly.

Vanessa couldn’t believe it. Mike was calling her.
“H-how did-.”
Mike seemed to know what he was saying,
“Elizabeth gave me your phone number.”
“Did you just wake up?”
“Yeah; Elizabeth was there and introduced herself. I was so confused. She said that you and Chad had argued, though she didn’t say why, and that you had left. Then, she gave me the phone number. I didn’t even ask; she just seemed to read my mind.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.” Was Vanessa’s reply.
There was a long pause, during which Vanessa searched her mind for something to say. She didn’t want to elaborate on the argument. Thankfully, Mike began first, and Vanessa breathed a sigh of relief,
“Who is Elizabeth?”
“She…I…We met when I came to see you.”
“Oh, she said that she met Chad first.”
“Yeah, she did. I-I sorta fainted when I first saw you. Chad carried me to the waiting area, where he met Elizabeth.”
“Oh.”
“She’s here because her friend is there also. We hit it off because we were both really worried about people who were there.”
“Oh,” Mike said again.
While Mike contemplated whether to bring up the argument, Vanessa wondered if he would.
“Did they do anything to you?” was Mike’s next question.
“Who?” asked Vanessa
“Chad.”
Vanessa gulped
“Uh, y-yeah.”
“How badly?” Mike asked, softly.
“The doctors said pretty bad.”
“I swear, someday, I’m just going to…”
“Mike, please,” Vanessa pleaded, “Don’t start with the whole, ‘I’m going to get him someday’ thing. Wait until you get better and then we can talk about it.”
“Okay. Say, how have things been at school lately?”
“Uh, Mike, it’s, um, sorta Christmas break. Christmas is on Wednesday.”
“Oh! What day is it now?”
“Monday.”
“Already? You’re kidding me! I guess I woke up just in time.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Mike sensed that something big was on Vanessa’s mind.
“You okay?”
“I guess. I-I just wish that you wouldn’t have to be in the hospital for Christmas.”
“Oh, yeah I kinda wish that I could be with a certain someone this Christmas.”
“Who?”
“You.”

“Y-You wish you were with me?”
That one word had sent shocks down her. He wanted to be with her! Someone needed her.
“Well, yeah. You’re my best friend. Of course I do.”
In a way, Vanessa felt stupid that she hadn’t come to that conclusion herself. However, after he said it, she could see the logic in his thinking. Then, she felt stupid that she wasn’t there. After thinking about just how much Mike wanted to see her, she made a conclusion that would, hopefully, be just right for the both of them.
“Okay, I think I have a solution that would work for the both of us. I’ll come by tomorrow to see you and to see Elizabeth and ask her about Josh. Then, I’ll also come Christmas day.”
“That sounds really good. That way, I won’t be all alone. But wait, who’s Josh?”
“He’s Elizabeth’s friend.”
“Alright. Listen, I have to go and call my parents. They don’t know that I’m up. See you tomorrow.”
Vanessa said bye and then hung up. She couldn’t believe that Mike had called her before his own parents.

Chapter Twelve--The truth about Josh Clarke---Angels Among Us/The Blessing

Chapter 12

The truth about Josh Clarke

Josh Clarke had never thought that he would be faced with anything as terrifying as he had on the day of the accident. He cared about Elizabeth so much and he had been telling the truth when he had told her that he hadn’t thought about saving her, he had just done it. There was something about her, and it had taken him an incredible amount of time to find out what attracted him to Elizabeth.
She was incredibly head-strong. Perhaps it was losing people in her life who she cared about so much. She really valued human life; more than most people. The only reason Josh could think was because she knew that anything could happen at any time. That, at any time, someone you care about with all your heart, mind and soul, can leave this world and never come back. He had never experienced death before, and it had taken him a while to realize that it was because of that saddening experience that she was the person she was.
It was because of the personal sacrifice in Elizabeth’s life; having to endure the heartache of losing loved ones, the Josh didn’t hesitate with his response to seeing the truck advancing towards the car, spinning out of control. She meant so much to him, and since they had been friends for what seemed like forever, it was like they were family. Elizabeth was at Josh’s house constantly; and if she wasn’t at his house, he was at her house. They did everything together; school, talking, homework, social activities, parties. The after-football-game parties were the best.
People at school thought that they were an item. Elizabeth had received numerous comments in the lunch room or in classes; saying either that she and Josh were perfect for each other or exclaiming that they were denying the fact that they were really together. At first, Elizabeth would laugh at the prospect or angrily defend her position that they were just ‘friends’ and that not every group of one guy and girl were necessarily ‘dating’. However, after a while, it got so old, she just began to ignore it.
Josh had experienced the same thing. Even though he defended his thought that Elizabeth and he were friends, and would always be, he knew that he wanted her. That had been one of the reasons that he had thrown himself on top of her. She thought that he had done it because she was his friend, and that was partially true. However, it was also because he cared about her more than she thought.
Because of that, he was iffy on whether or not she had bought his excuse; or at least, he thought it was an excuse. She had seemed uncertain, but for now, it would have to suffice. She would figure it out eventually; when the time was right.
It was because he felt like Elizabeth was so different from other people because of her experiences, that he was surprised when he met Vanessa. Here was a girl, different life, different ambitions, yet, he almost immediately saw the similarities in the both of them. They had the ability to have a worn look on their faces that showed they had gone through things that no one should ever have to go through. Yet, when Elizabeth introduced Vanessa to Josh, she was smiling and so was Vanessa, and he saw the same thing in their faces. The look of relief that something happy and great was happening, instead of something awful and heartbreaking. When Josh would learn why Vanessa was here and what had happened in her life so far, he would understand why she was like Elizabeth.

“Josh? This is Vanessa. Her friend, Chad, is coming in a minute.”
Josh slowly sat up. He looked like he was still in a world of pain and it hurt Elizabeth to see it.
“Hi, Vanessa.”
“Hi.” Was Vanessa’s reply. Her voice seemed small and high pitched in her ears. She knew why she was so nervous. She was worried that she would have to see this or something worse, when she would see Mike.
“Vanessa, “continued Elizabeth, “is here to see her friend who is here.”
“Why is he here?” Josh asked, directing the question to Elizabeth as well as Vanessa. Elizabeth looked at Vanessa uneasily. She didn’t want to tell Josh and seem so open over the subject while Vanessa was in the room.
“I’ll tell you later, okay?”
Josh nodded. Just then, Chad walked into the room
“Oh,” said Elizabeth after an odd pause, “Josh, this is Chad, Vanessa’s friend.”

Chad’s first initial reaction was the same as Vanessa’s had been; what if Mike looked like this. The damage to Josh looked horrendous. Chad could tell that Josh had taken a double beating, because he had saved Elizabeth’s life. Then, he asked a question. He didn’t mean to say it out loud; and he didn’t realize he had until it was too late.
“Why does this kind of thing happen? I mean, it just doesn’t seem right that it happens to all the people who don’t deserve it. The people who make a difference in the world or have lived through unbelievable circumstances go through more than those who are bad and who deserve it. People like Ma-.”
Chad stopped short. He was about to say Max. However, he had been like Max before. He realized that he really had been bad and caused pain. Then, he thought about all the people he had teased or hit. He wondered how much pain, physical or not, they had been in. The guilt that had hit him after seeing Vanessa and then Mike hit him all over again. He just wanted to go and say sorry to all those people; tell them that he didn’t know what they had gone through and that he hadn’t thought that something really bad would happen.
However, all the people in that room; Josh, Elizabeth, and Vanessa, looked like they understood. Chad thought they were doing it just to make him feel better. He was beginning to feel more and more like people’s reactions and facial expressions weren’t the truth; and that the world was shunning him. Anger erupted from deep inside of him; anger that had been held inside too long.
“You guys don’t have to act as if you understand! Alright? I get it now! I know that the way that I used to be was bad, ok? And I know that people didn’t exactly like me. But you don’t have to act like you understand or that you think my behavior is ‘normal’, alright? I know my mistakes, so if you don’t agree with me, don’t act as if you do!”
Chad took a deep breath and looked at the floor. When he raised his head, all eyes were on him. He had expected them to look angry or disappointed; anything but how they did look. He realized them that, even though he had let them know about not agreeing with him, it would have to sink in. Then, Vanessa spoke softly,
“We aren’t saying stuff just because we feel guilty. Human’s make mistakes, okay?”
Elizabeth supported Vanessa’s statement by nodding her head slightly. But Chad wasn’t going to buy it that easy,
“You might, you might not. But I feel that way. It is like the whole world, including you guys, is against me or something. And don’t tell me that you aren’t, because I’ve already heard all that stuff. I don’t care whether people are or not, I feel that way. I-.”
“You know what?” Vanessa began, cutting Chad off, “That’s your problem! It’s you, you, you! I thought that when you were being nice when you would ask the doctors about Mike and would be all nice to me, but I should have known better. You couldn’t have changed your selfish ways so quickly. But you know what? It was mean; you acting as if you cared. You don’t know, do you? How would you have reacted if you had been in my place? Or in Elizabeth’s, even? If you had watched someone struggle to live or watched someone you knew almost kill your best friend, how would you feel? In a way, I am glad that I’m not you. Because if I was, I would hate the feeling of the guilty conscience you must have right now.”
With that, Vanessa left. Chad stood there for a second before running out after her. As the door slammed, Elizabeth and Josh looked at each other, dumbfounded. Elizabeth was the most shocked of them all. When she had met Chad and Vanessa, she had thought that they had been really good friends, considering the fact that Chad had seemed so compassionate after Vanessa had fainted.