When I awoke, it was still dark outside. As I tried to get up, I realized that someone was holding me. Looking around, I noticed that it was Taylor. I guess that she came here sometime while I was crying. I don’t even remember hearing her come through the front door. After the last few hours, I didn’t expect her to be here. She had made me feel like I was losing her. Doing my best to pull myself out from under her, I stood up and headed towards the bathroom. As I turned on the light and looked in the mirror, I was surprised at my appearance.

Although I now looked more human, I still had my ears and tail. My hair was still blue. It was ironic just how much I looked like my mom. This sent even more pain through me. Just knowing that I could never talk to her again was enough to rip my heart out once more. I guess that my crying had woke Taylor because there was a knock at the door.

“Angel, are you alright?” she asked through the door. I didn’t answer right away. I didn’t want the same feeling I got from the hospital again. I didn’t want to depend on her for comfort, only for her to shy away from me. Sighing, I washed my face and dried it. Then I slowly opened the door.

“I’m okay. It is just hard to believe that my mom is gone. And then you acted like I was something evil. You couldn’t even touch me,” I said, trying to keep my composure.

She looked down at the floor. Her ears drooped as she walked up to me. “I didn’t know what to make of everything that happened. When you read about heroes, they always make it out that the hero saves the day just in the nick of time, and no one dies. But in the real world, I guess there are just some things that have to happen. I wasn’t scared of you. I just didn’t know how to handle it.”

Warily I reached over and hugged her. To my surprise, she wrapped her arms around me and held me. I could feel her tears against my shoulder. We stood there for a while, just holding each other. Then she pulled away and looked at me.

“I would be lying if I said that I was able to sleep these last few days. I got so used to sleeping beside you that lying in that room by myself was unbearable, but I didn’t know how to approach you about all that had happened. Plus, with what had happened, I thought you needed some space. I didn’t mean to hurt you, Angel.” Taylor said as she held her tail. The look on her face was like a dagger in my heart.

“We should probably go back to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a long day,” I said, offering my hand. Slowly she took it, and we headed towards my mom’s room. I know it may seem weird, but it was the only way I felt I could be close to her. Taylor hesitated as we came to the door. “I know it may feel weird, but it will help me sleep.”

She nodded, then I opened the door and went into the room. It was still the way she had left it when we moved to the tower. Her bed was gone because it was moved to the building. Luckily she left an air mattress in the room. After blowing the mattress up, we crawled onto it and laid there. Surprisingly she wrapped her arm around me. It wasn’t long before sleep retook me.

I woke up the next morning alone. I panicked, thinking that Taylor had left. As I left the room, I could smell coffee. Walking into the living room, I saw her sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee. She smiled as she lifted her glass towards me. Smiling, I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a cup. With coffee in hand walked back into the front room and sat down on the opposite side of the couch.

“Did you know you talk in your sleep?” Taylor asked after taking another sip of coffee. As I was about to take a sip of coffee, I stopped and blushed. I wondered what I was saying in my sleep. I know mom had told me that I did when I was a kid, but she never brought it up recently. It was so embarrassing.

“What did I say?” I asked before hiding behind my face with the cup. She blushed and looked away. “You were calling for me. It was adorable, but you sounded like you were in pain.” She said before taking another sip. So I was calling out for her in my sleep. That was new. But then again, mon never told me what I talked about when I was younger. Just as I was about to say something, the phone rang. I wondered who would be calling the house.

Walking over to the table where the phone as I picked it up and answered it.

“Hello, Angel. I thought I might find you here. I was calling to tell you that your mom left the house to you in the will, and I took the liberty of paying off the rest of the mortgage. I have also paid most of the bills for the month, but unfortunately, you will have to get a job soon. I also wanted to apologize for everything that you had to endure. I can’t help but think that your mom’s death was partly my fault,” Mr. Carver said. I didn’t understand why he was so nice. And why was he blaming himself? It wasn’t like he sent the giant to wreak havoc.

“You didn’t need to do that, Mr. Carver. I am not your responsibility. Besides, don’t you have enough to worry about since your building was destroyed?” I said. I heard him chuckle.

“I promised your mother that I would take care of you. And it is my fault. If your mother hadn’t been at the office, she might not have been killed by that thing,” he stated. I heard talking in the background. It sounded like he was in the middle of a meeting.

“Look, Mr. Carver. You sound busy, and I’m really not in the mood to talk. I appreciate everything that you did. Please have a good day,” I said before hanging up the phone. Looking back at Taylor, she had a worried look on her face. I sat back down on the couch and sighed.

“He paid off the house and paid the bills. He blamed himself for everything. I don’t know what else to say, though we will need to get a job. The only bills that we will have are electric and such,” I said as I took a sip of my coffee and sighed. Taylor nodded and then smiled.

“Well, the good news is, I just got a job yesterday. I was going to tell you until everything happened. I start on Tuesday,”  she said, finishing her coffee. The rest of the day was quiet. We watched some tv and then had lunch. By dinner time, we decided to have takeout. I was lucky that mom made me one of the people on her account. It was also a good thing that Mr. Carver could get all my legal documentation fixed to match who I was now. After we finished eating and cleaned the dishes, Taylor sat beside me.

“So, is it okay if we live together? I know that we technically have been, but I figured I would ask officially.” She said, smiling. This was a surprise. With everything that had happened, I wasn’t sure she would want to be around me. But I wasn’t going to object. I loved her so much, and the fact that she wanted to live with me only made her even more impressive. I couldn’t find the words, so I just nodded happily. “Well, we should get some sleep. It looks like we have to find you a job, and you need some new outfits.”

We headed towards mom’s room and climbed onto the mattress. I wasn’t looking forward to laying on it again, but we still didn’t have a bed. Seeing my expression, she grinned. “We should probably get a bed tomorrow as well. I think my parents will be happy to know that they are going to be helping us,” she said mischievously. I was surprised that her parents still hadn’t deactivated her card. Laying there, I fell asleep with the feeling of contentment.