After the Fall (Broken Angel #2) by L.G. Castillo Read Free Book Online

moaned.
    It is Welita’s house.
    Shattered glass littered the front porch, and the screen door banged loosely in the wind. Worst of all, every single window was broken.
    What happened? Welita and Chuy would never let the house look like that, unless...the house was empty.
    “No!” She wailed as she threw herself against the rail, leaning over as far as she could. The house was Welita’s pride and joy. She would never leave it. Her father grew up in that house. Something had to have happened—something so awful that Welita had no choice but to leave.
    Fear stuck in her throat as she thought of the one thing that could pull her stubborn grandmother away from her home.
    No! No way! Welita was not dead. There was no way that could happen. Welita had been in the best of health when she last saw her a few weeks ago. It had to be something else. It just had to be.
    Frantic, she ran along the side of the bridge, trying to get a better look at the surrounding neighborhood, desperate to find a clue, anything to explain what had happened to Welita and Chuy.
    “What’s wrong?” Lash followed close behind her.
    “Welita’s gone.” She sobbed.
    She looked at the other houses near Welita’s. They all had the same haunted, broken-down appearance. It looked like the entire neighborhood had been abandoned. “They’re all gone!”
    “What? Are you sure?” He leaned over the railing and peered at the water.
    “I-I don’t understand. It’s only been a few weeks since I last saw her. Everything looked normal. There were cars lining the street. The neighborhood kids were playing basketball. Everything looked exactly like it did when I left.”
    “It’s been a few weeks,” he mumbled.
    “Yeah, an entire neighborhood block can’t just up and leave in a couple of weeks, can it? I mean look at the grass. It’s almost knee deep!”
    He pinched the bridge of his nose and gritted his teeth. “A few weeks,” he repeated.
    “Why do you keep saying that?”
    He groaned and then slammed his hand against the railing. “Shit!”
    “What? What is it?”
    He paced the length of the bridge, running his hands through his hair and cursing under his breath.
    “I didn’t think anything like this would happen,” he mumbled as he dropped his head into his hands. “Stupid, stupid, stupid!”
    “Lash, please tell me. You know something.” Her voice grew louder with each word. She grabbed his shoulders when he wouldn’t answer, shaking him. “Tell me!”
    Tormented eyes met hers. “It was a few weeks...for you.”
    She blinked, confused. “For me? What do you mean, for me?”
    “Well, for us actually.” He turned his head away, unable to look at her. “I can’t believe I didn’t tell you.”
    She placed a hand under his chin and directed it towards her. “Tell me what?”
    He inhaled sharply and held his breath before he let it out in a rush. “Time is different here than it is on Earth.”
    “What does that mean? Time is different? How different?”
    Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. Oh, God! Maybe they’re all dead.
    Lash’s face zoomed in and out of focus, and she felt herself falling.
    “Naomi!” He cried as he caught her.
    “How...long?” Her voice was soft, fearful.
    “You’re in shock. Let’s get you back home. I’m so sorry I forgot to tell you. I can explain it all to you and then we can figure out—”
    “No.” She took a deep breath and forced herself to stand. Now was not the time to be weak. Now was time to be the archangel she was training to become. Taking another fortifying breath, she said, “Tell me. How long has it been?”
    “I never really paid much attention to time. We don’t measure time here like on Earth. I’d say maybe”—he gulped and eyed her with worry—“a year.”
    “A year! I’ve been gone for a year?”
    “Maybe less,” he said frantically.
    She let out a breath. She should be thankful that it was only a year. She turned and stared down at Welita’s house.