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“Got it,” Ben says, then begins asking Theo questions about his hometown. I do not fully understand everything Theo has told us about his family, but I do know that I want to do the right thing. The trouble is, I am not certain what the right thing is. For this, I may need to rely on Ben, who looks at me and smiles every few minutes as we walk to where his vehicle is parked. When we reach it, Theo stops and laughs out loud.

“You know, I think I finally realized why your car looks so familiar to me,” he says.

“Why’s that?” Ben asks, fishing in his jacket for the keys.

“It’s a Chevy Impala, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, 1967. It’s actually my brother’s, but he travels a lot, so he left it with me. What’s the deal?”

“You…you’ve never watchedSupernatural, have you?” Theo asks. He slides into the passenger seatand I get into the back, then Ben turns the keys and the old car rumbles to life.

“Can’t say that I have,” he answers.

“Well…then I don’t really have any words to describe to you how funny and ironic this is,” Theo says. “Yet another show I’ll have to make you watch.”

“Sounds like my sentence has been extended,” Ben replies with a grin. Theo takes a few minutes to guide him in the right direction, then takes a deep breath and anxiously pushes his hair back.

“On a more serious note,” he mutters, “I…I need to ask you something.”

Ben looks over at him with a frown. “What’s that?”

“Well, I’ve told you…a lot of stuff over the past few weeks. Personal stuff. I just feel like, before I take you around my family, I need to know why you were…laicized.”

I tense up, but Ben actually laughs. “I’ve been living in your house for two weeks and you haven’t looked me up online?”

“I mean…” Theo stammers. “I did…look up your criminal record and the sex offender registry, but…”

“Do you really need to know?” Ben asks, his voice heavier than I have ever heard it.

“I just…maybe it’s…something you should tell me…”

“Look, it’s obviously not a topic I love talking about. Is it enough for me to tell you that I didn’t do anything illegal, I didn’t hurt anyone, and that it was more of a…forced resignation?”

Theo’s face is a battleground of wariness and stifled affection. “Fine,” he sighs at last. “I guess that’s enough.”

“Feel free to search my name if you don’t believe me,” Ben says tersely.

“I…I believe you,” Theo tells him. “I trust you.” I can tell that those words mean something to Ben, and I wonder what I must do to get Theo to trust me too. Gaining their trust is the only way I might be able to save them.

In all my centuries of existence, I have only ever been toldthat humanity is sinful–that even those who are not evil or corrupt are, at the very least, selfish, irresponsible, and arrogant. I was taught that their flaws make them irredeemable, and this is why our towers are constantly teeming with damned souls. I was taught that, for humans, Heaven is unattainable and Hell is inevitable, and that the Almighty designed it this way because it is no less than humanity deserves.

But…this has not been my experience. These two very human men have many flaws, but they are still kind, gentle, patient, and selfless. The thought of Theo or Ben facing the horrific punishments of Hell, facing my brethren, fills me with immeasurable dread. I do not know if there is anything I can do to spare them from this fate, but I know I must try. But in order to do this, they must trust me. Both of them.

23

Theo

Once we hit thecity limits, Ben turns on the little Bluetoothspeaker attached to the dashboard, hands me his phone, and tells me to find some music. Annoth scoots forward and watches over my shoulder.

“Sorry, he doesn’t have any ‘screams of the damned’ on here,” I tell her, glancing back and grinning. She rolls her eyes, but returns the smile, and I wonder if we’re making a little progress.

“There’ssomescreaming on there if you scroll far enough,” Ben says, then I stop and hold the phone up, having found an entire playlist labeled ‘Hillbilly Bullshit’.

“Iknewyou secretly liked country!” I say triumphantly.

“I made that for you, actually,” Ben laughs and I nearly drop the phone. “How’d I do?”

“Uh…” I’m speechless for a moment as I scroll through the playlist. Some of my favorite songs are on here, mostly older stuff. Am I that predictable and transparent? Has he been going through my phone? Has he been paying attention to the music I play when I’m in the shower? “This is…really great, actually. I’m somewhat impressed. Thank you.”