“You want to watch a movie?” she asked.

I slowly turned my head toward her in disbelief.

“You want to watch TV?” she asked, leaning over to grab the remote from the coffee table.

“No,” I snapped.

Claire blew her bangs from her face and sat quietly beside me for awhile. After a long, awkward silence, she took in a deep breath of air.

“I was a daddy’s girl,” she mused. “When we used to go on vacations, tagging along with your family, of course, I’d get so jealous when my dad would compliment you or even mention your name. When he would be away, with Jack, I would get so angry that you were spending time with him instead of me. My mom would try to explain, but…to a little girl that would rather be with her dad than at an amusement park, I refused to even try to understand.”

Claire’s eyes darkened. “When Jack died…I hated him,” she swallowed. “When my father started feeling weak just an hour later…I hated you. My Dad was an Archangel. I never thought I would lose him. He was lying there, fading away, and all I could think about was that I had all of this strength, this speed, the intelligence…I was built to be a savior and I couldn’t save my own father.

“As hard as it was for me, Jared took it harder. When Dad took his last breath, I thought Jared was going to die with him,” she closed her eyes and a tear fell down her cheek.

“I was angry with him at first. I felt betrayed that he went to you. But now I see that he didn’t have a choice. You were the only hope he had left…you were the only one that could make sense of his purpose for existing, and he needed you. He needed to know that our lives were worth something. I can see that now. And I’m glad you have each other.”

I didn’t realize my mouth was open until she looked at me with wet eyes and chuckled.

She scooted closer. “I shouldn’t have hated you. My father loved you like family and it was just as important to him to keep you safe as it was any of us. It didn’t mean he loved me any less, I know that now. I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you.”

I wanted to hug her, but thought better of it. To my surprise she clasped my hand between hers.

I shook my head. “I owe you for so much—for the time away from your father, for my life…for Jared. You don’t owe me anything.”

A warm smile spread across Claire’s face and she squeezed my hand. “So we’ll start over.”