I left the library and approached the front door, glancing through the window in the hallway to get a better glimpse of the person outside. All I could see was the figure of a girl. The angels followed, and when they saw the figure too, they backed off.

I walked into the turret, grabbed the knob, and opened the door.

The girl standing on the other side smiled at me and said, “Hi, I’m Naomi.”

I gazed at her. She was about my age, with light brown skin, dark brown eyes, and curly black hair escaping from a bun at the back of her head. There were freckles all over her cheeks, and her smile was infectious.

“Hi,” I greeted, smiling too. “Who are you?”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” She drew her attention away from my injuries. “I’m your neighbor. I live over there.” She pointed to the left. “Martha told my parents you were home, so my mom baked some muffins for you.” She extended the basket she was holding toward me.

I took it from her. “Wow, thank you. How did you manage to get through the gate?”

“Martha gave my parents a keypad code for emergencies.”

I smiled. “Well, I don’t have any baked goods in the house, so this must be an emergency.”

She laughed. “To my mom, it most definitely is.”

“Well, tell her I said thank you.”

“I will.” She hesitated. “You’re Jordan, right? Jordan Conway?”

I nodded. “Yeah, how did you know?”

She shrugged. “My parents were friends with your parents.”