Against All Odds - Angel's Story(31)

Now she has to contend with the way he’s treated her too. Fuck. It makes me feel like the biggest arsehole. Out of all the girls I’ve ever met in my lifetime, Angel is the one person who should never be mistreated.

I try to put all that out of my mind for now, so I can concentrate on getting her all patched up. Once I’m done, I stand and hold out my hand to help her up. She smiles as she places her small hand in mine. I love feeling her skin against mine.

Memories of what happened with her last time I was here instantly come back. I can’t go there now though, so I push them straight back out. I’ve tried so much not to think about that day, but being with her now makes it hard not to. I’d give anything for a do-over.

Jesus, what am I thinking?

If I could, I’d certainly make sure it didn’t end so horrible for her this time. Maybe coming here wasn’t such a good idea, but fuck me, I want to be here. She needed someone to take care of her and more than anything I wanted that person to be me.

As I stand here now, looking into her beautiful big brown eyes, holding her delicate hand in mine, I realise everything I’ve been fighting when it comes to her, has been a total waste of time. What I feel for her in this moment is so much stronger than I ever thought possible.

Shit. I can’t go there again. I break our eye contact and pull my hand out of hers. “How about we go and have that coffee?” I ask, trying to smooth out the internal fucking freak-out I just experienced. I hope she didn’t notice. I’m sure she’s feeling pretty fragile right now. I’d hate her to think I didn’t want to be here, because fuck me I do.

••••



Two coffees for me, tea for her, and an hour of small talk later, I can see she’s getting tired. Occasionally I saw glimpses of the old her, but on the whole, I’d say what she went through with Benson has fucked her over. Sure she’s trying to hide it, but I can see straight through her façade.

As much as I don’t want to leave, I should. The thought of leaving her alone though, doesn’t sit well with me.

“You look tired,” I state. “I’m happy to hang around if you want to get some sleep,” I offer. Maybe having me here will make her feel safe. Then again, maybe it won’t.

“Yeah. I am a little sleepy,” she says. “There’s no need for you to hang around though… I’m fine being here on my own.”

She’s not fooling me. She couldn’t even look me in the eye when she said that last part. “Look, Angel. I’m quite happy to sit out here if you want to go lay down. It’s no trouble.”

“I appreciate your offer,” she replies, “but honestly, there’s no need.” Again she doesn’t make eye contact. I’m not going to force it. I’ll hang around outside if I have to.

“Do you still have my number?” I ask. I’m hoping she says yes, but I wouldn’t blame her if she deleted it.

“Ummm, I’m pretty sure I do.”

“Well let me write it down just in case.” She goes back into the kitchen and opens one of the drawers, passing me a piece of paper and a pen. “Call me if you need me, okay?”

“Sure,” she says with a small smile. She takes the paper out of my hand and looks down at it while she speaks. “Thank you again for everything you’ve done for me tonight. I’ll never forget the kindness you’ve shown me.”

I rise from the bar stool I’m sitting on and go around the breakfast bar to her. Her head is still lowered. I place my finger under her chin and tilt her face upwards so she’s looking at me. The tears I see pooling in her eyes is almost my undoing.

“You don’t need to thank me, okay. And I meant what I said. Call me if you need me to come back, or if you just want to talk. Better still, I’ll go home and get my Pops’ pick-up and come back and sleep out front if that helps.”

“Oh god no. I couldn’t expect you to do that. I’ve already put you out enough.”

“Hey, stop staying that. You haven’t put me out. I’m happy to be here with you. Granted under better circumstances, but honestly, I’ve missed you, sweet-cheeks.” I don’t know why I added that last part but it’s true. I have missed her.

When the first tear falls, I feel a lump rise to my throat. “Fuck,” I breathe as I pull her into my arms. “Are you sure you want me to go?” She doesn’t answer, but nods her head against my chest. I don’t want to leave her like this.

I hold her for a few more minutes before pulling away to look at her, lightly placing my hands on her delicate shoulders. She brings her uninjured hand up and wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. She has little black lines running down her face from her makeup. I want to reach up and wipe them away, but I don’t. Her hair is all over the place, but to me she’s still breathtaking.