He chuckled walking to the door. “There is never a dull moment with you.” Pausing in the doorway, he leaned against the frame. “It’s why I like you, Angel Eyes.” He brushed a piece of loose hair behind my ear.
Without further ado, I slammed the door in his face. As usual, his laughter seeped through from the other side. This seemed to be our signature goodbye more and more lately. I think he liked it in some twisted way. It was like he lived to get under my skin or under my shirt. Propped against the closed door, I closed my eyes and released a whoosh of breath I’d been holding from his touch.
“Angel,” my mom called from upstairs.
Ugh. I had woken up sleeping beauty with my outburst. “Sorry mom,” I hollered back.
***
Hello Monday morning, you suck. That was my first thought of the day – lovely wasn’t it? Lying in my bed, I stared at the ceiling. Today there would be many firsts for me.
First day back to school since my… accident. Is that what I should refer to it as? An accident?
First time I would see Brandy since she lured me into a trap. In her defense she had been compelled, so I couldn’t really hold it against her. Chase on the other hand, had absolutely no qualms about holding her entirely responsible. Nothing in his thought process made any sense to me. Or maybe that was just guys in general.
First time I would be leaving the confines and security of my house. I would have to be a fool and an idiot after all I went through to not be nervous and cautious about the creepy and scary as shit things that are out there. They weren’t just stuff made up in nightmares and horror films.
Rolling out of bed, I stood in front of the mirror and pulled up my t-shirt. There it was – the black swirly design. A constant reminder of that night, the night I became something more than human. It had been a week since that hellish night – a week of me skipping school. My mom thought I had come down with some kind of extreme illness. I told her I caught it from Chase, which in a funny way was the truth.
The intricate swirls were no longer red or caused me pain, but the mark did sometimes tingle or get warm. Tracing the tribal lines with my finger, I thought about Chase and what he had done to save me. I still didn’t fully understand what he had sacrificed other than tying our souls together forever.
Forever.
It sounded so definite. Forever with Chase. I should have been horrified by the idea not…
Thrilled.
Eager.
Elated.
Huffing at my reflection, I pulled down my shirt and went to my closet. School waited whether I was ready or not. I’ll admit there was some apprehension coiling in my belly. Tossing on a pair of jeans and a cardigan, I raced downstairs.
Heading into the kitchen, I went to grab myself a bowl of Lucky Charms. I could use a little luck of the Irish. There was a pink note on the granite counter that captured my attention. A small box sat under the note. It was from my mom.
Angel,
I love you dearly, but I swear if you drop this phone in the toilet, run it over with your car, or any other excuse you can come up with, it will be the last time you use a phone. Got it? I’m pretty sure the guy at the phone company thinks I eat cell phones for dinner. Please be more careful.
Love, Mom
P.S. Speaking of dinner, I made extras tonight for Chase.
Good Lord. Now my mom was cooking him dinner. He even had her wrapped around his finger. I would deal with that later, but right now I grinned as I tore open the box to my new iPhone.
Hell yeah.
The worse part of getting a new phone was that I had to input all my contacts again, which I guess wasn’t as bad as it seemed. I mean, I live in Spring Valley. There really weren’t that many people to add. Glancing at the clock, I realized my glee was to be short lived. If I didn’t hurry my tushie, I was going to be late for school. Slipping my new kickass phone into my backpack, I threw down a bowl of leprechaun cereal just before a car horn beeped outside my house.
Chapter 2
The horn beeped again two seconds later. “Hold your boxers on,” I mumbled. He could be so intolerable. Why had I agreed to ride with Chase and Lexi to school this morning?
Oh yeah, that’s right. He hadn’t given me a choice. Chase had gone all macho and bossy insisting that we ride to and from school together, for my safety of course.
What a bunch of baloney.
Grabbing my bag from the corner, I locked the front door behind me. I don’t know why I bothered. There wasn’t a lock Chase couldn’t get around. It was on his long list of skills. There, in my driveway was a shiny, brand-spanking new, silver Audi. The color reminded me of his eyes. I was starting to think that Chase went through vehicles as much as normal people change their sheets. It was insane – and costly.
Plopping into the passenger seat, I smiled at Lexi in the back. “What happened to the bike? Don’t tell me you totaled it already.”
He gave me a disarming grin, ignoring my barb. “It’s been retired for the season. You like?”