“Yeah, right. Look at him. He has biceps thicker than my thighs, hazel eyes and perfect teeth. Now look at me. I’m tall and skinny, with dull brown eyes, in desperate need of braces, and I have acne on my chest. I’m a little boy who has barely hit puberty compared to him.”
“That’s not what this is about, Ra. Here is what it is about, remember?” Gabriel dug his fingers into my sternum.
“Well, let’s hope Etta can see past a shining car, good looks, and perfect hair.”
“C’mon up here, guys. Join the party,” Tristan cheered as we made our way past the rows of metal chairs, down to the floor in front of the stage. Standing behind Etta, I fought the urge to put my overshirt on her again. Gabriel positioned himself on the other side of Amy and seemed to have struck up a conversation with her. Etta stood on the balls of her toes as she stretched to say something to Tristan. Unable to hear her over the crowd, he leaned over, lowering his ear to her lips. If I hadn’t already been ready to pummel him right then, when he placed his hand on the small of her back, my blood boiled enough to take him on. As I contemplated striking him, Etta turned her attention to the stage, and Tristan removed his hand.
“Does your dad know you have a boyfriend who looks twice your age?” I whispered in her ear.
“He’s just a friend. We go to school together, and yes, my father knows. He’s Rene’s sponsor. And where did you get twice my age from? He’s twenty-eight.” She snapped her head over her shoulder and gave me a glare.
“Don’t you think that is out of your age range?”
“What does it matter to you?”
I wanted her to know exactly why it mattered to me. But how do you tell a woman you supposedly just met that you have been in love with her for over a year, she is yours, and you’re meant to be together? As I answered her, the mob around us exploded in cheers and applause.
Chapter Six
The red velvet curtain lifted, revealing a mass of equipment and one man standing in the center. A dozen multi-colored lights bounced around as a hard bass beat and electronic tempo came over the speakers.
“Go Lights Berlin!” Amy yelled in excitement at Etta, to which Etta gave a top of the lungs “Woo-hoo!” Everyone in the crowded theater swayed and jiggled their bodies with the beat as the hip-hop, avant-garde smooth voice and catchy rhymes led them.
With ILLnigma’s hips thrusting to the bass, a mob of women rushed the stage, pushing and shoving viciously to catch the performer’s eye. I’m sure all they wanted were the bragging rights of being a rapper’s girlfriend. His flawless skin, bedroom eyes, and fit physique were added bonuses. Seeing the reaction he created in the opposite sex raised a hint of jealousy within me.
Of course, had I gone on stage with my Angelic form, I’m sure I’d have a rush of women as well, but with the body Father had chosen for me, I’d be lucky to get a desperate drunk to glance my way, let alone capture Etta’s attention.
Needing to divert my thoughts, and curious of Gabriel’s reaction to the rap music, I glanced over and found him holding on to the front of Amy’s waist from behind. The two were grinding against one another as they lowered their bodies in unison to the floor.
I thought for a moment maybe he was having too much fun with his new sinful existence as he spun her around, pulling her arm around his neck. Feeling as if I were spying on two lovers, I turned my gaze to Etta. Unlike the rest of the room, Etta stood facing the left side of the stage. Her worrisome stare put me on edge. Following her line of sight, I attempted to see what had her so transfixed. When I looked back, Etta had disappeared. Searching the crowd, I found her pushing through the mass of people up the stairs, Tristan behind her.
I lost visual contact as I tried catching up to her. The sea of people made it too hard to push through. Reaching the lobby area, I searched for any sign of her. As I ran past the chain of glass doors at the entrance of the theater, I caught a glimpse of her outside. Tristan sat next to her on the curb with his arm around her; she appeared to be crying.
“What is it?” Gabriel hollered, running down the lobby with Amy’s hand in his. Logan trailed behind.
“Something happened. One moment she’s dancing, next she’s caught in a daze, and then ran off.”
“Should we call John?”
“No! You can’t call him!” Amy exclaimed.
“Well, I’m going to see what’s going on,” I said as I marched outside. “What happened?”
“Is everything okay?” Gabriel asked.
“She’s fine, just had a little hiccup. You guys mind if we just get out of here?” Tristan replied as he rubbed her arm. The four of us walked to the vehicles on Amy’s cue while Tristan and Etta stayed behind at the theater. As we waited for them to arrive, I wondered what might be taking them so long. After what seemed to be forever, Etta and Tristan appeared arm in arm.
“Let’s head on home,” I said.
“The night’s not over yet. Mosh, follow us,” Tristan ordered as he helped Etta in his car.
“Who’s Mosh?” Gabriel asked.
“It’s me, silly,” Amy answered as she started up her van. Gabriel took the passenger seat next to her as Logan climbed in the back. I watched as another man sped off with my girl.
“Relax. Like he said, the night’s not over yet.” Gabriel turned in his seat as we drove off.
“Easy for you to say; she’s all over you and my girl’s all over him.”
“I’ll be right back.” Gabriel winked at Amy before joining me in the backseat. “This reminds me of a mission I went on before you came home, Brother. I received a report that a Demon on the top ten-wanted list had been spotted at a school. So, I decided to check it out, but I’d be breaking the rules if I went all Angeled out. Spotting a boy leaving the school, I took on his appearance and found a girl sobbing in the hallway near where the Demon had been spotted. Well, I ended up taking her home. She invited me in. I thought about saying no until my senses told me a Demon might be in the home, so I accepted.”
“Get to your point.”
“Well, the girl seemed upset, and I sensed the tension inside her rise the longer we sat. She would inch in closer and closer to me until she practically sat on top of me. That’s when a Demon I didn’t expect appeared and threw me across the room, couch and all. But after giving me a toss, Rahovart the Heir revealed himself; so did the Alastor the Executioner, the Demon I needed. Having a choice of me or you for safety, she chose you, a Demon.”
“And?” How could I forget that day? It had changed my course forever, but I didn’t understand what was getting at.
“And, don’t you see? When a girl is mad at one person, she goes to another for solace and nothing more, but they always return to the one who gives them more than a chest to cry into. Tristan is only a small comfort to her now, as I had been that day on the couch.”
Gabriel had intended to make me feel better, but he failed. The reminder of how he had the privilege to be so close to her fueled my jealousy even more. By the time we stopped in front of a house, I’d grown agitated enough to snap someone’s neck on the spot, which didn’t help my reaction to what I saw when we entered the house.
There appeared to be a party in full swing inside the fully lit home. The music played too loud to hear anything but muffled noise as people talked, and the smell of alcohol permeated the air. I spotted Etta sitting on Tristan’s lap at the dining room table. The two appeared to be a deep conversation. As I rounded the couch to make my presence known, she took a drink from a brown bottle.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Without hesitation, or thought, I smacked the bottle out of her hand. “We’re going home now.” I grabbed her wrist, wrenching her from his lap.
“What’s your problem, dude?” Tristan gripped my arm as he stood up. Releasing Etta, I turned and head-butted him. To my surprise, the blow had little effect on him.
“Stop it!” Etta yelled, but the fight had already begun. Tristan threw a punch I dodged with no problem. Etta didn’t,
however. His misguided swing knocked her down. As he reared back realizing what he’d done, I spotted blood on his knuckles. That was when the Demon in me returned.
Coming back around, I locked his head in the crook of my elbow and chest. With the force of all my bottled up anger, rage, jealousy, and hate, I delivered blow after blow to his perfect face until Gabriel interfered.
“Ra! That’s enough! He’s done.” Gabriel shoved me toward the front door, forcing me to release Tristan from my grasp. Mr. Perfect collapsed on the floor in a daze. With a tug, Gabriel tried to pull me across the threshold, but my Demon hadn’t been satisfied. Jerking away from Gabriel, I returned to where Tristan lay moaning.
“Stay away from her!” I roared before giving him a full force kick to the head. With that, my Demon side had a twinge of gratification. Walking outside, I found Gabriel watching something down the street. Amy walked somberly toward us with her arms folded across her chest.
“She needs some time alone right now.” Amy rolled her eyes at me before turning her attention to Gabriel. Peering down the street, I saw Etta’s silhouette moving away from us.
I took off at a full run after her. Amy yelled at me, but I ignored her cries. I couldn’t let Etta be, even if I wanted to. I promised John I would keep a close eye on her.
I closed the distance between us, and she heard me coming. With a quick glance behind her, she kicked off her high heels and took off running. On a foot chase through the neighborhood, I found myself running next to the bank of the Potomac River just a few houses down from John’s. The fear he would hear her before I made my way to her sent a burst of energy through me.
Knowing she wouldn’t stop until she lost me, I reached for her and ended up knocking us both over on the sandy bank of the river. The sand slipped under her feet as she tried scrambling up. Not wanting to have to catch up to her again, I grabbed her ankle and jerked her toward me.
“Help! Help!” she screamed as blood dripped from her mouth. Tristan’s blow had split her bottom lip wide open. With my luck, her call for help would be answered, and I would be blamed for her injuries. Yanking her back on top of me by the lacing of her corset, I covered her mouth with my hand. Holding on to her flailing body became more and more difficult as she started nipping at my hand with her teeth.
“Stop it. I only want to talk. I’m not going to hurt you.” My attempt to relax her seemed to fire her up more. Her struggles were beginning to aggravate me. Needing to calm the situation, I flipped over, putting her under me.
“Etta, please stop. I swear, I am not going to hurt you,” I pleaded. By the grace of God, her body relaxed more than it had since my arrival. As I held Etta in my arms, I felt the racing of her heart slow to a normal pace.
The moment brought me to the memory of us in the attic when I revealed my past crimes against humanity. As Abihail once saw past the young, hot-headed Arch, Etta saw beyond the Demon I became. Although I didn’t know it at the time, from that moment my heart would be forever hers. Holding her now, feeling the same intense need and desire, solidified my love for her.
“Can I take my hand off now?” With her stifled yes and a nod of her head, I removed my hand from her mouth.
“Get off of me!”
“Are you going to run off again?”
“What do you think?”
“I think you will. So you’re staying right here until we talk.”
“Then say what you got to say.”
“Etta, I’m sorry. I was only trying to look out for you.”
“Apology not accepted. I can look after myself.”
“Is that so? You call dressing like a whore, running around with older men, and drinking looking after yourself?”
“Screw you!” Etta spat in my face.
“What happened to you? You used to be so…different.” I asked more to myself, releasing her as I wiped her blood and spit off of my face. I expected her to run after she jumped to her feet. Instead, she stood over me as I fought back the tears welling up inside me.
“How would you know what I used to be like?”
I didn’t think she had been listening. I wanted to come clean and get it over with, but telling her would break the rules. “I’ve seen your pictures at your dad’s house. You’re better than this. Those clothes…that makeup? It isn’t the real you.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. You just met me.”
“I know you’re so much more beautiful without all that crap on.”
My comment took her aback. “You think I’m beautiful?”
“I know the real Etta is beautiful.”
“Root beer.” With a loud sigh, she sat in the sand next to me.
“What?”
“I was drinking root beer.”
“You mean?”
“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“You didn’t give me that chance, did you?”
“No. I guess I didn’t. I’m sorry about that and for you getting hit. Let me take a look at your lip.” Tilting her chin toward the full moon light, I inspected the gash. Our eyes locked for a brief moment. Her milk chocolate eyes peered deep into my soul, igniting a spark within me. Taking off my over shirt, I wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, causing Etta to wince.
“I’m sorry. Did that hurt?”
“It’s okay. Doesn’t hurt as bad as trying to explain it to my dad will. That’s going to be fun.” Etta placed her hand over the shirt, grazing mine as I pulled away.
“You’re not going to tell him I….”
“Relax. We can’t tell him. We were supposed to be at the movies, remember?
“Dang it, what time is it?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“We have to get going. C’mon.” Etta stood, reaching her hand down to help me up. The feel of her skin against mine was heaven. Reverently, I prayed that tonight I had been enough Demon and Angel to help accomplish my goal of winning her love.
Chapter Seven
“Where are we going?” I asked as I followed her off the riverbank and onto the dim streets of Quantico Town.
“My house. I have to change and get you guys back to my dad’s before eleven-thirty.”
“Why eleven-thirty?”
“Mall closes at eleven. Figure it takes fifteen minutes to drive home. That puts you guys at my dad’s by eleven-thirty, or he’ll start blowing up my cell phone, wondering where we’re at.”
“Why didn’t you just tell him about the concert?”
“And listen to him and Rene preach about alcohol and personal safety? No thank you. I get enough preaching.”
“I was beginning to worry.” Gabriel greeted us at the house. Etta walked down the hall and disappeared behind one of the doors. Without a word to me, Amy followed her.
“Well?” an impatient Gabriel asked as I sat on the couch.
“Well what?”
“You know what.”
“She’s talking to me, but that won’t get us home.”
“It’s a step in the right direction.”
“What about you and Amy?”
My question brought a sudden redness to his cheeks. “She’s a great girl, but nothing will come of us.”
“And why not, Brother? I had Abihail and now Etta. Michael has Epinoia. Even Saraqael has been courting Liwet. Don’t you think it’s time you settled down?”
“I’m married to my sword, Brother.”
Before I could tease him about his choice of relationships, Amy returned to the living room and took the seat next to Gabriel. “Okay, so here’s how we’re gonna spin this. Instead of going to the movies, we went to the skate park inside the mall, where Mr. Top Ramen here collided with Etta, splitting her lip.”
“That won’t work. If I collided into her hard enough to do that, wouldn’t I have been hurt as well?”
“I don’t know. You could limp or something. We can’t tell him you started a fight at Tristan house or that Etta got slugged.”
>
“Are we ready?” Etta asked as she joined us on the couch. Thankfully, she returned to her usual fashion of blue jeans and a loose fitting sweater. She had washed away the war paint, revealing her natural beauty. My heart skipped multiple beats as she took the cushion next to me. So close, I could smell the kiwi and honey of her soap. With all my strength, I resisted the urge to nuzzle into her neck to taste what other flavors her body might hold.
“We’re trying to figure out how to explain your lip.”
“Didn’t Amy tell you?”
“Ramen doesn’t think it’ll work because he didn’t get hurt,” Amy answered.
“I’ve got it. Ramen, stand up.” Gabriel stood up across from me. Before I could stand, a sudden explosion went off on the side of my nose. Blood drained from my nostrils onto my shirt.
“What the hell?”
“What? Problem solved. Problem staying solved. Now you’re hurt, too.” Gabriel said with a chuckle.
“You could have warned me.” I pinched my nose to keep from bleeding all over myself. Unsure of her intention, I flinched when Amy came over and reached for my hands.
“Best way to stop a nose bleed is pinching the pressure points in between your thumb and forefinger,” she said as her fingertips dug into the web of flesh connecting the two. As if she held the healing powers of our Father, the bleeding stopped.
To keep up appearances, we drove to John’s in the van. Much to my surprise, the house hadn’t a single light on. I doubted John would go to bed while his daughter stayed out late doing who knows what.
“Sweet. Dad’s asleep. You guys want a ride home?”
Etta’s question reminded me that we weren’t supposed to let her find out we were staying with John until we could make other arrangements. Gabriel and I couldn’t simply walk into a sleeping family’s home.
“No, thank you. We will walk from here,” Gabriel said, saving me from thinking of what to do.
“Thank you for choosing the Mormon-mobile; have a safe trip, and see us again soon,” Amy jested as we exited the van. Before I could say goodnight, the girls left. In pretense, we began walking down the street. By the time we reached the end of Potomac Avenue, we assumed it would be safe to return to the Divad home.
The Human Side (The Demon Side Series) Page 4