"Kindness is an act from the heart. Its only reward is the satisfaction of the happiness brought into the other's life."
"God bless you."
I stood there in slight shock at those words, even as they walked away with the girl sitting on her father's shoulders. She turned and waved happily at me, a child's way of thanking someone, and my heart flipped happily. Jophiel was already behind me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You did great. You were a real angel and that girl won't forget it," he said in my ear.
I turned to him and we walked side by side as I examined the rips in his shirt. "Must've been some fight," I said with a small smile.
"Nothing I can't handle. I'm just that awesome."
With a grin, I got in the passenger seat of his car and watched the world go by through the clear glass of the window. I was happy for the family, but most of all, it made me feel like I was flying.
Chapter Nine
After the night Jophiel and I brought the lost girl home, I had to tell Nikita of the feeling of flying I had felt after it had been done. She noticed I had been glowing and all she did was smile and tell me I was becoming a true angel. Though I couldn't help but think it was more than that; I had done a good deed and most of all, the girl knew what I was, making me feel as if the more innocent and pure you are, the more of my world they could see. Not that I minded. I hated keeping secrets.
The next morning, I woke early to get to school on time, meeting Jophiel outside my house. We never talked about it, but it seemed like a silent agreement we made for him to drive me to and from school and as much as I loved it, I couldn't shake a growing feeling blossoming inside my chest every time I was near him. In the space between us, it always seemed as if electricity was shooting to and from our bodies, clashing against each other in a burst of energy. As we walked into the school, we were greeted by a comforting silence of the halls. It wasn't like my first day here, busy and crammed with countless bodies of young humans trying to get the school day over with. I was at my locker when someone came up behind me, and I turned to meet the eyes of another student, a female. "Hey," she said with a smile.
Closing my locker after piling books into my arms, I smiled back. "Hello," I replied, struggling to push my hair behind my ear with my arms full.
"My name is Jenna. I saw you two days ago looking like a lost sheep. You're new here, yea?"
"Yes, I am. My name is Uriel. It's nice to meet you."
"Hmmm... You sound very polite, Uriel. Not very common in our generation. Everyone is usually cold blooded."
"I guess it's just how I was brought up."
Jenna studied me with a watchful gaze and in those eyes, I knew almost everything about her. She was the student council president, second baseman in varsity softball and most of all, she held Jophiel close to her heart, and it made a knot in my stomach. Shaking my head, I opened my eyes to her looking over me, a sort of hope filling in her brown eyes. I didn't have to look back, I knew he was coming and I sighed inwardly. "Uriel," Jophiel said, draping an arm around my shoulder and pulling me in before letting me go. His energy seemed to shift when he noticed Jenna who failed horribly at making it seem like she didn't care that he was near. "You've met Jenna then," he said plainly. I only nodded as Jenna twirled her hair, an irritating gesture.
Before I could say anything, she piped up, her voice raising an octave as she spoke in his presence. "Jophiel! Are you trying to keep Uriel all to yourself so she can't make any friends?" she asked him.
"No, I'm just making sure she knows the ropes before figuring out who she fits in with."
"Oh come on Jophie. The first party of the year is tonight; you know this! Stop hogging her and let her mingle with her fellow students... You know, get to know us all before finally melding into her own little posse."
"I don't think that's such a--"
"Let her decide, okay?"
There was a long silence, and I realized they were staring at me. I was too heated on Jenna's nickname for Jophiel to notice they had been waiting for an answer. I knew I wanted to make friends, learn about their ways of communicating, ways of affection. I wanted to learn what it was like to live in this world. With a sudden churning in my stomach, I gave him a pleading look. "I think it's about time I made some friends," I said with a lump rising in my throat. Nodding to himself, he glared at Jenna who smiled cheerfully and he leaned into me.
"I will go with you to that party. Humans are always making bad decisions and I want to make sure you will be okay. Before the party, we should train," he said before walking away, not needing an answer to leave. Jenna wrapped her arm around my shoulder as more students piled in and the first bell rang; a warning to start getting to class.
"Hey, the party is at seven. Why don't you come over to my house and we'll have some girl time? I'll give you a makeover and make you look hot!" she said happily, handing me a piece of paper with her address. "See you around six," she continued before skipping off to her own class.
It was fairly easy to remember where my classes were, though I had difficulties finding my way around. As I dumped my books into my locker, keeping the notebook that held the assignments the teachers gave the class, I could hear shouts coming from the cafeteria. It was lunch time and I knew it would be loud considering the number of students attending the school, but the air held a violent static above my head and I nearly ran to the cafeteria. When I grew closer, the shouts were louder and the energy started suffocating me. I walked in slowly to a crowd where I made the note that violence attracts a lot of attention. Pushing through the mass of bodies, I could feel a familiar energy and I found why when I got to the center. Jophiel had the kid from our English class by the throat and pushed into a table. The kid's eyes rolled over to me and he smiled. "Speaking of the sweetheart," he said, struggling to breathe. Jophiel let go instantly when our eyes connected and I noticed the blue in those familiar eyes had intensified. "Uriel," he said stepping to me. I didn't know what to do. So I ran.
There were so many thoughts racing through my head as I ran down the halls, ignoring the calls from Jophiel who ran after me. After studying the difference between genders of humans, I found comfort in the sign for the girl's bathroom and pushed the door open violently, letting it slam behind me. My heart was racing, but I didn't know what to do about this situation. I hated violence and from the looks of it, Jophiel seemed to have started it all. I stood in front of the sink staring at myself through the reflecting glass of the mirror, and I heard the door open quietly, clicking behind whoever just walked in. Then I felt him and turned around.
"You're not supposed to be in here," I said flatly. He shook his head and stepped forward.
"You need to understand something," he replied.
"No, I don't. I know what I saw."
"But you don't know the beginning of it. Human men are animals."
"What does that even mean?"
"He doesn't have good intentions and he said something about you."
"What did he say?"
"I can't--"
"Tell me!"
My throat closed up, and I gripped the sink, making it groan under the strength I had been putting to it. The vibrations in the floor went up my legs as he walked closer and put a hand on my shoulder to turn me toward him. I stared into his eyes as he spoke, trying to explain. "He said something along the lines of you being extremely good-looking," he said hesitantly. I raised an eyebrow. "How is that bad?" I asked crossing my arms. There was something he wasn't telling me and I knew it. "Look, it just is," he said quietly just as the bell rang. Sighing, I pushed past him and left the bathroom. He wasn't telling me everything and it angered me.
When I stepped foot into my English class, I heard a whistle coming from the kid I sat next to. As soon as I took my seat, he turned to me and grinned. "Are you coming to the party tonight, Uriel?" he asked.
Pushing the hair out of my face, I gave him a blank expression. "Yes, I am," I said before turning to the front. Jophiel walked in and I
glanced at him, seeing his eyes bearing into the kid next to me, walking up to his desk.
Jophiel grabbed him by the collar. "Remember what I said, Nick," he spat before letting go and walking to his desk just as the teacher walked in.
It was a long while before class finally ended. Eventually school ended, and I found myself hesitating to walk to Jophiel's car. Sighing, I stuffed my backpack full of books for the classes with homework and headed for the parking lot where I found him standing outside his car, waiting for me. When our eyes connected, he turned and opened the passenger side, waiting for me to sit. Throwing my backpack in first, I glanced at him standing there with his hand still on the handle for a moment before ducking my head and sitting, letting him close the door and move to his side. Without any words, he started the engine and took me back to my house. I knew he wouldn't leave me alone; we still had to train.
We trained for hours, and I used every minute to take out my frustration on him. It amazed me that Nikita didn't ask us to roughhouse somewhere else even as she watched as I threw him into walls. I was more surprised to find myself unable to release the rage that would've given me more strength; it was as if something was blocking it. When the time turned to nearly five thirty, Jophiel left without saying goodbye and Nikita shot me a questioning look. Ignoring it, I stomped upstairs and rummaged through my closet, looking for something to wear. It took me what seemed like forever to find a dress that screamed my name and I finally put one up to me in the mirror. It was gorgeous, a sleek pink dress that went down to the beginning of my knees. After a few moments of wrestling it over my head, I finally pulled it on and noticed how well it hugged my body and also noticed the lack of something at my chest. Something deep inside me knew what I was lacking and told me I should've started growing by now. Sighing, I put on black flat shoes and I went downstairs to find Nikita in the kitchen. She looked up and smiled as her eyes traveled up and down my body. "You look great, honey. Going to a party?" she asked. "Yeah, I'm going to my friend Jenna's house soon so she can give me a... 'makeover.' Though, I'm not sure what to expect," I replied.
"Girls tend to go nuts with makeup and hair, love. Nothing to worry about. But I want you to be careful, okay? Humans now tend to be a lot riskier than back then and the consequences can sometimes be... scarring."
I didn't know what she meant, but I nodded anyway, my head snapping to the front door as the doorbell rang, chiming a song I could have sworn I heard before. Shaking my head, I walked to it and opened the door to Jenna's overly happy face. "Ready to make the boys drool over you?" she asked excitedly. Confused, I turned my head toward the kitchen where Nikita remained.
"Wasn't I supposed to meet you at your house?" I asked.
"Yeah, but I couldn't wait. Come on, this will be fun!"
As we walked to her house, I was hung up on her first question. "What do you mean 'make the boys drool over me'?" I asked. She looked at me like I was crazy before laughing.
"Duh, Uriel, we're going to make you look hot! Stunning, attractive... Make the boys want you," she replied.
"Why would I want to make them want me?"
"It's cute how you act like you're from a completely different world."
"You don't even know half of it..."
She didn't seem to realize how accurate she was, and I wasn't sure I wanted to go through with this makeover anymore. I didn't want boys gawking at me; I had other things I needed to worry about and one of those things included Jophiel and... Nick in the same area. I wasn't sure what Nick had said to make him angry, but with what I made of it, Jophiel was in the wrong, but something inside me said otherwise. If only I knew what that meant.
Chapter Ten
Jenna spent hours caking makeup over my face and no matter how much I whined and tried to get her to stop, she kept going, intent on turning my innocence into a more "adult-like" manner. We spoke several times as she worked on my face, drawing delicate lines across my eyes. My mind traveled to earlier this morning and the way she acted around Jophiel. She either liked him or something had happened between the two that kept her still clinging to hope that he would one day be more than just the boy walking down the halls, paying little mind to her. Curiosity bit at me and my heart began racing, afraid of what I might find if I pried. "So, you like Jophiel?" I asked plainly, masking all emotions from her radar. Her hand stopped over my eye, seeming to hesitate.
"More than like," she said softly, continuing to apply the makeup. "I'm head over heels for him," she finished.
"So you guys never did anything?"
"No, which sucks. He rejected me when I tried asking him out... Said he was waiting for a special person to enter his life."
My heart dropped. We were discussing the word 'love,' something I knew little to nothing about and she had me wondering what the symptoms of love were. She went on and on about the feeling of a connection, the fact that you can't stop smiling when they are near, the feeling of safety around them, and what she called 'butterflies.' I was trying to think back to the sensations I had felt around him and only came to one conclusion; he made me feel weird... Different. So maybe it was just my human brain and emotions hoping for some mortality in this immortal world I lived in. Sighing, I let her finish up, curtaining her body away so I could view what she had done to my face. As my eyes connected with the me on the other side of the glass, my breath caught in my throat. My hazel eyes were bright against the dark lines of eyeliner while the mascara curled my eyelashes up over my eyes. The pale skin on my face seemed flawless and my lips were dashed with a light, glossy pink. "I look... different," I said, unable to form any other words. "No, you look gorgeous," Jenna replied, coming around behind to touch my hair. "Your hair is too perfect to mess with and your outfit matches your face," she continued.
"Wow, thank you, Jenna."
"Of course, hon. Now to get myself ready... I'm going to try and make Jophiel fall for me with my looks.
At his name, my stomach churned and I got up, facing her. About to speak, I was cut off by her front door slamming. Instantly, Jenna's energy changed and her bedroom door swung open. "Jennaaaaaaa," a man's voice sang from the doorway. Fear filled the room and Jenna’s eyes filled with tears and I stood there, unsure of what to do. "Stop, dad. I have a friend over; we're going to a party. Just leave me alone," she whimpered. The man that now stood in the doorway looked over at me, his eyes trailing up and down my body and it made me feel uneasy. "Hello, Jenna's friend," he said sweetly, smiling to show off decayed teeth through his plump face.
"H-hi, sir," I said quietly. His eyes went back to Jenna and there was a twinkle in them, making me shudder. "Be home by curfew, okay, darling? Don't have me worried," he said before leaving the room. As soon as he left, it was as if the air came rushing back in and I could breathe, but Jenna's energy was still twisted with negative emotions. "Are you okay?" I asked as she sat herself in front of the mirror to do her makeup.
"I'm fine. Thanks, Uriel."
"It's no problem. You can talk to me about anything."
I sat on her bed as she busied herself getting ready, and within five minutes she turned to me abruptly. The energy coming from her didn't let up, instead it was pushed at me, making me wince. "He's an asshole," she said through clenched teeth, startling me.
"Who? Your dad?" I asked, confused. She nodded.
"He's a drunk piece of shit and all he does is ruin my life... ruin me."
"You... Don't have to tell me, but what did he do to ruin you?"
She sat on the bed next to me and put her face in her hands before reaching for mine and looking at me with tear-filled eyes. Her body was shuddering and I knew I was about to be let in on something big... something I didn't think would have happened between parent and daughter. "H-he... touches me and... Does things he shouldn't do," she said with a whimper. My heart sank to the pit of my stomach as she went into detail on how every night he would come to say goodnight and leave with more than he should, a piece of her innocence. This was heavy stu
ff and something that could not go unpunished in the end. Instead of just sitting there, unable to feed her false hope that things will be okay, I just pulled her into a hug. I had just become her friend, but she had done something she wouldn't have done to anyone else; open up. "I-I don't know how... but you're so easy to talk to, Uriel," she said through tear induced hiccups and all I could do was hold her and send my calming energy to her.
Continuing to soothe her, my eyes caught a book on her bookshelf from across the room and I let go to get it. Taking it from the shelf, I walked back to her with my eyes reading the title. The Holy Bible. I put it in her lap and sat next to her. "It is hard to find happiness when the ones you trust the most hurt you in ways they shouldn't," I said looking straight ahead. "Though there is no way to truly escape the scars he gave you, there is always one path, one being, that could guide you to the happiness you deserve." She stared down at the leather bound book before looking up at me, a small smile peeking at the corner of her mouth. "I will read this because I feel you know what's best," she replied before looking at the clock. "For now, let me finish getting ready and we'll go to that party."
* * *
Music blared from the house we approached, and a crowd of people were already pushing through the doorway. As we walked inside behind the crowd, the music got louder and the crowd of people had already began dancing to the beat. I was being led by Jenna to the kitchen where it was less crowded and she put a drink in my hand. "Here, have a beer," she said smiling, chugging her own cup. I glared at the stale yellow liquid before sniffing at it and pulling it away. It did not smell pleasant. "Trust me, it tastes a lot better than it smells," she said laughing. Shrugging, I sipped it, but chugged it when Jenna told me it tasted better that way. It didn't really taste better at all, but she kept handing me another cup and we stood around chatting and drinking our beers.
A few hours into the party, I had realized I drank a lot. I was confused when the world became hazy, and I stumbled over myself. The whole time attempting to get us to the couch, Jenna and I fell over each other, laughing and chatting loudly over the music. Boys from our school came over and we talked with them, keeping each other up until I found myself alone with no Jenna. I had only blinked for a second, and she had disappeared. Though I was dazed and unable to stand straight, my wings shuddered against my back, anticipating movement behind me. I was hopeful that it was Jophiel, only to meet the face of Nick who had a small smile across his face. "Hey, Uriel," he said looking me up and down. "You look amazing." Heat crawled up my face as he took my hand and kissed the top of it. "Thank you, Nick. Have you seen Jenna anywhere?" I asked him, still trying to look through the bodies of what seemed like our whole school. "I saw her over with Jophiel. Always trying to make him notice her," he said laughing. Nick then pointed and I followed his finger to spot Jenna hanging over Jophiel, laughing and smiling. Something in my heart twisted and Nick pulled on my hand. "Do you want to meet my friends?" he asked.
Uriel (The Hallowed Chronicles Book 1) Page 6