All of a sudden, Millie saw an object rapidly coming towards them. She was afraid of what it was. She looked at Teal, but he didn’t even seem to notice. It must not be a Fallen, then, Millie thought to herself. The object crashed in the sand close to Mace and Zeke. It was Lilly. She ran towards the fight. She pushed Zeke, and he went flying into the air and landed at the top of the beach. Then her other hand pushed Mace, and he went flying into the water. Millie saw that Lilly’s face was angry.
“Cool off,” Lilly ordered Mace, pointing her finger at him.
Mace was angry, but he stayed in the water. He knew it was the right thing to do. If he came out of the ocean, things would get uglier. Lilly turned to Zeke, who was walking towards them whilst brushing off sand.
“I think you have done enough here for one day,” Lilly said to Zeke bluntly.
Zeke’s face was full of rage, but he calmed down when he looked at Millie. They stared at each other for a split second, and he nodded to her. Millie just stared back in shock. She couldn’t get over what had just happened. His body lifted into the air swiftly, and he was out of sight in seconds.
Teal finally let go of Millie, but she didn’t know what to do. Mace was just standing in the water, frozen. His head was facing downward and he was staring at the water. His body didn’t even move when the waves hit his back. Millie wanted to run over to him, but he would be so furious with her. Millie saw that Lilly was walking towards her. Her stride was beautiful, but her face looked angry and confused.
“What is going on here?” Lilly demanded to know.
“I think we should just leave it in-between Mace and Millie,” Teal said.
“Why should I? If it causes a huge fight like that, I deserve to know, but I’m pretty sure I know already,” Lilly said, eyeing Millie.
Millie looked back at Lilly. She wasn’t her caring, motherly self. She was mad at Millie for causing the fight.
“You don’t understand. I was…” Millie was cut off.
“Stop!” Lilly said loudly. “I think he needs to be alone right now. Teal, can you please take Millie away for a while?” she asked sternly.
“I will,” Teal replied.
“I need to talk to him,” Millie pleaded.
“Wait till he has calmed down.”
Millie just stood there, feeling horrible.
“And whilst you’re out, go buy some clothes, Millie,” Lily said, looking her up and down.
Millie looked down. She had forgotten that she was still wearing a sheet around her body. She felt embarrassed, and her cheeks flushed pink.
“I’ll see you guys soon,” Lilly said more calmly.
Millie and Teal watched as she walked away towards Mace.
“Let’s go,” Teal said in a friendly voice. He placed his hand around her shoulder and pulled her away as she looked back at Mace.
Fifteen
Staying in Seattle
They had finally left the beach and were walking towards the shops. Millie looked back at Mace for a final time. He was still standing in the water. Millie tried not to think of what had just happened.
“Where are we anyway?” Millie asked Teal.
“Seattle,” he said with a smile.
“Seattle? As in Washington?” Millie asked in amazement.
“That very place.”
“Wow, this is cool. I’ve always wanted to come here because of Grey’s Anatomy,” Millie said, looking around.
“Grey’s Anatomy?” Teal asked.
“It’s a TV show,” Millie explained.
“Oh, yes. I have seen posters for that here and there, but I don’t watch a lot of television. I’m too busy looking after my charges.”
“Got it,” Millie replied. She then noticed that some people were staring at her.
“Would anyone have seen us on the beach?” Millie asked.
“You don’t need to worry about that. All is good.” Teal replied.
Millie nodded.
“People must think I’m an idiot,” she said, feeling embarrassed.
“Why?” Teal asked.
“I’m wearing a sheet.”
“Don’t worry about it. It looks like a dress,” Teal said.
“Thanks, Teal. You’re very kind,” Millie said with a smile.
“Why, thank you,” Teal said, winking at her.
“You’re really good friends with Mace, aren’t you?” Millie asked.
“You could say that. We get along very well. I don’t know how he survived 301 years without me,” Teal said, laughing.
“So that would make you 299 years old,” Millie said, thinking back to how old Mace was.
“Indeed I am, but my human body is twenty-two years old.”
“Wow. I still can’t wrap my head around all this Angel stuff.”
“It takes a while.”
“Yeah, it will. Well, it’s great how Mace has a friend like you.”
“We get each other. We just clicked when we first met each other.”
“That's nice." Millie looked around and noticed many people begging for money on each street corner. "Why are there so many homeless people?” Millie asked.
“It’s just how this world works,” Teal said, looking around. “It is sad how God’s creation can end up like this.”
“It’s horrible.”
“We Angels love humans, and it’s very dim how humans can end up like this.”
Millie noticed that Teal appeared sad. She wanted to ask more questions but decided to stop. She did not want to distress him.
“Here we go,” Teal said, stopping and pointing to a shop.
The name of the shop was Punk It. Millie peeked inside and slowly walked in. She looked around a bit but found nothing she liked.
“This shop is really not my style,” she said, juggling to hold her sheet up whilst picking up clothes.
“Sorry. It’s just that one of my charges comes here and she’s a teenager, so I thought you would like this shop.”
“So one of your charges lives in Seattle?” Millie asked.
“Yes, she does. She’s the only charge I have in Seattle.”
“Can you tell me about her, or is that confidential?” Millie asked.
“Why do you want to know?” Teal inquired bluntly.
“I’m just so interested in how Angels like you have charges. How many do you have? Where do they live?” Millie continued, ignoring his bluntness.
“You like asking questions, don’t you?” Teal asked.
“I’m just curious.”
“Well, as of this point in time, I have four hundred charges.”
“Wow. That’s heaps,” Millie replied, walking around, trying to find something.
“Some older Guardian Angels have over a thousand charges.”
“Wow!” Millie was stunned.
“Yeah, it is a lot.”
“So where do your charges live?” Millie asked.
“All over the world. Some live in England; others live in places like Australia, New Zealand, Vanuatu—I could keep going, but I don’t want to bore you.”
“It’s fine. Wow, you get to travel the world so much.”
“The world is a beautiful place,” Teal said.
“Oh, I’ve finally found something,” Millie exclaimed. She picked up a floor-length red dress with a thick black belt around the waist. She went to the changing room and tried it on. When she walked out with the sheet on again, she was smiling as Teal was waiting for her.
“Umm, how are we going to pay for this?” Millie asked.
“It’s on me,” Teal said with a wink.
Millie smiled. A guy buying me clothes, I like this, she thought to herself. Teal walked up to the counter and gave the dress to the girl who was working. She had straight, long, black hair. Her top was black and lacy and the makeup on her eyes and lips matched her top. Teal put his hand in his pocket and took out a credit card. He swiped it and entered a pin. With a cheerful smile, the girl gave him the bag and they walked out of the st
ore.
“How did you do that?” Millie immediately asked when they left the store.
“Magic,” Teal said with a large smile.
Teal looked up and saw a girl walking towards them. She was a little bit taller than Millie. Her hair touched her shoulders as a full fringe of bangs rested on her forehead. Her blonde hair reflected the sunlight. She was wearing black, ankle-high Converse shoes with a black singlet top and a purple-and-black patterned skirt. Her nails were painted black, and thick eyeliner covered her eyes. A shorter boy with brown hair walked next to her. He was wearing knee-length, grey shorts with a pale green top. As they came closer to them, the girl stared at Teal as he looked back. They walked past each other with their eyes locked. Teal shook his head and continued walking. The girl stopped outside of Punk It and looked back at Teal.
“Come on. You w-wanted to go in this stupid shop,” the young boy next to her said. The girl stopped looking at Teal and walked into the shop. “It’s not stupid,” she retorted.
“But seriously, how did you do that?” Millie said as Teal tuned back into the conversation.
“It’s just what Angels can do. We Earthbound Angels need money to survive down here.”
“Wow, Angels are like aeroplanes and ATMs! It’s awesome,” Millie said, giggling.
They walked into a shoe shop.
“Oh, I found the shoes I wanted,” Millie said with a smile.
“They happen to be probably the most expensive shoes in this place.”
“And . . .?” Millie asked.
Teal sighed. “Can you walk around in those platform shoes all day?”
Millie just stared at him.
“Fine,” Teal said.
A few minutes later, Millie exclaimed, “Now people can stop looking at me,” as she walked out of a public toilet. She had the red dress and her new, jewelled, black platform shoes on. “Where to now?”
“Let’s just keep walking around. They’ll find us,” Teal said.
Millie felt sad again. With all the fun she had been having with Teal, she had forgotten about her pain. Her face fell. She thought about how she had hurt Mace. Mace must be in agony right now after he witnessed her and Zeke nearly kissing. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She lifted her head up to see Teal looking down on her with a slight smile.
“How about we go get a hot chocolate?” he asked.
“Okay,” Millie said quietly.
They walked for a while until they found the original Starbucks. Millie sat down whilst Teal ordered the drinks. Her eyes stared at nothing. All of her thoughts were consumed by Mace. She thought about how bad he would be feeling. She placed her head on the table and waited for Teal to come back.
“Here you go: hot chocolate with a chocolate chip cookie,” Teal said cheerfully.
Millie lifted her head and tried to smile. Teal sat down opposite her, drinking hot chocolate as well.
“Thank you,” Millie said, taking a bite out of the cookie.
“No problem,” Teal said. “Cheer up.”
“Why should I? I have hurt the guy I am in love with.”
“Everything will be okay.”
“Don’t you want to know what happened?” Millie questioned.
“It’s between you and Mace. No one else should butt in,” he said.
“You’re such a good friend to him.”
“I hope I’m your friend, too,” Teal said, grinning, which showed his dimples.
“I would like that very much.” Millie said, smiling for the first time in a while.
They sat there in silence, sipping their hot chocolates, then Millie realised that Teal didn’t even look like he had been in a battle with the Fallen earlier this morning.
“What happened this morning?” Millie asked.
“Well, when we sensed and then saw Zeke standing next to you, we both ran to you, but before we could get there, you were gone. For a split second, I saw a petrified look on Mace’s face,” Teal said, becoming serious. “But we quickly sensed a great evil coming, and Cillian and Mischa were right there. We fought for while, but they retreated after they couldn’t defeat us. Plus, they realised you weren’t there.”
“Well, you don’t look like you have been in a fight,” Millie said.
“We changed and cleaned up before we came to get you. We looked a bit on the worse side. Mace didn’t want to, but I forced him to look in the mirror and he decided to clean up. He desperately wanted to see if you were okay.”
Millie smiled at the thought of how much he loved her. Her smile faded at the thought that he hated her now after what she had nearly done.
“Well, hello there,” a high-pitched voice said.
Millie looked and saw it was Lexi. She was wearing an elbow-length, short, light grey dress.
“Where’s my hot chocolate?” she demanded.
“Behind the counter,” Teal said.
“Would you be a darl and get me one?” she asked with a huge smile.
Teal sighed. “Fine.”
As he got up from his chair, Lexi immediately took it.
“Where have you been all of this time?” Millie asked.
“My charges have been running amok. I have been very busy. It’s tiring,” Lexi said, pretending to fan her face. “Sorry I haven’t been around to protect you.” She grabbed Millie’s hand.
“It’s fine. I have enough protection as it is,” Millie said, smiling.
“As I’ve heard,” Lexi said, raising an eyebrow.
“Don’t remind me,” Millie said, folding her arms. “And how did you know?”
“Don’t you worry how I know,” she said with a wink. “It’s hard to not talk about it. Shall Millie choose good, or shall Millie choose evil?” she continued as if Millie wasn’t even there.
“I’m choosing good,” Millie said.
“Then why did you nearly kiss Zeke?” Lexi pressed, leaning towards Millie.
“I don’t know why I did it, okay? I was about to push him off me just before Mace interrupted the whole thing.” Millie said, becoming angry at herself.
“Here’s your hot chocolate,” Teal said, placing it next to Lexi. He stood there.
“What?” Lexi asked him.
“May I have my seat back?”
Lexi rolled her eyes and moved over. Teal sat down with a grin. “What are we talking about?” he asked.
“If Millie is going to choose good or evil,” Lexi said with a smirk.
“You shouldn’t butt in. Just leave it between her and Mace,” Teal said.
“I’m sorry, but it’s not every day that a human has to choose between an Angel of the Lord or a Fallen,” Lexi said, looking cross. “But I’m sorry, Millie.”
“It’s okay,” Millie said, finishing off her cookie. “Just remember that I am choosing good.”
Millie and Lexi had their arms linked when they walked out of Starbucks. Teal walked on the other side of Millie.
“Are you okay, besides the incident that happened today?” Lexi asked.
“Yeah, I’m all right. It’s nice going different places, but it sucks how the Fallen are after me,” Millie replied.
“Well, one day when this is all over, Mace will take you on a holiday and you won’t have to worry about anything.”
“If he will still have me,” Millie said.
“He is madly in love with you. He will definitely take you back.”
“I would love that to happen, but I don’t know if it will.”
“You have to stay positive.”
“I’m trying,” Millie said.
They turned the corner and saw Lilly leaning on a wall with Mace next to her. Millie stopped walking. Mace was looking at the ground. Millie felt horrible for what she had done.
“Take your time, Millie,” Teal said, putting his warm hand on her shoulder.
Millie took a deep breath and continued walking. As she came towards them, with Lexi still linked to her arm, she noticed how every guy was looking at Lilly. She was wearing a leath
er jacket over a cream-colored T-shirt. Her black pants and black boots sent out the ‘bad girl’ vibe. Millie hadn’t seen Lilly dressed like this before. It definitely did not create a motherly vibe.
Lexi tightened her grip around Millie’s arm. Mace still hadn’t looked up. His shoulders were slouched and his knees were bent as if he was about to swoop up into the sky. An escape plan? Millie thought. They had finally reached Lilly and Mace. To Millie, it felt like it had taken a long time.
“Hey, Lexi,” Lilly said with a comforting smile.
“Hey, Lilly, again,” Lexi said, smiling in return.
They stood there in silence.
“I’ve found us accommodations for tonight. There’s a Protector staying there, but he said it’s fine if we stay the night,” Lilly said, breaking the silence.
“That’s good,” Lexi said.
“Where is it?” Teal asked.
“It’s an apartment just down the road,” Lilly said, looking at Mace.
“Well, I don’t know about everybody else, but I want to check out this apartment. Teal, Lilly, would you like to go see where we are staying tonight?” Lexi suggested.
“Sounds good to me,” Teal said.
Lilly looked at Mace and hesitated for a moment. “Okay, I’ll come.”
Lexi looked at Millie and mouthed, “It will be okay.” Teal walked past Millie and smiled at her. Lexi caught up to Teal. Lilly looked at Millie candidly and started walking off.
Millie didn’t know what to do. Mace hadn’t even moved. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and took a step closer to Mace.
“Mace?” she said quietly.
He didn’t reply. She took another step forward. She wanted desperately to touch him, but she thought he didn’t want that.
“Mace, I am so sorry for what I have done,” Millie said, trying to look at his face. “It must have been hard seeing that. I am in pain for what I did to you. I hope you’re not in too much pain.”
He stood there, motionless. He didn’t reply.
“I am so sorry, Mace. Please answer me,” Millie said, taking a step closer. She put her hand on his cheeks. He didn’t even flinch. She lifted his face up. His eyes were hard. He looked straight at Millie.
White Wings Page 20