When Angels Fall (Fallen Angels)

by Jo Cattell

  “You got it, Chloe. Anything for you. So, now that you two are finally a couple, let’s go see a movie this weekend,” Dave suggested as he put the bottle back.

  “Ah, we are going to that thing for my little brother this weekend.” Nick tried to get them out of it.

  Chloe caught on quick and agreed. “Yeah, Max was really looking forward to us going.”

  “We’ll do it next weekend. It’s a holiday weekend anyway.” Gabbie added.

  They took out their books and started working on homework, when suddenly, Gabbie was giggling.

  “What did you get for number four?” Chloe had reread the question four times and couldn’t get it. When Gabbie didn’t answer, Chloe looked up to see Dave had been rubbing his hand up her skirt. Was this what she had to look forward to?

  Nick looked up, rolled his eyes, glanced at her and smiled.

  She loved his smile.

  “Chlo,?”Gabbie’s lustful voice brought her back to reality. “Can we use your room for a little?” She sat staring into Dave’s eyes.

  His hand was up her skirt and Chloe could just imagine what he was doing.

  “Gross, please, no. Use the guest room,” Chloe suggested, and watched as they all but ran up the steps, then the door slammed.

  “If I ever stay here, you’re going to change those sheets, right?” Nick teased.

  “I did the last time,” she retorted and went back to her homework.

  “That’s not even funny.” He opened his notebook.

  “I know. It’s so wrong. But I told you they are like rabbits. And if we have to go on a double date with them, I can pretty much guarantee what it will happen. So, start thinking of the excuses now,” she advised him, not wanting to deal with them all the time.

  They went back to studying.

  Nick glanced over at her. “I just realized we’re alone.”

  “Ah, we have been alone before. What’s your point?” She didn’t take her eyes off the book.

  “How long has it been since I kissed you?”

  “Um, right after lunch, when I went into art and you were off to French,” she reminded him. She couldn’t help but think how cute he looked while trying to figure out a reason to kiss her again. “When was the last time I kissed you?”

  “Right before gym, after you got changed for class. I know this because that was when you put on a fresh coat of that yummy lip gloss.”

  “Ahh, got ya.” She smiled. Putting her pen in her mouth, she tried not to think about when he’d kissed her. She really needed to get this homework done.

  They got quiet again and could hear Gabbie and Dave going at it upstairs.

  “So, what kind of gloss is that anyway?” He winked at her.

  Chloe put her hands on her book. “Strawberry Vanilla. I like it because it has a little tint of red, and it makes my lips really soft.” She continued to tease him.

  “Yeah, I kinda noticed that. Your lips are a nice shade of red and they’re really super soft.” He moved a little closer to her.

  “I know, right? And it doesn’t taste too bad, either,” she added as she moved a little closer to him.

  “So, how long will they be up there?”

  “It depends on what they’re doing, and I really don’t want to know,” she answered as she slid closer. She felt so strange when she was around him. Like nothing mattered except them and the moments they shared.

  He had a playful smile on his face. Nick took her hand in his and laced his fingers in hers. Gently, he pulled her closer while his hand went around her waist as their books fell to the floor. He leaned in and his lips met hers. Slow, playful kisses and then a little longer, lingering kisses.

  The warmth of his hand on her back made her relax. They hadn’t had this kind of alone time yet. Usually, someone was around, and their kisses had been quick pecks that lasted as long as the time they had. Slowly, the kissing changed, with tips of their tongues touching.

  Chloe could feel herself slipping into the warmth he gave. And as it grew a little more intense, she could almost taste the lingering peppermint of the gum he’d been chewing.

  His lips left hers and he lightly kissed her cheeks, her jaw, down to her neck, and then close to her ear.

  She got chills and sighed, and he returned to her lips, running his hand up along her back. She pulled away slightly and caressed his face with her hand. “I have no clue about what I am supposed to do or how to act—”

  “Chloe, you don’t have to do anything. I’m not going to jump you like Josh did. I won’t ever force you,” he explained.

  She nodded, but bit at her lip and looked at him.

  “What?” he asked and then smiled, seeing a little spark in her eyes.

  “Can we do that again? I mean kiss like that again?” She laughed at herself for asking something so stupid.

  He pulled her close and kissed her. But just as they had started to get lost in each other’s embrace, the front door opened.

  They moved away from each other quickly to see a tall, thin woman, with long blond hair, dressed in red. She looked at them with an odd expression on her face. She was pale except for the bright, red lipstick she wore to match her outfit. She had haunting ice-blue eyes that could cut right through you. “Chloe, Daddy is going to be home tonight,” she informed her, not once taking her eyes from Nick.

  Chloe closed her eyes and suddenly lost all the life she had in her the last few days. As the woman turned her back, she motioned for him to text Gabbie and Dave. “That’s great, Shelly. How was your trip?” Chloe had turned nervous. Her smile was gone and she waited for the woman to address her again.

  “Chloe, Dear, who’s this?” She looked Nick over in a catlike way while wearing a devilish grin, as if she thought of devouring him.

  When Chloe didn’t speak, he jumped in. “I’m Nicholas Allen.”

  A man entered the room and looked at Chloe. He was about six feet tall, with graying dark hair. His skin looked like leather from years of being in the sun. He was dressed in an expensive business suit, which showed he had money to burn. He held a cold expression on his face, and looked at his daughter with discontent as she stood up to great him.

  “Hi, Daddy. Welcome home.” She smiled nervously.

  “Did you bring the mail in when you got home from school?” That was the greeting he offered her.

  “Yes, Sir. I put it on the counter.” Chloe hung her head and her voice changed to almost a whisper.

  The woman, on the other hand, was still looking at Nick. “I thought I knew all of Chloe’s friends, but I don’t remember you.” She sat back on the couch and spread her arms over the edges as she crossed her legs.

  “Nick is new to school this year. His dad is one of the new administrators at church,” Chloe explained. In a matter of seconds, her entire demeanor became lifeless.

  “What do they need another new administrator for? That’s why that church is going to hell. They can’t run it properly,” her father stated.

  “That’s why they hired my dad. It seems the last guy really did a number on the finances. We moved here in late August,” Nick explained.

  Gabbie and Dave came down the steps. “Chlo, I couldn’t find that dress. Do you think you could look for it, and then drop it off later?” Gabbie said. That was their code for ‘we are getting the hell out of here’.

  “Not a problem.” Chloe hoped her father didn’t notice that Gabbie’s shirt was unbuttoned.

  After they left, Chloe’s father looked at her. “I tried calling you this weekend. Where were you?”

  Chloe still had her head down and didn’t say a word.

  “She was at my house. My mom invited her to stay after Millie died,” Nick replied for her.

  “Who’s Millie?” Her father seemed annoyed that Nick was answering for her.

  “She was that little girl I was taking care of through youth group. She had cancer and passed away last week. Nick’s mom didn’t want me to be alone, so she asked me to come and stay ther
e,” Chloe explained.

  Mr. Gardner looked at her sternly. “I thought I told you I wanted you to stop going to that damn youth group, and most of all that hospital. It is just a huge waste of time!” he yelled at her.

  “I’m—I’m sorry. I was just thinking it will look good for my college applications,” Chloe cowered.

  Shelly, her stepmother seemed amused by the whole thing. “Tommy, stop hounding the girl. I’m sure she was in good hands. After all, his father works for the church. And Nicholas here, seems like such a nice young man. Nick, you should join us for dinner,” she suggested.

  “I can’t tonight, but thanks. I have to get going, too.” He picked up his books and, with Chloe, started for the door.

  “Then, how about for Thanksgiving? I’m sure Chloe would love the company,” Shelly suggested as she looked at Chloe.

  “Sure, I’ll check with my parents,” Nick replied.

  “Good. Chloe, walk your little friend out, and then go get changed,” Shelly ordered.

  They stood outside the door.

  “Hey, come back to me.” He lifted her chin to make her look at him.

  She moved the hair out of her face and faked a smile. “He seemed happy to see me, right?”

  “Don’t let him do this to you.” He hugged her.

  “I really wish you could stay. No, I wish I could just go home with you. It’s like he looks right through me.” She was trying to hold back the tears now.

  “I think he sees you. It’s just that he chooses not to. But you and I both know that no matter what you do, he’ll still be the same way. Who cares what he thinks? You’re a beautiful, caring, intelligent girl. If he can’t see that, it’s his loss when you cut him from your life someday,” Nick said, trying to reassure her.

  She smiled at him then. “You better go. I have to get changed for dinner and Shelly can’t cook, so that means we’re going out.”

  He leaned in and kissed her. “Call me, if you need me,” he whispered to her.

  Chloe waved at him and went upstairs to change clothes.

  Shelly came into her room and walked slowly around, looking at the way she had placed things. She seemed like she was toying with Chloe, waiting to find out more about Nick. “I know they were in the guest room. I thought we talked about this,” she scolded her as she picked up one of Chloe’s books.

  “She told me she was looking for a dress. I didn’t know,” Chloe lied. She hated to be undressed around Shelly.

  “So, tell me about this Nick. He is a hottie. It’s about time you started hanging around boys like him. When I was your age—”

  “When you were my age, you were cheer captain and prom queen and had any boy you wanted. You’ve told me this story.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with that. Besides, if you would stop acting like a nun at that school, you would have the fun I did. I bet Nick would like that. I bet he would like a lot of what you have to offer if you weren’t such a goodie-goodie,” Shelly taunted her.

  “You know nothing about him. Nick is nothing like the guys you dated.” Chloe wanted to raise her voice and scream at her, but she kept herself in check. Shelly could make things hard for her if she saw it fit.

  “So, are you two an item? Come on, Chloe, you can tell me. He stuck up for you a lot today with Daddy. And I could swear you were a little close when I came in. Did I interrupt something?” Shelly played with Chloe’s hair and smiled at her in the mirror.

  “Why does it matter to you? Why does anything I do matter to you?” Shelly had never taken in interest in her life before. Now, suddenly, she wanted to know more?

  “Because there are big changes coming and I want you and me to be friends. I know I’m not your mom, but let’s try for your dad to be friends. It may help you a lot with him, to know you have accepted me,” she explained to Chloe.

  “Is that why he sees though me, because I haven’t accepted you?” Chloe questioned her.

  “Your father and I are very busy people and your attempt to get his attention last year really changed the way he feels about you. You’re more of a burden to him right now than anything. I can fix that if he thought we were friends. So come on, tell me about Nick,” Shelly urged her again.

  Chloe glared at the woman walked out of her room.

  * * * *

  Nick found his mom in the kitchen, making dinner. He dropped his books on the counter. “Hey, Mom. How was your day?” he greeted as he snuck a carrot she‘d been cutting.

  “It was good, not much going on. Did Chloe make it home okay?”

  “Yeah, and I got to meet her father and his wife today,” he informed her and tried to think about how he could explain them.

  “And…?”

  “It’s just amazing how much I take you and Dad for granted sometimes. I mean, I come home from school and we talk about our day. At dinner, it’s a circus, but it’s just the way we are. I never have to guess how you feel about any of us. I don’t think you or Dad has ever had anything harsh to say to us. Yeah, you really should have given Kevin up for adoption, but, hey, everyone makes mistakes.” He snickered and she rolled her eyes at him. “But the guy walks in the door and the first thing he asked Chloe is if she brought the mail in when she got home from school. Who does that? She went from smiling and kidding around to the girl I was with on Friday, when Millie died.”

  His mother didn’t seem to know what to say about that. “Here, taste this.” She gave him a piece of bread with garlic butter on it.

  “Needs more garlic,” Nick replied, scarfing it down.

  “Really? I thought I put enough in there. I don’t want it too garlicky. Kevin hates it that way. So, what is the deal with you and Chloe? Are you dating?” she asked as she mixed more in.

  “Yeah, we are finally. It took some time for her to trust me, but we’re good now. Plus, she’s smarter than me, so now I know my grades won’t fall behind.” He laughed.

  “She is sweet. I like her, too. Are you really sure there isn’t enough garlic?” she asked again. “It’s smells really strong.”

  “I know Mark and I like it that way, so more for us. Oh, and get this, her stepmother asked me to Thanksgiving dinner with them. I know you and Dad want us home for holidays, but if it’s okay, can I go?” He really didn’t want to miss their family dinner, but he just felt that he really needed to be there with Chloe.

  “Nick, normally, I would say no, but I think it would be okay. Invite them here for dessert, though. I want to meet them and find out about Christmas.”

  “So, you and Dad talked about it?” Nick hoped, excited that she wouldn’t be alone.

  “Yes and no, but maybe if we meet them and find out what’s really going on, then we can make a decision. So, since you and I are having a mother-son moment, can we talk?”

  “Sure, what’s up?” He knew this was coming. It was the girlfriend talk.

  “I want you to know I really like Chloe. But I want you to realize that it seems she’s been through a lot in her short life. I don’t think she’s like the other girls you’ve dated. Just watch yourself.”

  “I know, Mom. And I hope she can see that I’m going to be here for her. I hated seeing how upset she got today when they came home. If you could have seen the look on her face…” It hurt to think about it and he wondered how she was doing now.

  “Nicky, you really care about her a lot, don’t you?” she asked him. There was something different with him when it came to Chloe.

  “She isn’t like anyone I’ve dated before. There’s just something about her that just fits, you know?” he answered.

  She smiled at that. “Yes, I know. And I hope you keep that in mind when things get tough. So far, you seem to be steady and good for her.”

  * * * *

  Thanksgiving arrived with Chloe dreading dinner and she just wanted to get it over with. Shelly told her they needed to talk to her about something; she could only imagine what it was. For the most part, Chloe just stared out the window as her father and Sh
elly talked.

  It wasn’t until Nick reached over at some point and took her hand that she remembered he was there. It made her smile to think that he was going to be there with her. After they arrived and were seated, you could cut the tension at the table with a knife.

  It wasn’t like with Nick’s family, where there was always constant commotion. Here, it was just cold. As the soup was served, Chloe decided to speak up. “Dad, I got an invitation to visit a college in New York in January. I don’t know the dates yet, but they are offering me a full scholarship if I decide to attend college there.” She hoped to impress him.

  “My schedule for January is pretty full right now. Let me know as it gets closer and I will let you know,” he said, dismissing her.

  “It’s on a weekend, so it wouldn’t interfere with work,” she added. She just wanted a little bit of his time. Just to show him how smart she was.

  “Our weekends are going to get pretty full in the coming months,” Shelly explained and smiled at her father.

  “Oh, I didn’t realize that. Are you starting a new project in New York?” Chloe really hoped she was. She would love to have the house to herself again.

  “Well, kind of. Tommy, let’s tell her,” Shelly suggested.

  “Tell me what?” Chloe asked her father.

  “I’ll let Shelly tell you.” He smiled at Shelly.

  Chloe cringed at that. She looked across the table at Nick, who was waiting to hear what they had in store for Chloe now.

  “Well, we won’t know until tomorrow, but your father and I have decided to start a family. We will be seeing a doctor in New York almost every weekend until I’m about three months. But I’m pretty sure we’re going to find out that I’m expecting tomorrow,” she said.

  Chloe dropped her spoon. “I’m sorry, what?” Did she just hear her right? A baby?

  “I’m very excited about this, Chloe, a second chance at being a father. You should be happy for me,” her father told her.