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When Angels Fall (Fallen Angels)

Page 27

by Jo Cattell


  He was confused suddenly. She said he was just like her father. “Ta, I can’t talk now,” he said and went to head inside.

  “No, wait. You have to hear this. Nicky, for the past few years we‘ve been really close. I realized at school I’ve been in love with the wrong brother all this time. You were the one who has always been here for me. Think about it. You don’t want to be with her. She has no clue how to make you happy or make you smile like I do. Why would we make all those promises to each other if we didn’t have feelings for each other? Christ, we were each other’s first kiss. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?” she asked him honestly.

  Everything Chloe had said was true. Damn it, he was wrong again. “Taylor, you are a special person in my life because we‘ve shared so much of our childhood together. But I really don’t think of you that way. As hard as it may seem, I really am in love with her. And I just screwed it up. I would love to sit here and really try to explain to you how much your friendship means to me, but somehow, I have to fix what just happened.” He felt bad, but Chloe was who he needed to talk to, not her. She‘d been right and he hoped she would forgive him.

  As he started to head in, Taylor screamed at him that she hated him.

  He wanted to yell back to join the club.

  Mark, Claire, and Kevin were in the kitchen when Nick walked in. “Did you see where Chloe went?” he asked them.

  “She went upstairs. She looked really upset. What happened?” Claire asked him as she leaned on the counter.

  “I’m an idiot. I really screwed things up this time.” Nick took off his coat.

  Mark covered Kevin’s mouth before he could say anything. “Tell me, you honestly didn’t notice she was making passes at you.”

  “You know what? Instead of making me feel worse, how about that older brotherly advice you like to dish out so much?” Nick sat down and waited for the lecture he was going to get.

  “You don’t need advice, Sweetie. You need a lesson in groveling, which your older brother is also good at.” Claire smiled and took his hand.

  “Oh, yeah, Mark knows how to grovel, all right.” Kevin laughed.

  “That’s enough from you. So, how are you going to fix this? What ideas do you have?” Mark asked him.

  “Why do you think I came to you for advice? I got nothing!” Nick exclaimed as he threw his hands out.

  “So, is she mad at you or did you break up?” Claire asked, trying to get a feel to help Mark.

  “I’m not sure. She told me to leave her alone. I asked if she was breaking up with me and—”

  “You said something stupid, and did she throw it back in your face? Nick, we talked about this the other night. Why, oh why, didn’t you listen to me?” Mark looked up at the ceiling.

  “Because he’s an idiot,” Kevin said and laughed, then quickly covered his head from being hit.

  “So, how do I fix it?” Nick asked Mark after he punched Kevin.

  “You know that guitar you have upstairs? Go write her a song,” Mark suggested as he put his arm around Claire.

  “Oh, that’s good. You would have been forgiven so much more easily if you’d done that.” Claire laughed and leaned on his shoulder.

  “Yeah, I don’t play and don’t have the talent Nick does. You’re lucky you got what you got. Given the way she came in, I would leave her alone tonight. You both need to cool off. Go write her a song, get her alone tomorrow, and really keep away from Taylor, and maybe if you’re lucky, she’ll take you back,” Mark suggested as he pointed his finger at him.

  “Yeah, and if she doesn’t, can I take her to New Year’s Eve?” Kevin asked and Mark hit him.

  * * * *

  The next morning, Chloe woke to find a peach colored rose lying next to her hand. She picked it up and smelled its sweet aroma. Closing her eyes, she ran the silky petals along her cheek. She heard him clear his throat and sat up.

  “Before you throw me out, let me just say what I have to say,” he almost begged, coming over to the bed and sitting down. “I’m not a songwriter and I pretty much suck when it comes to singing, unless I have a group of kids to sing along and I can fake it. But last night, I couldn’t get you off my mind. I was up until about two this morning, writing this for you.” He then picked up his guitar and started to play.

  Chloe sat and listened to the heartfelt words he used, and how he tried to rhyme some of them, but it didn’t seem to work. The tune was pretty and some of the things he said were sweet. She couldn’t help but laugh a little as his voice cracked every now and then. She was just touched that he’d written a song for her.

  When he finished, he put down his guitar and took her hand. “If you still want to go home, I will go and make the arrangements to get you there. I really hope you would want to stay. I want to work this out. I really do promise that today will be all about you and me. I made a lot of plans for just us, no one else, and I want to try and make it up to you. I love you, Chloe. I don’t want it to be over because we’re just getting started. You were right about so many things and—”

  She pulled him to her and kissed him, feeling his arms around her waist. Pulling away a little, she looked into his soft brown eyes. “I was going to tell you when I woke up that I didn’t want us to be over. I love you, Nicholas. And so far, things seem to be working against us the past few days.”

  “So, am I forgiven?” He smiled at her.

  “Yes, you big Jerk, you are. Now come here and kiss me again.” She laughed and pulled him close to her again.

  He pulled away, jumped next to her on the bed, and took her into his arms.

  Chapter Eleven

  Nick hadn’t seen Chloe all day and it was killing him. The girls had left before they’d gotten up to go to the spa, and when they got back, Nick had been playing video games with Max. Now he sat in the living room with Mark and Kevin, waiting for the girls to come down, so they could leave for the party.

  Their parents were getting ready to head over but wanted pictures before they left.

  “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, what in God’s name are they doing? They have their hair and makeup done already, what more could they have to do?” Claire’s father complained yet again while looking at his watch.

  “Love, they’re girls, they always find stuff to do or fix. Don’t you remember when we were young?” Her mother reminded him as she adjusted his tie.

  “Actually, it’s a conspiracy. See, they’re already ready. They’re just sitting around up there, making us wait,” Kevin informed Mark and Nick.

  “See, Max, if you learn this early on in life, you won’t be surprised when it happens over and over again,” Mark explained to their little brother who was getting very impatient.

  “Girls are dumb,” Collin stated as he fidgeted with his tie.

  “And Jeffery Smith said they have cooties. Is that true?” Max asked his brothers.

  Both Nick and Kevin laughed. “Buddy, right now, the girls that are your age do. But as you get older, the cooties will go away,” Mark tried to say with a straight face.

  “Nick, does Chloe have cooties?” Max asked him.

  “Ahh, no, she doesn’t,” Nick snickered.

  “Kevin has them. Taylor gave them to him. How else do you explain him taking her to this party?” Collin said very matter-of-factly.

  “I thought you weren’t taking her?” Mark and looked at him, puzzled.

  “I’m not. She said she has a date. I just thought it was Nick because of the way she had her hooks in him when we first got here,” Kevin replied.

  “I’m not taking her, you know that. Stop bringing up what happened. We’ve had a great week and I don’t want anything to ruin tonight,” Nick shot at him.

  Claire was the first one down, wearing a long emerald-green silk dress that showed off her curves. Her hair was swept up in a loose bun with a few strands hanging from it. “Sorry, we had a wardrobe malfunction. Taylor’s strap broke, so she had to change,” she explained and kissed Mark’s cheek.

>   Taylor came down next, in a little black silk dress that fell off her shoulders. Her hair was curly and fell down her back. “I hate this dress. Maybe I should try the blue one again.” She tried to go back up the steps.

  “Taylor, you look beautiful. This dress is fine,” her mother reassured her.

  Chloe was right behind her, holding her shoes in her hands as she came down.

  “Oh, Chloe! That dress looks so good on you. I knew it would.” Gina looked over the black crushed-velvet dress she wore.

  It was long with a slit along her leg that went up to about the thigh and the short sleeves barely covered her shoulders. She wore her charm bracelet and a rhinestone necklace. Her hair was pulled to the side with a little loose curls at the end.

  The minute Nick saw her, it took his breath away.

  She smiled shyly at him.

  “Wow, you look so pretty,” was all he could say.

  “Yeah, you clean up pretty nice, too. I’m liking that suit.” She looked his dark-gray suit and dark-purple tie over.

  “Can you two stop ogling each other long enough to take some pictures and get to the party before 2008 starts?” Kevin demanded as he followed the parents into the living room.

  * * * *

  The ballroom was amazing. There were balloons tied up in the ceiling for midnight, food and drink were flowing, and the music loud. Chloe had never seen anything like this before.

  They found their table and everyone sat down.

  There were four empty seats and Kevin looked at the place cards. “The ass brothers!” he said, throwing it back down.

  “I’m not sitting next to them,” Nick protested.

  “You have to, because if one of the girls sits next to them, they will try to pick them up,” Mark explained as he pulled out a chair for Claire.

  “We can handle them. Here, I’ll sit here.” Claire sat down and switched place cards.

  “Put me next to Rendell. He’s my date tonight,” Taylor commented and sat next to her sister with Rendell’s place card next to her.

  Nick pulled out Chloe’s chair and took the seat next to the other empty seat.

  “Are they really that bad?” she asked, thinking that the guys were overreacting.

  “Worse, trust us.” Kevin looked around for them.

  The night progressed like this until their Uncle Robb came over and asked to talk to Chloe. He led her out to the hallway where Gina was waiting. “Chloe, do you know Thomas Gardner?” he asked, a little unsure of how to handle this situation.

  “Yes, he’s my father,” Chloe replied, confused by what was going on.

  “Are you sure it’s him?” Gina asked Robb as she put her arm around Chloe.

  “Yes, I’m sure. Charles is talking to them now. And I was there when he said that,” Robb explained to her.

  “I’m going to get Nick and fill him in. Chloe, Sweetie, go with Robb. He will explain everything.” Gina hugged her and then left to find Nick.

  “Has something happened?” Chloe was fearful that she was now an orphan.

  “No, honey, nothing like that. Your father and stepmother are here. Charles is interviewing Shelly about doing some remodeling here. We invited them for the weekend and I met them a little while ago. They’re staying here this weekend and Gina is afraid they will want you to join them. I have my doubts. When I talked about family, they told me they had a baby on the way but nothing about you. That’s why I asked you if you knew him. I’m going to pull myself out of the interview process and let Charles handle it from here. You really don’t want to know my opinion of them,” he said to her.

  She knew only too well.

  Entering the room, Chloe heard Shelly gasp.

  “What are you doing here?” She was nervous as she looked over at Chloe’s father.

  “Chloe is my guest at my house. She’s dating my nephew, Nicholas. I’m a little confused. You said you were expecting your first child. You failed to mention your daughter,” Robb said as he pulled out a chair for Chloe to sit down in, then he himself joined them.

  “Chloe is my daughter, not Shelly’s,” Mr. Gardner answered, seemingly annoyed that she was even there.

  “Well, I have to tell you, she’s a lovely girl. Very polite and well mannered. I’ve seen her sketches, too. You have a very talented girl here,” Robb said and smiled at Chloe.

  “Yes, she’s a good kid. Well, since we know you’re here, maybe you should come and stay here with us,” Shelly suggested her expression seemed pinched and angry as she glared at Chloe.

  “Um, I guess so.” Chloe didn’t really want to leave Nick or his family, but if they insisted, she had no choice.

  “If it is okay, she’s settled in at the house and is in good hands. You’re leaving tomorrow. I think they’re staying a few more days. If you don’t mind, I would find it a personal favor to me if you let her stay put,” Robb explained as he laced his hands in front of him. He seemed to be studying them and their nervousness.

  Shelly stared Chloe down. She formed an angelic smile on her face as if she were pleased with his request. “If that’s okay with you, I guess that would be fine, wouldn’t it, darling?”

  “I imagine so. Chloe, we would like to speak to you before you go back out to the party,” her father said with sternness to his voice. It was as if his icy glare could freeze her to the spot.

  “Well, we’ll leave you to that. Again, it was a pleasure to meet you. Chloe, tell my nephew I want a dance with you tonight.” He placed his warm hand on hers, and then got up to leave.

  “Well, well, well, look at you. All made up to look like your new friends. Are you having a good time with your rich friends?” There was a coldness to Shelly’s voice that suddenly scared her.

  “The Allen’s are really nice people. They’ve been really good to me. I thought you would be happy because you don’t have to worry about me now.” Her voice was almost a whisper. She didn’t like the way they were looking at her.

  Shelly drummed her long, red fingernails on the table as she looked at her.

  “Do you know how important this deal is for Shelly?” Her father had gotten up from the table and walked towards her.

  “No, I don’t think she does. This is a very important contract for me to get. It would open a lot of doors for me. Don’t screw this up for me. I would hate to have to make you break up with this boy. If I lose this deal, you will. Do you understand me?” Shelly warned her.

  “No,” Chloe answered, not knowing where that came from. She was shaking, but from deep inside her the word escaped her lips.

  “No, what?” Her father was standing next to her now.

  “I won’t break up with him because you told me to. If this deal falls through, it is because of you. I have no influence over them. You’ve already taken away too much from me as it is. I won’t let you take him from me.” She felt empowered suddenly. She straightened her back and squared her shoulders.

  “You are such a stupid girl. Boys like that are not going to keep you around. He comes from a good family, and you really have nothing. We have money; you have nothing. And sooner or later, he will realize that and you will be an afterthought,” she hissed at Chloe.

  “You have no idea how good you have it right now, little girl. I could’ve left you out on the street.” Her father put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. He’d never touched her before, not even after her mother had died and she had reached for him.

  “You have done worse to hurt me. This is the most I have spoken to you in a year,” Chloe said, trying to hold back the tears that were ready to fall. The sudden empowerment she had was starting to fade and she had to fight to keep it together.

  “You have a year left in my home. When you go way to college, I never want to see you again,” he said, dealing a crushing blow.

  She couldn’t let him see what he had just done to her. Instead, she steadied her voice and looked at him, trying to give him the same icy stare he‘d given her. “That won’t be a problem. I‘ve
been doing pretty good taking care of myself up until now. What’s the difference if I’m here or not?”

  Shelly laughed at that. “You think it is so easy? Fine, then you’re cut off. Take care of yourself now. You can live in our house, but you support yourself. Maybe that will knock this holier than thou attitude out of you.”

  Chloe got up. “It’s sad that you think you needed a second chance at being a father. Maybe you should have just given her the money and left it at that. You could have kept all the plans you made. And after she died, I would have been given to another family that would’ve cared whether I was all right or not. That’s something I will never understand about you. Why did you stay after she died? I would’ve been better off if you had walked away.” She wanted to try to cut him where it would hurt.

  “I had no choice. Your mother made sure of that. If she’d listened to me, you would have just been a mistake we made one night and corrected three weeks later!” he shouted at her. His face was as crimson as Shelly’s dress.

  “Do you see how badly you’ve upset your father? This is why we stay away from you. You’re a burden we‘ve gotten stuck with. When you get home, there are going to be some really big changes in your life, little girl.” Shelly went to stand next to her father and stared her down.

  “Why don’t I just save you the trouble and leave now?” Her legs felt like they would fail her. She was shaking uncontrollably and hoped they didn’t notice.

  “Why don’t you just finish the job you started with your wrists last year? You’re an ungrateful child. You have roof over your head and all we ask is that you be quiet. Now you’re acting out. I will put an end to this relationship if you continue to cause us problems,” her father stated.

  She could tell by the look on his face he meant it. Chloe backed down. She was afraid he would make good on this threat.

  Time seemed to stop. As the icy air chilled her, Chloe shivered. She’d run from the room and found the only door that was open that led outside. She wasn’t sure how long she‘d been standing there, staring off at the lake in the arctic air; she just knew she was numb.

 

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