When Angels Fall (Fallen Angels)

by Jo Cattell

  Chloe nodded and took his hand as they walked back to the car.

  * * * *

  The next night, Chloe stared at the clock. It was already past midnight and they were almost done. She recounted the paintbrushes and put them back in their box.

  “Chloe, Darling, how much more?” Roger, her boss, asked.

  “I think just those boxes and we’re done,” she answered and took down another box while she tried not to yawn.

  Roger stared at her and grabbed a pad of paper and a pencil. “You have amazing features. Are you still looking for ways to earn a little extra cash?”

  “Yeah, are you going to start another class?” She hoped he was; the money would help out.

  “I was going to do an adult class. I will pay you $500 to model for it,” he offered her.

  “Really? That’s a lot of money.” She was thinking what she could do with it.

  “Yes, so stand up and let me look at you,” he requested.

  Chloe stood up and straightened out her skirt.

  “Yes, I think you would be wonderful.” He continued to look her over.

  “What would I have to do, hold a bowl of fruit or something?” She laughed.

  “Silly girl, I would not pay you that kind of money to hold a bowl of fruit. You would be nude of course.”

  “Ah, I don’t think Nick would like that very much. So, I’m going to have to say no.” She started counting the next box.

  “If you’re so hard up for cash, you would do it. Come on, Chloe, with that body…” he continued.

  “Again, flattered, but Nick would kill me.” She smiled.

  “Okay, but if you change your mind, let me know. I would pay you cash.”

  Chloe pushed the thought out of her mind.

  It was after 1A.M. when Roger dropped her off. Chloe went to the door, put her key in, and turned to find the chain across. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said out loud. She went around the back and the doors there were locked tight there too. This was going too far now. She looked at her phone to see the time. Shelly was leaving for NY in a few hours. If she waited, she could get in when Shelly left.

  Then, looking at what she was wearing, she laughed at herself. She was still in her school uniform and it was a lot colder than she thought it would be. She had no other choice; she wasn’t going to wake Nick up at this hour. She could do it. She went back around front and then looked at the trellis, and thought about trying to climb up to her window but remembered it was locked. Putting her book bag down on the step, she sat down and pulled her coat around her, setting herself up for the long wait.

  Two hours later, Chloe couldn’t take it anymore. She was freezing and she couldn’t feel her legs. Her fingers were so numb she didn’t think she could dial the phone, but somehow, she did. It took four times for him to finally answer.

  “Yeah?”

  “Hey, Baby, it’s me. I really hate to ask, but can you come and get me?” She hoped he wouldn’t be mad.

  “Chlo, it is after three. I thought Roger was driving you home.”

  “He did, but Shelly put the chain across and I can’t get in, and she won’t answer. I was going to try and wait it out, but it’s colder than I thought.” She was shivering.

  * * * *

  He could hear her teeth chattering through the phone. “I’ll be right there.” Getting out of bed, he thought of telling his parents, but didn’t want to wake them. After getting changed quickly, he got into the car and turned the heat up. This was crazy. They were really trying to force her out now and it was obvious the way they were going about it. It took him ten minutes to get to her house, and when he pulled up, she looked like she had fallen asleep. Nick got out of the car and went to her. “Hey, baby. I’m here.”

  “I’m really sorry. I didn’t want to call you,” she apologized through her chattering teeth.

  He helped her up and got her to the car. “God, Chloe, you’re like ice,” Nick said, touching her leg that was bright red.

  “Just take me home and let me get under the covers,” she asked, not wanting to be at that house a minute longer.

  He followed her into her room at his house and started looking for something warm for her to wear. “Do you want something hot to drink, tea or anything?” He was trying to think of anything that would warm her up.

  “No, I just want to get into bed,” she answered, taking off her shirt and putting on his top to the Christmas pj’s. She pulled on a pair of stretch capris and started to rub her hands to warm them up.

  Nick went and got another blanket for her bed. “Chloe, come here.” He lifted the blankets, and then after getting in with her, he covered her. Finally, she stopped shaking. He held her and dared to ask her about the bruise he’d just seen on her arm. Chloe tried to laugh it off, but he knew now she was hiding something.

  “Just tell me what happened. Those are finger marks, so I know something is up.” He hated the fact that she was trying to lie to him about it and blow it off again.

  “Shelly has been taking it really bad about not getting pregnant again. She has been taking it out on me, but most of the time, I’m too quick for her. It’s nothing,” Chloe said softly.

  Lightly, he kissed her forehead.

  Chloe looked up at him.

  He gazed into her green eyes and touched her face. He could tears in her eyes.

  “Nick, kiss me like you used to. If I did something wrong to cause whatever is going on between us, I’m sorry. You were right last night, we have drifted apart

  “I know, and it’s my fault.” Nick touched her face and kissed her, lightly at first then longer and stronger. “I’ve been so confused about us lately, like if we were rushing things and about what my mom said. And every time we would get close like this, I pulled myself away from you. I’m sorry I did that to you.” He continued to kiss her, wanting badly to forget everything and touch her like he used to.

  “I think we both did that, because I wasn’t sure, either.”

  “And now?” he asked her honestly, bringing her chin up, so he could see it in her eyes.

  “Nicholas, I love you so much. You have my heart. It’s been killing me that we have drifted apart. I know that if this is what you want, then I do, too,” she answered, putting her hand to his face.

  He kissed her, letting his hands caress her body. As much as he wanted her, this was not their night. “We said we wanted it to be special, and I want it to be for you, Chloe. I want our first time to be amazing. Give me a little time to plan it,” he whispered to her. “I love you.” He kissed her nose.

  “Love you, too,” she answered him and slowly closed her eyes.

  * * * *

  After she was done with work a few days later, Nick picked her up and they headed back to his house.

  Gina was smiling as she announced that the house was full of her ‘kids’ as she put it.

  Since they were all there, Nick knew he could ambush Chloe about the prom. “So, I was going to get the tickets on Monday,” he said, taking a seat next to her.

  “Tickets for what?” She looked over at him.

  “Prom. Gabbie brought it up the other day and I’m not going to let you say no,” he reminded her.

  Chloe rolled her eyes at him. “Nick, you know why I said no. Please don’t do this to me.”

  “Why did you say no?” Claire was curious to know why.

  “Because she said she couldn’t afford a dress,” Kevin put in.

  “Well, I could now if I really wanted to, but you wouldn’t be happy about it.” Chloe smirked at Nick.

  “Oh? And how is that?” He wondered how she’d managed to do that and how much time they would lose now.

  “Roger is starting a new class and asked me to model for him,” Chloe said.

  “Wow, Chloe, that’s so cool. I could really see you as a model.” Kevin winked at her.

  Nick looked over at her. “What would you be modeling?”

  “Nothing. Maybe a sheet. So, if you want to p
ush this issue with going to the prom, then I have no problem doing it,” she replied.

  “Hey, Mom, can I take art class?” Kevin called to her.

  “You would do that? Seriously, you would pose nude for Roger?” Nick was trying to call her bluff.

  “Try me,” Chloe answered.

  “I have seen some really great art work done with nudes and I hear they make a lot of money,” Claire put in.

  “So how much was that class?” Kevin asked her.

  “Kevin, so help me God, if you don’t shut up, I will kill you,” he threatened his brother, then glared at Chloe. “There’s no way in hell I would ever let you do that.”

  Mark visibly winced. “Oh, wrong choice of words, little Bro.”

  Chloe couldn’t believe he just said that. “You won’t let me? Funny.”

  “You seriously are not really thinking about doing this?” Nick asked her.

  “I don’t know, Nicholas. It is extra money,” Chloe said to him.

  “Hey, Mom, Chloe is thinking about posing nude for an art class to get some extra money,” Nick informed her as she came into the kitchen.

  Chloe hit him.

  “No amount of money in the world is worth it. As my adopted daughter, I will never allow it,” Gina told her as she put her hands on Chloe’s shoulders.

  “I was only kidding. He did ask, but I turned him down.” Chloe punched Nick in the arm again.

  “What did you need extra money for?” Gina asked her.

  “She won’t go to the prom with me because she said she can’t afford a dress or anything else,” Nick answered for her.

  Chloe gave him the evil eye. “Now, I won’t go because you’re being a jerk.”

  “How much do I owe you for helping my son graduate?” Gina was not going to let her out of this. Chloe had worked hard to get Kevin’s grades up and she didn’t take anything for it. Now she’d found a way to repay her.

  “I already told you, nothing. I don’t charge,” Chloe explained to her.

  “Fine, when you see a prom dress you like, call me and I will get it for you. These are your last two years of school. You don’t have to go with Nicholas, but you are going.” Gina patted her cheek.

  Nick bit his lip and snickered.

  “Did you not hear her? I don’t have to go with you. With how you’re acting, I may not go with you now. I may go with Kevin,” Chloe teased.

  “Yeah, I don’t think that would happen. He’s my brother and would never do that,” Nick replied, playing with her.

  “The hell I wouldn’t. Chloe, Baby, what time should I pick you up?” Kevin piped in.

  “Fine, go with Kevin. I hope you have a rotten time, and when it’s over and you want to head down the shore, have fun finding a ride,” Nick said and left the table.

  Kevin laughed and looked over at Chloe. “You know there’s no way I’m going to take you, right?”

  “There’s no way I would go with you. You’re my older brother for God sake. That would make me look really desperate.” She laughed, and then went to find Nick.

  He was sitting on the wall in the back, looking over their yard. When he saw her come out, he turned away from her.

  “If I sit down, are you going to leave?” She slowly approached him.

  “Depends, are you going to the prom with Kevin or me?” he questioned her.

  She threw her arms in the air and rolled her eyes. “You deserved that. That was so unfair to ambush me like that in front of your family.” Chloe sat next to him and he took her hand.

  “You wouldn’t do that to me, would you?” He didn’t think she would, but it was something Kelly would have done.

  “What? Go with Kevin? No!” She laughed.

  He looked at her seriously. “No posing for Roger. I really don’t care how much money he offered you; I would be more than a little upset if you did.”

  “Nicholas, I go to Catholic school, I wear a purity ring, go to confession weekly, and teach Sunday school. I even say my prayers every night. Don’t you think I value my body too much to do something like that? Besides, I would never do that to you.”

  He shook his head. “We talked about this last night. It hasn’t been twenty-four hours and again, you are making me feel bad. If you keep this up, we will wait until we get married.”

  “You don’t want to make love to me now because I’m a good, little Catholic schoolgirl? Are you going to take everything I say to heart?” Her expression was full of disbelief.

  “Maybe, because I was thinking that after the prom, we could head down the shore. I was going to look into a bed and breakfast to spend the night,” he suggested, testing to see what she thought.

  “That sounds so nice. Can you find one on the beach?” She looked a little excited

  “I can try, but that wasn’t why I was thinking about it.” He pulled her over to him and stood up to look her in the eyes. “I was thinking it would be a perfect place for us, for the first time.”

  She laughed at that. “How cliché, you want to wait for prom night.”

  He let go of her hands and started to leave in a huff. “Okay, forget it. Go with Kevin and forget I ever said anything!”

  Chloe grabbed his arm. “Nicholas, stop being such a baby.” She put her arms around his neck.

  He looked at her in shock. “You just said it was cliché to have our first time to be on prom night. Not me. I was trying to be romantic for you.” Reluctantly, he put his arms around her.

  She smiled at him, running her finger close to his forehead. “I think it would be really romantic for prom night to be the first time we make love. It is kinda like a wedding night, if you think about it. I’ll be in a gown; you’ll be in a tux. You’ll give me flowers and I will give you me.”

  “I never said anything about flowers,” he teased.

  “Oh, yeah, Buddy, I want a rose wrist corsage, and since you have so much money, as Shelly puts it, I want a limo. I’m not going in your ’stang.”

  “But you said I looked sexy in it,” he protested.

  “You do, that’s why you have to wait to drive it for when we go down the shore,” she teased him back and went inside.

  * * * *

  The next day, Mark came down the steps and paced the room.

  Kevin and Nick watched him and wondered what his problem was.

  “Okay, we’re going to the mall,” he said to them.

  “Why is that, brother Dear?” Kevin laughed, getting up.

  “Yeah, the girls are at the mall with Mom and I was told to stay far away from there. What? Is it bad luck to see her prom dress?” Nick still couldn’t understand why he had to stay home. He wanted to see what she picked out.

  “Trust me, you don’t want to get sucked into the whole color drama. ‘This shade of pink or that shade?’ It was the same damn color— pink!” Kevin ranted as though he’d been through it before.

  “We’re not going to look for the girls. I need your help with something.” Mark was short with them, acting nervously.

  “Mark, no matter how badly you want to be cool, it’s not going to happen. Nick and I can’t help you. You’re lost,” Kevin joked.

  “You know what, Kevin? Stay here. Nick, let’s go.” Mark grabbed his keys.

  “Okay, sorry I can’t joke with you. What the hell is your problem?” Kevin ran to get into his car.

  Mark got in and sat back to take a deep breath. “Okay, I’m going to tell you, but not one word to Mom, Dad or Claire, and not one joke!”

  Nick could see he was stressing over something. “Mark, Dude, what’s wrong with you? You’re sweating,” he said, putting his hand on Mark’s shoulder.

  Mark took another deep breath. “I want you two to help me find a ring.”

  Both of them stared at him.

  “Mark, what kind of ring?” Kevin asked while looking worried.

  “What are you thinking?” Nick added.

  “I know Claire is it. She’s the one. I mean, why else would we break up and get back
together so much? Things are so much better this time and I really don’t want to lose her again,” Mark explained.

  His brothers sat in their seats, speechless.

  “Okay, say something,” Mark stated.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Kevin acted like he was still hoping this was a joke.

  “Dumb ass, he wouldn’t have said it if he wasn’t,” Nick shot at him. “Are you sure about this?”

  “This is really big step,” Kevin added.

  “I know that, but it just seems like the thing to do now. Kevin, I know you could never understand that, but Nick should.” Mark stared at both of them.

  “Do you honestly believe I could never understand how you two feel about your girls? Christ, Nick is so hooked on Chloe that he can’t see straight half the time, and you and Claire, well, never mind, but I understand,” Kevin defended.

  “So, you are sure about this? You really want to ask her to marry you?” Nick asked him, really surprised he was going to go through with it.

  “Yeah, I think I am. I could use some support from you two.” Mark sighed heavily.

  Nick shook his head and looked back at Kevin. “Okay, Mark. Let’s go help you find a ring.”

  “Yeah, Man, let do this,” Kevin added as he tapped Mark’s shoulder.

  “Okay, let’s go,” Mark replied and they drove off.

  * * * *

  Gina brought out one more dress for Chloe to try. “I found it by chance behind some other dresses, but when I saw it, I knew this was the one for you.”

  Claire had been back in the fitting room, helping her, and came out. “I told her to wait while I find something. Oh my God, Gina, she looks amazing. She doesn’t even need that much to go with it,” Claire exclaimed sounding excited.

  “There isn’t another one like it.” Gina smiled, seeing the dress on Chloe now.

  “Hey, Mom, does this dress make my butt look big?” Kevin asked, holding up a little black dress.