He ignored her so she crawled over to him, her sleeve to her dress slid off her shoulder, but at that moment, she didn’t care.
“Will,” she whispered, too tired to raise her voice. She put her hand on his arm and pulled.
It wasn’t the pressure of the hand; it was the heat that brought Will back to his senses. He looked down and found Scott’s face a bloody mess. It wasn’t good enough for Will; he wanted to smash it into an unrecognizable lump.
“Will,” Jenna’s soft voice made him turn to her.
She looked broken as tears poured down her face. Her dress was falling off her shoulders and the hem of it was pushed so far up he could almost see her underwear. Dropping Scott, Will reached over to her.
She clung to him as he gently zipped up her dress. He didn’t want Jenna to find comfort in him, but he was too afraid to let her go, knowing he would probably kill Scott. He softly stroked her hair as she wept.
“It’s okay,” he whispered. “It’s over.”
“I don’t, I…I don’t know what happened!” she sputtered as she held onto him tightly.
“Let’s get you out of here,” he suggested pulling her up with him.
“Is he…?” Jenna looked back at Scott.
“He’ll live,” Will said through clenched teeth.
“How did you know I was up here?”
Will had to support most of her weight since the drugs Scott had given her hadn’t worn off yet.
“I was walking past and heard you telling him to stop,” Will lied smoothly. The fact was he had been watching her since she’d arrived. He tried to stay out of sight and then Angie had pulled him into her little circle. It hadn’t distracted his focus on Jenna as he watched Scott slip that little pill in the shot. He was tempted to get up and hit him then, but he figured Jenna wouldn’t have taken the shot. She proved him wrong reminding him of the old Jenna who was daring and would do anything you told her not to do.
“Here you go,” Will helped her into his truck.
“Lena,” Jenna said remembering her friend.
“I’ll tell her I’m taking you home,” Will offered and ran back inside.
He found her laughing with a group of guys. He walked up to her and pulled her away.
“Hey!” Lena complained as he pulled her away.
“Lena, is this man bothering you,” one of the guys stood up.
He was much bigger than Will, but Will knew he could take him without a problem.
“I don’t know. Are you bothering me?” Lena glared at Will.
“I’m taking Jenna home,” Will spat at her. “She wanted you to know, and I offered to tell you.”
“Well thanks,” Lena said sarcastically. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some flirting to do.”
“Whatever,” Will turned and went back out to Jenna.
Jenna had her eyes closed when Will got in the truck. He reached over and nudged her. She mumbled incoherently and moved closer, resting her head on his shoulder. He groaned and started the truck. He didn’t want her to be touching him; it only drew him in more.
Will drove thinking of his plan he’d finally told James about. He knew Jenna would comply seeing as she already trusted him. He pulled up to her house.
“Jenna,” he shook her shoulder. “You’re home.”
Her eyes opened, “No!”
“What?” Will asked tensing up expecting an attack.
“I don’t want to go home,” she pulled away from him realizing she’d fallen asleep against him.
“Why not?”
“A couple reasons,” she looked up at her dark house.
“Which are?” Will pushed.
“I don’t want my dad to see me like this, and I don’t want to be alone,” she blushed at her weakness.
“I’ll take you up to your room and tuck you in,” Will teased getting out of the truck.
“My dad might see you!” Jenna hissed as he half carried her to the front door.
“No, he won’t,” he said confidently.
“Fine, but if we get caught, I’m telling him you drugged me,” she joked not knowing she had been drugged. Will’s grip on her tightened. “Ouch, Will, not so hard!”
“Sorry,” he mumbled as he struggled to control his emotions.
They made it to Jenna’s room without her dad seeing, just as Will predicted. He turned away as she unsteadily took off the dress and put on her pajamas, which consisted of a pair of shorts and a tank top. Will helped her into bed.
“Umm, Will?” she asked hesitantly.
“What, Angel?” he sat down next to her.
“Will you stay with me?”
He frowned, “Sorry, but no.”
“Okay,” she mumbled feeling the heat of disappointment rise in her cheeks. “Can I ask why?”
“Because I don’t think it’d be a good idea,” he tried smiling.
“Okay,” she nodded. Then she leaned over and kissed him quickly on the cheek. “Thanks for saving my life.”
Will felt her kiss spread through him, warming him all over. He wanted more. He hungered to press his lips against hers. He wanted to drown in her warmth, but reality brought him back. He couldn’t do any of that, and he shouldn’t even want to.
“Try not to get yourself into these situations,” Will stood, “I won’t always be there.”
Jenna nodded and laid down, “I wish you would stay.”
“I wish I could, Angel,” Will responded before dropping out of her window. Instead of flying away, he walked back to the truck. He would fly later; for now he had to get the truck back to the person’s house he’d stolen it from. Driving gave him time to think.
He couldn’t take his thoughts away from Jenna and her warm lips. He could still feel where she had kissed him. He didn’t know he was smiling until his phone rang. Frowning he looked at who was calling. It was Lena.
“What?” he barked into the phone.
“Well hello to you too,” she laughed. “Is Jenna home?”
“Yes, no thanks to you.”
“Oh come on,” Lena laughed again. “What’s the worst thing that could happen?”
Will clenched his fists, “A lot, Elena.”
“Well she’s fine, so lighten up.”
“She was attack by some guy named Scott,” Will growled, “he drugged her and would’ve raped her if I hadn’t stepped in.”
“What?” Lena was no longer laughing; she was all business now. “Where?”
“Upstairs in the room on the right,” Will quickly stepped out of the truck and jogged down the street. “Do me a favor and take care of my mess.”
“Mess?!” Lena yelled.
Will snapped his phone shut and jumped into the air. He flew as fast as he could, pumping his wings harder and harder. He needed to get back to Jenna. He no longer cared if he shouldn’t. This one time, he told himself. Will stopped and hovered over her house.
Slowly he lowered himself down and perched at the edge of her roof above her window. He couldn’t bring himself to go in. His moment of weakness passed, and he scolded himself for letting his feelings get the better of him.
Looking around, he noticed it was unusually calm, the way things got before a storm. He could feel something coming. He hadn’t crossed a demon in a while since arriving here. He wondered if it was because the Queen had called off the retrieval, but then he remembered it wasn’t just their side who were trying to get Jenna. He didn’t know exactly who, but he needed to figure it out so he could carry out his plan.
A noise to his left drew his attention. A group of teenagers stumbled through some bushes, laughing. Will could tell they were drunk and looking closer, he saw it was Angie and a couple of her friends.
“Is this where the freak lives?” one of them whispered.
They couldn’t see Will if he didn’t want them to, though, he could hear them perfectly.
“Yes,” Angie answered.
“I can’t believe Will left with her!” the other girl said in disbelief.
“Shut up!” Angie hissed.
“I mean he picked her over you,” she continued.
There was a small scuffle and the girl swore.
“I said shut up!” Angie said moving closer to Jenna’s house. “She’s going to pay for it.”
Will was disgusted by Angie. He knew a jealous girl when he saw one and also knew what they were capable of. Thinking quickly, he silently called a Grim and set it on the girls.
“Did you hear that?” the first girl stopped grabbing hold of the other’s arm.
“What was it?”
“Does Jenna have a dog?” she asked Angie.
“No.”
“Then where is that growl coming from?”
“I don’t hear anything,” Angie continued up to Jenna’s house with a bag full of toilet paper. “Come and help me so we can get out of here.”
“Okay,” the other two girls grumbled and started bringing out toilet paper to trash Jenna’s yard with.
Will instructed the Grim to advance slowly and scare them away but not attack them. He sat back and watched, enjoying himself.
“Melissa stop!” the first girl whispered.
“What?” you could hear the fear in Melissa’s voice.
“Walk slowly back to me.”
Melissa inched backward as her eyes flinted from side to side in a panic. Finally her eyes locked on the massive dog. She opened her mouth to scream but no sound escaped.
“What the…?” Angie’s voice faded as she saw the dog too.
To the human eye the Grim looked like a giant Rottweiler, but in reality it was more beast than dog. Having red glowing eyes and claws the length of a bears’.
The Grim took a menacing step forward and growled louder. Melissa yelped and took off.
“Come back here, you idiot!” Angie hollered after her. “You don’t have to be afraid of some stupid animal!”
“Don’t call it that,” the first girl said as she edged away.
“Animals can sense fear. If you’re not afraid they won’t attack.”
The Grim then snapped his jaws together and took another step forward.
“Sorry, Ang,” she said. “I don’t want to risk it.” Then she took off running after Melissa.
“Don’t leave me!” Angie turned losing her confidence and ran to catch up, the Grim followed with angry barks and loud snapping sounds.
Will laughed feeling satisfied. He quickly stopped when he heard movement in Jenna’s room. Her window opened.
“Who’s there?” she called out.
Will was tempted to answer but kept his mouth shut.
“Will? Is that you?” Jenna whispered.
He froze thinking maybe he did answer her, but then she closed her window and he heard her bed creak under her weight. He sighed and decided to leave. He couldn’t stay awake forever, and he’d see her at school on Monday.
He laughed bitterly at the extent he was going through just to keep her safe when in the end he’d be the one killing her.
Chapter Five
Jenna woke the next morning with a massive headache. She rubbed her temples wondering what happened when the events of last night rushed in causing her to wince and curl up. She felt dirty even though nothing had happened. She could still feel Scott’s hands on her and how she couldn’t push him away.
It sickened her that she was so weak. She clenched her jaw together not ever wanting to be vulnerable like that again. Quickly she jumped out of bed, stumbling slightly. She needed to shower and wash the feeling of Scott’s hands away from her. Rushing to get dressed, she decided she was going to go out to the sub. She wanted something to distract her and that was the place to go. She went there just about every Sunday to play pool or go bowling. Jenna didn’t even mind playing some of the arcade games there. It wasn’t anything fancy; just a place where a lot of the high schoolers went.
“Well aren’t you a late riser today,” her dad smiled at her as she entered the living room.
He was sitting watching TV while eating some ice cream.
“You know you shouldn’t eat that stuff,” Jenna smiled at him taking the ice cream away and replacing it with a banana. “The doctor said to watch the sugars.”
“Bananas have sugar,” her dad grumbled but took a bite. “How was the party?”
Jenna froze briefly but smiled, “It was boring, so I came home early.”
“Really? I didn’t hear you come in,” her dad mused. “I must’ve been more tired than I thought.”
“I barely made it to my bed. I was so tired too,” Jenna laughed and moved toward the front door.
“You leaving?” her dad got up and followed her.
“I’m going to the sub for a bit.”
“Oh yeah, it’s Sunday,” her dad smiled. “I feel like I never see you anymore.”
Jenna shrugged, “I guess I’m growing up.”
“You’re still my little Sun Angel,” he ruffled her hair.
“Dad!” Jenna complained as she smoothed her hair back down.
“Remember don’t talk to strangers and be safe.”
“I know, I know,” she waved away his worry. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
Getting to the sub took Jenna almost twenty minutes, but she didn’t mind. It was a nice day, warm even though winter was just around the corner. She debated on whether or not to keep riding the bus to her favorite park but decided on the sub in the end.
Jenna was tying her bowling shoes when she heard a group of guys in the lane next to her. She ignored their conversation until she felt a cool breeze when one of them sat down behind her. She took a deep breath and inhaled peppermint along with a musky scent that could only belong to one guy.
“That’s not even true,” the guy spoke.
Jenna’s head snapped up; she knew that voice, couldn’t ever forget it. Abandoning her shoelaces she sat up and turned. Sure enough there was Will with three other guys, James from school and two she’d never seen before.
As if sensing someone was looking at him, Will glance behind him. Shock passed across his face along with amusement, which was quickly replaced by a scowl.
“You bowl?” Jenna asked ignoring his frown.
“I do lots of things you don’t know about,” Will shrugged and turned back to his friends, but unfortunately for him they already had their attention.
“Who is this, Will?” asked a red headed guy.
Jenna looked up at him. Surprise crossed over his face then his eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
“Everyone, this is Jenna,” Will introduced her sounding bored. “Jenna this is Liam, Paul, and James.”
The red head, Liam shook his head and turned to take his turn. Paul nodded and watched Liam bowl, but James continued to stare at her. She openly stared back. Something was tugging at her memory.
“Have we met before?” she asked him. “Aside from school?”
James smiled like he had a secret, “No, but you might’ve seen me around here before. I come here quite bit.”
“That must be it,” Jenna smiled back.
“Your turn, Will,” Liam went to kick Will’s leg, but Will easily avoided it.
Liam took Will’s seat and spun around to Jenna, “So, how do you know Will?”
“From school,” Jenna answered. “How do you know him?”
The four of them all exchanged glances before James answered, “Childhood friends. Our moms were all friends before we were born.”
“Huh,” Jenna nodded. “That’s cool!” A smiled across her face.
“Uh, I guess,” Liam looked at her oddly, but that didn’t bother Jenna she was used to those looks.
“I think it is,” she nodded. “Statistics say if you’ve been friends for at least seven years, chances are you’ll remain friends for life.”
The guys all stared dumbstruck. None of them said anything making Jenna feel stupid.
“I just think it’s cool because I’ve always wanted friends like that,” she blushed and looked away.
“Sorry,” Jenna turned away, “I’ll let you get back to your game.”
No one said anything. It upset her Will hadn’t said or done anything to make things less awkward. She grabbed her ball and stood to bowl. She shook her long golden hair back and threw the ball has hard and straight as she could. True to her aim, the ball rushed fast toward the pins knocking them all down with a solid boom.
She smiled, pleased with her throw and turned to get her ball to go again. Will and all his friends stared at her.
“What?” She stopped and folded her arms across her chest as if shielding herself from them.
“That was a good shot,” James smirked. “Bet you can’t do it again.”
“Want to make a bet?” Jenna teased. She was competitive and rarely had the opportunity to be so.
“If you do it again, I’ll buy you lunch,” James said.
“And if I lose?”
“You have to kiss Will,” James looked smug.
Will smacked him in the back of his head, but James continued to smile. The other guys laughed as if there were a secret joke behind the bet.
Jenna was shocked and looked at Will. He held her gaze evenly, not saying a thing.
“Don’t want to take the bet?” James laughed. “Afraid you’re a bad kisser?”
Jenna’s eyes narrowed, “I’m taking that bet, but I don’t plan to lose.”
She turned and picked up her ball. Turning to the pins she took a deep breath. She didn’t see how this bet was any fun to James. Why would he dare her to kiss Will? Could he tell she like him? Will didn’t seem happy at all with the bet, making Jenna think he didn’t like her like she did him. She narrowed her eyes in concentration, determined not to lose this bet and find out if Will didn’t like her or not.
Shaking her hair out of the way she took the few steps forward bringing her arm back. She focused on the two front pins on the right. She didn’t plan on just knocking them down she planned on blowing them up.
She threw her arm forward, releasing the ball. Her eyes widened as she realized her aim was off; she stood watching as the ball whizzed down the lane with such speed she didn’t have much time to worry. The ball came into contact with the pins, knocking them all down but one.
The Sun Angel Page 6