Angel of Mine (3 page)

Like every other day this week, I sit in the shadow of the oak trees, drinking up the site of ‘Mr. Hottie’ kicking around the footy. He is the same guy I lost my sanity over the first day I came to this beautiful park. Even though he is here every day, he doesn’t notice me. Each day I get a little more confident, inching closer towards where the shadows end, and the sunlight begins to bathe the open fields. I haven’t quite made it into the light yet though.

His muscles flex as he runs, and the glistening sweat on his skin lures me in. My body moves on its own accord, slanting in his direction. I imagine his smell, all manly and salty from the sweat, and daydream of licking the trails of it down his body with my tongue. I breathe in deeply, but I am not near enough, and all I smell is the freshly cut grass of the fields.

I find myself standing up, and as I step out into the light, it jars me out of my trance. It’s too late to turn back and hide as my shadow crosses his line of vision, and I am rooted to the spot. I am so close I could reach out and touch him.

My heart rate spikes as he turns around. It feels like my tongue is thick and swelling, filling my whole mouth. I know I should stop staring and look away, but I can’t. He is gorgeous.

My eyes lock with his. They are a stunning green, and sparkle like wet grass after a rain shower with the sun gleaming off it. He holds my gaze, and it’s as though he is looking right into my soul. His jaw drops in disbelief, and I feel panic bubble up inside me. Does he somehow know my secret? No, it’s impossible. I break the connection and shake the thought away.

My mouth is hanging open in disbelief. I have just turned around to find the most stunning woman in existence. Is she real? Stepping closer, I can’t help but blurt, “You are the most exquisite angel I have ever seen.” I am thoroughly awestruck by her beauty. Chocolate coloured locks flow around her face. Thick dark lashes frame her eyes, and they are so deep and blue that I could get lost in them; when she smiles after the compliment I gave her, they are utterly dazzling. Her lips are full and she is biting on the bottom one, sucking it in to her mouth, and it is driving me just a tad crazy. She looks ethereal. There’s a mysterious electricity crackling in the air between us. My breath stills as I wait for her reply while I continue to take her in.

She flushes a light shade of pink then softly replies, “Thank you. My name is Ally.” Her melodic voice floors me. She sounds angelic. A faint vanilla fragrance fills my nose, making me feel a little dizzy. Maybe I over did the whole exercise thing today.

Have I died and gone to heaven without even knowing it happened? Did something just transpire back there on that field? I start to turn around to see if I have left my body behind, when out of nowhere, my brother Alex swiftly throws the football at my head and knocks some sense into me in the process.

What the fuck was that? I just turned into a bloody puddle of mush. I know after what I have been through that I am more emotional than most guys, but come on, that was messed up.

I risk glancing back up at her. Shit, I’m screwed. This chick has some kind of strange hold on me. Just standing there as an idiot proves to be about the only thing I can do.

“Hey. I’m Alex, and this smooth talker here is my brother, Theo.” Alex winks, and then extends his hand out, offering to shake hers. He has a way of putting any situation back at ease.

She looks dubiously at his outstretched hand, decides to ignore it, and shyly answers, “Hi, I’m Ally. I’m sorry to get in the way of your football game. I was just leaving.” She looks past us into the distance and finishes by saying, “Enjoy the rest of your game.” Then she steps around me and hurries off.

I spin around, gaping after her as she walks away. She stops at a young boy crying by the play structure. I didn’t notice him at first because all my attention stayed focused solely on her. Crouching down, she places her hand on his knee and relays what I can only assume are soothing words because his tears dry up. I wonder where the boy’s mother is.

Jogging over to give Ally some assistance, I spot blood dripping from a deep cut on her knee. “Oh my god, your knee is bleeding. Are you okay?”

She seems startled by my presence. The young boy is looking back and forth between the two of us, his mouth wide open. Ally seems to have the same effect on him that she did on me; maybe he thinks she is an angel too.

Rushing over to her side, I detect she is uncomfortable when she flinches away from me. I halt and search her face. Her eyes have darkened considerably and are darting around, looking anywhere but at me. “I’m fine. I must have scraped my knee when I dropped to this boy’s level to see what was wrong. Could you please help him find his mother?” Never giving me the option to reply, Ally races off and doesn’t look back.

The boy is clutching onto my hand now. While I watch her run, I force my legs to stay put and not go after her. The whole situation is making me a little light headed, and it feels a little surreal.

Ally was able to knock my socks off in all of two minutes flat. I was so dumbstruck that I forgot to ask for her number, and that alone reminds me how long I’ve been off my game. My life has been at a standstill for long enough. If she elicits this kind of reaction after two minutes, then I need to find her again.

My new mantra for starting over is ‘live life to the fullest, love in every moment like it is your last, never give up hope, and never hold back’. I’m going to find her; I’m not going to hold back. I have to know more about this beautiful girl.

A tug on my hand forces my attention back to the boy beside me. “My knee,” he exclaims simply, indicating he is not in any pain, yet there is still something wrong with it. Crouching down, my brow furrows as I touch his knee. There are no visible marks on his actual skin; however, there are blood streaks down his leg.

Confused, I flash my eyes back to his to obtain answers. He is smiling. Is that Ally’s blood on him? Suddenly, a word dad used to say all the time when I was younger pops into my mind, discombobulated. I used to think it was funny, not now though. Now I’m just seriously baffled.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid.” Muttering aloud and pacing around the yard is not helping to calm me, although the sting from repeatedly slapping myself on the forehead is giving me something else to concentrate on. It makes me look crazy, but right now, I truly don’t care. My anxiety level is so high it feels as though my head might explode. Surging thoughts are literally pounding against the edges of my brain trying to escape.

The sound of gravel crunching under my feet marginally registers with me and makes me aware of how it is flicking up into my flip-flops. I can feel the blood oozing down my leg and mixing with the gravel, creating a sticky, unpleasant feeling.

Forcing myself to stop, I take some deep breaths, allowing me to think more clearly. I can’t believe I just did that. Maybe Theo didn’t see. He was still a fair distance away when I healed that boy’s knee, and thankfully, the boy was too young to explain what happened. Even if he could explain, it’s not as if Theo would believe him unless he saw it with his own eyes, right?
Right,
I tell myself.

Everything is going to be okay. No one saw a thing except a boy who is too young to explain. It’s no big deal, no need to alert Mum. Keeping this information from her is the right thing to do. We are not moving again, especially since I have only just obtained this newfound freedom. I will merely have to avoid Theo and his brother from now on, and be more careful where I use my abilities.

I felt reasonably pacified after assessing the situation and coming up with a plan. Moving my line of vision up the driveway, I discover that Mum’s car is still not back. Excellent. I can sneak inside, clean up my knee before she sees it, and hide the evidence under a pair of sweat pants. Allowing one last shaky gust of air to leave my lungs, I brace myself, and head up to the house.

Warm water cascades over me easing the kinks in my neck. I feel the stress slowly starting to leave my body and see the blood from my leg wash away down the drain in swirls of bright red. The scent of my vanilla shampoo floats in the steam surrounding me and lulls me into serenity. “Mmm,” I hum approvingly. My lips turn up slightly at the corners in relief. I can manage the outcome that my abilities bring on my own; there’s no reason for Mum to be any the wiser about it.

Confident with the job I did taping up my knee, I step out of the shower and wrap one of our luxurious white, king-size bath towels around me, assured that no blood will get on it. I grab another towel and wrap it around my head in a turban, all the while faintly singing my favourite tunes from the radio. Currently that tune is Angel of Mine by Monica, inspired by ‘Mr. Hottie’, or as I now know him, Theo. I recognize that might sound a bit melodramatic since I hardly know the guy, but hey, all my knowledge on lusting after a guy comes from the movies, so who can blame me.

I slather some moisturizer on my face, and I am good to go find my sweats. I swing the bathroom door open, and standing there waiting, with arms crossed over her chest and eyes narrowed, is my mother. “Why is there blood all over the floor leading up to the bathroom? Did you help someone? What happened? Do we need to run?”

Damn, I forgot to clean the blood trail that I drizzled the whole way up here. I am so busted.
I scramble to think of what to say. “Chill Mum.” I stall, wondering whether to go with the truth or to lie. Figuring a partial truth is best, I press on, “The park was deserted except for a little boy, and he wasn’t even old enough to talk yet. He was crying because he had hurt his knee, so I healed it. I stayed with him while we waited for his mum. When she came, I told her I found him crying, but had hurt my knee, so I needed to go. No biggie. No one saw anything, and it’s just a small cut. No harm done.” Holding my breath, I wait to see if she buys my story.

“Okay. I guess I have to come to terms with the fact that you need to learn this on your own, and I need to trust your judgment. Just promise me that you will be careful.”

I exhale and give her a weak smile. “I promise Mum.”
Phew, disaster averted.

After an eventful morning, I spend the afternoon and evening relaxing with a good book. I fall asleep to sweet dreams of sparkling green eyes, tussled brown hair, and a deep smooth voice telling me how beautiful I am. It’s the best sleep of my life, or at least, the best dream.