Milayna's Angel (20 page)

“Hey, you look better.” I saw him sitting at
our station when I walked into chemistry class. “I didn’t think you
were going to be here.” He hadn’t called to ask me to ride with him
like usual.

“It was a last-minute decision,” he mumbled,
not looking up from the notepad he was doodling circles on.

“Oh.”

“You feeling better?” he asked.

“Yes. I have a doctor’s appointment after
school.”

“Mmm.”

I walked to the table. He didn’t stand and
take my bag like he always did. He didn’t pull out my chair for me
like usual. Most disturbing was that he didn’t kiss me—he didn’t
even look at me.

Xavier sat behind me, tapping his pen against
his book. He flipped it on the desk and stood. “Here, let me get
those for you.” He took my bag and slid my chair out. I didn’t
really expect anyone to do that for me; it wasn’t like I thought
myself a princess or I was a drama queen. It was just that Chay
always did it. I couldn’t figure out the sudden change.

“Thanks. You really didn’t have to,” I said
quietly to Xavier and sat down. I flipped through my chemistry
book. Chay didn’t seem to care that Xavier helped. He just
continued doodling.

“It’s no problem. Anything else you
need?”

“She’s fine,” Chay answered for me.

I gave Xavier a small smile and shook my
head. He ducked his head and looked at me through his long, black
eyelashes. My breath hitched in my throat. He looked like he should
be a cover model, not a high school senior. He chuckled as if he’d
heard my thoughts.

He can’t hear what I’m thinking, right? I
mean, I have limited telekinesis powers as a demi-angel. Maybe he
has telepathic power as an angel. Crap.

“Did you get the homework done?” I asked
Chay.

“Yeah.”

“You think you could look at me when you
answer? And maybe use more than one word?”

He dropped his pen and turned to me. His face
was pale and his cheeks sunken and sallow. His normally bright eyes
were dull and lifeless, with dark purple smudges underneath, like
he hadn’t slept for days.

I took a deep breath to hide my shock. He
looked horrible. “Are you sure you feel up to being here today?” I
ran my fingers over his stubble-covered jaw.

“Yes,” he answered, jerking his head from my
touch.

I curled my fingers and let my hand fall to
my lap. “Sorry. You just don’t look like you feel well.”

We didn’t speak for the rest of the class.
Xavier bumped my chair twice. I ignored it both times. On the third
time, I shot him a dirty glare. He flicked his gaze toward the
piece of paper he laid on the table in front of him. He shot it
across the tabletop at me. I rolled my eyes, but I took the
paper.

Need a ride home?

NO!

Sliding the paper across his table, I turned
around. I tried to ignore both of them the rest of the period. It
was easy to ignore Chay. It was like he wasn’t there. He didn’t
hold my hand, he didn’t speak, and he didn’t look at me.

It wasn’t as easy to ignore Xavier. He kicked
the bottom of my chair a half a dozen times, chuckling each time I
refused to look at him. I could picture him laughing in my mind.
His eyes sparkly, his dimple deep in his cheek, and his full lips
turned up at the corners.

Stop thinking about him!

Finally, the torture was over. Standing, I
gathered my things, shoving them in my bag. I swung the strap over
my shoulder. Xavier reached out to take it, but Chay brushed his
hand away.

“I’ve got it.” He took my messenger bag and
walked out the door.

“Kinda in a bad mood today,” Xavier said, a
lazy smile on his lips.

“Mind your own business,” I snapped.

“I am,” he said so close to my ear that my
hair moved and my heart fluttered—damn it to hades and back.

***

I didn’t talk to Chay after that. He dropped
my bag next to my seat in calculus and walked to his desk. After
calculus, he asked Muriel to carry it for me. He didn’t say
anything to me.

“What’s up with him?” Muriel asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t think he really feels
that great. He should have stayed home.” I took my books. “I can
carry them.”

I walked to history alone. Well, not exactly.
Xavier was behind me. Until we figured out Abaddon’s plan, we used
the buddy system.

“Hey,” Jen said when I passed her room. She
fell in step with me. “How’s your side?”

“Great. Feels great,” I answered, still
distracted by Chay.

She looked around. “Where’s Chay? He’s not
walking with you today?”

“No. He doesn’t feel good.” I didn’t offer
any other information.

She looked at me, her brows furrowed.
“Huh.”

After history, Xavier and I walked Jen to her
next class before we walked on to ours. I had every class with him
but two. We walked together from class to class the rest of the
day, laughing and joking. I had to admit he was easy to be around
when I wasn’t having fantasies about kissing him—which were growing
more and more frequent, especially with Chay’s mood not improving.
He didn’t walk me to any of my classes that day, which was totally
out of character for him.

Chay didn’t show up for lunch either. He had
a make-up exam in calculus. I sat with the group at our usual
table. Xavier sat next to me, his thigh brushing mine every time he
moved, sending jolts of adrenaline zinging through my
bloodstream.

Is this normal when someone’s in love? Aren’t
I supposed to be immune to other guys? Because I’m most definitely
not immune to Xavier. Worse, he knows it. Ugh, I’m a horrible,
horrible girlfriend.

Xavier seemed to go out of his way to touch
me. A brush of his hand when he’d reach for something, his
fingertips trailing across the skin on the back of my neck when
he’d place my bag on the back of the chair, and his hand bumping
into mine when we’d walk side by side to our next class. With every
touch, every innocent—or not so innocent—brush against me, my body
went into overdrive. My heart raced and my breathing nearly
stopped—tingling in places that I thought were only reserved for
Chay’s touch.

I hate feeling this way. I’m with Chay. I
love Chay. I want to be with Xavier… whoa, where did that come
from? That’s not right. I want to be with Chay.

***

I stood at my locker, looking inside.

What am I supposed to get again?

My mind was toast. I was worrying about Chay
and his ever-changing moods.

Geez, I’m a wreck. I can’t even remember why
I’m at my locker.

“Hey.” He moved beside me and rested his hand
lightly on the small of my back. “What are you doing standing here
all alone?”

I looked up at Xavier and smiled. “Nothing,”
I answered, trying to ignore his hand on the small of my back,
slipping lower than it needed to. “I was just on my way to English.
I stopped by my locker to get… something.” I shut the door with a
click, spinning the tumbler on the combination lock.

“I’ll walk with you.” He grabbed my bag off
my shoulder and swung it over his. We walked down the locker-lined
hallway. The blue and gold lockers reflected off the buffed tiled
floors. The heels of my boots clip-clopped as I kept in step with
him. It was the only sound in the nearly deserted hall, most
students having already gone to class. “Here you go,” Xavier said
when we reached the door to my English class.

I peered into the classroom. Seeing Chay
sitting in his seat watching me, I smiled. He didn’t smile
back.

“Thank you.” I reached for my bag. Xavier
slowly slid the strap up my arm and over my shoulder, letting his
fingers graze the side of my throat. His hand moved to the back of
my neck. He bent quickly and grazed his lips across mine. Stumbling
back, I hit the doorjamb. I touched my lips before I held my hand
up, palm facing him.

“Don’t… no… just… hmm…” I shook my head.
“Don’t.” He’d completely caught me off-guard. I didn’t know what to
say. Turning, I walked into my class.

Chay glared at me when I walked by his
desk.

“I didn’t… ah… that wasn’t… I didn’t want him
to.” He looked down at his desk, bouncing his pencil off his open
book. He didn’t answer me.

Class dragged on. I didn’t think it’d ever
end. I needed to talk with Chay. He needed to know that Xavier’s
kiss was one-sided.

I didn’t want him to kiss me… right? No, I
definitely didn’t want him to. I’m in love with Chay. Chay… the guy
who I’m having dreams about killing me. This is totally messed
up.

I didn’t get a chance to explain, though. As
soon as class was over, Chay bolted.

***

My stomach twisted, and my head began to
pound. Xavier and I were just leaving economics—I hated that
class.

“Xavier,” I whispered.

“Yeah?” He grabbed my hand. I didn’t jerk
away. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to have a vision.”

His step faltered. “Oh, um, what should I
do?”

“Let’s go to the window and look outside.
Maybe with my back turned, no one will notice.”
Fat chance
.
I was already doubled over in pain. Xavier helped me to the window.
I gripped the sill with both hands, holding myself up. My knuckles
turned white from holding the sill so tightly, and my fingernails
bent under the pressure.

Mr. Ferguson. The bathroom.

Gross.

He undoes his tie. Sweating. His face is
red.

“I think something is wrong with Mr.
Ferguson,” I said.

“What?” I jumped at the sound of Chay’s
voice. I should have expected him to show up. He could sense when
one of the team was in danger or pain. With me, he could sense when
I had a vision.

Bathroom. He’s alone. His hand grips his
chest. Sweating.

“I think he may be having a heart
attack.”

Mr. Ferguson. Lying on a blue and gold tiled
floor.

“Where is he, Milayna?” Chay asked.

“A bathroom.” My eyes were squeezed shut. I
was trying to concentrate on the vision. Only one image played
through my mind—Mr. Ferguson lying unconscious on the bathroom
floor.

“We have to search every bathroom until we
find him,” Xavier said quickly.

“He’s the principal. He has his own bathroom,
moron,” Chay snapped.

Chay ran down the hall toward the school
office, Xavier close behind him. They were only gone four or five
minutes, but it felt like hours. I knew the second someone found
Mr. Ferguson. The painful clenching in my stomach eased and my head
cleared.

“What’d you do?” I asked when Chay and Xavier
got back.

“I asked to see the principal,” Chay said.
“When the secretary said he was unavailable, I asked a little more…
forcefully.”

“He demanded,” Xavier said with a
chuckle.

Chay rolled his eyes. “After threatening to
call my parents because I was being denied my right to speak with
Mr. Ferguson, she finally went to get him. When he didn’t answer
his door, she got the janitor, who found him lying on the floor.
They’ve called an ambulance. Is the vision gone?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” Chay looked from Xavier to me and
scowled. “I have to get to class.” He turned and walked away.

I stared after him, completely amazed at the
transformation from charming, loving boyfriend to the distant, cold
person he’d turned into. He knew how much the visions upset me. He
always comforted me after one. Not only did he not comfort me, but
he also hadn’t kissed me all day. The no-kissing part was
completely unacceptable.

“Chay, wait up.” I jogged down the hall.

“I’m going to be late. The first bell’s
already rung.”

“I don’t give a damn if you’re late,” I
yelled.

He stopped and looked at me, letting his bag
fall from his shoulder. “What?” he asked quietly.

“What’s wrong with you today? Did I do
something? Are you mad at me? Because if you are, just say so.”

He looked at me so long that I didn’t think
he was going to answer. Dropping the strap of his bag, he took two
large strides toward me. Threading his hands through my hair, he
bent his face to mine. He kissed me hard and deep until we were
both breathless.

“I’m sorry, Milayna. I’ve been a jerk today.
I’m just… I don’t feel like myself.”

“It’s okay—”

“No.” He looked at the floor. “It’s not. You
didn’t deserve that.”

“Chay.” He looked at me. “Kiss me again,” I
whispered.

He lowered his lips to mine, caressing them.
I sighed when his tongue touched mine. He kissed me until he stole
my breath. My head swam with the scent of him—my tongue craved his
taste. Time stood still, and there was nothing but him, me, and the
feel of our mouths moving in time with each other.

And then it was gone.

The bell’s shrill ring echoed through the
locker-lined hallway. I looked at Chay. He grinned. “Maybe I should
be in a bad mood more often if that’s the type of kiss I’m gonna
get.”

“No, no, you stay in a good mood. I’ll kiss
you like that all the time.”

He laughed, and I smiled at the sound. My
Chay was back. The moody, distant guy was gone—hopefully for
good.

***

That afternoon, Chay was waiting for me when
I left gym. “Can I drive you?”

“Sure.”

“Wanna milkshake? My treat.” He grinned.

“You mean your uncle’s treat.” I laughed.
“Besides, I can’t. I have to get home for my doctor’s
appointment.”

“Okay. I’ll settle for taking you home.”

We walked to his car—he carried my
books—holding hands. He opened the door for me, and I climbed into
the car, breathing in his scent. I knew I was right where I was
supposed to be. But just when I started to get comfortable… it
began.

He reached over and threaded our fingers
together. That was when the first image flashed before my eyes.