Milayna's Angel (24 page)

“I guess that would kill it. Bummer.”

“And it doesn’t matter, anyway. It wasn’t a
real date.”

Muriel burst out laughing. “Chick, I got news
for ya. If it wasn’t a real date, you two wouldn’t have been
playing tonsil hockey.”

“Whatever. I have to go.” She was still
laughing when I clicked off the line.

Maybe she’s right. Was it a first date? Do I
want it to be? Do I want a second? If I really loved Chay, I
wouldn’t be getting over him this fast. And I did… do… love him.
Xavier’s just the rebound guy. Yeah. A totally gorgeous, rebound
guy that kisses great. I’m screwed.

I went into my bathroom, pulled my hair up in
a ponytail, washed my face, and got ready for bed. Walking back
into my bedroom, I clicked out the light when something caught my
eye. A little red body. Perched on the overhang outside my window.
I threw open the window.

“What now?”

“Did you have fun?” Friendly asked, smiling
and wide-eyed.

“Yes.”

“Chay was pissed. That was fun,” Scarface
said, his deformed smile spreading across his yellowed teeth.

I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure you enjoyed that.
What do you two want and how’d you get up here?”

“We get up here all the time,” Friendly said.
“We’re supposed to watch you.”

“You watch me all the time?” A shiver ran
through me. “Why?”

“He told us to. He doesn’t want to screw up
like Azazel did.”

“Who doesn’t?” My heart thundered in my
ears.

“You’ll find out soon enough.” Scarface
rubbed the palms of his red, stubby hands together in anticipation.
“It won’t be long.”

“Yeah! He’s putting the final touches on some
new games for us to play!” Friendly giggled.

Oh no
.

“I’m not playing any more of your games. Go
away.” I slammed the window down, barely missing their fingers.
Sliding the lock, I drew the blinds closed.

“Mi-lay-na,” they sang, tapping on the glass.
“Come back and talk.”

Crawling into bed, I tried to ignore them,
but even over the sound of blood rushing behind my ears I could
hear them shuffling around outside the window. I pulled back my
blanket and stepped on the floor, praying it wouldn’t creak.
Grabbing my pillow, I snuck downstairs to sleep on the couch in the
family room. I rounded the corner and screamed.

Sitting on the couch were two fat, red
bodies. One was smiling and swinging its legs back and forth, the
other was scowling with its arms crossed over its chest.

“Milayna!” my parents yelled, running down
the stairs.

My dad skidded to a stop at the opening into
the family room, his face hard. “Go back upstairs, Rachael.”

She walked around him and sucked in a breath,
her hand flying to her throat. Standing motionless for a few beats,
her face hardened and she walked to the laundry room. After she
grabbed the broom, she walked into the living room and hit Scarface
upside the head. He spewed a mouthful of profanities at her before
disappearing in a little puff of smoke.

She turned her broom on Friendly. He cackled
and ran through the room, clapping his hands at the new game. My
mother chased after him, swinging the broom as she went.

“Oh, for cryin’ out loud,” my dad
muttered.

I couldn’t help but laugh. The sight of my
mother chasing a red demon in the middle of the family room with a
broom was… funny. Or maybe I was hysterical. Either way, I laughed
so hard I snorted. My dad rolled his eyes.

I heard a quick rap on the back door, and my
laughter faded. Chay walked through the room in his sweatpants and
tennis shoes. His suede jacket was pulled over his bare chest,
showing just enough of his ripped abs to make any girl’s mouth
water.

“What’d you do? Give him a key?” I accused my
dad.

“Well, he needs to be able to get here to
help when I’m not home.”

“Ugh.” I stomped upstairs to my room. The
sight of my mom chasing Friendly around the house, swatting at him
with a broom, wasn’t quite as funny anymore.

I heard my mom walk up the stairs a few
minutes later. “Good night,” she called as she passed my door.

“Did you get ‘em?” I tried to hold back my
giggles.

“Swept the floor with him.”

I laughed. “Good night, Mom. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

I lay in bed, listening to the deep timbre of
my dad’s voice, followed by Chay’s easy laughter. It infuriated me.
I threw the blankets over my head to drown them out. I’d just
grabbed my MP3 player and earbuds when a soft knock sounded on my
door.

“Come in,” I called to my dad. To my complete
shock and horror, it wasn’t my dad who walked through the door.
“What do you want?”

He stood in the doorway, his hands in the
pockets of his jacket. “What did they want?”

“Does my dad know you’re up here?”

His lips twitched. I wasn’t sure if he was
trying to hide a grin or a frown. I decided I didn’t care. “Yes, he
knows. What did the hobgoblins want, Milayna?”

“Same old stuff.”

Chay rubbed the back of his neck with his
hand. “I can’t help if you don’t tell me.”

“I don’t want your help. Get out.”

“I know. But you need it, and the group needs
yours.”

Ugh, why does he have to be so reasonable?
And why, after just having mind-blowing kisses with Xavier, is my
heart doing all kinds of stupid things just looking at him?

“They said they were watching me,” I answered
finally.

He walked to the window and opened it. “How
long have they been sitting out here?”

“I don’t know. Wait, how did you know they
were out there?”

“I had a vision. Who are they watching you
for?”

“How am I supposed to know?” I tossed my
music player aside and stood up. “I assume Abaddon, but it’s not
like we had a heart-to-heart. I asked who and they answered in
riddles like always. You figure it out.”

He nodded. His jaw working, he turned his
face from me. It wasn’t until then that I remembered I was in my
pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. A thin T-shirt. My face burning, I
yanked my robe off the hook on my bedroom door and slipped into
it.

“Did they say anything else?”

“Just that he had some games for us to play.
But you know how they are. That could mean a snowball fight
or—”

“Something much worse,” he finished. We were
both remembering the garage fire they started that almost killed a
man.

“Yeah. There’s that, too.”

“Milayna… about tonight… I didn’t like you
being with him,” Chay said, his face averted.

“You gave up your right to care either
way.”

He looked at me. I stared back at him. He was
not going to make me feel guilty for going out with Xavier. Not
after the things he said. He surprised me by agreeing. “I
know.”

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out my
ring. He laid it softly on the table beside my bed. “Just in case.”
He looked into my eyes then. I felt the electrical buzzing moving
through my nerve endings. I looked away before a bridge to his
emotions could be made. I didn’t want to know what he felt. I
didn’t.

He left, closing the door with a faint click
behind him.

***

“Why can’t he come?” Benjamin whined.

“He just won’t be coming for breakfast on
Saturdays anymore.” I tried to keep my patience.

Little brothers can be such a pain.

“Just because you’re mad at Chay doesn’t mean
he can’t come play with me.”

“Maybe he will.”

Over my dead body… Of course, that’s a real
possibility right now.

“Good! Then I’ll call and ask if he’ll come
over.” Benjamin grabbed the phone. I reached around, took it out of
his hands, and held it up where he couldn’t reach it.

“No, he isn’t coming over today. Maybe
another time.”

“You’re just saying that. You know, you go to
Hell for lying. My Sunday school teacher told me so,” Benjamin said
just before he stuck his tongue out at me.

Yup, I’m just saying it. I’ll probably go to
Hell anyway if the demons have their way, so I might as well use up
all my lies now.

Of course, I didn’t say what I was thinking
out loud so Benjamin could hear. We were trying to shield him from
as much of what was going on as possible. There was only so much a
seven-year-old needed to know.

Breakfast was horrid. I sat with Benjamin on
one side of me and an empty chair on the other. I didn’t know where
to look. Every time I looked at Benjamin, he glared back, mad
because I wouldn’t let him call and invite Chay to breakfast. Every
time I looked at the empty chair, I got mad because I wanted Chay
to be there. I wanted things to be normal, to make sense again.

After breakfast, I helped my parents with
some chores and then spent the rest of the day doing homework—a
pretty boring day. It wasn’t until that night that things got
interesting.

First, Chay showed up. He was just telling my
dad the reason for his impromptu visit when I saw Xavier jog up the
front porch steps.

What are they doing here? This can’t end
well.

“They’re coming,” Xavier said when I opened
the door.

“Who?”

“The Evils and another group of people.”

“Demi-demons,” Chay told him.

Xavier looked up and glared at Chay. “What’s
he doing here?” he whispered to me.

Jealousy from both sides now. Great.

“He’s here for the same reason you are
apparently. And the same reason Muriel is crossing the street. I’m
sure Jen and Drew will be right behind her.”

“How’d he get here so fast?” Xavier still
eyed Chay.

“How’d you?” Chay countered.

“I saw them walking down the road from the
tall one’s house.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose between my
thumb and finger. A migraine was bouncing around, and, for once, it
didn’t have anything to do with a vision. “That’s Jake,” I
said.

“Whoever,” Xavier said, dismissing me. I
rolled my eyes and walked away.

Let them tear each other apart. Then I won’t
have to worry about my feelings for either one of them.

“I just knew,” Chay said.

“Xavier, Chay has the unique ability to know
when one of the group members is in danger. That’s why he’s here
before the others. Not that it matters.” I rubbed my temples.

“Ah. That’s all it is.” Xavier smiled and
bent down to kiss me. I turned my face, and his kiss landed on my
cheek. He frowned.

“Did you think it was something else?” Chay
smirked when Xavier’s kiss missed its intended mark.

“Yeah, I was afraid you were over here
harassing her.”

“Oh, would you two knock it off! We have
bigger problems than who wins your pissing contest,” I yelled.

“Trouble in paradise?” Muriel whispered,
walking to stand beside me.

“Yeah. I have every girl’s dream. Two
incredibly sexy guys. One wants me. The other doesn’t, but he
doesn’t want the other to have me. Two guys, two major
headaches.”

Personally, I can’t figure it out. They are,
like, Greek-god handsome and could have any girl—and I mean
any—they wanted. I guess I’m nice enough, but factor in the fact
that I have the demons of Hell after my soul and even that doesn’t
carry much weight.

“They’re almost here.” Drew opened the front
door and walked in to stand next to Muriel. “Hey.”

She giggled. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

“Milayna!” Jake called from the front yard.
My blood ran cold at the sound of his voice.

I stepped through the door, my legs shaking.
“What do you want, Jake?” I tried to sound bored. In truth, I was
scared. Of all the Evils and demi-demons, Jake scared me the most.
Worse, he knew it.

“Just to talk. Come down so I don’t have to
yell.”

Yeah, right.

“We can talk from here.” I folded my arms
over my chest to hide their shaking.

“Come on, Milayna. You’ve never been shy
before.”

I’m not shy now. I just don’t want you
handing me my butt on a silver platter.
A shiver ran through
me.

I didn’t answer. I didn’t trust my voice.

“Okay.” He shrugged. “I’ll come up there.”
Jake took a step toward the house, and I jogged down the stairs to
intercept him. I didn’t want him anywhere near my house. That was
my sanctuary, free from him and the ugliness that stained his
soul.

I stopped about five feet away from Jake. He
looked directly into my eyes, and I forced myself to hold his gaze.
The electricity buzzed across my nerves. It reached out and touched
Jake. It poked at him, feeling over him, looking for the connection
that would create the bridge. Just when the bridge was beginning to
form, I felt someone walk up and stand beside me. I didn’t need to
look to know who it was. I could smell him. But I turned my head
anyway—to break my connection with Jake. I’d already felt enough of
his emotion. Hate. The same as always.

“Jake,” Chay said.

“Still standing by your woman? Oh, wait! She
isn’t your woman anymore from what I hear. So, who dumped who?”

“Whom.”

Jake frowned. “Huh?”

“It’d be who dumped whom, idiot,” Chay
said.

Jake ran at him, grabbing Chay through the
middle and slamming them both against a large oak standing in the
front yard.

And here we go.

Shayla walked toward me with a grin on her
face. My hand itched to slap it off. Of course, I was going to get
my wish. I just had to wait for her to throw the first punch.
Demi-angels never started the fights; we just defended ourselves
against them.

Her hand snaked out and slapped me hard
across the face. My head flew to the side from the impact. “Is that
it, Shayla?”

I should have sensed that coming. What’s up
with that?

She screamed and lunged at me, clawing at my
face with her fingernails. I shielded my face with one hand.
Leaving my foot in front of her, I moved to the side and pushed her
shoulder with my free hand, sending her sprawling face-first on the
ground.