To Fall (The To Fall Trilogy Book 1) (18 page)

Xander leaned across the seat and drew me away from the window. His hands were hot against my cheeks, forcing me to look at him. “I know when you bite your lip you’re trying not to cry.”

I released my lip and his thumbs moved across my cheeks causing a stir of butterflies in my stomach.

His eyes blazed with an intensity I’d never known before. “Danielle asked me to dance and I agreed because I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. The moment I saw you, I realized how stupid that was. I hurt
you
. You’re the only reason I was at that party tonight.” Then he said something that was just above a whisper, and it was so shocking, there was no way he said it, “You’re the only reason I exist.”

I shook my head. I couldn’t have heard any of that right. “You…what? Come on, Danielle’s—”

He cut me off. “Not who I want.”

One thumb traced over my lips, so soft that it tickled. The quiet music played in the dark cab and his cloudy scent intensified with the closed-in space. With my focus on what he was doing to my lip, I didn’t realize how close his body was to mine. His hazel eyes dropped and anchored to my mouth. Something stirred inside me. An ache that was sweet, warm, and deep. A need for him. To touch me. To kiss me. I didn’t tell my body to move, but I was closer to him, to his mouth. His fingers tensed around me and his lips parted.

He was going to kiss me.

I couldn’t help what was going on in my chest, fluttering and silent gulps of air. I let my eyes close, waiting for the moment that I would get my first kiss and it was from the boy I loved.

It took me much too long to realize his warm fingers were gone and the air stirred around me. My eyes flew open and I reeled. He was sitting back in his seat, but he may as well have been a mile away. My cheeks burned with either embarrassment or the memory of his skin touching mine. A wave of disappointment crashed down on me. He didn’t kiss me. Why?

Without looking at me, he shifted the gear into drive and took me home in silence. The entire way I replayed where I went wrong. Did I misinterpret something?
You’re the only reason I exist.
Didn’t he say that? My nails sunk into my palms because the lip-biting thing wasn’t doing a whole lot for me.

When Xander pulled up to my house, he turned the engine off and faced me. “Abby, would you mind if I came inside?” Whoa, what?

I swallowed down the lump that I feared had taken permanent residence in my throat. “Oh...kay.” I went to reach for the door, but his hand landed on my bare knee.

“Stay,” he pleaded.

I sat perplexed and watched him glide around the SUV. He opened the door and held his hand out to help me down. Yeah, guys I knew didn’t do that.

Following me to the front door, his hand stayed on my back. His mixed signals were going to send me to a padded room. Did he feel guilty for rejecting me? Or was this pity for the sad girl who was foolish enough to think Alexander Wright would kiss her?

Someone in the house was awake. My stomach twisted as the front door shut behind me. What was I going to say and why did he want to come inside? Stepping into the dim light of the living room and through the house, muffled screams and flickers came from the family room. Mom and Dad were watching a scary movie. Margaret must be in her room reading; she was like me, not one for horror flicks. Mom and Dad wore matching looks of surprise as we came in. The Blu-ray paused and Mom flipped on the side lamp.

“Good evening, Alexander. Abby, how was the party? Where are the girls?” Dad craned his neck as though they were hiding behind us.

“Hi, Dad. The party was fine. Beth drove Mel home.”

At this, my parents realized I’d been alone with a man. In his car. Dad’s mouth formed around a question.

“Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Miller.” Xander’s polite tone was a reminder that I arrived home unharmed, unlike the poor girl in the movie suffering from the unfortunate knife to the gut. “Sir, I was hoping to ask you a question. I have come to fancy Abigail and I would like to ask your permission to take your daughter to the movies and dinner next weekend.”

Our jaws collectively unhinged. Saturday would be my twentieth birthday and I
hated
birthdays. It took years for my parents to understand I didn’t want a party, cake, or candles. The day was a reminder that my birth mother abandoned me. I was praying my parents didn’t say anything to Xander.

Dad cleared his throat and looked to me. I shifted back enough so I would be standing behind Xander and he couldn’t see my emphatic head shaking,
YES
at my dad.

Dad at least attempted to hide his amusement, and Mom’s smile was far too animated to be considered anything but embarrassing.

“Alexander, yes, you have my permission. Thank you for asking me.” Dad paused, dragged in a deep breath, and his blue eyes locked on me. “Forgive me, but you do know Abby is special?”

“Daddy!” I knew where he was going with this. It had nothing to do with Xander; it had everything to do with my heart condition. He wanted to make sure nothing happened between us that would send me to the hospital or the morgue.

Mom tugged on his arm and Dad glanced down at her confused. “What? Sorry, I…okay. I’ll back off.”

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any bigger, Mom’s smile did just that. She was a romantic at heart and what Xander did scored him mega points.

Xander said, “Yes, sir. Abby has let me know of her heart condition and I will do everything I can to make sure she is safe. It’s getting late, and I should get home myself. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Miller. I will be here Saturday at five.” That was seven hours of Xander.

Dad shook his hand before Xander left.

I walked Xander back out to his SUV. He captured a lock of hair and tucked it behind my ear. I rocked on my heels. “You want to go out? With me?” I peeked up at him through my lashes.

“Yes, Abigail Miller. Will you please accompany me Saturday night?”

I tried to play it cool, straight-faced. “I don’t know. Let me think for a second. Sure.” Holy crap, my first date!

“Good. And how about I take you to and from school on Monday?”

My cool factor shot to complete nerd. “Ye…yes.”

His grin kicked up a notch. “Then I’ll see you Monday morning, and plan on Saturday at five o’clock, because I will be here.”

“Fine. Monday.” I was playfully curt with him.

Xander nodded and said, “Goodnight.” I repeated a simple goodnight back as he aimed toward his vehicle. He paused and turned back toward me with a full, mischievous smile. “Oh, Abby?”

“Huh?”

Strolling back to me, he bent over so close his lips brushed the same ear he had tucked my hair behind, and my eyes rolled to the back of my head. “I know you think you were clever by standing behind me when I asked your father for permission. But I saw you in the mirror above his head.”

I froze.

He laughed a deep, hearty laugh with each step back to his car and he was still grinning as he drove away. It was a long walk back inside.

As I closed the door behind me, I realized my parents hadn’t moved.

Smiling, Dad’s eyes were bright. “He fancies you, huh?”

“Dad!”

Mom laughed along. “Honey, I don’t think people say
fancy
anymore.”

“They do. It’s a retro thing. They say it all the time at school.” They didn’t.

His shoulders shook he was laughing so hard. “Maybe on ketchup bottles they say it.”

Both of them were falling over each other now. Shaking my head, I left them to their slasher thriller.

25

Xander

My siblings would be home soon, so I made dinner. I heard the garage open and the girls’ laughter. They stopped when they saw me.

“How did it go tonight?” I asked.

Caleb stepped around the girls and went straight to the lasagna on the counter. “It took longer than we thought. I’m impressed at the amount of alcohol the human body can consume.”

I leaned against the counter, out of the way of the hungry horde. “What happened with Cresil?”

Calista beat Caleb to the pan, shoving him back. “I think Cresil’s sniffing around, Alexander. I’m not sure he knows who Abby is yet.”

Caleb’s brows pulled together. “Yeah, but if he finds out—”

“Don’t say it, Caleb, I know,” I grumbled.

Calista and Hannah giggled again.

My chin jutted toward my sisters. “What is wrong with you two?”

“How did things go with Abby tonight?” Calista danced over to the utensils.

“Good.” I avoided everyone’s gaze. Peeking up, they were staring at me and I rolled my eyes. “Ask already.”

Hannah’s eyes widened. “Did you kiss her?”

“No. And I wouldn’t tell you anyway.” If they knew how close I came. Sweet angel light, when Abby’s eyes shut, it took every ounce of self-control to stop.

Caleb blinked and shook his head. “Why not?”

“It’s private!” I snapped.

Calista scoffed. “You guys were all over each other. You just drove her home?”

“I have a date next week,” I muttered.

Hannah jumped so hard I thought she would break the tile. “I told you!”

“Okay, what?” I demanded.

Hannah batted her eyelashes. “She likes you.”

I groaned. They would be insufferable now.

Hannah cleared her throat. “Alexander, since you have asked her out, we agreed. We need to tell you something about Abby. It’s quite serious.”

They had my full attention.

Caleb stepped around the island and put his hand on my shoulder, his expression grim. “Brother, we tell you this out of love. Abby…she is a terrible dancer.”

“I know. You know the worst part? It’s better than her cooking.”

They winced and we laughed our tension away.

Sunday morning proved the weatherman accurate with a bright sun and triple digits. Abby had said she was cleaning the house and studying today, so I was somewhat comfortable leaving the immediate area. Calista and Hannah drove downtown to volunteer at the women’s shelter while Caleb and I hunted east at the Salt River.

The hot weekend temperatures brought out a young party crowd, and with them, they brought booze. Over the last three weeks, two people drowned in the river. We wanted to make sure there wasn’t a demon involved.

Caleb and I pulled up to the parking lot, already half-full of college kids and a few families. I wanted to be anywhere but here today; the majority of the crowd was loud and crude. Caleb groaned when the lewd hand gestures started.

We rented inner tubes and loaded onto a bus that spat diesel fumes in its wake. Caleb and I joined a group of kids who brought a shocking amount of beer with them. More than likely, if there were a demon lurking, they would be its target today.

A blonde in a neon green bikini cuddled up to Caleb. “Hi, there. My name’s Amy.”

Caleb tensed and held his hand out. “Caleb. Nice to meet you. Are all of you from ASU?”

The bus erupted in screams from bouncing girls and hollering from the guys.

“You know it! You guys Sun Devils, too?” the guy sitting across from us asked.

“No, we graduated from U of A last year,” I explained, avoiding conversation over professors and people we may know.

The group broke out into protest, “Wildcats suck!” and “Why would you go there?”

Caleb recovered nicely. “Hey, you go where the scholarships are. Parents can’t pay for everything.”

Groans and agreements erupted around us and Caleb breathed a sigh of relief.

With a jolt of the bus, Caleb bumped into me. I was going to remind him I wasn’t into angels when I looked over to Amy tracing his chest.

“Does your friend have a name or should I call him, Hottie Number Two?” she asked.

Caleb nodded with too much enthusiasm. “Number Two is fine.”

Ignoring my brother, I waved to Amy. “Alexander.”

The brakes squealed as the bus stopped to let us out. Kids stripped off the remainder of their clothes. Bikinis and board shorts surrounded us, and coolers were attached to inner tubes.

“You boys wanna join us today?” Amy asked.

“That would be great, thanks.” Caleb flashed his smile and I was pretty sure she was naming their kids.

We plopped into our tubes and began floating down the river with the gentle current. Can after can was passed around from the coolers, glinting under the sun.

One of the men called to us, “You guys want a beer?”

“No, thank you,” I answered. “We, uh, are still recovering from last night.”

Another guy in the group held up a beer. “Us, too!” Hoots and hollers sounded again.

“What do you do now after graduation?” Amy asked.

Caleb explained, “We’re house flippers. We buy foreclosures, renovate them, and sell them for a nice profit.”

Amy smiled and her tube was closer to Caleb’s. “You work for yourselves?”

My thoughts drifted to Abby while Caleb made idle chat about our fake life. I wondered what she was doing now. If she was thinking about me. I wished she were here, we would have fun, and I would love to see her in that pink bikini up close.

The group stopped halfway along the river to rearrange their coolers. A few of the kids braved a jump off a ledge from the cliffs surrounding the river; not the best idea since the murky water didn’t show how shallow it was. One of the girls in the group drank too much beer and became dehydrated. I healed her nausea and Caleb helped her nurse a bottle of water.

A scream came from the river. “Bobby didn’t come back up! I don’t see him!”

Caleb and I shot into the cool water that was cloudy, but we could still see. We found Bobby at the same time, at the bottom of the river, a ribbon of blood drifted in the current from a gash on his head. Once assured his heart was beating, Caleb healed his wound while I brought him up. When we hit the surface, I breathed for him until he could cough out the water and we swam him over to the bank.

“Oh, thank God!” A brunette flung herself at Bobby.

Bobby coughed, hanging onto the girl. “Thanks, guys. I’m gonna have to lay off the beer and cliff diving.”

Caleb laughed. “Yeah, that would be best.”

“It’s strange.” Bobby scrubbed his head. “I could have sworn someone pushed me.”

Caleb and I looked around to our group. “Where’s Amy?” I asked.

People muttered around us. No one had seen her.

Caleb stood. “Okay, everyone stay. Alexander and I will look for her.”

Caleb and I swam across the river and scaled the cliff with ease. Reaching the top, we sensed it. Amy stood feet from the ledge, drawing in the dirt with her toe. We trained on the demon tainting her soul, focusing on its name and crimes.

A broad grin spread across her face with a slow peek up to us. Unable to sense our souls, the demon knew what we were. “Took you rats long enough. I’ve been here for a month now.”

Shifting closer into position, I said, “She’s not your type, Lakrath.”

Lakrath shrugged. “When life gives you hot young co-eds, you make lemonade of her soul.” He looked to Caleb. “She has a thing for you, blondie.”

“It’s Hottie Number One, to you.” Caleb flanked the opposite side of him. Unfurling our wings, our angel light shone bright.

Lakrath squinted, trying to block the burning he felt from our light. “That’s okay, I was getting ready to go back anyway,” he hissed.

“Tell yourself whatever makes you feel better, filth,” I snarled.

Lakrath waved over Amy’s body. “Hmm, what if I take this little peach with me?”

Her body sailed above us over the cliff’s edge. Caleb and I flew after him. A scream erupted from Amy as she fell—the bastard disjoined from her soul. At this height, she would die. Caleb and I retracted our wings and fell down after her. Caleb reached Amy first, encased her in his arms, and took the hit at the bottom of the river with me beside him.

While we brought her back up, I wiped her memory.

She gasped and sputtered, clinging to Caleb. “What happened?”

Caleb put his hand on her neck. “You slipped while you were looking over the edge, remember? We went up there with you.”

Amy rubbed her temple. “Right, yeah. Thanks, you saved my life.”

“You’re most welcome. Do me a favor and stop drinking.”

She managed a tired smile. “You got it, Caleb.”

I shot over to the bank, leaving him with the group. “I gotta take care of business, Brother.”

Running down the muddy shore, I searched for Lakrath’s newest victim. I passed families, another cluster of college kids, and finally, I sensed it. Diving into the water, I stayed under for a long while, swimming closer to the demon’s presence. My wing lines itched as I neared the group of men in their inner tubes.

I found the man Lakrath possessed and waited for the perfect moment. When both of his hands submerged in the water, I grabbed them and yanked him under, latching onto his neck. Unfurling my wings, Lakrath shrieked as my light brightened.

“Demon Lakrath, with the Light of God, I cast you back to Hell!”

Once the demon left this dimension, I brought the man back to the surface and wiped his memory. Disoriented and drunk, he scrambled back onto his tube.

“Loser!” his friend called out. “You didn’t tell us you needed water wings, man!”

Sinking back down into the water, I swam to the bank and waited for Caleb. He came running up. “Tell me you caught him.”

“The demon cometh and casteth away, thanks to yours truly.” I grinned at him.

Caleb smacked me on the back. “Let’s go, Brother. I’m starving.”

The girls had dinner for us when we arrived home and Hannah glanced up from the stove. “How did it go out there?”

I snatched up a biscuit. “The demon is back in warmer climates. He almost killed two people today.”

“Why are you grinning?” Calista asked Caleb.

Caleb’s smile grew bigger and he aimed it at me. “I had quite the ego boost today.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, please.”

“Don’t be a sore, Hottie! Number Two!” Caleb laughed.

Figuring it out, Hannah said, “Do you feel better now after the Abby-snubbing?”

Caleb’s face fell. “You told them?” he asked me.

“You bet your wings I did.”

The girls laughed.

I went to bed with Abby on my mind, remembering how she felt in my arms, the sound of her laugh, those dark brown eyes. It shocked me last night how little she thought of herself—that I couldn’t like her because of her limitations. If she only knew, I was already in love with her. I didn’t know exactly when I could tell her, what human customs were.

I knew next week would be her birthday and I wanted to make it special. Hannah and Calista told me she never had a boyfriend and had never been kissed. As much as it pained me to let her go, I couldn’t have her first kiss be in a car, on the side of the road, with our bodies separated. She deserved romance and courtship. I would give that to her.

My last thought before I closed my eyes was the look on her face in the mirror. Abby was glowing, smiling, nodding yes.

Yes to a date. Yes to me.