I Like It When You're Angry

Chapter 7

I rested my forehead against the cool tiled wall of the shower as I shut my eyes, letting the hot water flow through my hair and break off into rivulets down my bare back and legs. It was the first time in days that I had any relaxation. Water always seemed to calm me, it made me feel safe and comfortable.

Something so unusual in my world. I could still remember when I was a teenager, before I stopped aging. The Guardians had been teaching me to harness magic, and Vibius had practiced privately with me. We would take walks into the thick woods behind our home that was in Lübeck, Germany.

I could still remember his raspy voice, wise and persistent. "Every angel is born with a gift, whether it is one of nature, intellect, or some other resource. A gift will only appear when it's person is in severe danger. Once a gift is exposed for the first time, it will stay with the angel and it's power may grow if the angel decides to pursue it."

I exhaled deeply, frustrated at the memory. Wasn't I in severe danger? Wasn't I in need of protection? But no matter how hard I tried, I would never be able to outrun Edgar. I would never be able to break him. For some odd reason, he kept coming back.

No matter how hard I tried to be vicious, no matter how many times I played him in order to flee, Edgar remained solid and unyeilding. He doesn't love me, he's sadistic, he enjoys inflicting pain on others as much as he enjoyed watching it. I heard the phone ring in the living room and quickly turned off the water, stepping out of the shower and grabbing a towel.

I managed to pick up the phone on the last ring and sandwiched it between my ear and shoulder as I hastily wrapped the towel around my naked body. "Hello?"

"Hi Mina. It's Daren."

Oh god. It had been a week since our date, and I could still remember myself promising to call him. I bit my lip and nodded.

"Hi Daren....how, are you?" 

There was a small pause, and I could tell he was upset.

"I'm, fine. How are you?"

"Fine, fine. Just took a shower....." I gave myself a mental smack, why the hell would I say that? My stomach was doing somersaults.

"sounds good. Listen, I wanted to call because - "

"Daren, I'm sorry." The words came up like vomit, painful and unexpected. There was another pause quickly followed by a content sigh.

"It's okay, I just thought, that you'd forgotten about me, or maybe that I scared you off..."

I shook my head with a smile, "No, no, not at all. That's silly, I could never forget you. And you didn't scare me away. I've just been so busy and I've had a lot of things on my mind. But I'm glad that you called."

"I missed your voice, Mina."

I closed my eyes and hung my head in guilt, but i couldn't help what came next, "I missed your voice too."

"Hey, do you wanna grab some coffee later? Let's say, in an hour? The one at 82nd street?"

"I'd love that, I'll see you there."

I hung up the phone with a giggle and ran into my room to get changed. I pulled out some shorts and a tank top and patted myself dry with the towel. As I turned to my dresser, I quickly slipped on my bra and underwear, a grin on my lips as I pulled the tank top over my head. I flattened out any wrinkles and looked up. There was a sudden cold breeze in my room. My bedroom window was open, the long draped curtains were billowing and dancing against the walls from the wind outside.

I didn't remember opening it, and I slowly walked to the window sill, staring out at the crowded new york city street below me. Nothing seemed, out of place. Maybe I was just on edge, a little worried to be seeing Daren again. I turned shaking my head, but froze.