The Dark Side of Family (The Dark Side, Book 1)

Shock and Awe

[Quick Author's Note: I'm dedicating this to a friend of mine: LustHateLove. The last chapter, Blood and Wings, shocked her so much that I thought this might both shock her and clear things up - at least a little. ;-)

--Your feedback would be highly appreciated, guys.]

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"I don't even know where to start," he said, watching me carefully.

"How about from the beginning?" I suggested, trying to stop my temper from sparking so early in the conversation. It was difficult.

"I suppose that would make sense..."

"No shit, Sherlock," I said under my breath. He just looked at me, sighing.

"I didn't leave --"

"Yes, you did!" I interrupted, shouting.

"No, Ky...I didn't. Please just listen. Let me explain."

"Fine," I said testily, gesturing for him to continue.

"I was on my way to meet you that night. I was running late, and I was driving too fast, and I..."

"What?" I asked when he stopped, looking at him in utter confusion.

"Somebody ran my car off the cliff, Kylie. The current was too strong...the water was too dark. My truck was submerged so quickly...I couldn't tell which way was up anymore." he said in a strangled voice.

"Blain, I..."

"My seatbelt was stuck. I cut myself loose with my pocket knife, but the cab filled up so fucking fast. I kicked out the windshield, but the last of my oxygen was already seeping away...I tried, Kylie. I tried. All I could think about was you, but as hard as I kicked I just couldn't seem to break the surface. Maybe I was going in the wrong direction, I don't know...it was so bloody dark down there. My body was starved for oxygen...it stopped functioning, no matter how much my mind screamed at it to keep kicking."

I looked at him, but he was looking right through me. He was back in the water, and all I wanted to do was hold him. "Blain..." I whispered quietly when he didn't continue.

"All I could think about was you, Kylie. All I could think about was how I wasn't going to make it to you. How I hadn't said I loved you the last time we talked. How I'd never get the chance to kiss you again...how I'd never see your smile, look into your eyes, or hear your laugh. All I could think about was leaving you alone with your monster of a father..."

"Blain, I'm so sorry," I whispered, tears in my eyes.

"My lungs were burning. I couldn't hold my breath anymore, even though I knew I needed to. I gasped, gulping in what should have been air...but it was water; icy water that burned my lungs even more than they'd been burning before. They say your life is supposed to flash before your eyes before you die, but all I saw was you standing under that tree in the rain, waiting for somebody who would never come. Waiting for me," he said, sighing. "All I saw was you," he whispered, more to himself than to me.

"Blain, look at me," I said, putting my hands on either side of his face and forcing him to look into my eyes. "I am so, so sorry you had to go through that alone. I'm so sorry I've blamed you all this time for abandoning me, thinking you'd done so willingly."

"Don't apologize, Kylie...I get it. You didn't know. They never found my truck; they never found my body. All you knew is that I never showed up; I never called or wrote or made contact in any way. I don't blame you for thinking the worst...anybody would have."

"Maybe so. But I should have known better. You were my best friend; you were my lover. I should have known better."

"It's okay, Kylie. Really. If I'd been where you were, I would have thought the same thing."

"No you wouldn't have, Blain. I know you...you'd never have thought the worst of me."

"Kylie. Stop. It's fine, okay? I don't blame you. Besides...that's not the whole story. Not yet."

"What do you mean?" I asked, not knowing how it could get any worse...As soon as it was out of my mouth, I understood, though. If he'd died, how was he sitting here beside me right now? How could he feel so real?

"You aren't crazy, babe. This morning? It actually happened. When I died...I became a guardian angel. I was assigned to somebody else, and forbidden to go anywhere near you. I've been keeping tabs on you, though...and last night...I couldn't let that happen to you. I've hated having to leave you in this situation, but last night was the worst. I couldn't let your dad continue."

"I..."

"Kylie. I disobeyed a direct order when I came here and saved you from him. That's why the archangel was here...that's why he tore out my wings. I sinned by disobeying Heaven, and when angels do...they're cast out. When we're expelled, we become fallen angels. Immortal, but doomed to walk the earth for the rest of eternity."

I made a choking noise. I could barely wrap my mind around what he was telling me; I couldn't form a coherent sentence. He waited patiently, letting me piece things together for myself. After a few minutes passed in excruciating silence, I asked: "So, why did you risk it, then?"

"Because I would risk anything for you, Kylie. I love you. I always have...I always will."

"Why did they forbid you from contacting me?"

"Partially because I was still in love with you...partially because they were afraid if I was around you, I would seek revenge on the person who ran me off the road."

"You know who ran you off the road?!" I near-shouted, astounded.

"Yes..." he said hesitantly, not wanting to get into this.

"Who was it?" I whispered, barely audibly.

"Kylie...we don't have to talk about this. It isn't important anymore."

"Of course it's important!" I yelled. "They took you away from me!"

He sighed. "It was your dad, Kylie."

"...What?" I asked, stunned.

"Your dad ran me off the road. He overheard us making plans to leave...for you to come and live with me. He wasn't going to lose you to me, so...he 'took care' of the situation, so to speak."

"I...," I said, lost for words. The tears finally spilled over, and I couldn't speak past the gut-wrenching sobs. "Blain, I am so sorry. If it weren't for me, you'd still be alive..."

"Don't be sorry. I'm not. It was more than worth it. Just so you know, though...? If it weren't for you, I would probably have killed myself after my mother's death. Everybody was gone. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have made it through that."

Shaking my head in denial, I looked at him, tears still rolling down my cheeks. Gently, he wiped them away and pulled me into his chest while I shivered and cried. Grabbing a blanket off the back of the couch, he wrapped us both in it and rocked me until my tears ebbed. "I'm sorry," I said after I stopped crying. Still wrapped in his arms, I apologized for him losing his wings because of me.

"I didn't lose them, exactly," he said.

"What?" I asked, confused. "I saw the archangel rip them out of your back, though."

"True. I lost my white angel wings. Fallen angels have wings, too, though. We can simply retract them so we can live with humans."

"They what...?" I asked, stunned.

Peeling the blanket away from himself, he grinned cheekily. "Watch and learn, darlin'," he said. Suddenly, silky black wings unfolded from his back.

I jumped. He wrapped them around both of us. "Holy crap!" I exclaimed, extremely shocked and more than a little awed.