The Ballad of an Angel

Chapter Twelve

April 19, 2017 - Los Angeles, California

The day was as laid back as a cat in the sun. I walked around, extremely bored, mentally begging for something time consuming to do. My father was still his distant self, hiding in his precious study, doing God knows what. It seemed like it was impossible for him to spend a single minute with us while we were here. We planned to leave on Saturday, the 22. You'd think he'd try to use that time to get to know us.

I had thought about last night, and how desperately I wanted to fly. But it was daylight. And there's a thing called neighbors and police, which who were not supposed to be called. I waited impatiently, tapping my foot for hours, and then on a random trip to my room, I encounter a note. Of course.

Oliver
Meet me in the sauna, two doors from the library, turn left and you'll find it.
-Dad

I was confused. What? I scratched my head in utter confusion and just went with it. It was identical to dad's handwriting, and I was really bored. I grabbed a towel and some extra clothes and walked the five minutes to the other side of the house. My feet stuck to the floor, which was made of white marble. They were sweaty in hopes that I finally get some alone time with dad.

I walked into the glass door, which had a room adjacent to the wall blocking it. I undressed slowly and wrapped the warm, clean towel around my waist. Inside the wooden sauna sat my father, finally seeing me after a while.

"Hello, son," Dad Said. I looked at him and saw we were alone.
"Hi. Where's everyone else?" I asked, looking around stupidly. Dad chuckled.
"It's just you and me. I wanted some one on one," I looked at him gratefully.
"You got a girlfriend?" Dad asked. I looked at him strangely, as if he had three heads. He took that as a no.
"Not really. I don't understand why anyone would want to date me," I spat out. He laughed and reassured that one day, someone amazing will take that place.
"Nice joke," I teased.

"Well I married Jocelyn the day after you were born. We already had Ava and Paisley,"
"Oh? And why did you leave us to rot?"
"I didn't," I looked at him in denial of what he just said. Then I remembered he owned an entire orphanage system. I realized that soon after he replied.

"Now you see why I started it," He said. I immediately felt grateful for his actions.

We sat in silence for quite some time until he spoke up.
"Got to use your wings yet?" He asked. I shook my head. "The suns out," I muttered.

We had fun talking about nothing, school, people, work. He even said he set aside millions for dollars just for us, to make up for everything we've been through.

"Zack was your guardian Angel, you know,"

"Was he? An Angel guarding Angels. Ain't that something," I said, looking to the floor at my red feet. I think it was time to get out. I felt trapped from the immense heat and needed to get out. I bid my farewells and got dressed. Then I ran the heck out of there.

The rest of the afternoon was me sitting on my bed, enjoying a novel that was at the top of the shelf, which hadn't been read in years. It was dusty, and made me sneeze occasionally, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The idea of doing something so adventurous as a kid made me think about it. How we were never adopted, so we were fostered.

These thoughts overtook my mind, and that caused me to reread the exact same page over and over. It's frustrating, and at that moment the book was closed. I had read it before, but years later.

I went to find Zack, and immediately found him slouched over the balcony. He was watching the sunset and had a (non-alcoholic) drink in his hand. I stepped forward to see if he'd notice me, in which he did.

I stepped towards him and smiled. He was really glum, and I was motivated to know why. He was never like that.

"You okay?" I ask, starting something up.
"Yeah," Zack says back, looking down.
"You sure?" I reply, trying to get more than just a 'yeah' out of the guy.
"No. I miss Brendon," He muttered. I frowned. I didn't know this Brendon guy. Maybe he was a friend in heaven...

Or more than just a friend.

"He's my boyfriend, by the way," Zack announced. I stared at the sky for a minute, and then looked at my brother. He seemed embarrassed to even say that.

"He sounds like a great guy," I say, grasping Zack's attention. He loosened up after he saw I was supportive of him.
"He's just... amazing. In every way. You and Clara will get to meet him one day, but that's not today. I miss mom, and our step-dad-" I interrupted.

"We have a step-dad?!" I exclaimed, clearly not filled in on the situation.
"Oh, yeah, his name is Max. You'll meet him. And mom of course," He chuckled while saying that. I guess he loved my reaction.
"Oh, we have two younger sisters as well,"

I was baffled. Hearing this news made my stomach churn, and it wasn't a good feeling. The sun was fully set now, and I finally got to let my wings free. Zack jumped off the balcony and flew, beautifully. I copied him and almost fell off, but I caught my balance. Flying is like swimming, but in air. I felt free, and it was the best feeling ever.

My wings were a grey-white color, fluffier than anything I've ever touched. They stretched out broadly and matched the exact shade of my brothers. We flew around Beverly Hills for a few hours, exploring every inch that I haven't seen.

The blinding lights of the City of Angels was spectacular in every way. The beeping of cars below us, and the sound of people talking from bars all over. I couldn't stop staring at everything in its place, and was soon told to follow Zack home. I really didn't want to, but it was getting late and we had to eat dinner. The fun was postponed.

Our dinner, once again, was fancy and made specially for us. It was gone within seconds it felt like, and I got up to read more. Maybe I'd explore more of the house. Or I'd go to sleep.

I found a game room where Theo and Logan were battling at a game of pool. Theo won, from his natural muscular strength, and from his strategy. Logan threw the stick across the room, which hit the floor.
"You wanna play?" Theo asked. I shook my head.
"Just want to watch," I replied. He gave a shrug of 'okay, whatever' and got Zack to play. Zack won.

I went to find Clara, wherever the hell she was and eventually found her in the spa. There was a spa, of course. She had a robe on and was chatting away to Paisley, who was now her new best friend.

"Ooh Ollie! Wanna get your toes done?" Clara asked, enthusiastically.
"Uh, no. Just wanted to make sure you weren't dead," My anxiety was crippling, and I'd watched way too many crime documentaries.

Our second to last night in the mansion was peaceful and tranquil as I dreamt of home.