Angel of Fire - the Breath of Immortality - Book One #Wattys2014

A New Friend

Chapter 10 - A New Friend

"Chaos!" a deep male voice called out.

I jumped at the sound of my name and stopped walking so I could concentrate on my scowl. "Quit trying to scare me, Thomas."

He materialized on the side of the road, wearing an amused grin. "Why so cranky? Is it past your bedtime again?"

I blew my breath out in a huff. "If you came to insult me, go away. I'm not in the mood."

The grin faded, replaced by concern. "What happened? Why are you so upset?"

"Because I can be," I grumbled. Geez, for an angel he sure was clueless. "It's just the same crap, different day. Nothing is ever going to change."

"If it's any consolation, I think you handled the confrontation with Mindee very well."

"And that's another thing," I raged, narrowing my eyes, "I don't appreciate being spied on."

He tried to look innocent. "I wasn't spying on you."

"Oh yeah!" I flared. "What would you call it then?"

He smiled. "Observation."

"Same thing."

Thomas buried his hands in his front pockets. "My only advice to you is to stay in control of your own emotions and never, never loose your temper."

"Easier said than done. I wanted to rip her face off."

His voice turned to a warning. "Chaos, I will not allow you to harm humans."

"You're an angel," I moaned. "You're supposed to say that."

"So are you," he reminded.

"Yeah, but I'm the bad kind. So it doesn't count," I scoffed.

He shook his head. "That's not true, everything counts. When you learn to harness your powers, one of your responsibilities – should you choose to do so – will be to protect humans. Not destroy them."

I pictured Mindee and asked, "Even the ones who hate me?" Thomas nodded. "Great. So I can be even more of a freak than I already am." Not that it mattered because nobody liked me anyway. I'd worked so hard to push people away, it never occurred to me that I might actually miss having some friends. "Thomas," I began tentatively. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You can ask me anything."

I took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "Do you like me?"

He gave me a funny look as if I'd asked him a trick question.

"Not like, like me," I back-peddled, blushing furiously. "I mean...are you in like with me?"

"What's the difference?" he asked, sounding skeptical.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Just answer the question."

Wrinkling his forehead, he stared at me confused. "What was the question again?"

"Ugh! You're impossible." My scowl deepened. "Why do I put up with you?"

"Because you like me," he said, smiling crookedly. That one smile made me tingle all the way down to my toes. I wasn't about to let him distract me from being mad. "Go away. I'm not talking to you anymore." With that, I stormed off.

"Do you know how hard it is to have a conversation with you?" he called after me.

Did he really just go there?

I whirled around, anger spilling into my eyes. "Me?"

Thomas glided toward me. He had such a dry sense of humor, it actually took me a few frozen seconds to realize there was no hostility in his words. Just a playful smile that lit up his teasing hazel eyes. In that moment, I felt his otherworldly energy touch me like a cool breath.