Till Death Do You Part

Chapter Thirteen ~ Closer than Friends

"Hi mom." I greeted her, my cheeks flushed a bit. She smiled and handed me the cup of coffee before kissing me on the forehead and stealing the last slice of bacon. She looked from Gabriel to me, her face glowing.

"Figured you'd be thirsty... I'm going to the store soon. Need anything?" I nodded no. Gabriel just watched silently. "Okay... I'll get going then. Be good." She said before walking out of the room and heading towards the front door. When I heard the open and lock my body tensed.

"That was awkward," I commented aloud. Gabriel stared at me, confused. I blushed even more. "So, you're Mason's guardian?" Mason... I wonder how he's doing.

"Yes."

"Shouldn't you be with him right now?"

"He doesn't want me there," He said softly. He looked at the floor and shook his head. "He's depressed... He's in so much pain, too. No child should have to suffer like that."

"I doubt he doesn't want you there," I softly said. He looked up at me and stared at me, his eyes showed his pain. "He's scared. He needs you."

"You understand him so much better than me," He said, his hazel eyes glossy. "How?"

My breath caught in my throat. I stared at my hand, eyeing my nails to escape looking at him. Because, I wanted to say, I just do. Because we all have our problems. We all suffer in some way or another.

Like dad... He made us suffer. He didn't care, though. He knew exactly what he was doing to mom and I. He hurt us. Now he's gone.

A tear rolled down my cheek and was about to fall when I wiped it away. It stung my skin as it rolled. I immediately shook it off and smiled back at Gabriel. The look on his face showed that he'd seen.

"You can't just abandon him. He needs you there with him more than ever." There was long pause.

"You know you almost died, right?" He asked, ignoring what I said. My blood ran cold.

Almost died?

"Do you remember what happened?" He asked. I shook my head and stood up, trembling.

I almost died?

"No," I quickly said looking down at the floor. "All I remember is blacking out."

"I figured that was the case," Gabriel stood up from his seat and walked over to the couch and looked down at me. "You want to see my wings?" I stopped thinking about blacking out and stared at Gabriel.

I nodded and watched as he pulled off his shirt, revealing the most toned body I'd ever seen.

Don't blush, just look away and calm down. I told myself. They're just abs. Crap, I'm blushing.

He turned around before he had the chance to notice my cherry cheeks. A pair of large, wide, grey and black wings spread open, stretching about, I don't know, twelve feet or so. There were layers of long, fluffy feathers resting one on top of another. Bits of feather fluff filled the air, floating around the living room like snow.

They’re magnificent.

"Does it hurt when you spread them out?" I asked, rising from the couch and placing my coffee beneath the lamp on the coffee table next to the couch. He looked over his shoulder at me and nodded no.

"No. I'm used to them... You can touch them if you like."

"Really?" I asked excitedly, my attempt at not embarrassing myself failed miserably. He nodded again. Slowly, I touched a grey feather gently. I looked up at Gabriel to see if he was okay. He seemed a little tense, but fine.