The Angel Within

Chapter 24: In Time

"Charlie, you're still you," he convinced. "You're still the person who came to our pack as a ray of sunshine on a dark day. You're still the person who made our pack like a family. Just because we know what you are doesn't make you any less different than the person you are now and you were before."

"Be real, Trent. Things with the pack will never be the same again, even if they learn to accept me," I replied, softly. "And I can't do anything about it."

A sad smile played at his lips, and it was the unreadable expression in his eyes that piqued my curiosity. It made me have a distinctive feeling that he was hiding something from me. "Just be you and everything will be alright at the end."

It was the tone of his voice that almost made me believe him. It was sweet, genuine - like he was telling me a secret. But I knew better. Because when everything seemed right in the world, there was always something threatening to go terribly wrong.

"You promise?" I whispered.

Trent took a ragged breath. "Let's just hope for the best for now," he answered, his face tight. He pulled me close to him and I indulged in his heat. His hand weaves its way into my hair and I could feel the tension seeping from his fingers.

I sigh and stare into the darkness of the night. The moon shone bright and nearly full in the sky, its radiance giving the forest an ethereal glow. These woods were normally dark, dead even. But underneath its facade was something thriving with life. And as the silvery light casts a shadow upon it, it brings definition to everything.

Beyond the moon lies a universe of stars. Though perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pour through and shine down on us to let us know they are happy. I know my parents and Scarlett are up there, and I know they're smiling down at me as I smile back.

❧ ✶ ❧

Love tends to make you do crazy things; it pushed you off the rail, made you wade dangerous waters. It debunks every theory you've ever had of life. It makes you second guess yourself. It makes you start to take leaps into the voids of your own heart that you can't escape.

You become blind to the actualities of a person, really.

For me, all of this came in a package of Trent Barks. He waltzed into my territory and stocked my heart up with crates of precious emotions. I was oblivious to the fact that Trent was no where near perfect, for he was an enigma of his own. And he was just as unpredictable as a dormant volcano.

When he finally erupted, there was no time for me to ready myself for the heartache. He spewed and gushed, emitting something that singed me in an area that no physical touch can. It burned, leaving behind a mark that would scathe me for the rest of eternity.

I wanted him to kiss my damage away but he was the one who'd welcomed me to it. For each kiss would come a reminder that there was a wedge driven between us. And we couldn't get rid of it until we acknowledged it.

Albeit, I didn't have it in me to talk about Megan and what had happen between the two of them. He'd given his most intimate part of himself to her in the past; a part that will remain with her forever. A remnant of him that will be gone with the breeze of the wind.

It hurts, knowing that I had lost something before I knew it existed.

Again I failed to notice the distinct changes that surrounded me. There was a distant pattering, like the earth was grumbling under the sounds of our feet. But it had only been the rain that came down on us, falling like tear drops from the night sky. The water soon plummets to the ground, conjuring up a gathering of puddles. It looks like they're drowning the plants, but in reality, it gives them life.