Angel in the Courtyard [Book 2]

Chapter 42 - Arisa

I sifted through my closet for the perfect outfit. I didn't know why my heart was in such a panic all of a sudden but it seemed to have a mind of its own. It was urging me to look nice for when Khaleel came over. My crush sent me a text a little after four, saying he wanted to see me for a bit. I was caught off guard at first—because we spent the night together, but that didn't seem to be enough for him.

I giggled like an idiot and pulled out my favourite green dress. "He's so cute without trying," I gushed, changing out of my robes. I made time to catch up on my weekend run and finally showered after breakfast. It took me some time to style my hair and fix my make-up, but I managed it because Mom said she wanted to go watch a movie tonight. My motto was if you made an effort to look good then you could spend the day feeling good.

It had been a while since my heart felt so unbelievably content, there were no questions or doubts circling my mind. The more I thought about my relationship with Loyal, the more drama I remembered. There was so much going on at the time, we never had enough time to ourselves, to just be a normal couple. And I felt like when we found a window of opportunity to open up to one another, I would learn things about him that would make me second-guess my feelings. His world felt so far out of reach, especially since he was constantly looking to run from it. I didn't know if there was anything I could do to support him at the end of the day, and looking back now, Loyal deserved better. He needed someone to be unquestionably supportive, someone who would stand by his side no matter what he did.

I hoped one day he would find that.

"Okay!" I clapped my hands together in an attempt to cheer myself up. "Cute boy is coming over to spend time with you. Focus...on, not jumping his bones again."

I took a deep breath.

"Easier said than done but we can manage it," I talked to myself. "Just don't lose your cool when he touches you and all should be fine."

The doorbell rang twenty minutes later. I stormed down the stairs with my jacket and shouted at my mom to let me answer it. She backed away and returned to finishing her puzzle in the dining room—perfect, she could spend hours in there without any concern for time. I didn't want her catching onto the sexual tension between us, especially when I told her that we weren't calling Khaleel my boyfriend yet.

I tweaked my dress, threw my jacket on and swung the door open, ready to jump into my crush's arms. Instead, I stared up to find a boy with livid eyes, blood dripping from his knuckles, and a deshevilled head of hair. "W-What the hell happened?" I hissed, walking out in my socks, and pushing him away from the front door. I couldn't let my mom see him like that, I couldn't give her a reason to keep me from seeing him.

"I ran into a few of my former clients," Khaleel said, wiping blood off his bomber.

My eyes widened. "They're following you off school grounds now?"

"I don't think they meant to run into me," Khaleel said, his eyes dim and still. "It was just the wrong place and the wrong time...for them."

"Please tell me you didn't leave them to die."

"Close but no."

"Khaleel," I sighed, taking a hold of his bleeding hand to see how bad the injury was. The cuts were scattered but the blood was fresh and red, but it didn't look like it was going to stop dripping anytime soon. This idiot had to start carrying a first aid kit around if he was going to keep beating people up.

"Okay," I said. "Stay here and I'll sneak some bandages out for you."

I whipped around to do just that but Khaleel got a hold of my wrist and pulled me back to his side. "I don't need bandages," he said. "Just take a walk with me, would you?"

"You need bandages," I glared, taking my wrist back. His cold eyes stayed on me, and slowly melted into their softer-self. "I want to invite you inside but if mom sees you like this then she will have a thousand and one questions."

Khaleel nodded.

I tip-toed up to peck his lips before dashing back into the house. I didn't have time to acknowledge the sensation I felt whenever his mouth was in close proximity to mine. I had to run to the upstairs bathroom and quietly retrieve disinfectant wipes and bandage cloths for my crush's injury. After rummaging through the medicine cabinet, and dumping everything I needed into my handbag, I hurried back down, slipped into my boots, and told my mom I was going on a walk with Khaleel.

"What time will you be back?" Mom asked. "Don't forget about the movies."

"Half hour!" I exclaimed, sprinting out the front door again. I took a hold of Khaleel's hand and marched off to find a good spot to patch up his wounds. We eventually reached the neighborhood bus-stop and settled on a bench. I ripped off a piece of the bandage cloth first and applied pressure to Khaleel's wrist in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

"I feel like bus stops are becoming our special spots," I said, trying to ease his troubles.

Khaleel barely smiled before he turned up to look at the patchy clouds in the sky. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Honestly? No. I'm not."