Against All Odds - Angel's Story: Against All Odds (Destiny Series Book 4) (9 page)

“Hey,” I say as I get off the bike, putting my hand under her chin to gently raise her head. “You don’t have to thank me. I’m sorry it happened…that I didn’t get to you sooner. I’m sorry about a lot of things. What I did to you that day, when I left here. How I’ve treated you since.” I exhale as I see sadness wash over her beautiful face. “You didn’t deserve what happened tonight. You don’t deserve what I’ve done to you either, I hope you know that.” When her eyes well with tears, I pull her into my arms. “None of this is your fault.”

She lets me hold her for a few more minutes before pulling away. “I better get going,” she says. I don’t want to leave her. She shouldn’t be alone after everything that’s happened tonight.

“Can I come in for a while? Just to make sure you’re going to be alright.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Last time you were here…ummm, things didn’t turn out well,” she says as she lowers her head again. Her words are like a kick in the guts. God I hate myself for what I did to her. I guess I deserve it though.

Despite what she says, I’m adamant I’m not leaving her alone. I need to make sure she really is okay. Even though she’s doing a good job of it, I can’t help but feel she’s putting on a front for me.

“Please. I’m not a monster,” I plead. “Do you really think I’d try something on you after what you’ve just been through?”

She shrugs. “I guess not.”

“Just for a while,” I practically beg. “I’m worried about you, that’s all. Once I know you’re going to be okay, I’ll leave. I promise.” I cross my fingers over my heart for added effect. I see the corners of her lips turn up in the tiniest of smiles. Everything in me wants to reach out and touch her. To make all of this shit go away. 

“Okay,” she whispers as her shoulders slump and she looks down at the ground. I hate how she’s finding it hard to look at me. I can tell she doesn’t really want me here, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt. I can’t really blame her though, after the way I’ve treated her.

There’s no way I could just leave her. Not yet anyway. She may not think so, but being alone right now is the last thing she needs.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Angel

As soon as we’re inside, I head for the kitchen. “Can I get you something to drink?” I ask. I’m in two minds about him being here. I’m glad he cares enough to want to stay, but on the other hand, I desperately want to be alone. I’ve been trying so hard to hold my emotions at bay. I’m not sure how much longer I can do it. It’s like a volcano building inside me, ready to erupt any minute.

“Sure. If it means I get to stay longer then I’ll have a coffee,” he says with a cheeky smirk. It makes me smile. I’ve missed the playful banter we used to share.

I pull the jug out of the cupboard and make my way to the sink so I can fill the coffee machine. My wrist is still tender from my fall earlier, so once the jug is full of water, the weight sends a shooting pain up my arm. “Shit,” I say, dropping the jug into the sink.

“Jesus, sweet-cheeks,” Chase says as he quickly comes over to me. “Give me a look at that,” he says reaching for my hand. “Is it sore?”

“I think I sprained it when I…uh fell.” For some reason I feel embarrassed. God, I’m not ready to talk about any of this right now. I just want to put it out of my mind.

Chase gently takes hold of my wrist. I look up at him and watch as he studies my hand.  He’s frowning as he looks over it. I’ve missed being near him. Just like the first day I met him I’m overcome by his handsome features.

He speaks, snapping me out of my trance. “It’s not swollen, so I don’t think it’s broken.”

“It isn’t broken,” I assure him. “Look I can move it. It’s just tender.”

“Do you want me to take you to the hospital to get an X-ray, just in case?”

“No. That’s not necessary.” He looks up at me. I hold his stare, silently letting him know I’m not going to see a doctor. He goes to say something, but then changes his mind. His gaze moves back down to my wrist. He gently turns my hand over. My palm is all grazed and covered in dry blood from where I hit the pavement, trying to flee Riley.

“Do you have something I can clean this up with?” he asks.

“Yeah, in the medicine cabinet in my bathroom. You don’t have to do it though. I can fix myself up when you leave.”

He reaches over me and picks up the jug out of the sink. “Let me fill this for you first.” I smile to myself as I step out of the way. He obviously wants to take care of me, so I’m going to let him. I’ve missed the nice Chase, so much.

Once he pours the water into the coffee machine and turns it on, I lead him to the main bathroom. Thankfully, I have first aid supplies in both bathrooms for when my parents or brother stay over. The last thing I want to do is take him to the en-suite in my bedroom. I know he wouldn’t try anything, but I’m not comfortable having him in my bedroom right now, if ever.

“Sit,” he orders, pointing to the toilet. I do as he says. After rifling through the cabinet and getting what he needs, he lines it all up on the basin. He wets a clean cloth before coming over and kneeling in front of me, wiping over the grazed part of my hand. His touch is so gentle. After the roughness I experienced at the hands of Riley tonight, Chase’s gentleness brings tears to my eyes. I fight them back down though. I need to keep it together.

“This is going to sting,” he says as he pours some Betadine onto a cotton ball.

When I look down at what he’s doing, I notice his knuckles are banged up too. Although I hate to see that he’s hurt, I look up at him and smile, as gratitude for what he did for me tonight fills my heart. I hate to think where I’d be now if he hadn’t come along when he did.

He looks up, finding me smiling. “What?” he asks.

“Nothing.” I shrug. “I’m just grateful for everything you did for me tonight.”

“Don’t sweat it,” he says as a small smile plays out on his gorgeous face. “I’m sorry it happened and I’m glad I got there when I did…” I see pain etched on his face as I presume it’s from the events of tonight. “I’ll always be here for you if you need me, sweet-cheeks.” I feel my lips slightly curl again at his nickname for me.

“You will?” I ask in surprise. I find that hard to believe after the way he’s been with me lately. Admittedly, he’s kind of redeemed himself after tonight though.

“Of course I will. Despite what you think, I do care about you, Angel,” he answers as he looks up, locking his eyes with mine. What he says surprises me. I wasn’t expecting him to say that. He seems sincere, and it fills me with happiness.

Maybe after tonight, things might be able to go back to the way they used to be.
I can only hope
. Minus the sex part of course. Even though it was wonderful, I’ll never walk that road with him again. Once bitten, so they say. I desperately want our friendship back.

Once my hand is cleaned up and my wrist bandaged, he looks up at me again. “How’s that feel?” he asks.

“Great,” I whisper, suddenly feeling shy and completely exposed by the sympathetic look he’s now giving me. I’m still mortified that he saw what happened between Riley and me earlier. I hate he had to see that. I drop my head, looking down at my hands nervously twisting together on my lap.

“Thank you. You didn’t need to do all this. I’m sure you’ve got better things to do than being stuck here looking after me. Like being back at that party with all those girls.” I see him flinch at my words. I hated seeing him with the girl grinding against him. I know I have no right because I was there with someone else as well.

“Hey,” he says as he gently places his finger under my chin, raising my head so he can look at me. “I’m exactly where I want to be,” he says with sincerity, as his eyes search mine. “As for that girl at the party, she means nothing to me. Fuck, I don’t even remember her name,” he chuckles.

I’m not sure why he feels the need to clarify that with me, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me happy. I didn’t like the way it made me feel seeing them together.

He’s still kneeling in front of me, his eyes glued on mine. My heart starts to race as I look into his beautiful blue eyes that I’ve missed so much. He’s giving me one of those intense looks again. I wish I could get inside his head to know what he’s thinking when he looks at me like that. There’s just something about that look I love.

Something passes between us. I can’t explain it, but a sense of calm settles over me. All the uncertainty I’ve been feeling about us the past two months vanishes. I get this overwhelming feeling that things between us are going to be okay.

He exhales, finally breaking our eye contact. He looks down at my legs before reaching for the zipper of one of my boots. It makes me jump. “What are you doing?” I ask in horror as I quickly pull my leg away from him.

“Shit, sorry. I didn’t think. Your knees are all grazed. I thought I’d take your boots off before I put the Betadine on. I don’t want to ruin them.”

“Oh,” is all I say. I feel silly now for the way I just acted. “Sorry. I’m a little jumpy I guess.”

“Don’t apologise. After everything you went through tonight, it’s understandable. I didn’t think. It’s my fault.” He shakes his head. “I’m sorry.” He shifts back. I can tell he’s feeling uncomfortable now. That’s the last thing I want. I’m thankful to have him here, thankful for everything he’s done for me tonight.

I lift my leg up to him. I don’t want him to think I’m scared of him because I’m not. Being with him actually makes me feel safe. I know he’ll never do the kind of things Riley did to me.

He takes my leg gently in his hand, looks up at me and smiles. I really love his smile. I’m so glad he’s with me now. I couldn’t ask for a better ending to such a horrific night.

••••

Chase

Fuck I’m happy to be here with
my
sweet-cheeks. I’ve missed her so much. Of course I’d never admit that out loud, but I have. More than anything, I wish I could undo what that fucker did to her tonight. But if any good can come out of it, maybe it can help close the huge gap which has formed between us and our friendship over the past few months. I’ve missed hanging out with her. Missed having her in my life. I’ve always loved being around her, near her.

I hate seeing all these marks on her. It really fucks with my head. Even though they all appear to be superficial, it’s the internal damage from the attack that worries me most. She’s doing a good job of playing it down, making me think she’s alright, but when I attempted to remove her boots just now, my suspicions were confirmed. She’s far from okay.

Even her smiles don’t reach her eyes. That’s one thing I used to love about her. Her smiles usually light up her whole face. Not tonight though. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen one of her signature smiles in a while. That makes me feel like shit. I’m sure it’s because of what I did to her that day when I walked out of here. Not to mention the way I’ve been treating her ever since.

Now she has to contend with the way
he’s
treated her too. Fuck. It makes me feel like the biggest arsehole. Out of all the girls I’ve ever met in my lifetime, Angel is the one person who should
never
be mistreated.

I try to put all that out of my mind for now, so I can concentrate on getting her all patched up. Once I’m done, I stand and hold out my hand to help her up. She smiles as she places her small hand in mine. I love feeling her skin against mine.

Memories of what happened with her last time I was here instantly come back. I can’t go there now though, so I push them straight back out. I’ve tried so much not to think about that day, but being with her now makes it hard not to. I’d give anything for a do-over.

Jesus, what am I thinking?

If I could, I’d certainly make sure it didn’t end so horrible for her this time. Maybe coming here wasn’t such a good idea, but fuck me, I want to be here. She needed someone to take care of her and more than anything I wanted that person to be me.

As I stand here now, looking into her beautiful big brown eyes, holding her delicate hand in mine, I realise everything I’ve been fighting when it comes to her, has been a total waste of time. What I feel for her in this moment is so much stronger than I ever thought possible.

Shit. I can’t go there again. I break our eye contact and pull my hand out of hers. “How about we go and have that coffee?” I ask, trying to smooth out the internal fucking freak-out I just experienced. I hope she didn’t notice. I’m sure she’s feeling pretty fragile right now. I’d hate her to think I didn’t want to be here, because fuck me I do.

••••

Two coffees for me, tea for her, and an hour of small talk later, I can see she’s getting tired. Occasionally I saw glimpses of the old her, but on the whole, I’d say what she went through with Benson has fucked her over. Sure she’s trying to hide it, but I can see straight through her façade.

As much as I don’t want to leave, I should. The thought of leaving her alone though, doesn’t sit well with me.

“You look tired,” I state. “I’m happy to hang around if you want to get some sleep,” I offer. Maybe having me here will make her feel safe. Then again, maybe it won’t.

“Yeah. I am a little sleepy,” she says. “There’s no need for you to hang around though… I’m fine being here on my own.”

She’s not fooling me. She couldn’t even look me in the eye when she said that last part. “Look, Angel. I’m quite happy to sit out here if you want to go lay down. It’s no trouble.”

“I appreciate your offer,” she replies, “but honestly, there’s no need.” Again she doesn’t make eye contact. I’m not going to force it. I’ll hang around outside if I have to.

“Do you still have my number?” I ask. I’m hoping she says yes, but I wouldn’t blame her if she deleted it.

“Ummm, I’m pretty sure I do.”

“Well let me write it down just in case.” She goes back into the kitchen and opens one of the drawers, passing me a piece of paper and a pen. “Call me if you need me, okay?”

“Sure,” she says with a small smile. She takes the paper out of my hand and looks down at it while she speaks. “Thank you again for everything you’ve done for me tonight. I’ll never forget the kindness you’ve shown me.”

I rise from the bar stool I’m sitting on and go around the breakfast bar to her. Her head is still lowered. I place my finger under her chin and tilt her face upwards so she’s looking at me. The tears I see pooling in her eyes is almost my undoing.