Flawed Angel (The Fall Book 1)

by J. J. Dean

  All conversation between the other three stops when I enter the room and my eyebrows shoot up my forehead. Clearly I'm interrupting a conversation that's about me or else they wouldn't have shut up that fast. Eli, sure as shit's, never that quiet. Ever.

  "Well, we're talking about me, so what's the topic exactly?" I ask with a calm tone I don't feel, but what's that saying? 'Fake it 'til you make it', right? I've got this. I think.

  They all share a look that I'm not privy to understanding, but I ignore it in lieu of sitting my tired ass down on the couch. Seeing as though the two-seater couch is occupied by Noah and Eli, and Devon is sitting at the island counter, my only other option is the couch where Asher lies sprawled haphazardly. Taking the 'fuck it' approach, I make my way around the couch so I'm standing next to his head. I don't even have to ask him to shift over when he awkwardly lifts the top half of his body, grunting with the effort. He gives me enough space to quickly slide underneath him. When my ass is comfortably sitting down, he lets his weight go, and lands back on his stomach with his head in my lap for the second time this evening. How the tables have turned. It was mere hours before when my head was in his lap with his had brushing through my hair.

  "Comfortable?" I quietly ask Asher, smoothing his hair down from its electrocuted looking state. That must have been from my hands earlier.

  He gives me a grumbled answer that I take for confirmation, and I settle into my seat.

  "Well, are we going to continue discussing whatever it was I interrupted?" My voice is nonchalant enough, but I'm itching to know what they'd been talking about before I came down the stairs. Teaches me to be so heavy footed when I'm not in the right frame of mind.

  Not one of them says a word, not even Asher, but I'll put that down the bear like snoring that's coming from him. I give him an indulgent smile while my hand works its way through his messy hair before I turn my gaze on the two Angels sitting on my couch looking uncomfortable.

  “Might as well spill the beans. Nothing says 'we're talking about you' more than causing utter silence when you step into the room." I smirk at them both.

  Eli rolls his eyes while restraining a smile, whereas Noah can't bring himself to look directly into my eyes, his usual blush taking over his cheeks.

  Seeing as I'm not getting answers from those two, I turn my attention to Devon, who's made his way around the island and is leaning against the back of the sofa holding a mug of coffee, if my sense of smell isn't letting me down.

  He notices me staring at the cup and rolls his eyes. I narrow my own at him before shifting my gaze away. I suppose I'll just sit in uncomfortable silence while stroking soothing motions through Asher’s hair and waiting for one of the assholes to crack and tell me what they were talking about. Just the everyday occurrence.

  Suddenly there's a mug of steaming liquid under my nose, the strong scent of coffee filling my nostrils with its mouthwatering smell. Shifting my cross-eyed gaze away from the mug takes longer than I care to admit, but when I do, I'm surprised to see Devon holding the mug patiently for me to take. His facial expression gives nothing away, so I accept the beverage with careful hands and a polite, “Thanks.” When he nods in acceptance, I give him a small smile before taking a sip of hot coffee and sighing.

  Even more surprising is when he squeezes my shoulder before disappearing back to the spot on the sofa where he leans leisurely, completely oblivious to the fact that he's just confused the ever-loving shit out of me.

  I'm not in any state of mind to think too hard on it. I'll look closer when my head doesn't feel like it's going to implode.

  Silence stretches on in the room, nothing but the sound of the clock ticking and my unladylike slurps of coffee that I'm purposely making just to fill the room with some sort of noise.

  "Fine! If I have to listen to you slurping that damn drink anymore, I'll go mad," Eli flings his arms out in exasperation before rubbing his hands over his face, muffling a frustrated groan. "We were talking about what to do next. How to hide and protect you."

  "What? Like I'm some sort of damsel in distress?" I ask, not bothering to hide the mocking in my tone or the smirk on my face.

  "No, smartass. But everyone seems to be after one thing, and that's you. So, we need to do something so you're safe," he replies, peaking at me between his fingers. I can see the way his eyes crinkle at the corners, so I know he's sporting a teasing grin at my expense.

  Ass.

  I roll my eyes at him but before I can answer back, Devon butts in to the conversation. "We need to find somewhere safe for you to lay low or hide from whatever Lucifer sends after you, because I know one thing for sure. That attack earlier won't be the last. Not to mention whoever kidnapped you in the cemetery."

  "Hide? You actually want me to hide?" I ask, agitated that the confusing dick seems to be taking charge and is telling me I need to hide. What happened to my opinion, here? "I'm not hiding. Nope."

  "Luna, be reasonable. It won't be forever, but for the time being, you need to hide from what's coming for you. You can't sit here waiting for them to show up," Devon throws back. Maybe I am being unreasonable, and maybe I'm only doing it because I don't do well being told what to do.

  I turn my head until I'm staring directly at him before slowly enunciating every word slowly, just so I'm not mistaken. "I'm not hiding. I won't run away from my home because The Devil can't take a hint."

  Asher finally speaks up, waking from his slumber. "Peaches, shut up and think for a moment. There'll be more attacks, and more chance that Lucifer could kill or capture you. I'm not risking it. My brother won't risk it," to which Eli shakes his head vigorously, "and I'm positive Noah won't, and Devon is stating his case right now, so you can guess where he stands, I'm sure."

  "No one asked you, asshole," I growl through clenched teeth. My anger snaps to attention, unusually fast considering it takes more for me to get angry than being told what to do. What's worse is that I can't actually seem to control it this time. My iron grip on my temper is nowhere to be found, and the more the guys talk, the more it heats, bubbling under the surface, ready to break free at any moment. And I don’t think I can stop it.

  Luna

  "...so, we're finding a safe house, and that's final. End of discussion." Clearly Devon the Dick doesn't see my barely restrained anger, but the others have if their silence and confused looks are anything to go by.

  Asher’s head has turned to face me, watching me carefully.

  "Luna, are, uh, you okay?" Noah asks gently, but it's no use. Despite my efforts to calm down, despite Noah's soft honey voice that normally has a soothing effect on me, I've already lost grasp of my normally controlled temper. I'm like a volcano on the verge of erupting in a wave of fury and frustration.

  What the fuck?

  "Flower? You're turning a funny shade of red there," Eli points out. I'm trying to control it, taking deep breaths in and out.

  Inhale.

  Exhale.

  Nothing. Nada. I'm a bystander to my own damn emotions right now, emotions that aren't warranted. I never get this angry over anything, glass fiasco excluded, so I'm clueless as to what I can do to prevent the explosion that's on the brink of breaking free.

  My head begins to pound with the effort of restraining and when it gets too much, my hold on my temper slips. It’s enough that the last thread breaks and I’m helpless to stop whatever comes next.

  Asher lifts himself quickly despite his injured back, moving enough for me to awkwardly slide from the sofa and fall to the floor, clutching my head that harbors an agonizing ache. Everything is muffled, and all my senses dull down until I can barely feel, hear or see anything through the pain.

  A sharp shooting pain zaps through my head once, twice, three times.

  Suddenly my anger is being released in the form I'd have least expected. For a second time in two days, silvery white light explodes from my body in waves of blinding rays. It’s just as it happened earlier, but this feels as though I’m being attacked f
rom the inside. Instead of a release like I expected, it’s as though I’m being suffocated, pressure growing inside of me. This time, no glass breaks and the glow wraps around my entire body, encompassing me tightly in its prickling warmth.

  The pain in my head becomes unbearable, tearing a scream from my mouth. Before I know it, I'm falling sideways until I'm sprawled on the floor, hands clutching my head tightly. The glow around me gets stronger and stronger until all four Angels are forced to block their eyes from the light, unable to do a thing to help me.

  It feels like forever until one last flash of light breaks from my body and disappears altogether. The pain in my head recedes slowly, dulling down until it's a throbbing ache behind my eyes. I lie on the floor gasping for breath, one hand across my forehead and the other clutched against my chest, trying to calm my heartbeat and inhale as much oxygen as my body will take.

  Once I'm semi-composed, I notice the room has turned deathly silent. Not a noise can be heard from anywhere in the apartment, not even the annoying ticking of the clock.

  With a hand gripping the side of my skull as though that'll help the pain, I use my other hand to lift myself slowly from the floor, mentally checking over every other part of my body, making sure no limbs are missing or… something.

  "What the fuck just happened?" I groan, finally sitting up right. The headache dulls further so I pull my knees up and rest my forehead on them, clasping my hands behind my head while I wait for the rest of the thudding behind my eyes to dissipate.

  "Luna," Noah starts apprehensively and his tone has my head slowly lifting up to meet the wide eyed gazes of the four Angels whose eyes are trained intently on me.

  “What? Anyone know what just happened?" I question again when they all stare at me like I've created a song made entirely of queefs. Did I grow another head? Is that what the pain was? Could that be why my head hurts so much? Maybe it was my brain splitting in two so it can inhabit two heads. A bit farfetched, but anything is possible these days.

  The guys continue to stare at me with wide eyes and parted mouths. Devon does his best to look a little less shocked, but if anything, it makes him look constipated.

  "Shall I just work this shit out for myself while you all gape at me like fish?" I ask tersely given that I'm being stared at like an object in a museum and receiving zero answers.

  Eli snaps himself out of it pretty quickly, seeming a little panicked for reasons unbeknownst to me, "Flower, I'm not sure if you're going to like this but..."

  And the dick just leaves his sentence hanging. Who even does that?

  "But what, Eli? Spit it out."

  He pauses a moment before he blurts, "Your hair turned silver."

  It's me who's left staring at him like a moron with my mouth hanging so low that it almost touches the damn floor. My hair is silver? Did they suddenly go blind? My hair is as purple as Barney the Dinosaur. Fucking silver.

  "Eli, are you feeling okay?" I ask slowly. How do I go about telling him he's lost sight of his colors, is the real question.

  "Luna, I mean it. Your hair is silver. Like, not even the dull gray, but like a shiny silver," then he's back to gawking at me. I turn my head towards Noah, who nods in confirmation. Living in denial is a thing of the future, so I turn towards Asher. The traitor nods awkwardly with his face squished into the cushion of the couch. Ignoring him too, I face the only Angel who will tell me what's what.

  "Devon, you're going to tell me right now that my hair is as purple as a unicorn fart, do you understand me?"

  He winces slightly at the desperation I didn't quite manage to hide, and I know he's seconds away from shattering my well-designed illusion that they're all pulling a shitty prank on me. "Sorry, Princess. But your hair is the furthest thing from being purple. It's silver, like Elijah said."

  I'm suddenly bolting up off the floor and barreling towards the bathroom downstairs, my headache and any other aches and pains forgotten. I barge through the door and come face to face with a silver haired version of me. My hair really is silver. And it looks like it's glowing.

  What. The. Shit.

  I take a deep breth before releasing it slowly. Okay. So, it's silver. No big deal. I mean, I didn't even have to touch it to turn the color to this random shade. And it’s not like the last time it was this color was centuries ago. It’s fine. I’m calm. Totally calm.

  I'm not calm.

  How the Hell has my hair changed from aubergine to silver, of all colors? What is the unholy shit is happening right now?

  Slowly, I leave the bathroom with eyes as wide as the other four Angels’, and nobody speaks for what feels like forever. The silence in the room is deafening, and it seems to become too much for poor Noah, who starts fidgeting before blurting, "I really like it! It suits you. Like, not in a you're old so your hair should be gray, kind of way. Because it's not gray. And you're not old. Well, you're technically old, but-"

  "Noah, man. Shut up," Eli groans under his breath, elbowing the Angel besides him without an ounce of subtlety. It does the trick because Noah snaps his mouth shut quickly and avoids eye contact with me while his face flames red with embarrassment.

  As though my body is walking on autopilot, I move towards the couch and force myself between Noah and Eli, who both have to shimmy over so my ass can fit on the sofa between them both, and stare at a random spot on the wall for a moment. I think I'm in shock. I've never been in shock before, but I'm pretty sure this is what it would feel like. I'm eighty percent positive.

  "Peaches, you doing okay over there?" Asher’s rough voice trickles into my brain and my gaze moves to where he's watching me with concern.

  "My hair is silver," I tell him, pointing out the already established problem we've all noticed by now.

  "Yeah, babe. It's silver. But are you okay?" he asks, his voice gravelly but gentle. I can do nothing but stare at him while my mind runs a hundred miles a minute trying to figure out how I went from purple hair to long locks of pure fucking silver. I can’t even muster the giddiness required for receiving the term of endearment. Damn it.

  "It really does look nice, if that contributes to anything," Noah quietly mumbles, still avoiding eye contact.

  "I wonder what caused it," Devon questions. It seems to be the straw that breaks the proverbial camel's back though, because I'm instantly launching myself off the couch and pointing an accusing finger at the asshole who has the audacity to look at me in surprise at my sudden movement.

  "What caused it? What caused it?!" I screech, my voice an uncomfortable pitch that I'm unable to tone down given my worked-up state. "Stress, you fuckhead! You assholes have done nothing but stress me out since the moment you barged into my life, and look what it's doing. I'm going gray! I look worse than Francis. Even she still has a few strands of her brown hair left!"

  I clap my hands over my face and grumble incoherently into my hands and throw myself back onto the couch with a bit of dramatic flair. Eli and Noah move quickly before I crush them without remorse. My poor, poor hair.

  "Flower, it really doesn't look bad. I actually like it." Eli shrugs, because his hair didn't turn silver, so he's allowed to act nonchalant about it.

  Peeking between my fingers that are still covering my face, I growl, "I'm going to kill you. Each and every one of you."

  Noah looks at me startled, and his adorable look of panic is the reason I exclude him from my threat. "Except Noah."

  He visibly relaxes and I half wonder if he thinks I'll actually follow through with my threat, but I shake it off. He'll learn soon when my threats are idle or not.

  I let out a long, drawn out sigh before dropping my hands and complain to the four of them, "This crap needs to stop happening. With the headaches, blackouts, and other crap that keeps turning my life on its axis, I don't know whether I'm coming, going, been or gone."

  Eli sits back and throws his arm around my shoulders, tugging me closer to his side, while Noah picks up my hand shyly, entwines our fingers and holds it in his lap. Thi
s is nice.

  That is until Devon opens his mouth. "Anyone know what caused her hair to change color or are we going to ignore the problem and hope it goes away?"

  "I vote for option number two," I chirp with faux enthusiasm before a yawn catches me off guard.

  Devon gives me an exasperated glare, so I roll my eyes at him and drop my head to Eli's shoulder. He cuddles me closer until I'm practically snuggled up tightly against his side. I don't have the energy for anymore shock, so I burrow myself further into his side and sigh contently when I'm comfortable and warm. Noah doesn't let go of my hand. Instead he shuffles over so he sits closer to me so my arm isn't bent at an awkward angle. Sweetheart.

  Asher looks like he's on the verge of passing out again, but I ask him gently, "How're you doing, Ash?"

  One eye blinks open to look at me and tells me, "I'll be good as new before you know it." He doesn't tell me how he is, or if he's still in pain, just settles back into the couch and falls asleep not long after he's comfortable.

  "We really need to figure out what the Hell just happened. Hair just doesn't change color like that," Devon insists. He's persistent, I'll give him that.

  No one answers him, each of us looking like the events of the night are finally catching up to us, especially after staying up all night with Asher. Eli rests his head on his fist that's propped up on the arm of the couch. As he slowly drifts off, his head lolls and he snaps to attention, suddenly awake, before resting his head back on his fist again. Noah's head rests on the back of the couch his eyes closed and his mouth slightly parted, looking as though he's already sound asleep.

  I can feel my eyes drooping, sleep warming up to claim me as its next victim, but Devon plonks his ass down on the coffee table in front of me and talks. "I promise you can go to sleep as soon as I've asked you some questions. Deal?"

  His voice is surprisingly soft and gentle, and his offer is reasonable enough, so I shuffle my weight around slightly until I'm facing him properly, but still securely wrapped under Eli's arm. I give him a nod and tell him, "Ask away."