Saving Angel (A Divisa Novel, Book 1)

by Weil, J. L.

Travis came up beside me. “He didn’t. She just showed up. You should have seen his face. I thought he was going to slam the door in her face.”

  It was a relief knowing he hadn’t asked her to come over, and just like Sierra to butt in where she wasn’t wanted. She was probably here trying to protect her property.

  I tried everything in my power to ignore them.

  “You look like you could use some rescuing. Want to get out of here? Maybe get some breakfast?” Travis asked, grinning and flashing his lady killer dimples.

  “Are you asking me out?” I teased.

  “I think so,” he replied, scratching the stubble on his chin.

  I looked over his shoulder at Chase and Sierra. He was acting like I wasn’t even in the room, but every so often our eyes connected and teeny bolts of electricity went through my system. “Hell yeah,” I decided.

  I couldn’t stand being in the same room with Chase and Sierra another second.

  “Angel,” Chase called as he noticed Travis and me walking out the door.

  Feeling extremely put out, I stuck up three fingers and replied, “Read between the lines.”

  “Cute,” he said, eyes flashing with anger. Sierra was watching Chase, who was glaring at me.

  Travis laughed.

  We ended up at the same place Lexi had taken me, The Village Diner.

  “Lexi took me here once,” I commented as we grabbed a booth. She had decided not to come with us just in case Chase and Sierra needed a referee. Apparently she thought a fight would ensue after we left. I was glad I wouldn’t be sticking around for that.

  “So you know how amazing the food is. The breakfast is my favorite,” Travis commented.

  I remembered what Lexi had said about them coming here a lot. “Does it bother you the way everyone treats you?” I asked, thinking about the alienating feeling I’d gotten the last time we were here.

  He shrugged. “I think I am just used to it. You have to remember that it has always been this way for us. I don’t know anything different.”

  “It’s so hard for me to believe still. Lexi doesn’t have an ounce of ugly inside her.” She was one of the sweetest people I’d ever met.

  “Don’t let that innocent face fool you. She can be ruthless when she wants to be.”

  “I guess I just haven’t seen that side of her,” I said, still unconvinced that there was part demon living in my best friend.

  He took a sip of his orange juice. “Consider yourself lucky. You’ve noticed her bursting energy, imagine that inside a pissed off demon. Not pretty.”

  I laughed.

  He glanced wistfully out the window, and I wondered if he ever brought Emma here.

  I lowered my tone. “Lexi told me about Emma. I’m sorry Travis.”

  He fumbled with his fork. “She told me she’d mentioned her. I still can’t believe she is gone.”

  “Did she know about your…” my voice trailed off.

  He nodded his blonde head, gulping down a bite of blueberry pancakes. “Yeah, she knew. It was unavoidable, but she never cared what I was. She just wanted us to be together.” I heard the incredulity in his tone.

  “She sounds great. I would have really liked to have met her.”

  “You would have loved her. The two of you would have gotten along so well. She was impossible not to like.”

  “Do you know what happened?” I asked, thinking about Chase believing she was dead. I wasn’t so sure that Travis felt the same. There was an unmistakable glimmer of hope in his eyes, a part of him still clinging to that hope.

  “I repeat that day over and over in my head, and I still don’t know what happened. I can’t help but think if she hadn’t ever met me she would still be here.”

  “Travis, don’t do that. Don’t beat yourself up over what-ifs. It won’t change anything and only hurts more.”

  “It’s why Chase is so rough with you. He wanted to keep you at distance. He thought that Emma’s disappearance was because she knew about us, and he made a vow to never let anyone in on our secret again. Until you.” He gave me a halfhearted smile.

  Of course I would be the one who made him break his sacred vow.

  “What was she like?” I asked, because it seemed like he needed to talk.

  He smiled softly, looking lost in memories. “She was a dancer, a really fabulous dancer. Her family moved around a lot, something about her dad’s job. We didn’t talk a lot about her parents, but I could see how lonely she was. On her first day of school she was so shy, her dark green eyes just trying to soak it all in. She was tired of always being the new girl.”

  “I can totally relate to that,” I mumbled.

  “I bet you can. You and Emma would have had a lot in common. The strange part is even my demon…recognized her.” His eyes shifted a tad, revealing little bits of golden color.

  “What do you mean?” He had me on the edge of the booth.

  “When I lost it around her, I could feel his intrigue. For once the demon and I were in perfect agreement. Nothing would harm Emma.”

  “And that’s not normal?”

  “Definitely not. The demon doesn’t have feelings. It doesn’t care about other people. I was confused and conflicted, afraid to trust. I didn’t know what to think about it.”

  I thought about Chase and how he had stared at me. This must mean something, I just didn’t know what.

  “The worst part is,” he continued. “I never even got to tell her how I feel.” His turquoise eyes pooled with pain and regret.

  I laid my hand on his. “I bet she knew.”

  He looked at me from across the booth. “I really hope so. We should do this again sometime. Maybe on a real date.” He grinned at my stunned expression.

  I really hoped he was joking.

  ~*~*~*~

  Monday morning was upon me in all its painful glory. My body was still stiff and sore. As expected, I had more than my fair share of bruises. They were doozies. Just want I needed. The new girl looks like she got beat up. With my luck everyone would think it was Sierra who had delivered the ass-whooping.

  During gym I regrettably found myself partner with Hayden for tennis. I guess I should have been grateful it wasn’t Craig.

  Twirling my racket, I waited for him to serve. I wasn’t extremely athletic, so gym was by far one of my least favorite classes. Hayden with his extra abilities looked like he could go pro if he had a decent partner.

  The ball whizzed past me before I had a chance to lift my racket. He grinned wolfishly at me from over the mesh net. Oh yeah, he was enjoying toying with the little human. Bending down, I picked up another tennis ball and tossed it in the air. It popped against my racket buzzing straight into my side of the net.

  Ugh. I suck at sports.

  The supervision from our gym teachers was staggeringly awful. We mostly pretended a half-ass attempt at tennis. Most of the girls in my gym class where afraid to break a nail. My nails general looked like crap thanks to my nervous habit of chewing on them.

  Hayden served the ball short, hitting the net. I swear he did it on purpose. I trotted up to the net to retrieve it. As I bent back up, I found myself face-to-face with him.

  “So I heard you know out little secret,” he said watchfully.

  My tongue got stuck at the roof of my mouth. He hadn’t come right out and said, hey I heard you know I’m half-demon. It would have been simpler if he had. I wasn’t taking any chances. No way was I putting Lexi in any kind of trouble.

  He noticed my hesitation. “Look, it’s cool with me. I’m just letting you know that Sierra and Craig aren’t as easygoing as I am.”

  “I kind of already figured that out.” I bounced the tennis ball only for him to swipe it out of the air before it hit the ground. I looked around nervously.

  “Sierra has it in for you. She has some warped idea that her and Chase are destined.” There was no malice or deceit. He just seemed to be giving me a heads up.

  “She can have him for all I care, and she h
as made her claim very clear where he is concerned.” The last thing I needed was him razzing me about Sierra.

  “I doubt Chase feels the same.”

  “That’s his problem, not mine. Thank God,” I muttered.

  “I bet it will be…eventually.” He smirked and tossed the ball in the air. “Just be careful, you already have a target on your back.

  Great. Just what I needed. A reason to look over my shoulder at every turn.

  “What was that all about?” Lexi asked at the end of class. We were coming out of the locker rooms.

  “Nothing, he was just giving me advice.”

  “Are you sure because it didn’t look like nothing and if Chase–”

  “Chase,” I grounded out. “Doesn’t need to know. It was no big deal. He was just telling me what I already know. Sierra is crazy.”

  I left her staring after me and hurried to my next class.

  Chapter 18

  “You’re coming on Friday, right?” Brandy asked me.

  Brandy, Kailyn, and I had just sat down for lunch, and I was already being steamrolled about the football game on Friday night. I could feel myself being caged into going.

  Fresh start, I reminded myself.

  Well maybe in this fresh start I attended school functions, like football games, and actually enjoyed myself. Brandy and Kailyn claimed that it was a huge event for Spring Valley. Practically the whole town showed up.

  Imagine that.

  They were mostly excited for the bonfire afterwards. Can’t say that I shared their enthusiasm, but maybe I should give it a whirl.

  “Fine,” I expelled. “I’ll go.” I expected some squeal of delight or display of excitement.

  I got silence.

  Their eyes locked above me, and the chatter at my table died. The chair legs next to me scraped against the linoleum floor, and the seat filled with Chase’s form.

  I glared at him from the corner of my eye. Brandy and Kailyn looked like they wanted to bolt. It was still weird for me that people reacted that way.

  “Did I hear you are going to the game on Friday?” Chase asked, smirking.

  I leaned on my hand. “What does it matter to you?”

  He shrugged. “It doesn’t. I heard what happened in gym today.” His silver eyes looked like glass.

  I sunk in my seat. Nice Lexi. Throw me to the wolves.

  “Maybe we should talk about this later,” I said, clenching my jaw. My turkey sandwich became less appealing.

  He leaned in close to me, and I heard the gasps from across the table. “Good, then I’ll see you tonight Angel Eyes.” His voice had dropped deep and thick, and those full lips were kissable close.

  God he smelled good. And why did he have to insinuate that we would be doing more than talking? I could feel the blood rise in my cheeks.

  He winked. The silver bar in his brow glinted, and he sauntered off.

  “That boy has buns of steel.” Kailyn hummed, burning holes in the back pockets of Chase’s jeans with her zealous stare.

  The three of us watched him leave the cafeteria with our tongues hanging out. I might have sighed.

  “You guys are totaling hooking-up,” Kailyn purred. Her brown eyes were spilling with barely contained excitement.

  Brandy leaned over the table. “I thought he was with the redhead?” she said, looking confused.

  “Sierra,” I supplied the hoodrat’s name. “No they’re not dating, but she would jump down his pants if given the slightest chance,” I replied grumpily.

  I needed to be more careful with my display of emotions because if Kailyn could pick-up on them, then surely everyone else would also.

  “So you are totally hooking-up,” repeated Kailyn, milking every second of what she considered hot news.

  I wanted to thump myself on the head. “No, were just…” Hell, I didn’t know what we were. “Friends.”

  “Friends, do not look at each other like that,” Kailyn insisted.

  “You totally want him,” Brandy added, joining in on the fun.

  I rolled my eyes. Well duh. I’d have to be dumb to not want him.

  Or just stupid and reckless.

  I’d always thought I was a smart girl.

  “I wish I had a guy who looked at me like that,” Brandy sighed wistfully, pushing the fallen curls out of her eyes.

  “Aren’t you dating Tommy, the quarterback?” I asked all mushy and batted my eyes.

  Kailyn giggled.

  “He hardly notices me over his inflated ego,” she responded, sounding put out and needy.

  I could see that as being a problem. “Why not date a guy who appreciates you?” I said like it was as easy as shopping for candy, and this was coming from a girl who had never even had a boyfriend.

  I was such a hypocrite.

  “He’s the quarterback,” she replied like it was a no brainer.

  I just stared at her. I didn’t speak ditsy.

  The rest of my day was pitiful. My heart beat erratically every time I thought about seeing Chase later.

  He stressed me out.

  When I pulled my Fusion into my driveway after school, lo and behold, there sat Chase on my front porch. I had no idea what he was driving now that his car was totaled. If I had to guess, I bet he had hooked a ride with Lexi.

  The sky was grey and kind of murky, casting dangerous looking shadows over his face. It had been like that all day, the sun never really breaking through the thick clouds.

  “Aren’t you going to invite me in?” He was leaning against the column like he had all the time in the world. His jeans were frayed, and he probably paid a fortune for them instead of doing what I did. I was an expert at DIY.

  “Do I need to extend an invitation, you know like a vampire?” I asked over my shoulder trying to steady my frantic heart.

  “Funny. Would you prefer if I sucked on your neck?”

  My cheeks turned the color of blood. The implication behind his words was an uncomfortably hot reminder of the last time I was alone with him in my house. “Is this going to take long?” I asked, trying to sound bored and failing miserably.

  Opening the front door, he followed me inside. I ditched my bag at the entryway and headed for the family room.

  “It all depends on you,” he coaxed, dropping his voice to a lethal low that hit me straight in the belly.

  Totally not fair that he should have such a hold on me.

  I cleared my throat to disguise the affect his words had on me. The couch sunk under his weight. “Let’s make this quick.”

  He lifted that annoying brow.

  Twiddling with my fingers nervously I said, “So I am assuming Lexi told you about Hayden.”

  What a narc.

  “She was worried,” he defended like always where Lexi was concerned. It was both endearing and nail biting.

  “I’m listening,” I replied, waiting for him to go on.

  “I need to make sure that he isn’t threatening our exposure.”

  “Him or me?”

  He pointedly looked exasperated. “Not everyone is happy that you know Angel. It’s for your safety as well. We might have a truce, but that doesn’t mean I trust them with my family’s lives. I trust no one but myself where they are concerned.”

  His dedication was touching and hit a spot in my heart. “Are you immortal or something?” It sounded like a dumb question, but I had to ask.

  “No, of course not. I’m just a lot harder to kill.”

  I thought about how swift his injuries had healed. “But you can be killed. That’s good to know,” I muttered.

  He grinned. “You are not getting rid of me that easily.”

  I gave him a half-ass grin. “As if I could be that lucky.”

  “Angel you have got to be the most unlucky person I have ever met. I swear a dark cloud of trouble follows you everywhere.”

  Only since I moved here, I added silently to myself.

  He continued, “But to answer your question, we do live longer than the
average human.”

  I found everything about him interesting. He was just so different from every guy I knew. Something about him appealed to me even above the urge to strangle him. “How much longer?” I tucked my legs underneath me.

  “Are you always so inquisitive?” His voice dropped.

  Warning, my mind cautioned. Sexy voice.

  That sinister tone was always trouble. Trouble of the good kind.

  My heart pranced. “Always.”

  “Figures the little detective is a sponge for information.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “It’s something in the demon blood. We never get sick, we are extremely healthy, and our life expectancies are longer. It is not unheard of for a Divisa to live past a hundred. Some live two lifetimes.”

  “You’re freaking shitting me.”

  He grinned. “Believe me, I wish I was. It’s a curse. To be stuck with this burden for more than one lifetime.”

  I could see his point.

  “Does your mom know what a dirty mouth you have?” he asked, smirking.

  “Where do you think I got it?”

  “I met your mom, remember? She couldn’t have been sweeter.” His eyes dropped the twinkle. “Lexi told me that your parents are divorced. Do you have plans to see your dad?” he asked, meeting my gaze.

  I swallowed the large lump that formed in my throat and tried to push back the tears burning in my eyes.

  His face softened. “Angel, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” I heard the anguish in his voice. It made it worse.

  He brushed aside a tear streaking down my cheek. I realized then that they were rolling down my face. It had been so long since I cried for my dad. I didn’t think it mattered anymore to me.

  I couldn’t have been more wrong.

  He gathered me close, running a hand down my hair. “Tell me what I said.”

  I shook my head against his chest.

  “I know. I’m the biggest ass on the planet,” he added.

  I let out a little laugh. True, but he had it all wrong. I pulled away from him and looked up into silver eyes brimming with distress. “Trust me, this time it’s not you,” I managed, wiping at the salty streaks. “My dad,” I began, and then took a breath. “God this is embarrassing. I’ve never told anyone. No one. And I can’t believe I want to tell you of all people.”