Milayna's Angel

by Michelle K. Pickett

  I bolted upright in bed, sweat covering my body. It slithered down my back and beaded on my face. My hand flew to my chest. The other fisted around the bedsheet. My heart galloped inside my ribcage.

  I swung my legs out of bed. My ankles tangled in the sheets, and I face-planted on the floor next to the bed. I didn’t bother to get up. I lay down on the soft carpeting and cried. Warm, salty tears ran down my face and into my mouth.

  The dream had been so real. I could almost feel the blade jam into my flesh, the blood oozing through my fingers, Jake’s hand on my shoulder. Then it wasn’t Jake. It was Chay. Chay held the knife. My blood covered his hand.

  Chay grinned as I bled, as I died.

  9

  Chemistry Lab

  “You look like crap warmed over, Milayna.” Muriel leaned against the gold locker next to mine and picked at the peeling paint. “What’s up?”

  “Just couldn’t sleep.”

  “Nightmare?”

  I slammed the metal door closed before the books and crap could tumble out. Giving the dial a spin, I looked at her. “Yeah.”

  “You want to talk about it?”

  I shook my head, swallowing hard.

  No way. There’s no friggin’ way. I don’t even want to think about it.

  “So, you and Drew. I didn’t see that one coming,” I said with a half grin.

  She laughed. A tinkling sound that reminded me of a cross between my grandmother’s laugh and a pair of wind chimes blowing in the breeze.

  Must be the sound of love… or lust. Maybe both. Whatever. I wonder if I sounded like that when I started dating Chay.

  Muriel didn’t seem to notice the abrupt subject change. She dove right in with her tale of the knight in shining armor, Drew, asking the fair maiden, Muriel, out for their first date.

  “He was so nervous. His voice cracked when he was trying to ask. It was so cute. We went to a movie and out to dinner. A classic, boring date, I guess, but it was really magical. We’re going bowling Saturday.”

  “Bowling?” I looked at her with raised eyebrows. That didn’t sound very romantic for a second date.

  “Yeah, it was my choice. Dinner afterward. You and Chay should come, too.”

  “You don’t want us around. It’s only your second date.” I waved to a group of girls from the swim team as we walked by.

  “No, it’ll be fun. We can do guys against the girls. We’ll kick their asses.”

  “You ask Drew. If he wants us to come, I’ll ask Chay. But I don’t think he will. He’s gonna want you all to himself.” I winked and nudged her arm.

  I was looking at Muriel as I talked. I didn’t see the janitor’s cart until I nearly ran into it.

  “Whoa, Milayna. You best be watching where you’re going,” the janitor said with a smile. He grabbed my hand to steady me before I landed face-first in the mop bucket.

  As soon as he touched me, I felt the electrical current that allowed me to read other people’s emotions flow through my nerve endings and zing to life. It poked around him, searching. I looked into the old janitor’s dull eyes, and the current followed. It seeped from my gaze to his and stopped moving. His feelings—the ones he felt strongest at that moment—moved across the bridge—fear, terror, evil, abhorrence. I sucked in a breath and closed my eyes to break the connection. He didn’t feel like that because of me. He wasn’t fearful of me… he was fearful for me.

  When he spoke next, his voice was low and serious. “You never know who’s around the corner.” He squeezed my hand before letting go and smiling again.

  “Thank you, Mr. Jenkins. I’ll keep better watch.”

  “See that you do, child. See that you do.”

  I turned the corner into chemistry and came toe-to-toe with Xavier. “Hey.” He moved to let me pass.

  “Hey yourself.” I forced a smile.

  “Are you ready for today?”

  “Huh?” I was still thinking about what the janitor had said, and what I felt radiating from him.

  “The lab? Did you get the homework done?”

  “Oh, that. Yeah. You?”

  “As much as I could. It’s hard keeping up with the labs without a partner.” He raised an eyebrow.

  Nope. Ain’t gonna happen, buddy. Chay and I don’t need another partner.

  “Yeah, I guess that would kind of suck.” I walked past him to my seat.

  “It doesn’t look like Chay’s coming today. He’s usually here by now. Plus, he didn’t walk with you this morning.”

  “He’s coming. He has a dentist’s appointment this morning.”

  Stupid, Milayna. Now he’s gonna want to do the lab together.

  “Gotta keep those teeth pearly white.”

  I didn’t look up as I pulled my things out of my bag. “Something like that.”

  “So do you want to do the lab together since he won’t be here?”

  Ugh. When will you learn to keep your mouth shut?

  “Um, Chay and I are partners, Xavier,” I said as nicely as I could without coming across as bitchy, which was exactly how I was feeling.

  “Oh, I know. I just meant this time.”

  Geez, how do I get out of this?

  I sighed. “I guess.”

  I can’t believe I’m agreeing. I don’t want to do the lab with him. Why can’t I say no? It’s just two little letters. N-O.

  “Great.” Xavier grabbed his things from the desk behind me and sat in Chay’s seat. It felt like I was somehow betraying Chay.

  Ugh, this feels so wrong.

  Class started and Xavier and I began our lab assignment, the book open between us. Each time he’d reach over to turn the page or adjust a piece of equipment, I got a whiff of his cologne. The smell made me dizzy. And not the bad kind of dizzy. The he-smells-really-really-good kind. Which I guess was the bad kind of dizzy since I shouldn’t have been smelling anyone but Chay. So I spent the class hour trying not to inhale in Xavier’s direction.

  When class was over, I gathered my things, shoved them in my bag, and said a silent prayer of thanks that calculus didn’t include any labs for Xavier to worm his way into. I reached for the strap on my book bag when he snatched it away from me and threw it over his shoulder.

  Oh. This. Is. Not. Good.

  “I got it.” I reached for my bag.

  “No, that’s okay. Chay isn’t here to carry it for you.”

  “Yes, he is.” Chay flicked the strap off Xavier’s shoulder and caught it against his palm. “I got it. Thanks for keeping my seat warm.” He turned on his heel and walked out of the room.

  Oh, crap, crap, crap.

  “Did I do something wrong?” Xavier looked at me.

  You know you did, ass wipe.

  “Nope,” I lied. “Everything’s great.” I followed Chay and prayed he wasn’t as upset as he’d seemed.

  He wasn’t. He was more.

  “How could you…” He looked up and saw Xavier leave the classroom. Chay put his hand on the small of my back and guided me away from the door. “How could you let him sit next to you?”

  “You weren’t there and since he didn’t have a partner, he asked if we could do the lab together. I didn’t know how to get out of it.”

  “There are two letters of the alphabet that would have gotten you out of the situation if you’d really wanted to—N and O.”

  “That’s not fair, Chay.”

  “Life isn’t fair.”

  “No kidding? No one’s ever explained that to me before. I mean, it’s not like I’ve had anything bad happen in my life or anything.” Yeah, I was going for sarcastic, but Chay was too mad to catch it. It was a wasted effort.

  “I can’t believe as soon as I wasn’t around… Xavier of all people.”

  “It’s not like we shacked up or something. Geez, get a reality check. We just did a freakin’ chem lab together while you were gone.” I brushed past him and headed toward calculus.

  “Do you realize we’ve fought more since Xavier’s been around than we hav
e in the entire four months we’ve been dating? Why do you think that is?” he snapped.

  “You’re jealous,” I answered calmly.

  “Like hell.”

  “Whatever, Chay.” He started to say something, and I put my palm in front of his face. “Stop. I don’t want to hear it.”

  “Milayna.” He pulled me to him and tried to kiss me. I turned my head. “Damn it. See, that’s what I mean.” He let go of me so abruptly, I stumbled backward.

  “Give me my bag.” I reached out and yanked it off his arm. “I don’t want to talk to you until you get it together, Chay. There’s nothing between Xavier and me. Never has been, never will be. And you know why? Because I’m in love with you. Although, for the love of all that’s holy, I can’t figure out why sometimes.” I turned and tried to walk—not run screaming like I wanted—down the hall, leaving him standing in front of chemistry class.

  I walked into calculus a few minutes later, just before the bell rang. Chay wasn’t in his seat.

  “Everything okay?” Xavier asked when I walked by his seat.

  “Peachy.”

  “You need a ride home?”

  I froze. Looking at him over my shoulder, I said, “No, but I’d ask Muriel before I’d come to you.” I heard Chay’s faint chuckle and turned. He stood a few seats away, listening. I rolled my eyes.

  ***

  “So let me get this straight—you have two guys fighting over you, and I have zero, zip, zilch, nada, none. Right?” Jen asked in history class later that morning.

  “You can have Xavier.” I made a face and doodled on my notebook.

  She bit the end of her pencil and studied me for a few seconds before shrugging. “Okay, I’ll take him off your hands.”

  I laughed. “Okay, you do that. I’d be eternally grateful.”

  “Why?”

  “Why what?” I looked up from my scribbling.

  “Why are you picking Chay over Xavier? He seems like a nice guy, and Chay can be so… moody sometimes.”

  “First, I love Chay. And second, you don’t know him like I do. He’s not moody when we’re together. He’s sweet and even a little romantic, but don’t tell him I said so. It would ruin the dark and brooding reputation he’s worked so hard to maintain.”

  Jen laughed and shook her head. “Whatever gets you off, Milayna. I’ll take the hottie.”

  When class was over, Jen and I walked into the hallway. It was already full of students pushing and shoving their way to class. I turned the corner to my locker and came face-to-face with Chay.

  “What are you doing here? I told you after calculus that I’d see you at lunch. Jen and I can walk together.”

  He’s almost impossible to deal with some days.

  He didn’t answer me. Well, not with words anyway. He reached out and lifted the strap of my bag off my shoulder with two fingers, letting it fall with a thud on the floor. Hitching his finger in one of the belt loops on my jeans, he pulled me to him. I flattened my palm on his chest—a very hard, very defined chest—my other hand gripped his arm, another well-defined part of his body. He threaded the fingers of one hand through my hair, undoing the clip that held it in place and letting it fall down my back.

  He bent his head and touched his lips to mine; his mouth moved in a slow, sensual caress, building in intensity as the kiss continued. I sighed, leaning into the kiss.

  “Jackson and Roberts, need I remind you that this is a PDA-free campus?”

  We jumped apart, feeling as guilty as we looked. “No, Mr. Rodriguez,” I said, feeling a red-hot blush start at the top of my head and work its way down to my toes.

  “Didn’t think so.” Mr. Rodriguez smiled.

  “So does this mean you forgive me?” Chay asked.

  “What?” I was still reeling from his kiss.

  “You kissed me back. Is that a sign of forgiveness?”

  “Are you going to stop acting like a horse’s ass?”

  His lips twitched, trying to hide his grin. “Yeah, I think I can manage that.”

  “Then there’s nothing to forgive. We’re good.” I bent down to pick up my book bag. He snatched the strap before I could. I’d almost forgotten the cardinal rule—Chay carried the books.

  We walked to the lockers to stow our stuff for lunch. “So, how’d the dentist go?”

  “I need to floss more… Milayna? What’s wrong?”

  I’d frozen in mid-stride. My eyes darted from side to side, but they weren’t focused on the lockers lining the hall or the people walking past. They saw other images. Blood. Gore. Me.

  A bloodied hand. A bejeweled knife. A beloved face contorted in fury and loathing.

  “Milayna?” Chay shook me gently.

  “What?” I blinked the vision away and looked at him.

  “You zoned out. Were you having a vision?” He framed my face with his hands.

  “No. No, I was just trying to remember if I’d finished the rough draft of our term paper due in English class.” I wasn’t sure why I lied. It just didn’t feel right telling him I was having visions that he was the one going to kill me.

  ***

  “We should all go to the basketball game tomorrow night.” Jen tore the breading off her corn dog. Drew snatched it from her tray and popped it in his mouth. Muriel made a sound of disgust.

  “What? It’s the best part,” he said around a mouthful of soggy corndog breading.

  “It’s all school cafeteria food. That makes it all gross.” Muriel shook her head. Drew leaned over to kiss her, and she held her hands up and tried to dodge him, giggling.

  Jen looked at me and rolled her eyes. “I thought it’d get better when they got together and all the unrequited love drama was over. But I think it’s worse now. They’re almost as disgusting as the school’s corndogs.”

  “I can’t believe you want us to go to the game, Jen. Don’t you remember what happened the last time we all went to a game together?” I asked.

  “Yeah, but that was football. This is basketball,” Jen clarified like I was dense.

  “And that makes a difference because…?”

  “I dunno.” She shrugged, dipping her naked corndog in mustard. “Sounded like a good argument.”

  “Basketball isn’t really my thing anymore. It rates right up there with football.” I tossed my uneaten corndog on my tray and pushed it toward Drew.

  Those things are vile. I’m not even sure they’re real meat. And if they are, what kind of meat are they?

  “Ice skating,” Chay murmured.

  “Really? You’re gonna use the ice skating card already? You only get to use it once, you know?”

  “I know.”

  I shrugged. “Okay.”

  “Great!” Jen crowed. “Let’s meet at the concession stand before the game.”

  “Is everyone invited?”

  Jen looked at Xavier. “Yes. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have asked in front of you.” She grinned.

  Chay groaned. “What?” he said when I elbowed him in the ribs. “Does she have a thing for him too?”

  “Too?” I asked.

  He sighed. “All the girls in school, except you and maybe Muriel, are drooling over him,” Chay whispered. “Does Jen have a thing for him too?”

  “Yeah, a little bit.” I nodded.

  “Figures.”

  “Is that the green-eyed monster I see rearing its ugly head, Chay?”

  “No,” he huffed. I smiled.

  ***

  That night, the hobgoblin duo showed up. They stood outside the dining room window; their bulbous noses pressed against the glass, watching us eat dinner.

  Scarface knocked on the window. I looked over. Friendly gave me a happy wave. Scarface scowled.

  “Ignore them,” my father said, not looking toward the window.

  “He’s here for you, Milayna,” Scarface yelled.

  “He’s here, he’s here, he’s here,” Friendly chanted and danced around the backyard.

  “It won’t be long now, Mila
yna. Your time is near.”

  I flipped him the bird and kept eating.

  10

  Basketball

  “Will your Uncle Stewart be at the game tonight?” I asked Chay when he picked me up.

  “Yep.”

  “Are you helping?”

  “I’m helping set-up.”

  “Okay. I’ll help, too.” I smiled at the thought of getting one of his famous milkshakes.

  “Hey, Milayna, how are you, darlin’?” Uncle asked when he saw Chay and me walk up to the concession booth.

  “I’m doing great other than the whole someone-trying-to-kill-me thing.” I smiled. “I’m here to help. What do you need done?”

  “Why ain’t that sweet of ya? You always come to help out.”

  “Well, you give me free shakes. I’d be a fool not to.”

  He laughed, a deep rumbling in his chest. His round belly jiggled. “I could use some help putting the toppings out.”

  That was always my job. Chay got the hard ones, like scrubbing the floor, washing down the machines, and lugging the supplies from the car. But Uncle made sure I was on the topping station every time. I had a feeling he was a teensy bit sexist, which was all right with me. I’d pop a piece of chocolate in my mouth when I didn’t think he was watching. The topping station had its benefits.

  When I’d finished with the toppings and mixing the ice cream base, I asked Uncle if he had anyone coming to help him during halftime.

  “My cousins will be here.” Chay came up beside me and tossed a cherry in his mouth.

  “Yeah, yeah, they’ll get here after work. I’ll be fine, dearie, but thanks for checkin’ up on an old man. Come by during halftime and I’ll give you a freebie.” He winked.

  “Okay, see ya later.” I waved and followed Chay to meet Drew and Muriel. “Where’s Jen?”

  “Parking her car, I think,” Muriel said.

  “You left her alone? We’re supposed have someone with us at all times!”

  “Calm down, Milayna. She’s okay. Xavier is with her.”