Milayna's Angel

by Michelle K. Pickett

  “Pssh, what’s he gonna do? Stare them to death?” Chay muttered under his breath.

  I elbowed him in the ribs. “It was his first time. Give him a break.”

  “You didn’t freeze your first time and…” His words faded, and he pulled his full bottom lip between his teeth.

  “And what, Chay?” I asked with a laugh. “And I’m a girl?”

  He pursed his lips to hide a grin. “Something like that.”

  “Mm-hmm, thought so. C’mon, let’s find some seats before they fill up.”

  “Dude, you got off so freaking easy on that one. I thought she’d go ballistic,” Drew whispered.

  “Give her time.”

  “I heard that, Chay.” I looked over my shoulder. He blew a kiss at me. “Yeah. That’s not gonna get you anywhere tonight.”

  He leaned toward Drew. “What’d I tell you?”

  I found an empty row halfway up the bleachers, and we filed in and sat down.

  “We could see better farther up,” Chay complained.

  “Then go up there.” I wasn’t one for heights. Halfway up the bleachers was pushing my comfort limit as it was. I was not going to sit at the top.

  I’d just settled in my seat when I heard my name.

  “Well, Milayna. Coming to sit with us?” Lily looked at me with wide, innocent eyes. I had the overwhelming urge to scratch them out.

  I’m a demi-angel. I’m passive. Passive. Passive. Yeah, that isn’t working. Passive, my half-angel ass. I still want to claw her eyes out.

  I looked at Chay and rolled my eyes. “I told you we should go higher.” Chay shrugged. He was maddening.

  “Lily…” I held my hands out, pretending to examine my nail polish before picking an invisible piece of lint off Chay’s shoulder and flicking it in her direction. “Shouldn’t you be down… lower?”

  “Funny, Milayna. Have you met Rod?” She gestured to the guy sitting between her and Jake. Judging by the close proximity of Rod’s hand on Lily’s… um… upper thigh, I figured Lily and Rod had done more than just meeting.

  “Nope, can’t say I have.”

  “Rod, this is Milayna. You know, the one I told you about.”

  Rod didn’t look at me when he spoke. I hated that. “Ah, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  The words of the hobgoblins slammed into me: It won’t be long, Milayna. The one that will kill you is here.

  “Most of it completely accurate, I’m sure,” I said, sarcasm dripping from my tongue.

  He shrugged in answer.

  “Well, you must not be held in the same regard as I am. I haven’t heard a thing about you.” I glared at him.

  “Or maybe it’s notoriety that you hold rather than regard,” Rod said.

  “Huh.”

  Rod looked over his shoulder at me then. “What?”

  I tilted my head and let one side of my mouth curl up slightly. “I’ve never met one of Azazel’s lackeys that could understand vocabulary well enough to maintain a decent conversation. Kudos to you, Rod.”

  He looked me up and down. Chay’s arm tightened around me. Finally, Rod’s gaze landed on mine. The electrical current running up and down my nerve endings went wild as soon as our eyes met. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and a tingling sensation ran up and down my spine like I’d put my tongue on a nine-volt battery. If Chay hadn’t had his arm around me, I would’ve fallen backward off the bench. I’d never picked up a feeling from anyone as strong as the feeling he was throwing at me. Hate. Hate. Hate.

  I closed my eyes to break contact, covering my face with my hands to give myself a few seconds to recover.

  “What’s wrong?” Chay whispered.

  I shook my head.

  “Milayna, I feel it. Something’s wrong.” Chay’s breath was warm behind my ear.

  I dropped my hands, turned my face toward his, and wrapped my hand around the back of his neck, bringing his lips to mine. He kissed me gently before resting his forehead against mine.

  “I think she has a headache, the poor thing.” A knowing look crossed Rod’s features.

  There’s something different about you. What’s your deal?

  “Nope. No headache. I’m just really sensitive to smells. And you people just reek. Oh.” I pulled a breath in through my teeth and tsked. “Sorry. I forgot. I really shouldn’t tell you that you smell worse than the dumpsters outside. I imagine the entire underworld has the same perfumed smell. I’m sure you’re accustomed to it by now.”

  I wished I could get a better look at Rod’s hands. I saw my attacker’s hands in my visions. Maybe there’d be something—a mole, a scar, a tattoo—that would give me some answers. But his hands were blocked by Lily’s skanky body.

  “Let’s go,” Chay said, tugging at my sleeve gently. “We’ll sit on the bottom.”

  “No, we’ll go higher.” He raised his eyebrows in silent question. “I don’t want them watching us from up here. I’d rather watch them.”

  Chay nodded and held his arm out, indicating I should go. “Okay, lead the way.”

  “We’re going up?” Drew asked. When I nodded, he smiled. “Yesss.”

  We’d just got situated in our seats when Xavier and Jen walked up and shimmied through the people to get to us.

  Chay was sitting on the aisle with me next to him. Muriel was on my other side with Drew next to her. There was room for Jen and Xavier on the other side of Drew.

  “Excuse me.” Xavier looked at me and waited for me to scoot down so he could sit between Chay and me. He didn’t like the seating arrangement apparently.

  Chay looked up at him and then out at the court. “Ain’t gonna happen. Move down to the end.”

  Xavier wasn’t put off by Chay. He squeezed himself between Muriel and me, which left a disappointed Jen at one end of the row and a pissed-off Chay at the other.

  “Hey.” Xavier rubbed my knee. I pushed his hand away before Chay got a glimpse.

  “Hi.”

  “You like basketball?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you answer questions with more than one word?”

  I sighed. “Generally.”

  Oh. My. Gosh. I’m turning into Chay. He’s the king of one-word answers.

  “Ah.” Xavier turned and looked at the court.

  Chay grabbed my hand and threaded his fingers through mine. He gave it a little squeeze. I had a feeling it was for Xavier’s benefit, but I was enjoying it so I didn’t care.

  He’s here, Milayna

  I jumped back, bumping into Xavier. I looked wide-eyed at Chay. He gave me a knowing look.

  “Do we need to leave? Was it a vision?” Chay ran a finger down the side of my face.

  “No. It was more like someone was talking to me.”

  “What did they say?”

  “He’s here.”

  “Let’s go.” Chay stood and pulled me up, holding me against him.

  “No, I don’t want to go, Chay. I don’t want this crap to rule my life like it did before. I’m gonna stay and watch the game with you.”

  His jaw worked as he glared at me. “Fine.” He sat down. “I guess we’re safer here with the rest of the group anyway.”

  I smiled and kissed his cheek. “Let’s watch some ball.” The game had started and the people around us were already cheering… or swearing, depending on the side they were rooting for.

  I was on my feet for most of the game. Partly because I couldn’t see through the people in front of me and partly because I was screaming at the players and refs.

  “Geez, Milayna,” Drew said, laughing. “You really get into this.”

  I shrugged and then yelled at the referee, “That’s a foul, you idiot!”

  Chay laughed. He stayed seated for most of the game, his finger hooked possessively around the back belt loop of my jeans.

  “You can’t make a free throw to save your stinkin’ life!” I screamed at a player.

  “Milayna used to play competitive basketball on a state traveling te
am for three years,” Xavier said to no one in particular.

  “You did?” Chay asked. “I thought you said basketball wasn’t your thing.”

  “I said anymore. I don’t play anymore.” My gaze whipped around to Xavier. “How do you know anyway?”

  “I have my ways. Plus, I saw a photo of you at your house. You had just made your shot, the ball was flying toward the net, your feet were still off the court where you’d jumped, and you had this steely look of determination in your eyes. It’s a very cool picture. You looked all Michael Jordan-ish.”

  “Yeah well, I missed the basket so it wasn’t that cool,” I snapped.

  Why does it bother me so much that he knows I played ball, anyway? Maybe because I can tell it bothers Chay that Xavier knows and he didn’t. Crap. Here comes the stupid jealousy thing again.

  “You never told me you played. And why haven’t I seen this photo?” Chay murmured when I sat down.

  “It just never came up.” I shrugged a shoulder. “It’s not part of who I am now. The photo is in my dad’s study. I’m not sure how Xavier saw it.” I turned my attention back to the game before inhaling sharply and grabbing my head.

  Chay turned me to him. Xavier put his hand on my shoulder, which Chay promptly removed.

  My stomach was churning. It felt like someone was tying my intestines in dozens of knots. The pain was so intense that I doubled over, one arm hugging my knees and the other pinching the bridge of my nose.

  “A vision?” Chay’s voice was so far away.

  I nodded and moaned at the pain that ricocheted through my head at the slight movement.

  “She’s in pain,” Xavier said.

  “She’s always in pain during a vision. Sometimes, it’s worse than others.” Muriel’s voice.

  “Can you make it down the stairs? Shit. Mil? Can you make it downstairs?” Chay’s voice sounded even farther away, as though it were drifting away on the breeze.

  “No,” I breathed.

  The images were starting to scroll through my mind. I could see the crowd cheering, which was odd. Usually, the visions were like watching a television show. I saw the actions play out in front of my eyes. This time, I saw the vision through my own eyes.

  Fans. Cheering. The noise is deafening.

  Doubled over, I put my elbows on my knees and covered my ears with my hands, squeezing my head.

  Screaming. Vibrating. It feels like we’re moving.

  I opened my eyes and looked around. Everything was normal. The people were cheering, and the players were running back and forth across the court. There was no screaming and no vibrations other than the normal stomping that made the rickety, wooden bleachers shimmy back and forth.

  Another stabbing pain shot through my temple. It was like someone was hammering dozens of nails into my skull. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from crying out. Groaning, I rubbed the sides of my head and squeezed my eyes closed.

  “Milayna, what can I do?” I heard Xavier ask. His voice was slow and garbled.

  “Nothing, you idiot. She has to let the vision play out. Until then, she’s in pain. Leave her alone so it can pass,” Chay snapped.

  “Stop,” I choked out.

  “Stop what?” Chay’s face was in front of mine, his eyebrows furrowed.

  “Whoever is touching me, please stop. It hurts.”

  I felt the hands fall away and heard a muttered curse. The sounds were becoming muffled. The cheers of the crowd sounded slow and deep. I opened my eyes, and the sights of the game were replaced by new images.

  People screaming. The front seats of the bleachers moving. The Evils walking calmly down the steps.

  Pain screamed through my body. Adrenaline shot through my veins.

  The bleacher seats falling. One by one, like dominoes, they fell to the ground. People trapped. Screaming for help. Screaming in pain.

  My head shot up, and I quickly scanned the faces around me. The Evils were gone.

  “Where’d they go?” I whispered

  “Who?” I had to struggle to hear Chay. His voice still so far away and muffled.

  “Jake and Lily and the rest, where’d they go?”

  Chay scanned the crowd. “I don’t know.”

  My stomach twisted painfully, and I let out a small scream of pain. I tried to relax my body, to push through the pain and let the vision wash over me. I focused on each muscle, tightening it and then forcing it to relax. I repeated the process down my body, visualizing the pain squeezing out of my body each time I tightened my muscles. When I relaxed, I’d have a pain-free muscle. Yeah, well, that was what was supposed to happen. But something was about to happen, something big, and a lot of people were going to get hurt. No amount of stress-relieving exercise was going to get rid of that vision.

  The bleachers vibrating and shaking. Falling.

  I looked down at my feet and saw the image of the bleacher in front of me falling. The edge caught the front of Xavier’s foot and pulled it down at a painfully awkward angle. I heard bones crack and saw them protrude through his skin. The bleacher continued to fall to the gym floor below, the people screaming as they fell. Their bodies hit the floor with sickening thuds. Then I felt it. I was falling. Down… down… down…

  I shot off my seat. “We have to get down. Now!”

  I ran down the steps as fast as I could manage, dodging people, weaving in and out. I heard Chay and the others behind me, calling my name, but I didn’t stop. I ran until I reached the gym floor.

  “What is going on?” Chay asked when he caught up with me. He grabbed my hand and swung me around to look at him. “What did you see?”

  “The bleachers are going to fall. We have to get the people out of here.”

  “I’ll go make an announcement,” Xavier said.

  “And say what? Milayna had a psychic vision that the bleachers are going to go tumbling down? You’ll either cause mass hysteria or people will ignore you like you’re an idiot,” Chay snapped. “We need to think of something that would get everyone out without drawing attention to Milayna.”

  “Hurry,” I whispered. I bent at the waist and braced my hands on my knees. The pain was getting worse. The vision was coming to its peak. When that happened… it’d be too late. “Hurry. It’s almost time. The bleachers are… in my vision… just hurry.”

  “Fire alarm!” Drew said, starting to run down the hall.

  “Good, go!” Chay yelled after him. He ran and told his uncle to get out of the building while Muriel and Xavier guided me outside.

  “Has the vision changed?” Muriel asked.

  “Yes. People are going to panic.”

  “Will they get out before the bleachers fall?”

  “Yes.” I leaned across the hood of Chay’s yellow car; my cheek rested on my outstretched arm.

  We heard the fire alarm blare inside the school. An announcement was made to calmly exit the building. I was right—everyone panicked. People ran and screamed. They pushed and shoved to get out of the building. Some were pushed into walls, getting bloodied noses. Others took elbows to their face or gut. Some were knocked to the floor and nearly trampled. I watched the vision play out like a movie. The last of the students were just stepping off the bleachers when my vision showed the entire structure collapsing.

  The images faded. The relentless pain slowly eased. Sights and sounds returned to normal. I opened my eyes and saw the oddest colored eyes staring back at me.

  “Hey.” I smiled.

  Chay let out a breath and smiled back at me. “You feeling better? Tired, I’d bet.”

  “Yeah. To both.” I reached out and touched his temple lightly. “Have I ever told you how beautiful your eyes are?”

  “No.”

  “Remind me to tell you when I’m not so tired.”

  Chay laughed. “Okay. But I think you kinda just did.”

  “Nope. When I tell you, we’ll be alone and I’ll be awake so you can kiss me. A lot. And then you can tell me mine are beautiful—”


  “Because they are.”

  “And then you can kiss me some more.”

  Chay smoothed a piece of hair behind my ear, his gaze holding mine. “Have I ever told you I love how your mind works?”

  “I don’t know. I’m too tired to remember. Write that down for later, too.”

  “Did everyone get out?” Muriel asked quietly.

  I nodded. “I think so.”

  “Thank God.” She grabbed Drew’s hand.

  “Um, I gotta get outta here,” Drew said.

  We looked at him then, and I burst out laughing. He looked like a Smurf. Blue paint covered his right side from his hair to his knees.

  “I forgot the alarms sprayed paint to keep students from setting off false alarms.” I laughed harder.

  “Yeah, well, they do. And I’d like to get lost before the panic wears off and someone notices.”

  “Well, you’d better run,” I said, laughing even harder. Tears stung my eyes, and I wiped them away with the back of my hand.

  “Yeah.” He took off for his car. “C’mon, Muriel!”

  “Geez, I’m riding home with dopey Smurf. You know, he’s one of the reasons they spray blue paint, right? He and his dipshit friends let off so many false alarms their freshman and sophomore years that the school had the paint deterrent added. Serves him right.”

  “Muriel!” Drew yelled.

  “See you later.” Muriel took off after the giant Smurf.

  I laughed so hard I snorted, which made Chay laugh.

  11

  Breakfast

  Date day. A thrill ran up my spine when my phone rang at eight Saturday morning. I was getting used to his early morning phone calls. And even though I was more of a night owl to his early bird, I looked forward to them.

  I answered the phone on the first ring. “Hey.”

  “Did I wake you?” His voice was still gravelly from sleep, and I could hear the rustle of his sheets. I closed my eyes and imagined him stretching in bed.

  “Nope. This morning I was up before you.”

  “Amazing.” He chuckled.

  “I know, right? I surprised myself. I guess I’m getting used to the early hours you keep.” I smiled and stretched under my warm quilt.

  “Stranger things have happened. So, are we on for breakfast?”