by Anika Rahman
CHAPTER 12
THE POWER WITHIN WORDS
“Hands off!” growled that way too familiar voice, making me feel safe. I belonged in his arms, said a voice in my head. He was my safe haven.
I couldn’t believe it. He was actually here, to save me. The tears literally fell out of my eyes now at the sight of him as James bellowed at him. This is getting out of control.
“Adrian!” I breathed as I somehow felt strength course through my whole body and I broke out of James’ hold and ran into Adrian’s arms. He caught me and cradled my head to his chest and just held me there. As cliché as it may sound, it’s as if my head was just meant to fit there. My whole body aligned with his perfectly despite his height. At last, I pulled away and looked up at him.
Adrian saw my tear streaked face and the red lines on my wrists again and immediately pulled me in for a kiss. I let him, unlike James, and I melted into his kiss, showing James that what we had is truly over. Adrian pulled away and the pain was gone. I felt rejuvenated again. Adrian gently pushed me behind him so that he was between James and me. He stepped forward and so did James.
“Way to go, Prince Charming. Great timing. If you were one second late, maybe you would’ve had to go around the city with her shoes to see if the shoe fits,” James teased, but Adrian was in no mood to joke around. He clamped his jaws and punched James in the face really hard. I thought I heard the sound of bones cracking, but I dismissed it. The sight in front of me was too good to be true.
James took about a few seconds to recover from the shock and when he did, he laughed a bitter laugh that sent shivers down my spine. His eyes were pitch black now and so were Adrian’s. Without thinking, they both lunged at each other and tried to choke each other to the ground. James threw a punch to Adrian’s beautiful face, but he was able to dodge it.
Good. James can hit anywhere, but the face. Just . . . not the face.
Somehow, I felt all the pain he felt during the fight. It was very . . . peculiar. They tried to punch each other some more but both of them were just too good. I felt both of their pain and this is creepy. I could even distinguish between each of their injuries.
Out of thin air, James’ wings shot out from his back. Those wings that I thought were so attractive were now my worst nightmare. It took me awhile to figure things out but once I did, I couldn’t hold myself back. James was a fallen angel and Adrian was just human. Fallen angels had the strength of at least a hundred men alone, if not more. If James really hurt Adrian, then Adrian would probably die. Probably? I know for sure he’d die. If James really loved me, then he wouldn’t hurt Adrian.
“STOP!” I yelled, stopping them both as they turned around to face me. Both guys had cuts and bruises covering them and that hurt me even more. “Just stop,” I said, breaking down. James shrugged and left after concealing his wings. Adrian ignored him and ran over to me, instantly hugging me before I fell again. His face was also streaked with tears and I wondered if he felt my pain too.
I looked up into his face and saw that there was a pretty deep wound along his left cheekbone and I felt a sting along my left cheekbone as well. I reached out to touch his face and he closed his eyes, his grip on me tightening.
“Roza,” he inhaled. I thought that I hurt him so I immediately pulled away from his embrace, leaving a frown on his face.
“No, you didn’t hurt me, Roza,” he laughed and pulled me closer to him one more time.
“How come you can make my pain go away? You can heal me with a single kiss, but you can’t heal yourself? I want to heal you, but I don’t know how to. Can’t you heal yourself?” I asked as something in the back of my mind clicked into place. Adrian wasn’t human either. If he was, he wouldn’t be able to heal himself or read my mind or make my pain go away or know so much about me or . . . and you get the idea.
“I can’t heal myself, Roza. Only you can heal me. No one else can, only you,” Adrian said as he smiled.
I tried to smile, but I couldn’t. He was trying to imply that I should kiss him and heal him like he does with me. I bit my lip nervously and furiously at the same time. I tasted something metallic in my mouth and realized that I drew blood from my lip.
“Don’t do that,” Adrian warned softly as he bent down to kiss me, healing my lower lip. He pulled away and I frowned. So that is how he does it. I leaned up to kiss him so I could heal him and I did. I just thought of Adrian’s face without cuts and bruises and when I looked up at him, he looks the same as before, new and alive. When I pulled away, Adrian buried his face in my neck and groaned, making me laugh.
“Whycan’tyoukissmelonger,Roza? Why?” Adrian asked, his voice muffled. I laughed again and that made him smile as he looked down at me and pouted. Now, how can I say no to that? I leaned up to kiss him again, longer this time, as Adrian’s grip around my waist tightened. When we pulled away, he rested his forehead against mine.
“Roza, I should drop you off at home. Elliot will be worried,” Adrian said as he steered me towards the roof door.
We talked and got to know each other more throughout the walk and he was actually a really great guy. In the end, he looked very nervous, constantly running his hands through his already messy hair.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as he let out a shaky laugh.
“Nothing,” he quickly replied. Now I knew for sure that he was lying and he was nervous.
“You’re lying.”
“N-no I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
“NO, I’m not”
“YES, you are.”
“No, I’m not.”
“We could do this all night,” I challenged as he sighed.
“Alright, fine. I really wanted to ask you something, but . . .,” Adrian trailed off.
“Just ask me. It’s like ripping the Band-Aid off really quickly,” I suggested.
“Okay. Roza, will you give me the honor of taking you out tomorrow night? I know how much you hate dates, but I promise that it is not a ‘date.’ It is just a going-out thing,” Adrian asked, pretty confident about what he was saying as he added a smile. I bit my lip and his face fell.
“I was just asking. If you don’t want to go then—,” Adrian started, but I cut him off by wrapping my arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.
“I would love to, Adrian,” I smiled as he wrapped his arms around me. He kissed me goodnight and I made my way over to the door. Once I unlocked it, Elliot was on the other side, waiting for me.
“Hey little sis’. So . . . tell me, who’s the special guy?” Elliot smirked.
“Shut up,” I said as blood rushed to my cheeks.
“Oh, c’mon. You don’t think I saw you two make out right now?” Elliot said. “Tell me.”
“His name is Adrian and he asked me out for tomorrow night,” I sighed as Elliot’s eyes widened with recognition. His smug expression left too quickly and he turned all brother-like.
“Go up to your room, now. Don’t you have homework?” he asked as he ran up to his room. What was all that about?
* * * * *
That night, I did some research on fallen angels and found out some pretty good stuff that I will be asking Adrian. Maybe he can help, maybe he can’t. It’s a risk I’m willing to take.
Fallen angels are those angels who rebelled against God along with Lucifer, an archangel who became the devil. After falling, a fallen angel’s power may or may not completely go away, but the powers will weaken. I couldn’t really get much stuff, but the one that really caught my eyes were that fallen angels can mind-link others, they can read others’ minds.
They also have soul-mates like werewolves but unlike werewolves, fallen angels get to choose their mates while angels have chosen mates. After you marry your soul-mate, you get to feel what they feel, sense them whenever you want and just stuff like that. You can even heal them faster than anyone else. After searching for some more stuff on fallen angels, I went to sleep.
* * * * *
Tonight couldn’t come any faster and I couldn’t wait to get out of the house and ask Adrian all the questions I wanted to. A few minutes earlier, he had texted me, telling me to wear something very simple. I decided to wear black skinny jeans, perfect for running away from your death, a simple white shirt and a black leather jacket with black boots that had about five to six inch heels.
Ding-dong!
Was it just me or was it getting very hot in here? I felt as if I couldn’t breathe and this was getting ridiculous. Why should I be nervous? I’ve done this before. No need to be scared; I should just . . . breathe.
“Rose, if he even tries to hurt you, which I know he won’t, just gimme a call and I’ll be there to choke Adrian to death,” Elliot smiled as if he said that same sentence every day. I laughed and hugged him.
“I will and don’t worry,” I said before quickly pecking his cheek and heading off to get the door.
Adrian was wearing black skinny jeans with a white V-neck and a black jacket. He looked very handsome as usual, so no surprise there. He smiled at me and offered me his hand which I eagerly took as we walked off together.
I was pretty curious about where he was taking me, but I kind of had a guess. We were heading off to the end of the road. At the end, there was a bridge and you were allowed to go to the edge of the bridge to see the city lights. The whole city would glow beneath you, the lights all golden and glowing. Why would he take me there? When we arrived, he let go of my hands so that I can walk ahead.
“S-surprise,” Adrian said nervously, scratching the back of his neck.
“Where’s your enthusiasm?” I asked and fake frowned.
“I didn’t know if you would like it or not,” he said nervously, kicking the air around his feet. I went over to him and hugged him.
“It’s beautiful and I love it,” I whispered in his ear and I meant it. I could see the whole city beneath me. The lights were so convivial.
“What did you want to tell me?” I asked, putting my head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart.
“I wanted to tell you something, but I am a bit nervous so I thought that I should show it to you,” he responded.
“What . . .,” I trailed off as he gestured for me to turn around and I did. I thought that my knees would give out, but it didn’t.
In front of me, the lights were off as if the city was experiencing a blackout. It lasted for about a minute or two and when I turned around to face Adrian, he gestured for me to turn around again. I nodded before turning around, again.
Then, little by little, some of the lights started to return to some areas of the city. They were spelling out something. I narrowed my eyes and tried to focus. At last, the whole image in front of me became very clear and I gasped.
The whole city was black except for those few lights that were still on. It spelled those three words that were filled with so much power, it was one of the strongest phrases you can ever say to anyone. It said, “I love you.” I stepped back and bumped into Adrian who was looking down at his feet.
He loved me? As in the real love? I knew I wasn’t his type, but still. Oh, what am I thinking. Of course he doesn’t love me. Does he? The scene before me says otherwise.
“Do you like it, Roza?” he whispered.
“I love it, Adrian. Thank you so much. And of course, I love you too. You’re a really great friend. Actually, now, you’re my second best friend,” I said. He loved me as a friend only. He didn’t love me in any other way; it was obvious. I can’t believe I thought that he loved me some other way.
He loved me, as a friend. I couldn’t believe it. Here I am, thinking that he loved me in the other way, but he only loved me as a friend. I forced a small smile on my face and saw hurt swallow that sparkle in his aquamarine eyes.
“As a friend?” Adrian asked as his voice cracked in the end. He swallowed audibly and his eyes looked glassy. Why is he sad?
“That’s right, isn’t it?” I asked.
“Umm . . . Yeah,” he sighed and slumped his shoulders. He looked as if he failed miserably at something very important.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing, Roza. Really,” he smiled, but I could tell how hard he was trying to plaster that on his face.
“We should go,” I said, breaking the growing silence.
“Yeah, I’ll drop you off so Elliot wouldn’t worry.”
“How do you know my brother?”
“I just do.”
“How?”
“Everyone knows your brother.”
“ . . . ”
“ . . . ”
“ . . . ”
“Roza, am I a bad person?”
“No, but why do you ask?”
“No reason.”
We arrived at my house and this time, he just hugged me and kept his space.
“Will I see you tomorrow at school? I’m really sorry about tonight,” Adrian said as the pain in his expression was replaced by concern.
“Of course you will,” I tried to smile.
“I really want us to be friends. I don’t want anything untrustworthy to happen between us. I want you to feel safe around me, Roza,” Adrian said, taking my hand in his. Now I knew for sure that he wanted to be friends and friend only.
“Is that what you were worried about?” I asked and he nodded after a moment’s hesitation.
“I do feel safe around you. It’s just, after what happened with James . . .,” I trailed off.
“Look, Roza. He isn’t good enough for you, literally. He would’ve hurt you eventually. All that love was fake. You deserve better than him. I don’t want you to be upset from all of this,” Adrian said and kissed my cheek.
“Okay,” I said and hugged him goodbye. This was definitely going to be a night to remember. His words had so much power. James’ words had a lot of power, too. He said he loved me, but he lied. Elliot’s words were pretty powerful enough to get me suspicious.
I’ve never known this before. Words had a lot of power, positive and negative. I guess we had to figure out whether it was positive or negative. I wish I knew if Elliot’s Words were positive or negative. If I asked him, he would deny everything and pretend not to know anything. Typical Elliot. I dismissed everything and entered my house, going into innocent-little-sister mode.
CHAPTER 13
A CALLOUSED HEART
“Hey! Roza! Wait up!” Adrian yelled as he jogged to catch up with me. I stopped and let him catch up. Adrian could be so annoying sometimes, but he was the kind of person it was impossible to stay mad at.
“Oh, come on, slowpoke,” I teased as he playfully punched me on the arm lightly and my whole body became a tingling firework. My whole body was flooded with tingles, making their way to my heart and I clutched my arm, not in pain, but to try and stop the tingling.
“Oh. My. God, Roza. Did I hit you too hard? I swear on my life that I did not mean to do that. I am so sorry. Let me see; does it hurt?” Adrian said as that contagious smile of his was replaced by a frown. I flinched from his touch, suddenly remembering what happened last night. My cheeks turned red and a single teardrop fell out of the corner of my eye.
“Oh. My. God. It does hurt. I am so sorry. Man, such a friend I am . . . I have an idea,” Adrian gasped as he pulled me closer to him and pressed his lips onto mine, in front of the whole school. Everyone in the hallway stopped and turned to look at us. I closed my eyes and got lost in the moment. Why, Adrian? Friends definitely didn’t do this in public. He pulled away and gasped for air.
“Is the pain gone?” he asked, concerned.
“First of all, that wasn’t pain. I felt all . . . tingly so I clutched my arm to stop the tingling. I didn’t get hurt. You didn’t hurt me,” I said softly as the whole crowd in the hallway started hooting and pumping their fists in the air. Some of them yelled out, “Get a room you two,” but we ignored them. Adrian buried his face in my neck and wrapp
ed his arms around my waist, embarrassed.
“I-I’m sorry,” he stammered.
“It’s okay, Adrian,” I said as he held onto me tighter. We stayed like that until the bell rang and sent us off to our classes.
“Roza, will you meet me in the greenhouse for a surprise tonight? I know you are staying in school until nine o’clock because of the afterschool thing so . . .,” Adrian said as he looked down at his feet.
“I would love to,” I smiled as I reached up to kiss his cheeks. I turned around and headed off to class. Yup, we were definitely “friends.”
* * * * *
“Roza, you made it!” Adrian murmured against my hair.
“Of course I did. Why wouldn’t I?” I asked as I laughed nervously. Adrian being so close to me didn’t make me feel comfortable, but it didn’t exactly make me feel comfortable.
He let go of me and let me look around and I gasped. The whole greenhouse had a domed glass roof. There was a button so that if you pressed it, the glass dome would pull back to reveal a net-like roof. The whole greenhouse was filled with different types of flowers.
There were roses, daffodils, marigolds, daisies and even poison ivy, but I doubt that poison ivy was considered a flower. The whole place was green, hence the name “greenhouse.” Now, the whole place was red and green. Adrian had set up the whole place like the Valentine’s Day dance and now, it had flowers instead of walls. This brought back so many unpleasant memories and I recoiled and backed away towards the door, only to bump into Adrian.
“Do you like it? I know that you hated the dance that day, but . . . I didn’t properly get to dance with you so . . . I was wondering if you would like to . . . maybe . . .,” Adrian trailed off as he admired his shoes and scratched the back of his neck. I gulped inaudibly and thought over my decisions. It’s not like Adrian was going to kill me so there was nothing to worry about. I slowly nodded and his eyes lit up like the Fourth of July. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this happy. Adrian chuckled nervously and asked, “Really?”
