Noru 4: When Angels Break (The Noru Series, Book 4)

by Lola StVil

  “How could you be so damn stupid? I taught you about safe sex before I taught you how to fly. I sat you down and I explained it to you. Do you remember that?” he asks Aaden.

  “Dad, it’s—”

  “Do you remember me sitting you down and talking to you about safe sex? Yes or no?”

  “Yes.”

  “What did I say about having unsafe sex?”

  “Are we really gonna do this?”

  “WHAT DID I SAY?”

  “You said having unsafe sex was a dumbass thing to do.”

  “And?”

  “And no matter how good it felt in the moment, that moment would pass and I would have to deal with the consequences.”

  “What part of that confused you, Aaden?”

  “I’m not confused,” he snaps.

  “THEN WHY THE HELL IS DIANA HAVING YOUR CHILD?”

  Aaden remains silent. Uncle Rage studies him once again. When he speaks, his tone is still firm although he is no longer screaming.

  “Was it me? Did I raise you wrong?” the demon asks his son.

  Aaden shakes his head, but doesn’t say a word.

  “ANSWER ME!”

  “No, you didn’t raise me wrong,” Aaden says, trying to hold back his temper.

  “The hell I didn’t. Otherwise why would you make such a dick move? And why would you let me find out from the angel media?”

  “I didn’t have time to fill you in.”

  “I am your father; you make time!”

  “Things have been crazy, but they’ll settle down soon.”

  “I can’t believe this crap! Even if you inherited my talent for making bad choices, you should have gotten some brains from your mom. She was fucking brilliant! Why didn’t you get that from her?”

  “I did,” he counters.

  “I thought you did, but judging by the shit storm raining down on you, not only did you not get her intelligence, you also failed to get her common sense. Why else would you have sex with no damn protection?”

  “Diana didn’t tell me, okay? She went off on her own and did this.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We had sex; we were safe. We were always safe. But one night she decided she wanted us to be a family. She said she drank the Tam, but she lied to me.”

  “Bullshit, Aaden! Diana didn’t lie to you. She told you she wanted to be with you a million times.”

  “Dad, I’m telling you, she never told me about wanting to have a kid with me!”

  “Aaden, she did tell you. She just didn’t say the words, but she told you with her actions. You weren’t listening.”

  “I never lied to Diana. I told her that I loved Pry,” he snaps.

  “You love Pryor, yet you spent a year playing house in motel rooms all over the world with Diana. You want Pryor in your life, but when you needed someone by your side, you called on Diana. You say that Pryor is the only girl for you, but you keep Diana around like an extra set of car keys. That’s a crap move.”

  “Diana stayed on the team because she wanted to. It didn’t have anything to do with me.”

  “You better stop lying to me, kid, because it’s really starting to piss me off!”

  “What do you want from me?”

  “I want you to pay attention! Diana gave up her wings, her team, and her standing in the Demon world—all for you!”

  “I never asked her to do that for me,” he replies.

  “Did Pryor need to ask you to save her from the Center? No! You did that shit because Pryor owns your soul outright. That’s the same way Diana feels about you. And if you were paying attention, you’d know that that girl would take on Malakaro if it meant she could have you in her life.”

  “I was honest with her. I told her about Pryor from the very start.”

  “You said one thing, but your actions said another. Diana may have been on autopilot, but, Aaden, you’re the one who set the course.”

  “Okay, fine! I didn’t know Diana was going to go as far as she did, but I should have.”

  “Yes, you should have; instead you decided to be blind to it, and now you’re hurting two young women you claim to care about. Is this how I raised you? To be a selfish dick?”

  “I didn’t want them to get hurt. I tried to—”

  “I don’t care what you tried to do, only what you actually did. Son, Pryor doesn’t deserve to be in the middle of this. She just lost her brother. Her parents have been taken away from her and the Center nearly killed her.”

  “You think I don’t know how difficult this is for her?”

  “It’s not difficult, it’s impossible.”

  “Dad, you’re wrong. We talked about it and we’re going to try to work it out. We had an argument earlier, but things are better now,” Aaden insists.

  “Things are better now? You make this whole thing sound like a little misunderstanding. Aaden, you didn’t forget her birthday or stare at the waitress with the nice ass on your dinner date. You went off and got another girl pregnant. And to make things worse, she finds out the morning after she gives it up to you?”

  “What? Wait, how do you know about that?” Aaden asks.

  “Oh, I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions. I’m sure the first moment you and Pry got together after the trauma of the Center, you two read poetry to each other, just like your mom and I did. Incidentally, that’s how you came about—we read a lot of poems,” he says sardonically.

  “Just tell me it’s not on social media. Pryor would freak,” Aaden replies.

  “You know that everything you and the team does is news in the Angel world. And even if the media wasn’t involved, you think Mrs. Maybelle wouldn’t tell me what’s going on with you kids? You and Pryor spend the night in the same house and the next morning all the color is drained from Mrs. Maybelle’s garden? You didn’t think that was a big clue?”

  “Is this the part where you scold me about spending the night with Pry?”

  “I knew you two were going to come together. When the two of you were toddlers, you were only happy when you were near each other. And when you hit grade school, it was the same thing. By the time you two became teens, it was all Marcus and I could do to keep you two apart.”

  “We never did anything before this.”

  “No, but you both wanted to. Everyone could see it. And I hoped that when you two got together, it would be under the right circumstances.”

  “The circumstance was right. I didn’t pressure her.”

  “I know you didn’t. But now, that girl is second-guessing having slept with you.”

  “Pryor isn’t…she doesn’t regret sleeping with me,” Aaden says, sounding troubled.

  “Aaden, everything comes into question with a child.”

  “I know. I’m handling it. Pryor and I are going to make it past this.”

  “And what about Diana? Do you even care about her?”

  “Of course I do!”

  “THEN WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?”

  “I DON’T KNOW! I DON’T KNOW! I. DON’T. KNOW!” Aaden roars as he smashes the wall behind him with his fists.

  The two remain silent for a moment. Both father and son are exhausted with anger and frustration. Aaden leans against what’s left of the wall and looks up into the sky. He addresses his father in a pained whisper.

  “When I first found out, I would have done anything to make it not true. I wanted it to be some kind of mix-up. Later, when I was watching Diana get checked out by the Healer, something crazy happened—I was about to leave the room and the baby pushed the door closed.”

  “She moves objects, just like your mom did?”

  “It’s more than that. Dad, she knew me. She knew I was walking away and she didn’t want that. She wanted me. She needed me.”

  “You’re her father; of course she needs you,” Uncle Rage says.

  “We were in battle today…Kasters. There was a point where Kill had me pinned down and was close to taking me out. All I could think was ‘please do
n’t let me die before I meet her. Please, Omnis, let me get to meet my daughter.’”

  “You will.”

  “How do I do this father thing?”

  “You’ll figure it out.”

  “What if I can’t? What if I screw up this little girl’s life? What if she’s not safe with me? What if I’m not enough and can’t give her what she needs?”

  “When we came out here, I asked you a lot of questions. What I didn’t ask was how the baby is doing. The reason I didn’t ask is because I know so long as you are alive, my granddaughter is loved, protected, safe.”

  “You think I can really do this?” he asks Uncle Rage.

  “What kind of dumbass question is that? Hell yeah, you can do this. It’s just gonna be a change. A major change.”

  “It’s crazy, but I’m going to be a dad and I’m not sure what that really means.”

  “It means you have entered a special circle of hell called ‘worry.’ You worry that if you love them too much, they will grow to be lazy, self-entitled jerkoffs with no discipline. You worry that if you don’t love them enough, they will be attention-seeking, power-hungry assholes. Your entire existence will be a never-ending shit pile of worry and self-doubt.”

  “Great, good to know,” Aaden says, shaking his head, defeated.

  “There’s one more thing you should know about being a parent.”

  “What?”

  “It’s the best fucking thing that will ever happen to you.”

  Finding out that Uncle Rage knows Aaden and I had sex is completely mortifying. But then again, it could have been worse. Uncle Rage is more easygoing than, say, my dad. If he found out, he would have lost it for sure. Anyway, now that the two of them are talking calmly, I feel okay in walking away.

  As I head back into the clinic, I spot Key exiting Randy’s room. She sees Bex standing a few feet away and she pauses, not sure if she should approach him. I would love to give them their privacy, but the only way to get to Randy’s room is to pass them in the ‘hallway of awkwardness.’ So I hang back and hope their exchange is short and sweet.

  “Hey, um…have you seen East? Randy was asking for him,” Key says nervously.

  “Yeah, his mom called about an hour ago. He went to go see her.”

  “Oh…thanks,” she replies.

  He starts to walk away, and she calls after him. He reluctantly turns to face her, but for a long time they just look at each other, neither of them speaking. Finally Key clears her throat and tries to talk to her ex.

  “I know things have been…weird between us. I just wanted to make sure you and I are still…”

  “Still what, Key?” Bex asks with a layer of frost in his tone.

  “Friends. I want us to still be friends.”

  “Okay, sure,” he says as he shakes his head in disbelief and starts to walk away once again.

  “Wait! Bex, talk to me.”

  “So now you want to talk?” he snaps.

  “Well…”

  “I’m sorry, I’m just trying to figure this thing out. You break up with me. You leave the country and don’t return my calls for weeks, and now you want to talk? What is there to talk about?”

  “I didn’t return your calls because I needed some time to process everything,” Key says.

  “Well, that makes everything okay,” he says sarcastically.

  “You don’t have to be like that. It hurt me to break up with you.”

  “Bullshit!”

  “Bex!”

  “Keyohmi, I called you every day, three times a day, like a damn fool. I texted you and hounded Swoop to tell me how you were. If this break up meant anything to you, there would have been some kind of hesitation on your part, but there was none.”

  “Walking away from us nearly killed me. I loved you. You know that. What did you want me to do? How much longer was I supposed to stand around and watch you pine for Pryor?”

  “I can deal with the fact that we had to end, but it’s how we ended. You walked away and never looked back. Key, you froze me out of your life.”

  “I needed time away to get my head together,” she reasons.

  “You talked to everyone on the team while you were away—everyone but me. I never would have erased you from my life like you did me. I know I screwed things up, and I take full responsibility for our relationship ending. But our friendship ending…that’s all you.”

  “Guys, East’s mom just texted me. She told him who he really is and he’s not handling it well.” I tell them.

  “How ‘not well’ are we talking?” Bex asks.

  “He’s in jail.”

  I tell Aaden what’s happening and he wants to come with us, but I tell him to stay with Ruin until she wakes up. I know he wants to help, but I also know he would want to be there when his daughter wakes up. I assure him that if we need him, we will call. He kisses me and makes me promise to be careful.

  We get to the precinct on the upper east side of Manhattan and find everyone has been frozen except Easton, Winter, and a pale, round-bellied angel with a mustache, who identifies himself as Vladimir, a Healer.

  Easton speaks to us from behind bars. He’s furious and holding on to the bars so hard his fingers have been drained of color.

  “Did you guys know? Huh? Has the whole team been keeping this from me?” East demands when we enter the holding area.

  “Easton, I told you your friends just found out today,” his mother pleads.

  “You think I’m ever going to believe anything that comes out of your mouth ever again?” he rages.

  Winter bites her lower lip to keep from being emotional. It doesn’t work. She’s on the verge of tears.

  “We didn’t know, East, we swear,” Swoop says.

  “But we’re happy that we know now. You’re our cousin! That’s a good thing,” Key says.

  “There is nothing good about what that woman did!” East replies.

  “I wanted to protect you,” she shouts.

  “Mothers protect their children by holding their hand when they cross the street or stopping them from touching a hot stove. They don’t lie to them about who their father is. And they don’t sit by for years while some asshole treats their kid like shit!”

  “East, I know you and Frank have had some problems…”

  “Problems? He broke my fucking arm,” East shouts.

  “What? No! Wait…what…you never told me! Why didn’t you tell me?” She moans.

  “I wanted to protect you. I knew how much you loved him, but it turns out I did that for nothing because you didn’t give a damn about him. You ended up sleeping with my real father. That’s why he hates me so much—all this time I thought I did or said something to piss him off. I begged Omnis to help me understand why Frank hated me and it was you he hated! It was all your fault. I never got to meet my father, and the guy you replaced him with is filled with hatred for me. You ruined my whole fucking life, and I should have burned the house down with you in it!”

  “Easton!” Bex says, clearly upset with the way his teammate is speaking to his mother.

  “Stay out of this, Para!” he counters.

  “She’s your mother. You can’t talk to her like that,” Randy says.

  “I don’t know the woman in front of me. My mother would never hurt me like this,” East says, trying to keep his voice steady.

  “Son, please try to understand,” Winter says as she disappears from my side and reappears inside East’s cell.

  “Get away from me!” he says, backing up.

  “We came to get you out,” Winter says with tears in her eyes.

  “You think I’m going home with you? I don’t even know you!”

  “You have no idea how hard it was for me,” Winter cries.

  “She did what she did out of a desire to protect you,” I tell him.

  “Healer, you can unfreeze everyone; I’d rather stay in jail than go home with that woman,” East says to his mother’s longtime friend.

  “East, y
ou can be upset, you have that right, but we are not leaving you in here,” I reply.

  “Fine, I’ll come with you, but I do not want to go home. I’m going back to Pryor’s house,” East says.

  Bex pries the heavy metal doors open effortlessly and lets Easton out.

  “You have to come home so we can talk about this,” Winter pleads.

  “The hell with talking. Leave me alone.”

  “You are overstepping, young man, and I would watch it if I were you,” Winter warns.

  “You have the nerve to scold me after what you did?”

  “I told you why I did what I did. Easton, I am sorry.”

  “I’m sorry too, Mom. Sorry I ever believed a word that came from your mouth.”

  “I did it to ensure your safety.”

  “How long are you going to keep lying to yourself about that? You let me live in that house with Frank, knowing that he hated me, knowing he had good reason, and you never said a word! You let me believe it was all my fault. For years I racked my brain, I cried, I wanted to die because my father didn’t love me, and it turns out he had a good reason. I don’t belong to him!”

  “Easton—”

  “And then there’s the little matter of taking my powers away. How many times growing up did I come to you worried that I wasn’t as good as everyone else? How many times did you look at me and say that I was good enough, all the while ensuring that I stayed a weak little Quo. You stole my life from me. You tried to make sure that I never became who I was really meant to be!” Easton swears as we head out of the police station.

  “You have to try to understand your mother did what was best for you,” the Healer says.

  “Healer, why are you even here? You helped her steal from me. Go to hell,” East spits.

  “I was helping a friend who needed me,” the Healer replies.

  “Oh, hey, is there something going on between you two? I mean, do I have some brothers or sisters you two forgot to mention?” East snaps.

  “Easton, enough! You’re being rude,” Winter warns.

  “I’m sorry, Mom, I don’t know what the etiquette is here. How exactly am I supposed to treat the Healer who helped you with your half-baked scheme? What tone do I take with the jerk who helped strip me of my powers and now has no idea who has them or where to find them!”