Branded (Fall of Angels)

by Keary Taylor

CHAPTER FIVE

   

  The rest of the day passed by in one slow swirl of anticipation and nerves.  There wasn’t much to do around the house so there was little to fill the time with until I went upstairs to see if there was anything I could do to assist Alex.

  I stopped in my tracks for just a moment when I saw him in the kitchen.  He was barefoot, wearing jeans and a red polo shirt.  His entire front was covered with a faded white and pink checkered apron.  Despite the ridiculous covering, he looked absolutely stunning.  I often heard women talk about the attractiveness of a man who cooks but I had never been witness to that until just then.

  “Oh, hey!” he said cheerily as he looked up from his work. 

  “Uh, hi,” I said stupidly as I just stood at the top of the stairs.

  “Everything is almost done,” he said as he turned back to the steaming pots.  “Just give me a few minutes.”

  “Could you use any help?” I asked as my senses started to come back to me.

  “You could set the table if you’d like,” he said as he wiped his hands on the feminine apron.

  I just nodded my head before walking to the cabinet where I knew the dinnerware was and grabbed two plates and two bowls.  I grabbed silverware and glasses as well and got the large oak dining table ready. 

  “That smells really good,” I said as I laid napkins down.

  “I hope you’ll like it,” he said with a grin as he poured something into a serving dish.

  I stood to the side of the table and twisted my hands.  After my year and a half of almost complete solitude, I could tell I had lost a lot of social skills.  I wasn’t sure what to say or how to act.  Being around Sal was one thing, but being around Alex was completely another.

  “You want to grab this?” he said as he took the apron off and held out a large silver bowl.  I lurched forward just a little too quick to take it from his grasp and that little smile tugged at the corner of his mouth again.  As I set the bowl of rice on the table I hoped I wasn’t blushing horribly, but I had the sinking feeling that I was.

  Alex followed me and set two dishes down.  One contained strange, triangle shaped noodles and the other a steaming, spicy-smelling bowl of vegetables and beef.

  “It’s not got a lot to it but trust me, it’s going to taste great,” Alex said as he pulled out a chair.  It took me a second to realize he was holding it out for me.

  “Thanks,” I said as I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and sat down.

  Alex took his seat and reached for my plate.  “Do you care?”

  “No, go ahead,” I said shaking my head, feeling silly that he was dishing up my food.

  He scooped a large pile of the noodles and rice onto the plate and topped the noodles with the vegetable and beef mixture.

  “Oh, hang on,” he said as he set the plate in front of me and stood up.  “Forgot something.”

  He went to the fridge and came back a moment later carrying a bottle of soy sauce. 

  “Oh, thanks,” I said stupidly, nearly dying from how awkward I felt.  I hadn’t had dinner with a man in a very long time, much less a man who looked like Alex.  That was never.

  “I’m glad you agreed to eat with me,” he said as he piled food onto his own plate.  “I hate eating by myself.  I find it depressing.”

  I silently agreed with him despite the fact that I did it every day.  I hesitantly scooped some of the food onto my fork and shoved it into my mouth.

  “Wow!” I said as I chewed.  “This is amazing!”

  He chuckled as he took his own bite.  “Glad you like it.”

  “Where did you learn to cook like this?”

  He finished swallowing.  “I studied in England for a few years and one of my roommates was from Thailand.  His mother owned a restaurant and he had worked in it pretty much all his life.  So, he taught me.”

  “England?” I questioned after swallowing another amazing bite.  “You’ve done a lot of traveling it sounds like.”

  He wiped the corner of his mouth with his napkin.  “I haven’t been back in the states for more than a month since I was eighteen.  I’m twenty-three now.”

  “Where were you studying in England?” I asked, realizing there was a lot more to this man than I had first realized.

  “Oxford,” he said softly before taking a long drink of water. 

  “Oxford?” I repeated and couldn’t help but feel totally insignificant.  I still had yet to attend any form of college.

  “Yeah,” he said, looking slightly embarrassed.  “I somehow managed to get an international business degree.  Pretty boring sounding, right?” he said with a chuckle.  “It’s kind of a miracle that I actually did get the degree.  I kind of like to wander.”

  “Sounds like it,” I said.

  There was a moment of silence as we both ate but it was comfortable and easy.  That was a quality I liked in people.  There didn’t need to be constant chatter and mindless talk.  Sometimes it was nice to just sit in silence.

  We each finished our food and sat back in our chairs, feeling stuffed to the limit.

  “So what about you?” he asked.  “Are you from Bellingham or something?”

  “No,” I said feeling instantly uncomfortable.  Talking about my past wasn’t exactly easy for me.  “I grew up in this really small town called Ucon, in Idaho.”

  “Wow, not what I would have guessed.  So what happened?”

  I was taken aback by how quickly he seemed to have guessed there was something that had in fact happened.  “Let’s just say it was time to leave home or both me and my parents were going to regret things that were about to happen.”

  I hadn’t meant for the words to come out that way and suddenly wished I had given a more tactful explanation.

  “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to,” he said quietly.

  “Thanks,” I whispered as I looked at my hands in my lap.  There was a moment of silence again but this time it wasn’t quite so comfortable.

  A thought occurred to me and I looked up to his face.  “So now that you’re here and have this house left to you, are you planning to stay or go back to Africa?”

  “I think I’m going to stay around here for a while.  We were about done in Kenya anyway and by the time I got back it’d be over.  I had been trying to decide what to do when it was over.  So, yeah, I think I’ll stay around for a while.  I like Washington.”

  I felt weird asking the next question but it was important.  “I can find somewhere else to live now if you’d like.  This is probably weird for you, moving back and finding someone living in your house.”

  “No!” he sounded almost alarmed.  “Not at all.  Please, stay as long as you want.  Like I said, there was a pretty good chunk of money left in a fund to continue paying your wages for however long you want to stay.  And honestly, I’m glad you’re here.  I don’t do well being all by myself.  I like people.”  That small grin was begging to break free again.

  “If you’re sure,” I said cautiously.

  “Yes,” he said almost too quickly and this time the grin was trying to spread on my face.

  As if to save us from any further awkwardness, the phone rang.  I almost sighed in relief.  Even though I was enjoying Alex’s company and attention I still wasn’t sure how to handle it.  Alex rose to his feet just before I could and answered it.

  “It’s for you,” he said as he extended the cordless phone.

  I grabbed it from him and held it to my ear.  “Hello?”

  “Jessica!  Where are you?  I’ve been waiting for forever!”

  Guilt instantly washed over me as I heard Sal’s frantic tone.

  “I’m so sorry Sal.  I got distracted.  I’ll be right over.”

  Sal said a clipped “bye” before she hung up.

  “I have to go,” I said as I turned to Alex and hung up the phone.  “I can’t believe I forgot it’s Wednesday.  I go over to the neighbors every week and wat
ch her show with her.”

  “Who?” he asked as he leaned against the counter.

  “Sally Thomas,” I said as I started for the stairs to get my things.  “Do you know her?”

  “Only a little,” he said.  “She moved into the house a little while before I graduated but we weren’t always here.  I know my grandma was friends with her.”

  I hurried down the stairs, trying hard to keep the numbers that flowed through my mind from slipping over my lips.  Ten…eleven…twelve…  Alex followed me.

  “I feel horrible I forgot about this.  We do it every week.  How could I forget?” I said as I opened the door to my apartment and looked around for my jacket.

  “Do you mind if I come with you?” he asked as he leaned against the doorframe. 

  I froze in my tracks, half bent, looking through a few things on the floor.  Sal might not notice my strange behavior toward her show, but Alex just might.  And I wasn’t exactly sure how Sal would react to him.

  “Um…” I debated internally.  I found my jacket and straightened as I pulled it on.  “I’m not sure how Sal will handle it if you come.  Did you know her much at all?”

  “I know she’s different,” Alex said nonchalantly.  “She always seemed to like me whenever I talked to her before though.”

  I nodded my head.  “I guess it might be ok.  She’s been really quiet lately and kind of out of it so she might not really even realize you’re there.”

  “That’s alright with me,” he said as he ducked out and I heard him rummage around in his room for a second before he appeared back in the doorframe with a hooded jacket on.  “If you don’t mind me tagging along.”

  “That’s fine with me,” I said, trying not to smile.  “Let’s go.”

  We walked out the door and made our way to Sal’s in silence.  I gave a soft knock on the door twice before letting myself in.

  Sal was already cuddled up on one of the couches, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, remote in hand. 

  “Sorry, Sal,” I said as I took a quick look around to make sure everything looked in order.  Everything seemed to be in its proper placement of chaos.  “I had a friend show up and got a bit distracted.”

  At this Sal’s head popped up from staring at the blank TV screen.  Her gaze went immediately to Alex and to my great surprise, a smile spread on her face.  “Hello Alex.”

  Alex didn’t hide his astonishment that not only did she recognize him, but she also remembered his name.  “Hi Sal,” he replied with a broad smile, making a quick recovery.

  She didn’t say anything more as she turned her attention back to the TV and pulled up her TIVO menu.  I gave Alex a sideways glance before we walked into the living room and sat on the empty couch.  After just a second the show started.

  Sal did not really watch any television, but she had an unfortunate obsession with Touched by an Angel, and I had to watch it with her.  Of all the shows she could choose to be obsessed with it had to be that show.

  As the episode started, I realized it was one that we’d already seen from an early season.  I guessed by now we had probably watched all the seasons and every episode to ever air.  I tried very hard to focus my attention on the show.  Normally I was able to ignore the show completely, but with Alex there to observe, I thought it best to show some interest.  It was not that I did not like the show.  I thought the messages in it were good and had worthy origins, but why did they have to call them angels?  If they were called anything else I probably would have actually enjoyed watching the show.  Obviously the creators knew nothing of the true nature of the beings they were trying to portray.

  I couldn’t help it as I diverted my attention to anything other than the television screen without taking my eyes from it.  I noticed that somehow Alex’s arm had ended up draped across the back of the couch.  Trying to be discrete, I glanced at his face, searching for any signs of a sly grin but found his face oddly attentive of the show before him.  He wasn’t trying to be sneaky or make a move.  I somehow doubted he even realized his arm was there, resting just an inch or so above my shoulders.

  I tried to turn my attention back to the television but caught a glimpse of Sal out of the corner of my eye.  To my great shock and embarrassment she was staring intently in my direction, a slight smile spread across her face.  It almost startled me at first, Sal almost never smiled.  And she never lost attention in her show.

  A confused expression spread on my face as I shrugged my shoulders just slightly as if to ask her, “What?”  Her grin only got a little bigger before she turned her attention back to the television.

  I didn’t see it; if it was at all possible I just felt it, the small smile that crept onto Alex’s lips. 

  The rest of the show passed by unbearably slow and I nearly sighed in relief when the credits started rolling.  Feeling ready to snap at any moment from the tension I felt inside, I sprang to my feet and grabbed my jacket.  Sal turned the television off and stood to face us, that strange grin still spread on her face.

  I tried to ignore it, however impossible it was to do so.  “Do you need anything Sal?” I asked, as I always did before I left her house.

  “I’m okay,” she said, her grin still plastered on her face.  “Good-night Jessica.  Good-night Alex.”  Without another word she walked to the stairs and headed down to her bedroom.

  This time I did sigh in relief as we turned for the door and walked out.

  “What a nice evening,” Alex said as we walked up the stairs that ascended the sloped lawn to the road. 

  It was freezing.  Small puffs of air curled out from our lips and noses and rose into the air in delicate patterns.

  “Sal seems like a really wonderful person,” he continued as we took our first steps down the road.

  “She is,” I said as I wrapped my arms around my torso.  “She’s different but I suppose that’s part of why I care about her so much.  She’s so innocent.”

  Alex nodded his head.  “It’s really good of you to take care of her like that.  My grandma tried to help her out, but we were gone so much it made it difficult.”

  By this time we reached the stairs that led down to the house and I kept my silent count to ninety-one to myself.  As we walked back into the house the smell of our recent meal filled my nose.

  “Oh shoot,” I said as I closed the door behind us.  “I forgot about all this.  I’ll help you clean it up.”

  He didn’t argue with me and we quickly cleared the table and started to load the dishwasher.

  “I really enjoyed tonight,” I said as I put the plates onto the rack, speaking before I thought about what I was going to say.  I immediately felt blood rush into my face.

  “I did too,” Alex said.  As he rinsed a pot and handed it to me, his eyes met my own and I felt a small quiver run down my spine as that smile spread on his lips.  He turned his attention back to another pot.  “Thanks for letting me come with you to Sal’s.  It was nice.”

  I had to hold back a little chuckle as I put the pot into the dishwasher.  Awkward maybe, I thought to myself.  “I was surprised she remembered your name.  She barley remembers her own most days it seems.  You must have left a good impression on her before.”

  “I guess,” he said simply as he handed me the last of the silverware.  I loaded it into the rack and closed the door.

  “Thanks for the help,” Alex said as he leaned against the counter, his arms folded across his chest.

  “You’re welcome.”

  Alex glanced back at the clock that hung above the sink.  It now read eleven o’clock exactly.  “Well, I think I’m going to hit the sack.  I’ve got to meet with an attorney in the morning.  Something to do with my grandparents will and having the assets transferred to my name.”

  “Sounds fun,” I said sarcastically. 

  “You’d better believe it,” he said as he rolled his eyes and started for the stairs.  We walked down in silence and said a brief good
night before we went our separate ways.

  When all was quiet, I pulled my laptop out again and pulled up the internet.  After only a few moments I found the gruesome answers I was looking for.

  I was right when I assumed Crystal Daniels was a prostitute.  She had also been murdered last night in an alleyway.  Stabbed four times in the chest.  The murderer was still at large and they currently had no leads. 

  Could one really call that getting what another deserved?  I didn’t know if anyone deserved to die like that.

   

  The next morning the house felt oddly silent.  It was strange how I had grown so accustomed to having another person around after just one day.  I thought I was happy being on my own.  I had become independent and I needed no one.  Apparently I was wrong.  Humans are social creatures by nature and while I may have been a freak, I was still human.  At least I hoped so.

  I was restless and anxious with how empty the house felt so I headed to Sal’s early.  She may not have been the company I was craving, but anything was better than sitting at home alone at this point.

  “Sal?” I called as I opened the door and peaked in.

  “Come in,” I heard her call faintly from inside.

  As usual, I quickly glanced around and noted that everything looked in order. 

  “Sal?” I called again when I saw no signs of her.

  “Down here,” I heard her voice float up the stairs.

  I found her in the office, sitting at the great oak desk, a shoebox open in front of her.

  “What are you doing?” I asked as I sat in the chair in front of the desk.

  She didn’t say anything but pushed a photo across the desk towards me.  I picked it up and examined it.

  There were two people in it.  The first was Sal.  She appeared to be several years younger, her skin more youthful and her hair a bit more lively.  Yet there was something all too familiar about her eyes, they looked haunted, hurt.

  The second woman was slightly familiar and it took me a moment to recognize her.  I had never actually met Sue Wright in person, only talked to her on the phone, but I had seen one or two pictures of her.  She was a kind looking woman, pure white hair, wrinkles all around her eyes and sprouting from her sunny smile.  Her face was tanned and warm looking.

  Sue’s arms were wrapped around Sal’s waist, her head resting slightly on her shoulder.  Sal looked hesitant but she was smiling as if in acceptance of the woman’s affection.

  “Alex said you were friends,” I said quietly as I pushed the photo back towards her.

  “I miss her,” Sal said and I was surprised to hear the emotion in her voice.  As I looked into her face I saw a single tear rolling down her cheek.  I had never seen Sal cry.  I also silently wondered how Sal had found out about Paul and Sue’s death as neither Alex nor I had said anything at all about it.

  Sal didn’t look up again from the box as she pushed another photo towards me.  This one held two men standing next to a barbeque, both wearing aprons.  Paul and Alex.  Paul was tall, just as tall as Alex.  He was very fit for a man his age and his build was similar to Alex’s.  His hair was very dark, almost black, yet speckled with dignified silver.  His face was tan as well, a leathered look as if he had spent too much of his life out in the sun.

  “When were these pictures taken?” I asked as I noticed Alex looked much younger.  He was exactly the type of guy that every girl in high school would have had a crush on.  I certainly would have. 

  “That was Alex’s eighteenth birthday,” Sal said as she pushed another picture towards me.  This one was of Alex blowing out candles on a birthday cake.  “He graduated a month later.  That was the last time I saw him.”

  It seemed strange to me that there didn’t seem to be any friends around in any of the pictures.  What eighteen-year-old guy was content to spend his birthday with just his grandparents and the odd neighbor?  To me this spoke loads about his character.

  “Alex is a nice boy,” Sal said as she finally looked up at me, a serene smile on her face.  “I’m glad he came back home.”

  The thought I am too, ran through my mind all too quickly.  I tried not to think too much about how ridiculous I was being.

  Sal continued to pass pictures to me.  She starred in a few, but for the most part they were of Alex.  There were several of him eating a hamburger, opening a few presents, and a few candid ones of him laughing with his grandfather.  It took me a while before I thought to wonder where Alex’s parents were.  I had never heard him say anything about them yet.

  After an hour or so I could tell Sal was getting restless and ready to be alone.  I took this as my cue to head back home.

  “Do you need anything, Sal?” I asked as I rose to leave.

  She shook her head as normal and I bid her goodbye.

  I didn’t see Alex the rest of the day, much to my disappointment.  The day passed painfully slow and when I finally heard the door open and close at eleven thirty, I knew it was too late in the night to rush out and see how he was.  Not only was this desperate but I should probably be asleep.

   

  X

   

  The store was still fairly quiet, not a surprise considering we had gotten there just minutes after it opened its doors.  Just after I had thrown a load of laundry into the washer Alex had come in and asked if I would mind doing some shopping with him.  At first I had been hesitant, with it being the day before Valentines but when he told me he would be shopping for new appliances, it seemed less threatening.

  “This would be so nice,” Alex mused as he ran a hand over the glossy sterling silver range that was on display.  “So much better than that old unit at home.”

  I couldn’t help but chuckle.  While I had to agree that the house could use some updating as it was twenty something years old now, it seemed humorous that a twenty-three-year-old guy would care.

  “What do you think about this one?” he asked as he looked me in the face.  His brow was furrowed but I could see the excitement in his eyes.

  “Um…” I stammered as I struggled to look away from his face.  The unit certainly did look nice, it was shiny and pretty but it was just another range to me, the only difference being that it had six burners instead of the normal four.  “Are you ever likely to be using that many burners at a time?”  Nice, I scolded myself.  That sounded real smooth.  I was such a dork.

  A smile cracked on one side of his lips.  “This is the one I’m going to get then,” he said gleefully.

  I only chuckled and shook my head as we walked over to the refrigeration units.  Alex quickly got down to business, opening and closing the doors of almost every unit.  At one particularly fancy one that contained some kind of touch screen in it, Alex started chuckling and shook his head.

  “What’s so funny?” I asked shyly, yet curious as to what the answer would be.

  Alex chuckled again before he gave a little sigh and closed the door.  “Just an old memory,” he said as he moved onto the next unit.  “I remember when I was about six, my grandparents got a new fridge that had the ice and water in the door and my dad was absolutely fascinated by it.  He thought that was the coolest thing ever invented.  I wonder what he might have thought if he were to see this.”

  This was the first time I had ever heard Alex mention either of his parents.  “Where do your parents live now?” I couldn’t help asking.

  As Alex looked at me I saw a certain sadness spread in his eyes.  It made me sad too, those startlingly blue eyes should never look sad.

  “I have never actually met my mom,” he said as he continued walking slowly through the isle.  “She took off when I was only a few weeks old.  My grandparents never had anything good to say about her and alluded to a drug problem she had struggled with for years.  I guess I was lucky it didn’t affect me at all when she was pregnant with me.  I have no idea where she is or what last name she might be using to even try to track her down.  I only know he
r first name is Caroline.

  “When I was about three my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer.  He smoked while he was in the army and it caught up to him, though he had quit long before I was born.  His body wasn’t handling it too well and we had to move in with my grandparents.  It was a nasty battle with the cancer and of course they didn’t have the treatments for it back then as they do now.  He died a week before my seventh birthday.”

  He was quiet for a long moment after that and I could feel tears welling up in my eyes.  “I’m so sorry, Alex.  That’s terrible.”

  His own sad eyes met mine.  To my surprise, a smile spread on his face and to my relief it spread to his eyes.  In a gesture that totally took me off guard, he draped an arm across my shoulders.  “It’s alright,” he said casually.  “My grandparents were amazing people and I was very happy growing up with them.  I don’t remember too much of my dad but what I do remember is nothing but good memories.”

  I tried to smile and gave a little sniffle.  He looked back down at me and giving me a quick squeeze, turned to another fridge.  “How about this one?” he said with a sarcastic smile.  I couldn’t help but laugh as I saw the one he indicated was maybe half the size of a normal fridge.

  He didn’t take too much longer to pick out the rest of his new appliances.  My jaw nearly hit the floor when I saw the total price.  I thought I saw Alex cringe slightly as well, but he simply pulled out a card.  “Thanks Grandma and Grandpa,” he said with a chuckle as he swiped it.