Fallen Angel

I sat in the back of the car, uncomfortable and unexcited as I stared out of the window at the passing forest scenery with my headphones in. I was silently promising myself that one day I would be more assertive as I thought back to the moment I’d agreed to make the trip to Tennessee with Eva and Harry to watch the Solar Eclipse.

Eva had arrived in Florida two weeks earlier to spend the end of our summer at the beach before driving back up to New York for college. We had been sitting poolside, sun in the sky, sound of the waves lapping up the beach with homemade margaritas in our red solo cups when Eva had brought up the conversation that would lead us to Tennessee.

“Come on Cass! It will be so much fun! And Harry has already offered to drive!” She had pleaded as she had stood up and dropped her sarong from her slender waist. She tossed it onto the sun lounger behind her, picked up her drink from the side table and walked gracefully over to the pool.

“So let me get this straight, you want me to go somewhere I don’t want to go, to see something I don’t want to see, and on top of all that excitement, I get to play third wheel while you and Mr. Brit play tonsil tennis?” I asked sarcastically while I watched her lower herself into the cool, clear water, holding her drink above her head, “You’re right, that sounds like so much more fun than staying here at the beach, please, sign me up!”

She shot me a glare from behind her sunglasses which I ignored as I took sip from my drink in defiance. She mimicked my action, taking a sip from her own cup before speaking.

“Okay, firstly, you get on really well with Harry, so if that’s the only excuse you have, you clearly have no real reason not to come.” She pointed out truthfully, as she put her drink on the edge of the pool and rested her arms next to it, “And secondly, how can you not want to see one of the most amazing phenomena in the world?”

I shrugged.

“I just don’t.” I said bluntly and she scowled, clearly expecting a better explanation than that.

Despite being best friends, Eva and I were very different people and it was moments like this that made it blaringly obvious. From her immaculately styled red hair, down to the fact that she wore matching underwear daily, Evangeline Clarke was the type of girl who looked like she had her shit together. She was academic, organised and scientifically minded, which is how she came to study Physics at NYU.

I, on the other hand, was none of those things. I was the type of girl who felt like I had achieved something noteworthy when I managed to find two socks that matched and was often described using the phrase ‘dragged through a hedge backwards’. Unlike Eva, I thought with my heart before my brain, I didn’t even know what day it was most of the time and I was creative. I wanted to be a journalist and travel the world one day, but I went to NYU to study Philosophy because I was always searching for the deeper meaning in my existence.

When we had been placed together as roommates in our first year, I had initially thought that there was no hope of us ever getting on. She had already been in the bedroom arranging her personal items neatly atop of her chest of drawers when I walked in. She had flashed my father and I a perfectly white smile and extended me a confident hand to shake. I thought she seemed a little odd. Until I got really homesick that night and she made me a hot chocolate, set up her laptop so we could watch Gossip Girl and just kept me talking until I felt okay again. Since then we had been inseparable, knowing we could always rely on the other when we were at our lowest.

“Please Cass…” she whined as she rested her chin on her arms and pouted at me. I looked at her, not saying anything, still not persuaded.

“Okay, how about this? If something this amazing doesn’t make you reflect on your inner self, I’ll do your laundry for a month!” She said with a hopeful sigh.

“Two months.” I said after a few moments of contemplative silence. She had agreed immediately and that’s how it happened. That’s how I ended up sitting in the back of a car for nine hours to watch a solar eclipse that I wasn’t bothered about.

I didn’t realise that had been so lost in thought until Eva touched my knee gently and I realised Harry had pulled into a rest stop. I tugged the earbud out of my right ear, wondering what she wanted.

“I need to use the restroom and Harry’s going to fill up the car, you want to come?” She said with a small smile.

“Yeah, I need to stretch my legs.” I said with a small yawn, as I pulled the other earbud out and wrapped the wire loosely around my phone before throwing it into my bag. I left my bag on the backseat as I popped open the door and slipped out the car, the warm August evening air wrapping itself around me like a familiar blanket.

“Thanks for coming.” She said softly, linking her arm through mine as we strolled over to the restrooms situated behind the small gas station. I squeezed her arm into my side in acknowledgement of the sentiment. I was about to answer her but instead, I was interrupted by Harry’s sudden arrival beside Eva.

“I thought you were getting gas?” Eva asked, raising an eyebrow as he fell instep next to us. He gave her a small smile and tried to look casual as he slung an arm over her shoulders but I could see that he was tense underneath it all.

I liked Harry, he was nice enough and I thought he was good for Eva, but there were times, like right now, when he seemed like he knew something bad was going to happen and it made me uneasy. He got this look in his eyes, like he had a secret that was weighing down on him and it was his burden to bear alone. I just felt like there was something secretive about him and I often thought that he was lying.

“I needed the loo, thought I might as well just come with you girls.” His voice was level, but I could tell from the way his green eyes were darting around that he was uncomfortable about something. We rounded the corner and saw the dirty grey building with a faded sign saying ‘restrooms’ above it.

“This has to be the worst one we’ve stopped at today.” Eva muttered as she scrunched up her nose in disgust. I had to agree, worry was beginning to fill my own body as we stepped closer and I was suddenly glad that Harry had decided to join us. It wasn’t until we were within five feet of the entrance that a burly man stepped out of the men’s room wearing a Red Sox cap pulled low over his face. Eva clamped her arm down on mine a little tighter and I knew that she had got the same feeling of suspicion at the sight of the man.

“I’ll wait here while you two go in.” Harry said firmly, his eyes glued to the shady looking man. He took his position blocking the entrance to the ladies toilets as we walked in together, the door swinging shut and blocking them from sight.

We were just washing our hands when we heard what sounded like a yelp in pain outside the bathroom. Panic rising in both of us, we didn’t bother to dry our hands as we pushed the door open, unsure of what damage we were about to witness. I was surprised to see Harry casually leaning against the wall looking through his phone instead of the crime scene I had been picturing in my head.

“What was that noise?” I asked as I glanced around, looking for the man, my senses in overdrive. Harry lifted his head up and looked at me, cocking his eyebrow up in confusion.

“Noise?” He asked casually. Eva and I glanced at one another and then back at Harry.

“It sounded like someone got hurt?” Eva pressed, taking a step toward him as she glanced around nervously. Harry let out a small chuckle. I couldn’t help but think it sounded kind of forced, but maybe I was just being paranoid.

“Well, I’m the only one here and I’m not in pain.” He smiled as he slipped his phone into his back pocket and stood up straight, “Maybe it was an animal?” He added as he pulled Eva close to him and kissed her gently on the top of her head in an attempt to soothe her. She seemed satisfied by this answer. I wasn’t though.

“Where did the other guy go?” I asked. The tone of my voice was more blunt than I had initially intended it to be, but I didn’t care much when I had a feeling that Harry wasn’t telling the whole truth.

“No clue, he left a few minutes ago.” Harry said, the amusement from his voice gone as his green eyes bore into mine as though he were trying to read me. I hesitated. I didn’t believe him, but I had no proof of anything otherwise, so I kept my mouth shut.

“Do you want to get some snacks while I pee, then I’ll fill up the car and we can go?” He said, his dimpled smile returning when he realised I wasn’t going to quiz him any further. Eva looked up at him wide eyed as she clung on to his waist.

“What if that guy is still here? He looked like he was up to no good…” She said in a hushed voice. He brought his hand to her face and caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger with a small smile.

“I wouldn’t let you out of my sight if I didn’t think it was safe, Angel.” He whispered, planting a small kiss on her pouted lips. I stood awkwardly next to them, feeling as though I were intruding on a moment that wasn’t meant for my eyes. Part of me also kind of wished that I had someone who would calm me down like that when I was scared. I turned away and was looking at the ground when Eva’s arm was suddenly through mine again, leading me back toward the gas station.

We drove for another two hours before we reached the hotel. By the time we got there, the sun had completely sunk out of the sky and we were exhausted from the long day of travelling.

“I can stay with you instead if you want?” Eva said as we reached the neighbouring doors. She looked up at Harry for encouragement that this was okay for her to offer and he nodded seemingly unphased by whatever decision she made.

“No, honestly, I’m fine.” I smiled, inserting the key card into the slot and hearing the tell-tale beep to say the door was unlocked. I pushed the door opened and Harry carried my bag inside and looked around as he dropped it to the floor. He stood still for a second before turning to me with a satisfied smile.

“Not too shabby.” He grinned as he came back over to the door and pulled me in for a friendly side hug, “She’s a tough cookie, our Cass, she’ll be fine!”

He spoke to Eva, but I could tell by the way that he squeezed my shoulder that he was doing his best to reassure us both. After a quick discussion about what time we would be getting up for breakfast tomorrow and then heading to the site, they had disappeared off to their own room.

I sighed and looked around the quiet room, part of me wishing that I had taken Eva up on her offer to stay as I picked my bag up and put it on the bed. I opened it up and grabbed the small bag of toiletries, taking it into the small bathroom. I brushed my teeth quickly and tied my hair back before flicking the lights off and stumbling into bed. It wasn’t until my head hit the pillow that I realised how tired I actually was, and within minutes, I was asleep.

I opened my eyes and found myself standing alone in the middle of a field, unsure of why or how I got there. I looked around and tried to move, but my feet seemed to be stuck to the ground and I could do nothing but wait. I didn’t know how but I knew I was waiting for something… although, I had no idea what I was waiting for. I was surprised at how calm I felt as I watched the tall grass swaying in the wind as the day drifted on.

I don’t know how much time passed while I just stood there, only that the sun had sunk down low behind the trees that lined the field and had left me looking up at a sky full of stars. I felt at peace. It was beautiful.

Until the storm clouds started rolling in.

I wanted to run for shelter but I still couldn’t move. The peace that I had felt moments before left me as the panic began to rise in my chest at the first few drops of rain. At first it was a light drizzle, but then it got heavier and was accompanied by flashes of lightening and the crack of thunder. I was afraid of the storm. I knew something was coming and I felt too exposed.

There was a sudden fork of lightening that touched the ground a mere fifteen feet in front of me. I screamed as it hit the ground thinking that lightning that close would kill me in seconds. The flash disappeared as quickly as it came and I was still alive.

But I was no longer alone.

There was someone where the lightning had struck.

I squinted, trying to make out the shape in the rain, my brain unable to make sense of what I was seeing. I could see a man with his arms leaning against the ground, his head ducked down, seemingly in a crouching stance. But there was something on his back, something I had never seen before. I was about to ask if he was okay but another flash of lightning and the appearance of another figure stopped me.

Unlike the first, he was standing strong, but he had the same weird item on his back. I watched as the new figure walked over to the first who had managed to get to his feet, shakily. I could see that he was limping as he moved away from the new being who was stalking toward him purposefully.

“You can’t do this to me! I’m your brother!” The man with the limp shrieked as they both stopped, keeping the distance between them. There was something familiar about the voice that I couldn’t place. I felt as though I knew it from somewhere. As though I was connected to it somehow.

His ‘brother’ took another step forward and raised his hand. The first man suddenly let out a cry as he dropped to his knees. I knew he needed my help as I started struggling harder against my invisible prison. I watched helplessly as the brother walked behind the kneeling man and put his hands on the strange object on his back.

“You made your choice!” The brother yelled back at him. I watched on in horror as the blue eyed man tried his best to get away but like me, he seemed as though he were held down by an invisible force. There was no way for him to get away from what was about to happen.

“Get your damned hands off of me!” The figure screeched over the roaring sound of the rain. The sound of his voice brought tears to my eyes and I felt them spill over and mix with the rain as the man continued to cry out.

“Stop! Stop it! Let him go! Take me instead!” I screamed in horror, desperate to save the man I didn’t even know. The brother ignored me as thought I hadn’t even spoke, but the kneeling man looked over at me. I can’t see his features, but his eyes are so shockingly blue that they seem to shine with their own light in the dark. I caught my breath at their beauty and my need to help him grew even stronger at the sight. They were darting around as though he was looking for something he couldn’t see and they were filled to the brim with fear.

“You’re the damned one.” The brother spat. Where had I heard that voice before? I didn’t have time to try and remember whose voice it was as the man with the blue eyes released a blood curdling scream, as the black object was ripped from his back.

I jumped as my eyes opened suddenly, my breathing frantic as I looked around for the blue eyed man. I realised in a matter of seconds that it was just a dream and that I wasn’t in a field, but rather I was in a hotel room in Tennessee. I pressed my hands to my eyes, trying to steady my breathing as I sat up and threw my legs over the side of the bed, my body covered in a cold sweat.

I took a deep breath and grabbed the phone off of the bed side table to look at the time, wondering if there was any point me even trying to get back to sleep. On seeing that it was seven in the morning, I decided not to bother and dragged myself from the bed and into the bathroom. By the time I had showered, tried my best to make my hair look remotely presentable and slicked a thin layer of raspberry gloss over my lips, it was eight twenty, ten minutes before I was meant to be meeting Harry and Eva for breakfast.

After packing my toiletries back into my bag with my dirty clothes, I stood in the middle of the room, wondering what to do with myself. I sat awkwardly on the edge of the bed, looking at my phone and willing the clock to move faster. I had spent the morning doing everything I could to distract myself from thinking about my nightmare, and now that I was finally out of things to do, it was slowly creeping back to the front of my mind.

I was surprised at how vividly I could still see it. Usually I was the type to have a cool dream and ten minutes after I had woke up, I would struggle to recall basic details. This time though, I could see everything clearly in my head as though I were just going over a movie scene I had seen a thousand times. I could feel the rain hitting my skin. I could still smell the rain on the grass. I could hear. I could see the blue eyes looking in my direction, pleading with me to save him before he screamed out in agony. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle as I thought about the scream again. I wondered what kind of creatures they were as I sat silently staring at the wall, the images dancing in my eyes. They seemed so human but then the way they moved, the sound of their voices, their entire being, made them seem like so much more.

I jumped when a knock at the door brought me back from my thoughts. Harry and Eva were waiting on the other side when I swung the door open. They both smiled at me brightly, looking refreshed with their hair tied back neatly and somehow still looking perfect in casual climbing clothes. They were just one of those impossibly beautiful couples.

“You excited?” Eva asked as I handed my bag to Harry who balanced it on top of the wheelie suitcase that they were sharing. I turned and pulled the door closed, then followed them as we walked along the corridor and toward the hotel’s dining area.

“Sure.” I said with a shrug and a yawn. We walked into the small room and were greeted by a small man wearing a polo and a pair of jeans. He lead us to an empty square table next to one of the windows looking out across a small green lake. A waiter came over carrying a pot of freshly brewed coffee and handed us some menus before filling up our mugs and leaving us to decide what we wanted.

“What are you thinking?” I asked casually as I tried and failed to supress another large yawn. Harry looked up from his menu and furrowed his brow.

“You seem really tired Cass, are you okay?” He asked looking over me curiously. I put my own menu down on the table and sighed before bringing the mug to my lips.

“Yeah, I just had a bad night is all… Woke up early because I had a nightmare and couldn’t get back to sleep…” I wasn’t sure how much of the nightmare I actually wanted to tell them about though, or even if I wanted to tell them at all. Luckily for me the waiter who had shown us to our table came back over to ask if we were ready to order.

“Yeah, I’ll have the tropical breakfast smoothie and a bacon and egg bagel please.” Eva ordered first and handed her menu back to the waiter. He then turned to me expectantly with expectant eyes.

“Uh, just scrambled egg on toast for me please…” I mumbled. I really didn’t feel all that hungry, but I knew that we had a big day ahead and I doubted that we would have enough snacks to hold me over until lunch time if I didn’t eat now. The man smiled and took my menu before turning to Harry and taking his order of blueberry pancakes with chocolate syrup. To my delight the conversation then turned to the eclipse as we waited for our breakfast to arrive. I was impressed when it was placed in front of us fifteen minutes later.

I took the first bite of my meal and watched as Eva did the same but her eyes were on the shiny syrup that was dripping over the edge of Harry’s pancakes. I could tell by the way he looked at her that he had seen it too.

“Can I try some?” She asked a few seconds later with a small smile. Harry furrowed his brow and raised his eyes to the sky.

“No, you have your own breakfast!” He said, batting away her approaching fork with his knife. She giggled a little and his expression softened slightly, but it still didn’t look like he was going to back down and give her any.

“Please Harry!” She whined and pouted her lower lip, her brown eyes going wide in an attempt to be cute. He wasn’t having any of it though. He cut off a small piece of his pancakes and put it in his mouth as he shook his head and gestured with his cutlery toward her own plate.

“You made your choice!” He said once he had swallowed.

I froze.

The tone was different and it was clearer this time, but the voice was the same. Harry was the brother in my dream. My eyes snapped up to Harry who was grinning, his dimples showing as he and Eva seemed to be having a small sword fight with their utensils over his pancakes.

“You made your choice…” I muttered under my breath without thinking, as the scene played over in my head. Eva and Harry stopped and turned to look at me, both of them looking a little confused. I shook the images from my mind and flashed them a small smile.

“Sorry, you just reminded me of my nightmare… you were actually in it I think…” I said to Harry, my face flushing red.

“I was?” Harry asked, raising his eyebrows. Cassie reached out and gently stroked my hand with her fingertips, the concern in her eyes was evident. I was now going to have to explain.

“Yeah, well… it wasn’t you… it had your voice though, it was like a creature that looked human but with something on its back?” I said. I regretted my decision to say anything when Harry suddenly frowned. Maybe it was weirder than I thought?

“Something on its back? You mean like a bag?” Eva asked before taking a sip of her smoothie. She didn’t look half as confused as Harry did, in fact, she looked intrigued.

“No... it was attached...” I said quietly. I could have sworn that Harry’s eyes had flashed in panic but I couldn’t understand why and seconds later he was taking another bite of his breakfast as though he was just as unphased as Eva.

“Like wings?” She suggested.

I saw them flashing in my mind and it was like hearing the word had made the picture clearer. Of course they were wings! How could I not have realised they were wings when I saw them last night!

“I think so… I think they might have been angels or something.” I said as I took a bite of my toast, still kicking myself for not processing what I had seen. Harry’s eyes met mine but I couldn’t read what he was thinking, he just seemed so serious. Eva, on the other hand, giggled and elbowed Harry gently in the ribs, drawing his attention to her.

“Maybe I should start calling you ‘angel’ instead!” She grinned. He reciprocated the expression but it didn’t reach his eyes. I could’ve sworn that he actually looked afraid in that moment, “What did he do?” She added looking back at me.

“There was another one, with blue eyes… Harry tore his wings from him.” I whispered, wincing as I heard the scream ringing in my ears again. The dream was messing with my head even now, because I thought I saw Harry flinch at the mention of the other angel.

“Do you know why?” Eva asked, her eyes going wide with interest. She seemed as though she were asking me about the plot of a T.V. show rather than the nightmare that had scared me half to death mere hours before.

“Not really, blue eyes screamed at Harry that he was his brother and that he couldn’t do that to him…” Eva kept her eyes on me in interest, but I noticed Harry next to her, sitting with his eyes closed as though he were picturing a memory in his head rather than just hearing about a dream. His lips moved gently but I couldn’t quite work out what he was mouthing.

“Then Harry told him that he had made his choice and then tore his wings off… blue eyes screamed… there was no real discussion about why though…” I shrugged gently and shook my head, “Anyway, I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” I picked up my toast and took a big bite, filling my mouth so that she couldn’t ask me anymore questions.

“Aw Cass, it was only a dream!” She turned to Harry, “Promise Cass you won’t go stealing anymore angel wings!” Eva said turning back to her own breakfast. Harry opened his eyes slowly, they were shining as though he were about to cry but instead he smiled at me weakly.

“I promise not to steal anymore angel wings.” He repeated in a murmur. I was surprised at how seriously Harry had taken the conversation… after all, it was only a dream… wasn’t it?

Notes

Okay, so this is something that I have been planning for a while, the chapters are going to be quite long so please don't get mad at me if it takes a little while for me to update.

Hope you love it!

Leave me a rating, a comment and subscribe if you want more <3

Love always,

Lola xo