MY ANGEL [l.zvahl]

chapter twenty

Alex's POV

I feel my hands plaster themselves against my mouth, looking directly in front of me as tears stream down my cheeks and curving on my jawline.

Cadenza's footsteps echo off the stairs as I hear them increase in volume. She's coming closer to me, and I can't help but stand there.

"Alex, what's the-" Cadenza cuts herself off, a little gasp slipping past her lips as she wraps her arms around me. "Oh Alex, your wings."

I smile and look up at her. "Cadenza, I'm pure again." The tears have stopped falling, and there's no doubt that there's trails of black makeup running down my pale skin. I wrap my arms tightly around her in a hug and close my eyes. "I want to go out for lunch. Can we?"

She looks down at me before taking a step back. She chuckles and looks around for something. "Not looking like that," Cadenza says, finally finding what appeared to be makeup wipes and gently wiping away the messed up makeup. "We'll fix you right up."

I sit down against my bed, closing my eyes as the wipe glides against my eyelids and down my cheeks. Sounds of containers opening and closing and zippers zipping fill my ears as I look up. Cadenza sits there with a makeup brush in her hand and an eyeshadow palette in another.

Something she taught me before was to put eyeshadow on before foundation and concealer. That was I can cover up my mess ups. I couldn't tell you if that's the "pro" type thing to do, but it works for me.

The entire time she does my makeup I can't help but sit there with her, giggling and talking like we had done before. Nothing changed with Cadenza when I turned the first time, and I don't think anything with change this time either.

But why I sat there with Cadenza, Vylad kept coming to my mind. I kept pushing him away to protect him, but I don't have to do that anymore. I can't help but feel selfish. Before I kept pushing him away and told him to maintain distance. I always said it was to protect him, and I was afraid of the pain I'd cause him, but it was also for me. But now that it's different, I just want to run into his arms and have him hold me. That has never changed. It makes me guilty and feel selfish because I would take action of that now.

And then there's Laurance. Laurance is still dark. I'll be pushed aside like I was yesterday's news once he sees my wings, and he'll resent me for punching him in the eye above everything else. I'll lose my brother for a second time, and there's not a single thing I can do to prevent that.

"Alex? Did you hear me?"

I blink my eyes a few times and smile at her. "I'm sorry. I was thinking too much."

"I asked if you were ready to go. I'd like to change before we leave. I don't feel like waking in with my uniform on. You should too," Cadenza says and kisses the top of my head. "Don't think so much."

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Laurance's POV

My last hour of the day is a study hall. They let me leave, and I've been taking advantage of it lately. The less time I spend here the more likely I'll enjoy the rest of my day.

I'm at my locker throwing textbooks onto the metal in the back and watch them bounce onto the area in front of it. It's satisfying watching them fall like that. Don't need them. Don't care.

I feel a tapping on my shoulder, and I look before me to see Y/N. I'm still annoyed with her with our last conversation. I've had a lot of time to think about things, and a punch to the eye and being sent to the damn nurse's office only gives you more time to think.

"Y/N, what are you doing here?" I ask, lifting an eyebrow as my locker door shut, the weird sound of the lock clacking against the metal of my locker sounding as it clicks shut. I clear it and make it go back to zero before running a hand through my hair. "You have class."

"I ditched it."

I stare at her and groan, her behavior seeming out of character for her. Everything she has been doing lately is out of character for her.

"Behaviors like that will turn you corrupted. I can't keep telling you that, Y/N. Go to class."

She rolls her eyes and pouts, giving me reasons why she shouldn't and how we should just ditch together. Y/N reaches for my hand, but I pull it away just as quickly as she grasped onto it. I'm looked at in surprise. This isn't the same Y/N I danced with all that time ago. I can't recognize who I'm staring at.

I give up and begin to walk away. She refuses for this conversation to end here and walks after me and tries to make small talk. Nothing works until I stop to turn to her.

"Who did this to you? Was it me? Aphmau? Garroth? It sure as hell wasn't Vylad," I ask her, putting my hands on her cheeks to hold her head in place. I'm looking into her eyes, disappointment in mine. "You aren't the same girl as before, Y/N. Sneaking around to hang out around me? Ditching class? You're on a good road to becoming corrupted. This isn't you. This isn't who you're meant to be. You have so much potential and your parents love you too much and would hate to see you change because you somehow fell along the way."

Y/N only looks at me and shakes her head as if what I was saying was a lie. "I'm not any different than how I was before Laurance, don't be silly. Now, let's get out of here."

I shake my head and grip onto the strap of my backpack before walking away. "No, Y/N. Until you open your eyes and get your shit together, I'm taking myself out of your life. I refuse to sit here and watch you fall deeper into the hole you've dug for yourself, and I most certainly won't be a part of it."