Angels Without Hearts

Chapter 10

     Once we made it back to James's house, he placed me in front of the fireplace and began to heal me. My breaths were short. One of his hands touched my face, "Relax. Everything is going to be okay." His voice echoed. It was soothing. Holly was on the couch, still out. Cody was healing her. My hand reached up to touch James's face. He grabbed it and squeezed it. Holly jumped up on the couch, sucking in a deep breath of air before coughing. Cody sat behind her and rubbed her back till she stopped. "It's okay Holly. You're safe now." She searched around confused. Cody and Holly turned human again. She looked over at us. "What happened?"

James finished healing my stomach. I could feel myself start to breathe normally again. "David lured you into the mall. We had to come save you." His hand went to my shoulder and began to heal it. He was very focused on making sure I was better. Holly looked at the ground. She looked like she felt guilty for having us all get killed at once. Cody grabbed her hand. "It's okay. Were all okay."

She stood up and shook her head. "No, we almost got wiped out by two dark angels. This isn't good. Jessica almost died..." Her eyes met mine. She seemed to get lost in her own thoughts.

"If it makes you feel any better, I was more worried about you than me." I smiled at her. She laughed a little as a few tears escaped her eyes. James finished and helped me up. He led me over to the couch to rest on. "The good news, Shelby is dead. Bad news, David is the leader of the dark angels." They all looked at the ground.

"Where was Maddie in all this?" Cody asked.

"I was talking to her when I saw Shelby. I asked her if she saw her, and Maddie thought I was losing it. She walked off with her click." Holly rolled her eyes and puffed.

James pulled out his phone and dialed a number. He placed it on speaker for us all to hear. It rang twice before they answered. "Hi James, come to your senses about her already?" We all rolled our eyes. Maddie was never going to give up.

"Why didn't you believe Holly earlier?" James's voice was stern.

"I honestly thought it was just some stress getting to her. I didn't see Shelby." She sounded genuine.

"We all got attacked and Holly was badly injured." James was angry. But I couldn't figure out if he was pissed at her or that we almost died. Maddie was silent for a few moments.

"Is everyone okay?" She didn't sound cold, concerned for once. It's probably the first time in her life she wasn't being heartless.

"She cares, isn't that a shock." Holly mumbled as she flipped her hair back.

"We're okay now. Listen, you need to keep an eye out. David is the leader of the dark angels. Just watch your back." James hung up.

   Holly went to stand but fell back on the couch. Cody and I helped her back to her feet. Cody glanced over at James. "I'm going to take her home. She needs to rest. I'll stay at her place so we're not alone." James nodded. Cody turned into an angel, grabbed her arm and wrapped it across his shoulders. He flew through the roof with her. James touched my shoulder. My eyes looked at his. "Shelby said something to me that didn't make sense."

He raised his eyebrow. "Like what?"

"How much it meant to Leo to keep me safe." James looked away. He stood over by the window, thinking. I walked over and touched his arm.

He sighed. "We've had so many conversations with him before David came to town. He did mention that this was especially important to keep you safe. But never told us why. I've tried to get in touch with him over the last few weeks, but nothing. He must be out on a mission of his own." I felt like he knew more than what he was telling me. But I didn't want to press on with it. His eyes slowly met mine. "Let's get cleaned up and relax for now. There's not much we can do." I nodded. He was right about that.