Circles and Wings

Chapter 1

 "Are you sure you don't mind helping?" Mrs. Chen asked rubbing my back. I used to come here all the time before Dad took me to Hell. Mrs. Chen made the best dumplings in all of NewYork. I would sit in her booths with Wrath, or Mom and just exist. It wasn't often that I was allowed to simply exist. "I don't want you to be too tired, dear. With just moving back to town and all."

I laughed and met her deep brown gaze. Mrs. Chen was a small skinny woman with kind brown eyes, a tight brown bun that rested at the base of her skull, and an oil stained apron that I'm convinced never left her body. She cooked the food, while Mr. Chen, a short happy faced old man with bland brown eyes and greying brown hair, ran the front.

"I don't mind at all Mrs. Chen, it's the least I can do for you letting me rent one of the apartments." I took the bowl from her hands and began to wash it in the industrial sink. It was methodical to clean the dishes, something mom always made me do. "How's business been since I went to live with Dad?"

"Business has been picking up, though it's never as exciting without you here to tell us what you've learned." Mrs. Chen answered as I handed her the clean bowl. Their restaurant had closed nearly ten minutes ago, and now it was clean up time. "What have you learned today?" Mrs. Chen asked. She used to ask me the same question every time she saw me. She hadn't asked it since I returned though.

I thought for a second, "I've learned that if you want to make good orange chicken, the secret is actually to add grapefruit juice."

She nodded and smiled as she patted my cheek, "And what a good lesson to learn." She pushed my shoulder away from her and laughed, "Now go get some rest. Watch a movie, read a book, maybe see if your neighbor needs help moving in." She wiggled her eyebrows at me and poked me in my side. "He's very handsome, with a good face. Like yours."

I pushed her hand away and laughed, "I'll go introduce myself then." I played taking the apron off of me and hanging it up. The real truth is, I liked the kitchen because it was warm like Hell, but sweet like home. I could pretend mom was cooking with me, and that was enough for me to spend the rest of my life in the kitchen with Mrs. Chen.

To get to my apartment you had to leave the restaurant and walk up the stairs on the side of the building. From there there was a long brown deck that led to two doors. A deep black one with a golden number six on it, my apartment, and a pure white one with a golden number 7 on it. Today I moved past my door and knocked on the white one. There was shuffling behind the door, but it didn't open.

I took it as a sign and began to walk away when the door swung open suddenly and someone grabbed me by my wrist. I stopped walking and looked at my wrist to see a obsidian skinned hand holding it.

It contrasted my alabaster skin like yang to yin. Moving further up the arm I noted a white t-shirt, black jeans, and silver hair crowning the head of a beautiful man. 

His skin was like pure shadows, like midnight painted onto a person. His hair was a shining silver color shaved close to his head, and his eyes were of a bright emerald color. He had a straight nose and a jaw carved from marble. And his hand gripped my wrist gently, but firmly.

"Hi." I started turning back to him, "Mrs. Chen said you might need help unpacking, and I thought I'd introduce myself." I shifted so I gripped the hand that had gripped my wrist. "My name is Scarlett." I said with a slight smile. The man just stared at me, like a fucking psycho.

 If I wasn't immortal, I'd be running for the hills. But he wouldn't be able to kill me, so what was the harm in letting him look at me?

He cleared his throat and shook my hand, though only once, "My name is Jasper." He said awkwardly as he stepped back and gestured to his door. "Come in, please." I gave him a skeptical look before walking through the door to reveal a bright apartment made of white tiles and open windows.