Angel of Light (A Zak Bagans Story)

Chapter 137: Improvement

Chapter 137: Improvement

After washing up, I left my pyjamas on, and walked out of my room and down the hall, heading toward the living room. Even though there were a few bedrooms on the second level, I decided to use the bedroom on the main floor as my room.

I glanced in a few rooms I passed as I went, and then noticed the patio door was open slightly.

I walked over to the patio door and looked outside, and I couldn't stop myself from smiling at the sight in front of me.

Alicia was curled up in a chair under the sheltered part of the back yard. She still had her pyjama's on, but I noticed she was wearing one of my black, zip up hoodies. It was slightly cool outside, with it being November. She was completely engrossed in her sketchbook, and I knew she must be drawing something.

Gracie was curled up in the other chair, with her head on the arm rest and facing Alicia, as if keeping a watchful eye on her.

I watched the two of them in silence for a few minutes, and then opened the patio door and stepped outside, sliding the door closed behind me.

As I turned to walk over to Alicia, she must of heard me, because she suddenly looked up. When she saw me, she smiled, and all thoughts of my nightmare flew from my mind.

I smiled as I walked over to her.

"Mornin' doll," I said, as I leaned down and kissed her gently, her head tilting back to meet my lips with her own.

Gracie barked and lifted her head when she heard my voice, her tail wagging as she watched me.

"Morning," Alicia replied after we pulled back from our kiss. She was still smiling, and her eyes were sparkling. But then she frowned slightly as she noticed the dampness of my shirt around the neckline.

"Did you have that nightmare again?" She asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah," I replied while petting Gracie, and then leaned down and scooped Alicia up into my arms – which caused her to squeal in surprise – and took her place in the chair, and had her sit on my lap.

She carefully shifted her position so her legs were stretched over one of the the arm rests, and I wrapped one arm partly around her lower legs, my hand coming to rest on her knee.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there," she replied softly, as she reached up and gently stroked the hair on the back of my neck. "I woke up early. Felt pretty good, so I decided to get up," she added.

My eyebrows raised and I smiled.

We were into a little over six months of Alicia's recovery from the car accident, and they had been rough. Physically, she was back to perfect health for a while now, but mentally and emotionally, she was still having a rough time. To hear her say she felt "pretty good" made my heart leap with joy.

"No worries, doll," I said, reaching up to push some hair back behind her ear, and she smiled.

It was then I noticed her sketchbook again, which was on her lap and still partially open.

"Were you drawing?" I asked hopefully, since it was something she hadn't done in a while.

"Oh, yeah," she replied, looking down at the book and opening it. On the page, was an unfinished drawing of Gracie in the position she had been in before I had come over. "She looked so cute. I swear she was modelling for me," Alicia added, laughing.

I laughed and smiled as I looked down at the drawing.

"Looks amazing so far," I said. "We'll have to frame it and hang it up somewhere once you're finished," I added, and she smiled.