Angel Wings

Chapter 4

Will nodded and they started to walk down the steps. Outside, everything was covered in a layer of mist and the darkness seemed heavy in the air. The chill from earlier had multiplied and bit Izzy's fingertips as she curled her hands into balls.

Her nails dug numbly into her palms. One step at a time, she made it down the stairs, with her hands swinging by her sides. Everything felt too calm and the hairs on the back of her neck were pricked in anticipation.

Will, who was ahead of her, stopped to turn around. His hand was also rolled into a fist with his knuckles showing; little balls of pure white.

"You coming?" He asked, as a means to fill the silence rather than anything else.

Izzy nodded and joined him at the bottom.

"Just felt a bit weird."

"Careful there. How many units did you have to drink?"

She smiled at his joke and they fell silent for a few seconds, letting it hang in the air.

Then the unusual feeling came back.

It was indescribable, a feeling somewhere between guilt, worry and reflex.

Will watched as Izzy moved her head to look around. Her eyes squinted but didn't catch on anything.

"It's nothing." She added as she saw his concerned look.

As the pair of them walked back around the street to get to his car, the feeling still didn't go. A wave of uneasiness washed over her as she opened the door, sat down, pulled the seatbelt until it clicked and lay her head back against the headrest. It felt unnaturally cold against her neck.

Will didn't say another word as he started the car and the headlights beamed on, illuminating the road in front of them. Dust particles floated in the light and the road looked an ominous shade of black; in Izzy's head she envisioned tiny ships lost at sea about to fall victim to some form of sea monster in the bleak and impenetrable blackness. It looked more liquid than solid and she half expected a whirlpool to appear from the depths and swallow them up.

She pulled her hands into her sleeves and held them to her chest in an attempt to warm herself.

The car started slowly as Will pulled away, a soft bumping noise indicating that they'd left the curb. He drove slowly down the street and stared carefully into the limited field of vision before him.

Izzy decided not to talk to him while he was concentrating so hard and she momentarily closed her eyes. She was more tired than she had first realised and the urge to keep them shut tugged at her mind. A low buzzing rang in her ears and she clenched her fists even more in an attempt to stay awake.

This was the real reason she didn't do parties – or any large social events really. A wave of anger flowed through her stomach and the urge to cry made her throat ache as she suppressed it. Not there. She couldn't ruin it for Will. Not after he'd been so excited to come.

She had burnt out most of her social battery and the tiredness and feelings of being overwhelmed were finally beginning to catch up to her. Her eyes pricked with heat as she felt the tears welling up ready.

Izzy took a deep breath and opened her eyes again. She looked at the condensation droplets on the windshield outside and tried to feel the coolness of the headrest against her skin. It helped to ground her, but not as much as she wanted.

The thrum of the engine rumbled in the background like a forgotten alarm clock as the car travelled along. Will reached the end of the street and came to a stop at the intersection. Two large cars were parked either side of the junction which blocked most of his view.