Hearts We Mend To Break (Book I)

.53.

💫GISELLE💫

Once in my room, I pulled out my phone and initiated a video call with Angel. The phone rang and rang. A pain hit me, thinking he would leave my call unanswered. I imagined him shacked up with some slim-built beauty, watching my name and photo pop up on his screen with no intensions of picking up. Jealousy, is that you?

"Good morning, gorgeous." He answered in a groggy tone. I'd woken him up.

"Good morning." I grinned, flopping down on my bed.

"Looks like pink panther threw up in there. What the hell kind of room is that?" He teased.

"It's my room, smart ass. Pink is—"

"Your color. I hated it until now." I couldn't tell if he was being funny or serious. "Your lips, the different shades of glitter on your eyes, your fingernails and toenails, that dress that drove me wild at Loki's party, and your ugly little Jeep." He stopped to laugh at that one.

"It's actually really amazing."

"Yeah. It would be if I'd bought it for you."

"Angel."

"Giselle."

I sighed, wanting to change the subject. "How are you?"

"Terrible. Some shit went down last night. I was—" He stopped, seemingly having a hard time processing his thoughts. I watched his face twist and turn. Then finally, "Zoe died last night."

"What?" I yelled, hearing my voice ping from every wall in my room, shooting back at me like a boomerang retracing its steps.

"Rojas" Hearing that name come from his lips sent a shiver down spine. Ever since that night he got into an altercation with them, all I could think about was my fear of something terrible happening to him.

"What happened?"

"She was leaving my place. I pissed her off and she was just trying to get home. She dyed her fucking hair purple." I watched as confusion spread across his face. He wiped his hand over it a couple of times, as if to wash it away.

"Purple?"

"Just like V's hair was the night she ran into them. He had to have thought she was V. I don't know. It's all my fault." I heard the guilt roaring from the back of his throat. "She's dead."

"Oh my God!! Angel, why was she with you? Were you hooking up with her already? What the fuck?" I stopped myself, remembering that we still hadn't made things official and he was probably just as lonely given the circumstances. I didn't want to be overbearingly selfish and immature. "Are you going to be o—"

"I'm fine, Giselle. I've had far worse experiences." If I couldn't see the complacent expression on his face, I'd think he was lying. My lonely boy was so accustomed to the harsh side of life that he really had developed a numbness to disasters.

"Are you sure? I can come—"

"You look good today. You got off to an early start with the glam, I see." Evading the subject. Typical.

"I just had breakfast with—" I was interrupted by my unwelcome intruder. Good thing I locked my door.

"Star, can we talk?" Aaron spoke through my door. He didn't bother knocking or announcing himself. How long had he been standing there? Was he eavesdropping on my conversation.