Angel Academy

Chapter Thirty-three

Caleb's POV

I finished helping Corbin clean up the daycare. I would have much rather taken Niamh and her boys home, but Niamh had insisted she helped clean up, even though Heath was also Corbin's son and could easily clean up one room by himself. Eventually I had given up arguing with her, but I made her sit down, and I replaced her part in cleaning up. Heath and Dean weren't making cleaning up any easier. They kept running around and pulling newly put away toys out and just leaving them on the floor. It was really starting to irk me, but they weren't my children. I was just going to have to wait for Niamh to say something.

After we finished cleaning up, thankfully Niamh had gotten the boys to calm down long enough for us to finish, I helped Niamh carry all the presents out to my car. Jeremy had taken Niamh's truck like an asshole. I carried most of the heavy things, including Heath when it was time to put the boys in their car seats. Niamh was too proud to admit it, but she wasn't fully healed, and any strenuous activity, even just picking up her son for too long, could reopen her stitches, and I really didn't want to come back and find her lying on the ground in a pool of her own blood.

I stood by the passenger side door waiting for Niamh to finish saying goodbye to Corbin. Whenever I looked at him, I tended to glare, so I tried to stay as far away from him as possible. I'm sure at one point he was a great guy, otherwise Niamh would never have stuck with him for so long, but since I've known Niamh, he's been an asshole. She almost died, and so did her mom, and instead of being there for her like a good friend, he begins trying to steal Heath from her.

Niamh doesn't know it, but just because he hasn't said anything, doesn't mean he's not still trying to take Heath. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I saw a letter from the court in the mail, and I hid it from Niamh. She was bedridden at the time so I didn't have to worry about her finding it. It's none of my business, and I should never have done it, but Niamh was already so upset and seemingly depressed that I just wanted to keep her anxiety level down. I didn't want her worrying and doing something drastic, like walking before she was allowed to and hurting herself accidentally.

When Niamh got near the car I opened her door for her. She smiled up at me, and I embarrassingly felt my heart skip a beat. Niamh had a way of looking at you that just sent your heart on a marathon, beating and beating until it felt like it would jump out of your chest and run cross country. She didn't have to do much; sometimes it was just her looking up at me that did the trick, and sometimes it was her lips curving into that little smile she often did.

I don't think she knew the effect she had on me, which I was extremely glad about. I hadn't known her long, and I knew very little about her, but I felt like I had known her for years. Not just ten or twenty, but thousands. I felt like we had known each other since the beginning, whenever that was.

Inside I was a mess of nerves, but on the outside I looked down at her without smiling, holding the door open and waiting for her to get in. "Are you going to enter the vehicle anytime soon, Strahlend?"

She raised her eyebrow at me, something she did often. "German for radiant," is all she said before climbing into the car. I shut the door once she was seated, and headed to the driver side.

What was that about, I scolded myself. I hadn't meant to say that; it had just slipped out. I suppose it may not be so unusual seeing as how Niamh's name means "radiant", but at the same time she's probably wondering where that came from. I've only ever called her Niamh. You're turning into a romantic...

"How much German do you know?" Niamh asked suddenly, not looking at me.

I cleared my throat before answering, and peeked into the mirror to check on the boys. "Not much. Just a few words here and there."

"Where'd you learn it?"

I glanced over at her, but she was still looking out of the window. "My mom."

She looked over at me, a small smile on her lips, but a sad look in her eyes. "My dad smoke German, but only when he was upset."

"Oh?" She nodded. "Well maybe my mother and your father could get to together sometime and speak German to each other. I know my mother would love it."

Niamh's smile seemed to hide some secret as she spoke in a soft voice, "Maybe," before turning back to the window. We drove the rest of the way in silence, and even the boys were quiet to my surprise. The car was as quiet as if it was just me, which wasn't something that bothered me.

When we arrived at the house, we could see the truck parked in the driveway at an angle, and deep dark marks. Niamh sighed. "I'm going to go in and tell him to leave. Stay out here with Heath and Dean, please. I don't want them seeing Jeremy and I fight. In fact, will you take them for ice cream please?"

I met Niamh's eyes, and a part of me, a huge part, was terrified of leaving her here alone, but the other part of me knew I had to respect her wishes. My presence, even if I was only a friend, would make things worse. Especially with someone who seems as jealous as Jeremy.

Niamh got out of the car, and I waited until she had walked to the front door before pulling out of the driveway. I was sure that Niamh could take care of herself, but I was still afraid for her. Jeremy was an angry man.

After a few moments Heath spoke up. "Momma?" He tried to turn in his seat to watch the receding house. "Momma!" Heath began to cry, and I watched as huge dripping tears fell down his cheeks. I turned on the radio, tuning into the country station. I could remember Niamh telling me Heath loved that station, and thankfully it worked. Heath was a great kid. He hardly cried, which was nice. When my nieces weren't giggling they were bawling their eyes out.

I went around the block a few times before returning to the house. The children and I really weren't interested in getting ice-cream. We all just wanted to be with Niamh. When we returned to the house, Niamh's truck was still in the driveway, but Jeremy's vehicle was gone, thankfully.

Before Niamh could come to the door, I unbuckled the boys and carried Heath into the house with Dean walking a few feet away from me. The only person, besides other children, that he let near him was Niamh. Anyone else, except maybe me, he would get anxious and worried. We walked into the house to see Niamh sitting in a chair crying.

Instantly I became tense. "Dean, why don't you and Heath go play upstairs?" I put Heath on the third step, and with Dean's help they made their way upstairs. "Niamh?"

"I-I'm fine." Her voice was extremely wobbly, and I was surprised I was able to understand her. "I just. He was really loud," she whispered.

I knelt in front of her. "Hey, he's gone now. You don't have to worry about him anymore."

She gave me a sad smile. "I wish that were true." Standing up, she made her way towards the guest room. "I'm going to take a nap in the guest room. Feel free to stay the night. You can sleep upstairs or wherever. Thanks for babysitting."

She left me kneeling in front of her chair. I wish I could believe he would leave you alone, too. I pulled out a piece of paper with names typed in black ink. My stomach dropped, as it usually did, when my eyes skimmed over the last three names:

Jeremy Crisp, Addaline Symonds, and Caleb Adams.