Fallen Angel

12. I won't trust anyone ever again!

"But... angels don't exist..."

"That's what people say. But I assure you that the fire in the wing has hurt me, I think I am quite real." Ethan smiled a little bit.

Aurora reached for his good wing and stroked it gently, a little scared. Ethan shivered as he felt her skin caressing his white feathers.

"And... why were you fighting to the death with Nathan? What is he?"

"He is a demon. Our eternal enemy. A long time ago, a war began between angels and demons. The angels have always been God's allies and we are responsible for giving him the positive energy of humans once they die. But the Devil now wants these souls precisely so that they do not reach God and weaken Him. When the Devil succeeds, he will face God to the death"

"God does not exist."

"Ah... Well, your beliefs are indifferent to us. The fact is that if God dies, human life will end up in the hands of the Devil."

"It's very complicated."

"I understand. That's a lot of information at once."

"The fact is that the Demon has his eyes on you," said Cassius, returning from the kitchen. "That's why Ethan was assigned the mission of protecting you."

"Protecting me? Why?"

"Aurora, your soul is beautiful. It is full of purity, goodness, art and love. It is what God loves most and you are one of his favourites. If the Demon steals your soul, we will lose a lot of strength."

Aurora frowned.

"Am I just a ball of energy for God?"

"No, what I mean..." Ethan tried to explain.

"Yes, it's exactly what you just said. So, you only approached me for your own interests? Is that why you took it upon yourself to come and live in the apartment next to mine? All the notes in the mailbox, the stupid flirtations, the bad jokes... even the thing that happened at the amusement park... the thing I told you about on the big wheel... It was all a lie, Ethan? Just... were they just tactics to be on my side? You really don't care about my life at all, do you? How stupid I am to think that anyone could actually be interested in my life or care about me."

Aurora got up from the bed and left. She didn't care that Cassius was witnessing the situation.

"Wait, Aurora. It's not like this, you have to listen to me..."

"I've heard you enough."

Without looking back, she put on her white Converse and left the apartment, slamming the door hard.

"Ethan, let her believe that."

"No, fuck."

"It's the best thing that can happen to you. I told you to keep the distance with her"

"I don't want her to leave crying because of myself."

"Crying?"

Ethan sighed. "You didn't even notice."

Ethan patted his friend on the shoulder, grabbed his jacket, and followed Aurora out.

"Holy shit... he's madly in love with her..." Cassius thought aloud, left alone in the apartment.

***

Ethan ran through the streets of the small town trying to find Aurora. He looked near the supermarket, the college, the amusement park. No sign of the girl.

After forty-five minutes, he found her in front of the river, just behind the block of flats where they lived. He remembered that day he joked about the views when he had just moved in: "Looks like I'll have some beautiful views," he had said. And she said: "Well, if your apartment faces the other side, there is the river...". And he said, jokingly: "Oh, no, I didn't say it because of the landscape". Now, in front of the clear water, there was a girl alone, caressed by the wind that moved her light hair, dressed in a sky-blue dress whose skirt also flew in the breeze. He felt very little in the presence of that girl who looked like a real angel, more than the angels he knew.

He approached her cautiously, still panting after the run. His hair was dishevelled and sweat was running down her neck.

"Aurora..."

She didn't even look at him. She turned as if to leave. He came closer and took her wrist. Not like the other times, with the purpose of flirting; but with despair now. He didn't want her to leave without listening to him first.

"Aurora, please, let me explain..."

"Let me go," she said, cutting him off, pulling her arm away and making his let go. She turned to face him. "You're a fucking liar, Ethan. You played with my feelings even when you met my most vulnerable part; when I trusted you. This is unforgivable."

"It is not entirely true. At first it was like that, I admit it. My intention was to protect you, and I thought the best way to do that was by being by your side and keeping you close. I... I wanted you to fall in love with me. But then, everything changed. Really, Aurora. You have to believe me."

"Are you listening to yourself? Did you want me to fall in love with you to stay close to you? Do you want to know something? It hurts me that you say that to me. It hurts me, because deep down, I had started to love you, Ethan. I liked going to class with you every morning, even if you were also late because of me. I liked that you went out on the balcony when I was painting. I liked your presence; I loved the day at the amusement park. I even enjoyed getting your letters in the mailbox. In the end, even your jokes gave me butterflies in my stomach. I'm ridiculous"

Ethan felt his blood run cold. He felt very ashamed.

"Aurora..."

"No. Don't say anything else. I had fallen in love with a person who I thought was human with the heart of an angel. Now it turns out he was an angel with a demon heart."

These words really felt like a punch on his heart.

"Aurora, I promise you that everything changed. Yes, it all started as a whim, and it's really disgusting, but then... then I got to know you better, and you started to really trust me, and you opened up to me on the big wheel and there I met a strong girl who believed she was vulnerable, a human girl full of art and emotions and sensitivity inside her, a girl with a big heart. Actually... if I'm being honest with you, from the day I saw you sighing in front of the mailbox, something inside me changed. I didn't want to be with you anymore because of the mission or whatever; I wanted to be with you because I couldn't stop thinking about you. I wanted to see you all the time, Aurora. I wanted to hear your voice. Even if it put myself in danger"

"Stop lying, please"

"I need you to believe me, fuck!" His voice broke. "I couldn't tell you all this before because... for an angel to fall in love with a human is almost a death sentence"

"Enough!" She said between tears. "Stop telling lies! I won't believe anything else you say, you've hurt me enough. I won't trust... anyone ever again!"

"Aurora!" She turned and ran away while tears ran down her cheeks. Ethan was unable to follow her. He knew it would be worse. He watched as she left. "Aurora I... I love you." The words died with a sigh.

He came back to his apartment. Cassius had gone shopping, according to the note he had left on the table. Ethan spread his wings and hugged himself to hide inside. He didn't want anyone to see him cry, even if he was home alone.

A feather turned grey.

//

Hi! Sad chapter, but... opinions? I hope you have an amazing week! Thanks for reading, you can support me by voting and leaving a comment if you want! <3