angeline (2)

family blood

angeline

family.

family is one thing i have struggled with my whole life. my siblings are the exception.

my parents however, are not. they always took everything out on me and evan.

when me and matt got together, they were ecstatic. the only person who could see through my fake smiles and made up excuses was evan.

thats how we came to be so close.

maddie and i were close as kids because we were both little girls. evan was always the one that was left out of our slumber parties.

though he always found a way to be included.

but then matt changed everything.

maddie and i grew apart and evan and i grew closer.

as soon as i left matt, maddie got into her own abusive relationship. i moved back to l.a with evan and would send letters to maddie every chance i got.

this time, me and evan both saw through her lies. doug was hurting her.

i tried to best to help, but she wouldnt let me.

we as humans love to think that we would know exactly what to do in a dire situation.

but its false.

we never truly know until we are faced with it.

i was the same way when i was with matt, so i understood. that doesnt mean i didnt try.

but now, all three of us are closer than ever. and we have all started our own families. well, other than evan.

maddie and chimney have gotten together and had a little baby girl named jee-yun.

i have my boys: eddie and christopher.

evan has us.

and thats all that matters to him.

so thats what matters to me.

speaking of families, mine is calling.

"ann, baby, do you want to watch a show with me?" eddie says softly, gesturing to the couch seat beside him.

"absolutely," i grin, hopping off the stool at the table and plopping next to him. he tosses his arm around my shoulders and i lean into him as he turns on the television.

"angel!" chris yells. recently he has really take on to the name 'angel' for me since its in my name. i dont mind, and i surely dont want him to feel pressured to call me his mom. i could never replace sharon.

i laugh as he slams into me, sprawling out between eddie and i.

i lean into eddie and wrap an arm around chris, relishing in my life.

-

"lets just stick to books and toys, okay, chris?" eddie laughs slightly.

earlier today we had a call at an apartment of a woman who fell though her balcony. the kid was clearly sick, and we wanted to help out by giving some toys to him that chris doesnt play with anymore.

however, i did some digging and im not sure she was telling us the truth.

"eds, can i talk to you for a sec?" i ask, leaving against the door frame. he grins and hops up, rubbing chris's shoulder softly.

"make sure he doesnt give away the whole house, will you?" he jokes to carla who laughs.

i lead him into the kitchen and to the table.

"whats goin on, sweetheart?" he asks, crossing his arms with a thoughtful face.

"i was going to make a donation and i noticed some things. i thought you should see it." i say. "i think she lied to us."

soon enough, eddie and i put chris to bed and carla is looking at the things i have found on this woman.

"thats a lot of fund me pages." carla comments.

"they all have different cities and different names." eddie points out.

"i know charlie said they moved around a lot so that would make up for the cities, but not the last names." i agree.

"what did the mom say his illness was?" carla asks.

"she didnt. not really. said it was autoimmune thats all." eddie answers. i let out a sigh and rub my head.

"most of the fund me pages were shut down but the comments were still up." i say.

"'this woman is a fraud' 'shes a scam artist'." he sighs before reading the last one. "'shss making her kid sick'." he shuts the computer with a deep breath.

i rub his back softly in comfort and me and carla both let out our own sighs.

needless to say, we didnt get much sleep as we were too busy trying to connect the dots.

-

"charlie?" eddie asks, picking up his phone. we were just in the middle of explaining what we had found last night to evan and chim when his phone rang.

"we need to leave. now." he says as soon as he hears what charlie says.

we all immediately jump into action, hopping into the truck.

"diaz, you call this in?" a fellow firefighter says.

"yes. possible od inside." eddie answers sharply.

as soon as the door is opened, eddie and i run to charlie. we take him to the other side of the appartment as the paramedics help his mother.

"were here now, we got her, honey. its okay." i tell him, my hand on his back. eddie takes the eyedrops from his hand.

"she always puts drops into my food. she thinks i dont see her, but i do. i just wanted to see what would happen if i gave them to her. i-i'm sorry." his voice quivers.

"its okay, charlie. you didnt mean to hurt her." eddie pulls him into a hug and i watch in sympathy.

we bring charlie and his mother outside and into the ambulance.

"where is my baby?" the mother screams.

"would you like to ride with him to the hospital?" the paramedic asks eddie.

"yeah, that would be gr-"

blood.

thats all i see. feel.

blood.

when you think about it, blood is a beautiful thing. it keeps your body alive.

but its only beautiful on the inside of your body.

not on the outside.

my brain is in a haze as i try and figure out what just happened.

that is until i see eddie drop to the ground. im stood in shock until evan tackles me to the ground behind the firetruck.

"get down!" he yells.

"eddie!" i hear myself scream, but i cant feel my mouth move. the love of my life was just shot.

his blood is everywhere.