𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐋 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃

25

please please please listen to the song while reading this chapter, it makes it so much better 🥹

Song:
love me like you do- ellie goulding
slowed + reverb

LEENA

It was the night before the new year, and I found myself spending it alone.

It had been days since I was last at Angel's house, and in that time, we had been talking regularly. I was relieved to see his mood change so drastically after his dad apologized and promised to try harder to improve.

When I stayed a few hours longer after breakfast that day, I realized his mother still hadn't arrived. He had mentioned that she worked night shifts, but she never showed up during the time I was there.

It would make sense for her to be back by morning, but she never came. And no matter how desperately I wanted to ask Angel about it, I left it alone.

Maybe she had errands to run after work? It was none of my business anyways.

Dad stepped out to run some last-minute errands, and I could tell he didn't want to leave me. But I reassured him it was fine and told him to go ahead.

So here I was, alone and cooped up in my bedroom. There was thirty minutes left on the clock until the new year and I was spending it with no one.

How fun.

Reyna and Lilith were spending time with their parents and I assumed that Angel and his friends were doing the same.

The sound of the doorbell ringing breaks through my thoughts, pulling me back to the present. I sit up a little straighter, my attention instantly focused on the sound. Could it be Dad? I wonder, my heart giving a small hopeful flutter as I stand up from my bed.

I rush to the front door and pull it open, only to come face to face with the last person that I was expecting it to be.

I furrow my brows, staring up at the guy in front of me. "Angel?" Confusion spreads through me. What was he doing here?

"Can I come in?" he asks, his voice soft. I nod and step aside, allowing him into the house. As he enters, my mind races, trying to figure out why he might be here.

After closing the door behind him, I turn around to face him, my curiosity and confusion evident. "Why are you here?" I ask, my voice a mix of surprise and concern. I search his expression, trying to piece together what could have brought him here so unexpectedly.

He looks at me intently for a moment before finally answering. "My dad's out running errands, trying to piece his life back together. I just didn't want to spend the night alone." His eyes wander around the house, taking in the surroundings.

I wasn't the only one. That relieved me greatly.

"Mine's out running errands too," I say, offering a small smile. It's a comforting thought that, even if we're both left waiting, at least we have each other's company now. The silence of the house feels a little less heavy with him here.

My gaze travels down his form. How was it possible for someone to look so good? Even in a pair of jeans and a jacket, he looked good.

"What about your mom?" The question slips out of my mouth before I can register it. I was just so curious about her. He rarely brought her up and on top of that, I've never crossed paths with her.

I wanted to meet her.

"She's working a night shift," he dismisses me and walks further into the house, looking around mindlessly.