Fallen Angel

Four

She never approached him. He always came to her like he was a ship fighting through a storm, gravitating towards the light of a lighthouse. He walked with her to and from school every day. Once they went through the doors, they drifted to their own separate worlds, but they always came back together.

She liked having him around and despite what she learned to do to protect herself, she let him stay. She didn't shut herself in, but she waited for the moment he would go away. It always happened, even with the people she never thought could leave her.

"You look sad," he stated as they walked home.

The air was cold with the first chill of fall. The leaves were beginning to turn brown and everything was starting to go quiet. But she never felt more alive.

She shrugged one shoulder and smiled. For anyone who didn't know better, it looked believable. "I'm fine."

This time she meant it. Being with him helped ease some of the loneliness. He lifted some of her sadness so that she wasn't always drowning.

"But you're sad," he stated.

She just gave him a quizzical look and continued to walk. It was silent except for the sound of crunching leaves. She counted each one. One. Two. Three.

"You can be fine, but still sad," she said.

They were at his house. He usually said goodbye and walked inside. This time he stopped, waiting for her to say something.

She stared at him. She couldn't figure him out. She always knew people's stories when she looked at them. But he was a mystery. She just knew he was different. He wasn't what he wanted everyone else to believe.

She didn't know why, but she felt different about him. And so she told him the truth.

"I've been sad for a while. I'll be okay," she said.

He didn't say anything. His lips were turned down in a frown and he nodded once. He said goodbye as usual but this time stopped on his doorstep.

"I'm going to change that. Promise," he told her.

She watched him go. She wanted to believe him. A small part of her did. But her heart still braced itself for when he'd break that promise.