Colors of Angels

14. Willow Tree's

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Drew's Point of View
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I stare ahead as Falah tells us what happened the night before, as I listen I feel sick to my stomach at the way my fellow Guardians were treated. I keep both hands on the steering wheel and focus mainly on the road only hearing slightly what she is saying, my mind is racing. Everything has happened so quickly just in the last 20ish hours, has it even been that long? I think to myself. Arabella became a Guardian, saw a building burned to rubble, saved a life, and began a long trip to go somewhere she never even knew existed, you know, not to mention what she found out about her dad. As Falah finishes telling what happened that night I glance at the clock, we have at least an hour before we get to the portal. I feel uneasy, I know her dad will have someone looking for us, I just hope I can get her to Fae before they get to us. I need to keep her safe. I hear her whisper something quietly, she is shocked about her dad. 

"You'll be okay Bella," I say "I won't let anyone hurt you" I feel a pull in my gut and know I will do ANYTHING to keep this girl safe.  I glance over at her and see tears rolling silently down her cheeks. The sun has come up and her gold hair and wings reflect the light, just like an innocent angel. I refocus on the road ahead as my mind reels. She doesn't deserve to have been thrown into the middle of a war between groups. It's just not fair. I can't help thinking before cursing myself for sounding so immature. Of course, it isn't fair. 

I hear Arabella clear her throat to say something and I pull my attention out of my head and onto her.

"I'm hungry," she says. She sounds tired, and I can hear the pain in her voice. "We should stop and get something to eat soon," She says, I can tell she is forcing herself to sound more firm, more in control.

"Ya, I'm famished," Falah says from the back seat.

"Okay, I'll stop at the next place there is food" I respond to the girls. After about 15 minutes I see a sign for a small dinner ironically called Angel's Diner. I look over to Arabella and grin.

"How about it Angel? Shall we find out if it is truly fit for angels?" I ask hoping to make her smile.

"Let's do it," She says and I see a small smile on her face, but I can tell it is only to make me feel good, she does that, things to make me feel happy, or good. I decide I WILL get her to really smile before we leave that dinner. I pull off the highway and a little way down a country road before finding the diner. 

As I pull into the small parking lot I see a good sized log cabin sitting on the edge. Behind the log cabin is a beautiful forest, all the trees growing tall with many branches reaching overhead. But the best thing Is a small creek that winds it's way up next to the diner then away again into the forest. It ripples its way over rocks, smooth with the wear of water over time. A large weeping willow tree stands on the bank, only partially visible around the corner of the building.

I get out and walk around to the passenger side to open the door for Arabella but she has already opened it and is sliding out of the car. 

"You're supposed to let me open the door, Bella, you know that," I say as I walk towards her.

"Since when do I listen to you?" She asks in a sarcastic tone. The door has always been a thing for her and me, I always tell her to let me, and she never listens. Ever. She brushes past me and I see her staring at something behind me. I turn and realize it's the tree. I smile, remembering she loves weeping willows.

"Let's go check it out," I say and walk up next to her across the small gravel lot.

"Hey!" I hear behind us. "Don't forget I'm here too," Falah says, jogging up next to Arabella. 

"How could we ever forget you?" I say in a sarcastic tone. She throws me a dirty look before turning to Arabella.

"I'll go get us a table inside." She says, purposely directing it towards Arabella, ignoring me."You two love birds can go check out the romantic scene out back." I throw her a glare as she walks away and she just winks at me and flounces off in that annoying way girls do. I look down at Arabella next to me and see her cheeks have turned a light shade of red, Is she blushing? I think to myself. I wonder why she would be blushing, but push it out of my mind. 

As we reach the corner of the building Arabella is a couple  of steps ahead of me. I see a small smile on her face and she continues forward. She walks under the branches and crouches down next to the water under the tree. She turns and looks back at me. All trace of any possible shyness gone from Falah's comment.

"Are you just gonna stand there watching me, or are you gonna come see for yourself?" She asks. I realize now that I stopped walking as we went around the corner. Damn this girl has got me messed up. Pull it together.  I walk forward and join her next to the water. The water is perfectly clear, the stones underneath are smooth and worn, as if they have been there for hundreds of years. The bottom, between the larger stones, is sand, perfect smooth sand. I look down the creek to the left and right and it is the same as far as I can see. 

All of a sudden I see Arabella move unexpectedly, the next thing I realize water has splashed onto my face. I hear Arabella crack up laughing and I turn towards her, water dripping down my face. 

"You little," I say threateningly. I dip my hand down into the cold water and splash water towards her but she's already backed too far away from the creek for me to get her. I stand and start towards her, she turns to run but I run forward a couple steps quickly wrapping my arm around her waist. She laughs and I turn her around to look at me. 

This is most definitely not the right time for this. I think to myself as I look down into her blue eyes, my arm around her waist. but the thought escapes my mind as I stare down at her smile and the way she looks up at me. I pull her closer to me and lean down, closing my eyes, her arms wrap up around my neck and I feel her soft lips against mine. 

We pull apart and I look down at her again, the red has returned to her cheeks and she looks at me for only a second before her eyes fall to the ground. I slide my hand into hers and we walk around to the front of the diner to join Falah inside.