Angels Redemption

Prologue

(Iris's pov)
Run! My mind screams at me. My breathing has become ragged and wheezes out of me, but I run faster than I ever have before.
Run! Run! Run!
I become panicked and push harder, faster, my legs pumping. Please...! Is the only conscious thought in my head. I collapse just when I don't think I can keep going. Gasping for air I look over my shoulder and see dense, thick, green, trees, soft grass, and a midnight sky. Twinkling with stars. The colour and peacefulness reminds me of Rafael. "Oh Rafael.." I whisper. He left you! Hisses a voice in my head. Left without saying goodbye. I can't seem to forgive Raf. For some odd reason I'm angry yet his reasoning made perfect sense to me. Yes he left a letter saying goodbye in it, but that doesn't count. He physically didn't say bye and he knows how much I hate saying goodbye. I've said it too many times already. This one leaves the biggest scar. Laying on my back I stare at the sky, and watch as night turns to day. A saying comes to my mind as I see fingers of red leak into the sky;

Red sky at night,
Sailor's delight,
Red sky at morning,
Sailor's take warning.

Looking away as dawn turns into a new day, I feel the heart ache seep into me again. I feel that soul shattering squeeze as you remember their name, I feel the tug at my spirit as I try to remember his voice. Everything reminds me of him. I let me eyes slip close just as a glistening, crystal, clear, tear slips down my cheek.
***
I've been sitting in my room ever since I put his letter down, and I've done nothing but stare at my ceiling. It's been over 6 hours and I haven't even left the darkness of my room. I hear footsteps creak outside my door, and for one aching second I think maybe it's him, disappointment seeps in when I realize it's my mom. "Sweetie are you in there? Can you come out? Dinners ready" I mumble and grumble but I don't reply. "Baby come on out. Please honey I'm worried about you" I sigh and slowly get up. Opening my door after I've taken my sweet time to cross the room, I peer out and see mom standing there with a smile plastered to her face. Once she sees me her smile drops like a bullet hitting the floor. "What's wrong?!" She asks. I only mumble, "don't want to talk about it." Slipping past her I head into the hallway  that leads to downstairs and into the kitchen. Slipping into my seat at the table I stare at nothing. "Mom... Is Iris ok??" Thomas, my just turned 15 year old brother, asks. Mom enters the room and mouths leave her alone. Thomas looks at me with worry and anger sparks in his eyes. He's smarter than I give him credit for, he knows it's something to do with Rafael. As Thomas looks away I take this time to study him. He's grown tall in the last year, and he's grown into his looks. His sandy blonde hair has grown longer, and it's curled in certain areas. His rich, almond brown eyes are so perfect, and his nose is long and broad. His shoulders are broader, his cheeks are rosie, and his lips are blood red. He's built in a natural way, not a I work out every day kind of way. He's handsome. Thomas will make some girl very happy one day.

Looking away I let my thoughts swirl to Rafael, and it's then that I feel that pain come back. Mom comes back into the kitchen, completely oblivious, and hands us our dinner. I don't even taste the food as I eat it. I'm so out of it. Mom notices but doesn't ask. Her and Thomas talk quietly and when I'm done I ask, "Can I be excused?" Mom looks at me sadly and says, "Now listen to me young lady. I know a heart broken look anywhere, trust me, so if this has something to do with that Rafael guy you were dating, then I'm going to have some words with him. If he hurt you..." She trails off. I shake my head. "He hurt me but not in the way you're thinking. I'd explain it all but it would take too much time and I don't feel like explaining anything." Mom shakes her head. "Ok sweetie. But just remember I'm here for you. And if he hurt you this bad then I think it's time to say, let him go" I turn without answering and head up the stairs. Taking them two at a time I make it to my room in 10 seconds flat. Opening and closing my door I read and re-read his letter.

Tears slip down my face and as I slip under the covers to go to bed early I think to myself:
I can't just forget him. That's like asking me to try and remember someone I never met.
After that thought I slip away into sleep, letting the darkness swallow me whole...