Angelic

Ev ~ 35

Broken blue eyes held my own.

I was right to hate you.

A snarl from the lips that once laughed with me.

You're nothing but a monster.

A dagger, pointed at my heart.

If you ever come near my family again, I won't hesitate to put this dagger through your heart.

...

I bolted up in the small bed, trying to breathe normally. I looked at the space next me—empty. Raphael wasn't here yet. I stood up, running a shaking hand through my messy hair, and dug through my stack of clothes, finding a tank top, maroon leather jacket, and jeans, and changing into them. I threw on a pair of boots, walking towards the door. I needed to get out of here.

But the moment I reached for the door handle, Raphael walked in.

"Another nightmare?" He must have seen the look on my face.

It had only been two days since we left to look for Lizzie—two days of coming up empty handed and my worry increasing tremendously—but I hadn't been able to sleep through either night, woken up by multiple nightmares about Alec and Lizzie. The nightmares about being captured and tortured by Downworlders didn't visit me much anymore, and I almost missed them.

"Shadowhunters have nightmares all the time." I mumbled stubbornly. He had continued to ask what it was that wouldn't stop haunting me, and I refused to tell him. I didn't know what I felt towards him, but it was definitely something, and I didn't want him to hate me as much as Alec did—as much as I did.

"Not like this." He walked into the room, standing in front of me. He stroked my cheek with the back of his hand, something that he must have thought soothed me, but all it managed to do was make my heart race.

I moved past him, standing in front of the door. I didn't know where I was going to go. At this point, I didn't care. But something was stopping me from reaching for the door.

"Don't shut me out." His voice was a whisper, tickling the back of my neck. He was close.

I forgot how to breathe when I felt his fingers slide down my arm. He barely touched me, his fingers featherlight on my skin, but it was enough to make my lungs stop functioning. I hoped he couldn't see the effect it was having on me.

"What are you—" I began, and then his fingers touched mine and he clasped our hands together and it was the smallest, most insignificant move that someone could have made but it made me forget where I was and why I was upset and what my middle name was.

"Let me take you somewhere." His lips tickled my ear as he spoke the soft words. There was a question in his voice, obvious enough to let me know that he would let me stay here if I wanted, that he wouldn't force me.

I turned around. Faced him. Forced myself to hold myself together. "Raphael." I didn't know why I said it, other than I liked saying it.

I really needed to get a hold of myself.

"Do you trust me?" He asked, looking into my eyes. The light of the moon reflected the brown in his eyes.

I managed a small nod before he guided me out into the quiet hallway, still holding my hand. I didn't understand how some small act could get my heart to race so fast.

Vampire. I reminded myself. He's the enemy.

But the words felt like a lie, a trick. If Raphael was the bad guy, then why had he gone to all these lengths to keep me from getting hurt? To protect Lizzie?