Angel

chapter 6

"You look happy this evening, Angel!" Tom says bounding in from the living room. For an old man he has pep in his step.

"Yep." I laugh putting down the backpack and walking up the stairs.

"Dinner will be done in an hour! Susan's making pork chops!" He calls up after me.

I wonder if he actually likes me, and not just being ignorant, like how most people do. The rest of the day went by pretty fast. I put on really loud Of Mice and Men, and cleaned my almost messy room. A few hours later dinner was ready and I ate the food then back to my room. I hear a knock on my window. I get a chill wondering how someone can get up to the Attic window. What am I in a horror movie now? I look out the window, and I see Andrew automatically smiling. The most gorgeous boy hanging up in the tree outside. "Hey, can I come in?" He huffs and he keeps his grip.

"yeah, sure."

"Okay." He swings in with a soft thud. I turn my music back on so they wont hear me talking. "So, I was wondering ..." He starts playing with his sleeves of his hoodie which now has frayed sleeves probably from years of doing this. "I know this is kind of early but," he pauses, "Would you like to go out?" I laugh thinking he's joking, but he's not, his expression says otherwise.

Quickly I stop laughing, leaving a blank expression on. "Will you hurt me?" I mumble out loud meaning to keep it as an internal thought.

"No, I won't, I do like you. I think you're perfect." He smirks.

"But you just met me," I pause.

"I have a good judge of character." He pulls me into a unexpected hug. How can I feel so strongly over someone I just met? This is unlike me. This hug feels great even though I usually hate hugs. All bad emotions feel as if they're flying away and everything feels okay. "So, will you?"

"Yeah." My voice squeaks. I feel my sleeve being slid up and I hurriedly jerk away. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I um ... I was curious." He looks at his shoes as if he were about to cry.

"I..." I have no clue what to say. I just sort of stand there feeling like an ass. "Sorry." I mudder, suddenly feeling way too numb to say anything else. The room drops silent for a minute. Why is he so damn curious?

"I um ... I used too...." He whispers. I nod just sort of letting it set in. "Will you try, for me, not to?" He says so quietly I can hear the wind pushing through tree leaves, rustling them quietly.

"Why would you want me?" I murmur, my heart is on fire. "Why would you want someone so broken?"

"We both are broken, hon," he pauses "There's just something about you. The way you talk, the way you're so timid and quiet. You're sweet. I can see that you have so much more to you than just those scars. It may be way too early to say this, but I don't really care about time." He sits me down on the bed beside him and forces me to look in his eyes. I cannot control my self as I bust into tears, my heart hurts way too much for this.

~Andrew's POV~

I sit here silent, not quite believing that I had just said all that, searching for some sort of a response in her beautiful blue eyes. They start water until they begin to overflow. I didn't know what to say. I wrapped her in a tight hug. Her sobs seem to diminish with each second we sat there. "I'm sorry ..." I whisper causing tears to start trickling out of my right eye. No, wait. I can't cry. If I cry I won't stop. I swallow the lump in my throat and brush her hair out of her face. "It'll be alright, Angel face." I crack a smile just to try to cheer her up. She laughs with a last sob and dries her tears with her hand.

"Thanks." She chokes a laugh and tugs my hair playfully. "Aren't your parents going to be worried?" her brows push together, wow she's adorable.

"Yeah, um ... I live on my own." I smile as her brow once again move to where one is raised. "Yeah, I emancipated myself a few months ago when I turned 16. The court says my house was unstable for a growing child."

'Wow really? So you can come hang out whenever you want?" She smiles, that made me feel much better.

"Yep." I smiled back. We sat there a while just quietly, and then the awkward silence strikes again. I know it's a bad idea, but I decide to try one last time to see her scars. "So ...Um can I see?" Her eyes darken and she sighs nodding her head. Her delicate hands slide up the sleeve with little effort and I hold out my hand. She hesitates and hands me her arm. The pinkish lines appear all up her wrist, a few fresh ones racing down the side of her wrist. "You know?," I pause, "You're still beautiful, Angel." I lean down and kiss her arm. When I lean back up I cup her face gently in my hand and wrap her into another hug.