Weeping Angel: Malvada (Book 1 of the Weeping Angel Series)

Chapter XLII

I distinctly hear two voices call out to me, but they sounded like those whispers, faint and hushed before growing louder and louder.

I feel something graze my shoulder, and I shriek, jerking my body to the right as my eyes darted up to expect Malvada showing me her razor-sharp teeth. Instead, I'm met with Gabby's concerned brown eyes staring right through me, her lips curling down into a frown.

She looks panicked. So does Ethan.

"Chica, are you okay?"

I choose to not answer to that, and frantically scan the second floor to find different pairs of eyes glaring at me like I'm some psychopath.

The white fog is gone. The black smoke is gone.

Malvada is gone.

I sigh in relief and concentrate on my breathing, taking deep breaths before slowly exhaling out loud. I wipe the tears away with the back of my hand, ignoring the shaky feeling seeping through me. I was hot all over, the sweat drenching my skin and sliding down the side of my head.

I abruptly get up on my feet, brushing the dust off my legs, and Ethan and Gabby stand as well, looking at me intensely.

"Emma?" Ethan calls out.

Where the hell is my voice?

"Emma." Gabby is suddenly in front of me, her voice soft but demanding attention. I look at her questioningly, still unable to speak.

"What the hell happened?"

"Let's go home. There's nothing here," I manage to croak out.

I knew neither of them believed me, but they didn't press for more information either. Gabby tells me she'll sign out all of the books since she's the only one with a library card, and she does before the three of us walk out of the library and get inside Gabby's car.

Gabby pulls out of the secluded parking lot and onto the internal roads, zooming past the modern, suburban houses. The soft sound of the radio hums in the background as we all sit in comfortable silence.

Gabby steals a quick glance from me. "Want to stop by at the hospital, Em?"

"No," I say a little too quickly, and Gabby narrows her eyes at me.

"Do you still blame yourself for what happened? Because I can assure you, it's not your fucking fault, Emma. I was there with you! What could we have done besides hurt ourselves-"

"No, it's not just that," I say sheepishly. "I'm not ready to face my sister. It's too much to handle, Gabby."

She sighs. "I get it, but she's your sister. I'm sure she wouldn't blame you either."

I shrug, not entirely believing her words. I know Clarice cares about me and would defend me if anyone decided to talk shit about me, but this is her life we're talking about. I didn't do anything to stop her from doing her research; I should have known Malvada wouldn't sit silently and just let Clarice do her thing.

Ethan pulls me out of my daze and says, "Guys, what do we do about our research?"

I grit my teeth, bringing my hand to my throat. I was suddenly struggling to breathe, my mind returning to the incident in the library just moments ago.

Gabby stops at a red light, looking at me with understanding before glancing at Ethan through the rearview mirror. "We've had enough for one day. Let's try getting our minds off of this. E, you want to come over?"

I send Gabby a grateful smile. She knew something was bothering me, and that I didn't want to have anything to do with Malvada or her stupid Weeping Angel species.