BROKEN ANGEL

CHAPTER FOUR - CLOSER

"And I just can not pull myself away

under the spell I can not break "

Melissa Bittencourt was properly accommodated in the comfortable recliner armchair as soft as butter. The girl had everything to have a peaceful sleep after a delicious meal, though not even all that comfort was enough to make her relax. Unfortunately, Lissa had plunged into another terrible nightmare as soon as she closed her eyes. This time her pursuer was able to capture her and do everything she feared most.

The girl awoke suddenly, sitting in the chair, shaking from head to toe. She breathed breathlessly, feeling her eyes burn with tears.

"Hey, are you okay?" Gabriel asked, turning a small light on the ceiling above the armchair.

Lissa didn't respond, feeling that familiar sensation of fear, anger, and pain coming directly from her soul and corroding her insides. Gabriel left her alone for a few moments, then returned with a glass of water. He handed it to her and sat down in the armchair at the front.

With trembling hands, the girl tried to drink the water, choking on the tight knot that had formed in her throat. When she managed to get the liquid down, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and repeated to herself that it was only a dream. When she opened her eyes again, she wiped away the tears that had escaped and found Gabriel watching her closely.

"Another nightmare?" He asked worriedly.

"Yes." The girl answered in a hoarse voice.

"I kept my distance this time."

Gabriel laughed for his own joke, but Lissa did not. First, because what he said has no grace at all and second because she was still terribly shaken by the dream so clearly astonishing.

"Did I sleep for a long time?" She asked to the musician, already wearing her mask of indifference. In her moment of vulnerability, she hated showing weakness in front of others, especially those she barely knew and who looked at her as if he wanted to see into her soul.

"Yes, a lot. It's already night."

"Hmm," she murmured, opening the protection of the small window and peering out. She only saw darkness "Will we take too long to arrive?"

"A little. Alaska is at the end of the world.

"So, there is no better place to be."

Gabriel smiled, getting used to the queer way. The singer watched her for a moment. Her face was pale, tired, and, even trying to hide, frightened. He felt very sorry for her at that moment and also an uncomfortable tightness in his chest, for the expression on the girl's face brought back memories that he wished he could forget.

Lissa didn't like the way he looked at her. It was simply unsettling. She wanted to get him to stop, to be as thick as she always was to everyone, but she could not and as she could not face him, the girl looked away at the small window beside her, there was nothing interesting outside, only darkness, but anything was better than looking at him.

"You're going to like Alaska," Gabriel said casually, noting the girl's embarrassment and trying to ignore the tightness in his heart. "Though it's in the middle of nowhere, my house has great accommodations and around several mountains for skiing. And soon you'll meet my band. They had gone to Texas when I was doing the photoshoot, would meet me there, but..."

"I messed up."

"Yeah." He chuckled to show that he was not resentful.

"You know," she said, looking at him again, the tension already dissipating. "This is all very funny."