The Angel with Papery Wings [prequel]

ch.52

 I was about to make a sharp right now and follow after Louis but he sped off and unless I wanted to get into a car accident a block away from Angie's house, I had better calm down. I focused on getting to Angela instead. I was almost certain he had turned out of her driveway. An uncontrollable fury pulsed through my veins. If he fucking put a hand on her, I'll fucking chop his balls off and feed them to Liam. Those two assholes need to back the fuck up. They're really pushing their luck with Angela and I'm tired of keeping my cool.

Ok, my version of "cool" is slamming Liam against walls and threatening to kill him, but still. I parked diagonally in the driveway, not caring to leave space for the rest of the boys. I slipped Danny's key into the front door and ran up the steps, not stopping until I reached Angie's door. 

"Angela!" I shouted in a shaky, but unnaturally deep voice. My knuckles grew red as I banged on her door, desperate for her to open up. I was so nervous that she wasn't there, that Louis or even Becky had done something. I knew Becky was good to Angie, but who knows, maybe Louis got into her head and convinced her to betray Angela somehow.

I couldn't keep a coherent thought going; all my emotions and fears were mixing together, causing a cool sweat to glaze my skin. I kept rubbing my eyes, praying that when I looked into Angie's room, she'd be on her bed, sitting and reading Outsiders or Gatsby, biting a pen and toying with her soft, dark hair.

"ANGELA, OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!" I both begged and shouted.

Something shuffled in the room. I couldn't take it anymore. Was she mad at me or something? Was she even in there or were Louis' little shits there, holding her hostage? Fuck.

I rammed my shoulder into the dense wooden door, once, twince, enough times that my muscles tensed and I could hear the wood splintering.

Someone clicked the lock. I shoved once more and nearly rammed into a petite, extremely frightened body. Angie fell back against her bed, staring at me with wide eyes. I couldn't tell if she was relieved or terrified. I sure as hell was glad out of my mind that Angie was indeed in her room and no one else was bothering her, not Liam and not Louis or his pack.

"Harry," Angie gasped breathlessly. She lunged at me, wrapping her arms around my torso. I smiled faintly.

"Why didn't you open the door?" I asked calmly, stroking her hair gently. She tightened her grip around my hips. 

"I-I thought you were someone else," she murmured, taking a deep breath. She avoided my eyes, darting her gaze from the floor to my chest.

"What?"

"Lou-- nevermind," she shook her head. I tilted her chin up, forcing her to look me in the eyes. She took a deep breath.

"Angela, tell me," I asked of her calmly. I knew she was going to say Louis, but what concerned me even more was the fact that she didn't want to tell me. Did Louis do something to her and force her not to say anything? Is that why she's shaking so badly, literally shaking?

Why didn't Angie tell me about Louis? Has she made some sort of a deal with him? Cause I will fucking lose my shit if she's trying to protect me by keeping me out of this.  

I grasped her hands in mine, rubbing the palm of her hand to calm her down. It didn't work. I wound my arms around her waist and lifted her up enough to carry her to her bed. I set her down carefully, tucking her into the covers, but I kept myself out. This wasn't a time to be touchy feely. The way Angie's eyes were bulging out of her face as though she had seen the devil himself made my heart shake in my chest.

If anything could knock the horndog out of me, it was the look of terror in Angela's eyes, the way her irises glittered with a shadow of darkness and her lips grew pale and trembled. I massaged her cheek with the pad of my thumb, trying to coax any sort of answer out of her.