Hell's Angels (Devil's Assistant Series Book2)

Hell's Angels [16] unedited as usual.

Chapter 16

Silence hung heavy in the air for a long suffocating moment before a childish giggle cut through the tension like a sharp knife. Immediately a blush stormed across my cheeks even as the heavily pregnant teen before me continued to laugh.

“Sorry, that was rude.” I apologised before sticking my hand out to the young woman. “Hi, I am Savannah Holmes, your new big sister according to her majesties government.” I ignored the burning in my cheeks as I gave the girl a small smile while rolling my eyes.

“I’m Nicole, but I’m sure you knew that.” Her hand caressed her protruding stomach and she smiled. “And yes, I am pregnant…very pregnant.” 

We both laughed before silence lapsed over the pair of us. However, I quickly became uncomfortable when I felt eyes burning into the back of my neck. I was tempted to turn around and find the cause but my attention was drawn to the sixteen year old before me who narrowed her eyes and her mouth flashed with silver as her lips pulled back into a snarl.

“I think we should take this discussion inside.” She murmured to me before ripping her eyes off of whatever was behind me so that she could meet my questioning gaze. “The people around here don’t take kindly to strangers, especially government lackeys – their words not mine.”

I nodded my head dumbly at the young girl before me who, despite the bulging stomach and the aura of innocence surrounding her, was a complete spitfire. It took a great deal of concentration to break through my speechlessness, but I eventually whispered my assent with a word or two before following her into the house.

As soon as we crossed the threshold, the two of us were assaulted by the overbearing stench of bleach and Dettol. It was almost as cloying as the sterile scent that is associated with hospitals. The power of the smell was enough to burn the back of my nose causing me to start sneezing into the palm of my hand.

“Sorry about that, I’ve been on a cleaning spree. I don’t know why, I just have to clean.” The teen shrugged her shoulders before closing the door behind us.

For a second I felt trapped in. My escape route was closed off and it should have terrified me. Yet, strangely enough, as my muscles tensed in preparation for the fear, the door abruptly cut me off from the overpowering urge to flee. I felt relaxed, as if I had finally come home which I decided to embrace even though the hairs on the back of my neck were still on edge. It was confusing to say the least, fear and comfort combining into an unsettling mixture of emotions.

“Come on through, I’ll make some tea and then we can talk about of this.” The girl waddled away from me leaving me to scurry after her.

Dragging myself out of my internal thoughts, I allowed myself to take in the scenery. The house was surprisingly homely despite being ridiculously sterile and being decorated in seventies floral wallpaper that had definitely seen better days. In general, the entire house looked as if it was a house that time had forgotten. Except, everything was meticulously clean and even though the paper on the walls was yellowing, it all looked like it had been loved.

Light was flooding through the frosted glass on the front door and hit the array of picture frames hanging on the wall. Each dust free frame sparkled like they were made of diamonds even though they looked as though they had been bought in Poundland.  But the pictures within were worth the true value as they documents important occasions and events within the Armstrong family. The most recent ones were of Nicole, metal smile and all but the common denominator in all was that they looked happy.

But if that was true, I questioned as my feet found the worn carpet of the lounge, in the midst of this homeliness, why did the house feel so lonely?