Without You

The Aftermath

*Chapter Seventeen*

Angel plopped herself down on her white couch; sweat was rolling down the sides of her face. Thankfully this time she decided to wear her hair up in a high ponytail. She recalled a time when she left her hair down while kickboxing, and it kept sticking to her face and on top of it, her trainer was constantly reaming her out. She was getting so frustrated where she almost walked out. This time she was more prepared.

Drops of sweat rolled into her cleavage and down her abdomen. Her black sports bra was soaked. She couldn't wait to take a long and much needed shower. Her bodytrainer really pushed her hard this time. She's been lazy and neglected going to the gym for the past two months. Despite her needing to get her butt in gear, she almost felt like he was abusing his power. Maybe it was punishment for missed lessons.

She felt her stomach muscles contracting, making it so she could barely even move. She let out a soft moan; she hated feeling this sore. She took a long sip of her water and glanced to her phone; she saw that it was flashing. She grabbed it and saw that she had a missed call and text message.

Hey baby I'm taking a quick lunch. I just wanted to say I miss you. Love you and see you later tonight

She smirked when she saw that it was from Benny. He was at work; he ran his own business...it's been his dream for sometime. When she first met him it was all he could talk about; back then he was still in college getting his Bachelor Degree. When it was time for him to get a loan for the business, he got denied and she hated how that broke his heart. He refused to take money from her, it was one of the things she absolutely loved about him. That was when Angel talked to Nick and he not only helped him financially, but really helped him get on his feet. She loved her brother so much for helping her boyfriend make his dream come true; owning his own restaurant. Her mind quickly went to her brother, she hasn't really heard from him in a while. She smiled to herself as she knew he was finally in a good place. He was finally happy. He was so taken by his new girlfriend it was as if he was constantly on cloud nine. It should have bothered her that she hasn't heard from him, but she knew he was still in that first stage of a new relationship. He was acting like a puppy dog in love...it was adorable. Disgusting, but adorable. Knowing he was with her instead of going out night after night with AJ sure put an ease to her mind.

She cringed as she felt her back sticking to the leather couch. She slowly stood up and walked into her bathroom. She stripped from her damp clothes and set the shower and stepped in. She let out a sigh of relief as the water beat down against her aching body. Once she was cleansed and her muscles could move again, she stepped out only to hear her phone going off. She wrapped a white robe around herself and picked it up only to groan when she saw that it was her twin brother, Aaron.

How much money was he going to try to get out of her this time? It wasn't even for him, it was for their mother. He would ask money from Angel so she could get it from Nick...because Nick would never deny her anything that she needed. She hated answering the phone when it was him...she loved her brother dearly, but their mother had him wrapped around her finger. He would do nearly anything she asked; she was more his puppet than son.

She sighed and answered, "Yes, Aaron?"

His voice sounded different; it was worrisome, "Hey, Angel. Do you know?"

"Know?" She was curious and questioned, "Know what?"

"Something bad happened."

She felt her chest tighten from his low tone, "What...what do you mean?" She may have disliked her mother from time to time, but she prayed nothing has happened to her.

"You need to turn on the TV like right now. Turn it on ABC."

"What's this about?" She asked as she walked down the stairs and into the living room, "You're kinda freaking me out."