You are my angel

Chapter 4: Innocence

They rubbed against her legs and purred. I stared at them aghast. In case you are wondering I am not scared of cats. I just hate animals. I could never figure why people spend time and money caring for animals when that much of money and time could save a homeless kid. I wasn't an animal rights sympathizer because I thought humans should come first before animals. But then, if Angie was an animal lover, in time I'd probably come to like them too, the way I was strongly getting influenced by Angie's beliefs.

If I disliked how we were greeted by cats what I saw when I stepped in to the room made my mouth drop. This room was packed with children and there were three birds sleeping on a clothes rack. There wasn't even room to walk around without bumping into a body sleeping on the floor.

"Peter are you awake?" Angie whispered and a boy who looked to be around nine years old stood up quickly.

"Angie, you are home?" He asked sleepily rubbing his eyes. The moment I saw the boy, I grimaced. This was the oldest boy in the prison cells of the Dimitrios clan. He immediately recognized me.

"Oh, it's you?" He asked in surprise.

"You know Luca?" Angie asked in a surprised voice.

"Well of course. He saved all of us." He said. The word "us" had an ominous ring to it and I knew why when I looked around the room. This room was packed with the brats I had saved from the Dimitrios prisons. I gritted my teeth.

"Well, I didn't know that. You are a really good man, Luca. Well Peter, Luca will be staying with us from now on. Can you help me get to the bed?" She asked Peter.

I glared at the boy and said "I can handle that. Just show us where we would be sleeping."

The boy snickered. He probably knew how I felt about Angie and was most likely mocking me. I really hated brats like him.

I looked around. Seriously all the thirty something brats were packed in the room like sardines and there wasn't a single empty space on the bed. Where did Angie intend for both of us to sleep? I easily carried her in my arms. She gasped in surprise and clung tightly to me in fear.

"Hey, it's okay. I will keep you down soon. I promise." I said softly and she relaxed just the tiniest bit. I wondered how it felt like not to have sight. If I were blind I would be scared out of my mind too if someone just swept me up into their arms. I could empathize.

I walked very carefully trying not to step on a small body as we went towards the bed. The bed was packed and I wondered what Angie intended to do. I put her down and watched when she took one kid into her arms and gave her to me. I didn't like carrying kids but I took the kid and kept it as far from my body as possible. It opened its eyes with a yawn and looked at me. Well, I say "it" because I really didn't like kids. Kids in my hierarchy of hatred were just one step lower than animals.

But this one looked kind of cuddly and sort of cute. I am sure that image would be shattered the moment she opened her mouth and starts crying or starts with the one thousand and one questions kids of her age tend to have.

I watched as Angie started taking off her clothes and my eyes widened when she sat on the bed in only a camisole and boy shorts under wear. I gaped at her, wondering if she even realized what effect it would have on me. I tried to not fully look at her. She seemed completely unfazed as she took a little toddler boy on the bed and crawled into bed. I watched her roll to a side, keeping the kid close to her. I looked at the empty spot beside her and wondered if she seriously wanted me to be packed up like a sardine against her. And what about the brat in my arms who was now looking at me curiously with large golden eyes? I looked at the window. Would Angie notice one brat was missing if I throw this one out of the window?