Heavens Most Evil Angel

Everyone knew Alfie and Cindy. The un biological twins. Inseparable from birth, we never spent a day apart. Whether it be baking in the kitchen or building Lego in the bedroom, there was no doubt we would be doing it together. However, as soon as the pair of us hit high school, Alfie got himself into a lot of trouble as he was lured into a tough gang of boys. They were all over four years older than him, but he insisted that they were looking out for him.
"They are good for me Cind. I need some boy mates too, I can't hang around with girls forever."
He was right. Up until the age of twelve, he always stuck with girls as friends. The truth was, he just didn't like what boys normally liked. When the lads would be playing football on weekends, he would rather be in a girls bedroom, exploring through make up and hair products. I liked this a lot because we shared interests, and we found ourselves spending every spare moment with each other.

But now at the age of fourteen, I saw less and less of my best friend. He was consistently in trouble with the police, secretly getting drunk and taking drugs. As much as I pleaded with him, he refused to leave the gang.
"Cindy, we're not children anymore. You don't understand. These are the first real boy mates I've had."
I understood what he meant. He was speaking the truth, but also covering up the truth. Now the gang of 6 boys had captured him, he was much too vulnerable to leave. But what could I do? He was a young adult now. I couldn't control him any longer.
In the meantime, I made a friend, Jessica. She disapproved of Alfie in a big way.
"He brings you down Cind. I don't know why you're still friends with him."
My fists clenched so tight almost like I was about to punch her. She didn't know Alfie the way I did.

One foggy Friday night, 13th October, Alfie was going to one of the lads' 17th parties. Inside I was screaming at him not to go, but I remained calm to his face.
"Have fun Al, but stay safe." I felt like an overprotective mother; I was ruining his fun.
"You worry too much Cind, I probably won't go for long anyway", he reassured me.
All evening my mind was ticking over. My mother noticed the fear in my eyes, like she knew exactly what I was thinking.
"Don't worry about Alfie darling. It's just a boys night, you will see him tomorrow."
I typed out a message to Alfie, and then deleted it. For once, I just let him be.

The next thing I knew, I woke up to our house phone ringing continuously. Startled, I sat up in bed, rubbing my eyes desperately. I frantically checked my alarm clock. 05:23. Who on earth would ring at such a ridiculous hour?
I trudged to the phone warily. I could hear someone sobbing uncontrollably down the phone. I put the phone to my ear. It was Sue, Alfie's mum.
"Sue? Sue, what is it? What's happened?" I questioned, stuttering at every word.
"You need to get here, Cindy. We're at the hospital." She wailed. The line went dead.
A feeling of dread rushed through my body; I could barely stumble to mum's room.
"Who was that? Why were they calling so earl-" Mum said as she peeped her head over the covers.
"Mum we need to get to the hospital, now. Alfie's in trouble." I interrupted snappily.
"Oh dear God. All right love, let's go."
We reached the ward within minutes, and my eyes were drawn to a vulnerable, lifeless body covered in wires and tubes. Their eyes were clamped shut and their face was as white as a sheet. They looked as if he was asleep. It then occurred to me; the body led there was my Alfie.
Tears poured out from my eyes like a waterfall and a nurse confirmed my deepest concerns.
"I'm so sorry. Alfie won't get any better than this. It would be best to turn off the life support machine now," she spoke softly. He was 14 years old; I couldn't believe it. But I had to stay strong for Alfie. I held his hand and hugged him tightly. "I love you so much Alfie. Goodnight." I whispered. His mum and dad clutched each other, unconsolable. Then, silence.

The next few days passed in a blur. Refusing to go to school, I cried until there was no tears left. I sank in to a deep, dark world of depression. I didn't speak to anyone or eat anything for days at a time.
A few weeks later, Alfie's family received some shocking news. It turned out that on the night Alfie died, they had been playing a drinking game, when someone spiked his drink. His body couldn't cope; it completely shut down. Thanks to boys he classed as friends, my best friend was now dead.
All 6 boys were put in jail. But to me, justice hadn't been done. I missed Alfie every second of every day, and I couldn't get used to the fact that I'd never see him ever again.
After Alfie's funeral, I tried to get on with life.

Then at school one day, six months on, I was sat in an English lesson when I heard a familiar, loud whisper.
"Missed me, have you Cind?"
It sounded exactly like Alfie. No, it must be my mind playing tricks on me.
All of a sudden, I felt a gentle poke on my arm. I swung round. A faint figure of a person was hovering above my head. Astonished, my mouth hung open. I knew that person.
"Cindy Walters! Turn around and listen!" Miss Harris scolded. I apologised meekly.
"Oi you! Don't listen to that old bat! Look at me!" Alfie cackled, swooping round the classroom. Looking around at everyone else, they were all obediently listening to the teacher. I was the only person who could see Alfie. Everyone else was completely oblivious. I felt obliged to speak to him, but everyone would think I was nuts, talking to a dead person out loud. I almost burst out laughing as Alfie flew around the classroom, swooping in and out of desks. The old Alfie was back.

Except I wasn't quite as pleased as I thought I would be. Whilst I concentrated on school work, Alfie continued to hassle me and play tricks on me. At school I was constantly in trouble because of Alfie's antics. I soon realised that Alfie was becoming the person he once was. A troublesome teenager.
Jessica also started noticing changes in me. "You've become so weird now, Cind. You're always muttering in to mid air. Are you okay?" She questioned inquisitively. Obviously I couldn't explain that my dead best friend was a ghost, hovering above us at that exact moment. Who would believe that?
"Give me away Cind, and you'll be sorry," Alfie sternly snapped. I gulped and swallowed hard. I stretched a false smile.
"No, no I'm fine Jess. Nothing to worry about," I said a little to enthusiastically.

One afternoon, me and my mother were strolling through town. Alfie flew around beside us, muttering nonsense in my ear.
"Mum, Alfie has been hassling me. He never leaves me alone and gets me in trouble at school," I blurted out in a rush.
Mum stopped walking and stared at me, startled.
"Alfie? But Cindy... Alfie's dead." She said softly. I could see Alfie in the corner of my eye. The red evil in his eyes glistened and his whole body trembled with anger.
"You are going to regret that, Cindy. You really will," Alfie sighed angrily. In a blink he completely vanished into thin air.
Luckily, my mum seemed to put what I said to the back of her mind and never mentioned it again. I tried to forget about what he said, but when I didn't see him for three days, I started to worry. Where had he gone? Was he trying to fill me with guilt?

I soon didn't have time to worry about Alfie, as I took part in after school clubs and played hockey for the school team. However, I continued to miss Alfie every single day, and I started to regret spilling his secret.
A few months later, on October 13th, which was a year since Alfie's death, I still hadn't heard from him. When I came home from school the same day, my whole family were gathered in the lounge. The same sense of fear flooded my body as it did exactly a year before. My mother and my auntie were both sobbing, clutching each other tightly. They pulled me close, gripping me tight.
"Mum? What is it, what's happened?" I stuttered. I could barely get the words out.
"It's Grandad Jim. I'm sorry Cind, he passed away suddenly earlier this afternoon," my other auntie sobbed, struggling on every word. I struggled for breath, collapsing to the floor. I thought my heart would stop completely. Two of my favourite people had been ripped and torn away from me. Then I remembered those four words.

"You will regret this."
My favourite person in the whole world was Heavens Most Evil Angel.