Sin of the Saint

CHAPTER THIRTY: THE ART OF CRASHING DOWN

*WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS BLOOD*

The Monday after Thanksgiving, Liv woke up late. The entire weekend was too exhausting. Between she and Axel almost being killed, to the possibility that Nathan could be Cupid...it was all too much. She slept nearly all of Sunday and straight through to late Monday morning.

"Why didn't anyone wake me?" Liv shouted throughout the house as she finished pulling on a shirt on her way down the stairs. She took a piece of cold toast from the stack her mom had laid on the kitchen counter and stuffed it in her mouth while grabbing a mint from the jar next to the garage door.

Her mom called from the hallway, "We called the school—we thought you shouldn't go back yet. Your car's not even fixed yet—"

"I still had private lessons this morning!" Her heart was beating far too quick for her to catch a good breath. She'd seen her back in the mirror as she'd dressed herself—her wings were back, and darker than they had been in a long time. She felt a certain angst—a pull towards the school that she knew had nothing to do with anxiety for being late.

A battle had to be happening today—and she was being compelled to the veil.

She paced in the living room. "Mom! Can you take me to school please?"

"You were excused from classes already, Liv. Don't worry about it," Nancy said, her head appearing at the top of the stairs.

"No...no, mom I need to get to the school. Please," Liv tried to keep her voice level, but she was so near tearing her hair out that she couldn't fight off the quiver in her throat. "There's...there's a thing I need to be there for."

Nancy narrowed her eyes at her daughter, "Okay...grab the keys and warm up the car. I'll be there in a minute. And grab a jacket—you'll freeze."

Liv's eyes bounced around from the coat rack to the key hooks and she shakily grabbed both her coat and her mother's keys and made her way out the door and to the car. She chewed the breath mint, sucking the cold air in sharply until her gums ached from the sensation.

She barely put the keys in the ignition and turned before her mom caught up to her and drove her to the school.

"Man, second period has to be starting soon," Liv mumbled to herself, looking at her phone's clock nervously.

"You've been through a really scary experience, Liv...the ladies in the office excused your absence without a problem—you really have nothing to panic about," Nancy said.

Liv shook her head, "It's...nothing to do with school. I need to be there for something—someone."

"Uh huh...does this have anything to do with Axel?"

Liv chewed her lip. "Kind of. It's a bit complicated."

"I understand," Nancy said as they pulled into the school parking lot. "Just remember to check yourself in."

"Yeah, sure. Thanks mom," Liv said and got out of the car the second her mom stopped. She ran inside as fast as she could. The moment she jerked the doors open, she was met with an incredible commotion following the sound of a crashing, shattering object.

"She's bleeding! Somebody help!"

"OMG! OMG someone help me!"

An immense crowd of students flooded the commons, and Liv couldn't see what they were shouting about...but only heard: