The Lost Angel [BxB]

adella

The voice of the sea speaks to the soul.

'The Awakening'
[Kate Chopin]

♡ ♡ ♡

23: ADELLA

"I can't believe a stranger just gave you her car." Rory snorted, stuffing the bagged body parts into a beach bag.

"I'm only borrowing it." He shrugged, wrapping a towel around a severed leg concealed by black plastic. "I guess it's just European hospitality."

"That's a pretty bold statement. I don't know anyone from England who would lend their car to a stranger." He commented.

Lalo rose his brows, "Are you guys like...still allowed to call yourselves European though?"

Rory paused for a moment, and then laughed lightly, "Wow." He breathed, "That was kinda brutal."

"I was only speculating." Lalo added, tossing the last of the bricks into the back of Yolanda's car. While he was gone, Rory had washed their clothes, hung them out to dry, cleaned the hammer, and collected the bricks they needed. Lalo was impressed that he'd checked everything off the list, though he wasn't surprised. Rory was strong willed and determined, plus, he'd always done whatever Lalo told him to do. "You ready to go?" He yawned.

Rory furrowed his brows, "Hey..." He chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully, "Do you wanna get some sleep first? You look exhausted."

"Really?" Lalo laughed, crossing his arms over his chest challengingly, "When I told you to take a nap earlier, you lost your shit."

"That was different; we still had a body to deal with." He pointed out.

"And that hasn't changed."

Rory sighed, "You've been up since three AM."

"And I'm not gonna be able to sleep until this is dealt with." Lalo said stubbornly, hoping into the driver's seat, "C'mon."

Rory reluctantly climbed into the passenger seat and buckled up his seatbelt, praying that Lalo was alert enough to drive. They took off down the road, trees blurring past, blue skies painted with wisps of fluffy white clouds. The warm stillness in the air had turned into intense heat. It was almost July, and the weather was slowly transitioning into a climate prepped for tourism and lazy days at the beach. Today, Lalo and Rory would be one of the many tourists that littered the sandy Spanish coastline. "Maybe you should pretend you don't speak Spanish." Rory suggested as they continued down a trail of bumpy roads.

"Why?" Lalo replied in confusion.

"We're trying to be tourists, remember?"

"I can be a tourist and still speak a second language, you know?"

"I know." Rory groaned, "But can't you just trust me on this? We're trying to look clueless."

"Trying?" Lalo murmured quietly under his breath so Rory couldn't hear him. "Fine. I'll play the dumb American. Happy?" He sighed.

"Sure." He couldn't imagine ever being happy again. Not like he used to be anyway.

They got to the docks and unloaded the car, each slinging a backpack over their shoulders, and carrying a beach bag under their arm. They tried to pretend the bags weren't heavy — considering they were weighed down by bricks — so plastered a smile on their faces and played their parts. Just two ordinary tourists who weren't carrying body parts.

A teenage girl was working the small booth by the pier, wearing a sun cap and a name badge that read Adella. They spoke to her in English and asked her about renting a boat. It was killing Lalo not to speak Spanish, but like Rory had said, it was less suspicious. They were the same clueless foreigners that Adella dealt with day in and day out. Nothing more, nothing less.

Finally, Rory paid her, and she led them towards the end of the dock, past the glitz and glam of the expensive boats that sparkled in the sun. The blue water glimmered and rippled calmly, as birds flew peacefully in the sky, and silence monsters lurked beneath the wooden pier. She gestured to a small white boat that bounced gently on the water that lapped and licked at the sides. In black, italic letters, the word 'Cassiopeia' was written.

They hopped in, received an instruction guide from Adella, signed a few documents, and were left alone on the water. "Fuck me, I can't believe that she just trusted you had a boating license, without even asking for proof." Lalo almost laughed at the incredulity of it all. "Do you even know your way around this thing?"

"Sure." Rory shrugged, hopping behind the wheel and fiddling with the keys Adella had given him. "Back when we used to spend summers in France, I took sailing lessons, and a friend of ours had a motor boat. I think I know the basics."

Lalo shrugged and collapsed into the white leather seat beside him, kicking off his converse and pulling his legs to his chest, as the motor roared to life beneath them, "Let's finish this."

Soon, they were out on the open water, bobbing along the waves, swaying in the current. Tall mountains shaded the crystal water that twinkled in the sunlight and kissed their golden skin, tanned and freckled from months under the sun. They felt free, like nothing could reach them. No human, no animal, no regret, or shame, or shadowed monsters determined to tear their happiness apart and leave them for dead, like a bloody monster gasping for air. Out here, they could finally breathe.

Lalo leant back against the silver railing that wrapped around the boat, his face tilted up to meet the sun. He took a deep breath of clear, fresh, salty air. "How do you feel, Rory?" He whispered into the breeze.

The boat had stopped moving, and Rory stood from his seat to join Lalo. "I feel good." He replied, glancing down at the tranquil water below that kept them afloat. He slipped a hand around Lalo's waist, and tugged him into his side, "How do you feel?"

"Free." Lalo twisted around in Rory's arms and pressed his body to his. "After everything I've told you, and everything we've done...did you really mean it? Do you still love me?"

Rory leant down to capture Lalo's lips in his, kissing him hard and purposefully, his fingers knotting into his hair, his skin tingling from the sensation. "Yes." He murmured into his mouth, refusing to pull away.

"I love you too." Lalo replied quietly, kissing him back.