Fallen

Chapter Fifty Five

I shut my car door as quietly as possible in fear of getting caught. The sky was still dark and I just prayed that Anna hadn't noticed that I'd been gone. My hands were still trembling from tonight's events, but I hid it from Elijah as he jumped out of his car and approached me.

"Hey, man," he said, offering me his hand. When I took it, I was pulled into him like I always used to as a teenager, but as soon as my chest hit his, I winced. My body was still sore from the punch I received. He quickly pulled back. "I'm sorry, man. Did they get you good tonight?"

I forced a smile. "Just a bit. I'll be fine."

I couldn't remember the last time I saw Elijah. I noticed that a beard accompanied his now longer black curly hair. He wore a nose ring and had several tattoos creeping up his neck. I remembered how he always talked about wanting to experiment with different styles. This one suited him well.

"You look great, dude," I complimented.

He grinned. "So do you. We're all grown up."

I sighed. "We really are, aren't we?"

"How is everyone?"

"Not great to be honest. We lost Maria a little while back."

Elijah's face fell. "No."

I nodded. "Demon revenge."

His expression got noticeably harder. We all reserved the same type of anger and resentment towards the monsters we were all trained to destroy. Elijah, like all of us, had lost his parents and younger sister to Demons. He had no one to look after him and so he came to the institution. He was put into our room for us to look after him in his first few weeks. We understood the shock and anger and pain that came with losing your family and got him through nights of crying and punching walls and trying to escape. I was just like him when we were first taken in by the institution. I wanted to go out there and kill the Demons that took my parents away, but Kieran managed to stop me. It never stopped the fury I'd carried around for years though.

"I fucking hate them," he spat.

I recognised his angry eyes and clenched fists and put a hand on his arm. "It's okay. I've sorted it now."

"You have? Is that why you needed me tonight?"
I nodded. "The Demon you gave me to follow was right. He's just dust in the wind now."

Elijah relaxed a little. "I'm glad, dude."

"Thank you for coming to guard the house tonight," I said, burying my hands in my trouser pockets. "I have a very special lady in there I want to keep safe."

A cheeky grin spread over his face. "Ah, I see. Is she the one?"

My smile was uncontrollable. "She most definitely is, my friend."

Elijah's hand fell onto my shoulder. "I'm happy for you, mate. If you ever need me to come back again, I will."

"Thanks, man."

We held each other as we stood on the pavement. The world seemed so quiet around us, for now at least. I eventually watched Elijah drive off before sneaking back into the house and up the stairs. Anna was sleeping softly in our bed. I watched her for a moment and that was when I knew I'd do anything for her.

*****

Anna

"Bloody hell, it's not coming out...Anna's going to kill me...Goddamn it!"