My Fallen Angel

Chapter 2

"So, uh, what's your name?" I asked shyly as we headed for the door. He held the door open for me and smiled as I passed. I caught a whiff of his cologne and bit back a groan. Of course, he would smell divine. 

"Jungkook," he said. I repeated the name, loving the way it sounded. "And yours?"

"Evangeline. Evie," I told him. 

He copied me and repeated my name with an almost reverence that sent shivers down my spine. Could this man get more perfect? I doubted it. 

And then he opened the door for me to a brand new, extremely expensive, extraordinarily shiny black car and proved me wrong. I slipped inside. He slid into his seat and before I had the chance to do it myself, he reached over me to buckle my seatbelt. I held my breath when he drew close to me, overwhelming my senses with his godly scent and the gentle brush of his feather-soft hair against my face. 

He pulled away and flashed me a smirk. "Ready?" he asked.

No, I wasn't. "Yeah, let's go."

He sped down the road. I breathed deeply, trying to stay calm. A few minutes of silence passed before I realized something. "Wait, how do you know where we're going?" I looked out the window, startled to realize that we were headed through the crowded Manhattan streets directly toward my apartment. 

He side-eyed me with a wink. "Would you believe me if I said intuition?" he said. 

"No," I replied simply. 

"Well then why don't you tell me where I should turn next, Evie?"

I looked over at him, ready to give him my address, when a blinding set of headlights burned my vision. I squinted, then screamed in terror. "Jungkook WATCH OUT!" But it was too late. A deafening crash, a sudden pain, and then—nothing. 

...

"...he's not going to like this. You disappear for months and then come back here with some girl?"

"They were after her. What was I supposed to do? Let her die? Believe me, it wasn't my first choice. If I had my way, I would never have come back here at all."

"Then why are you here? Why did you come back?"

"It was the only safe place I could think of at the moment, okay? But it took all the power I had to get us out of there, and I don't have enough to get her back. So stop lecturing me and help me figure out how to get her out of here before he finds out I'm in Rome."

My head pounded and a pained groan escaped my lips. I blinked my eyes, cringing against the bright light and the splitting headache. "Where am I?" I moaned. 

A gentle hand smoothed my hair from my forehead. "Evie, you're awake. I was worried." 

My vision focused to find Jungkook's angelic face hovering over mine, silhouetted against the bright sunlight glowing behind him like a halo. Dazed, I stared into his beautiful eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked me. 

"I... my head hurts, and I'm a little confused. Where are we?"

He helped me sit up and nervously rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding my eyes. "We, uh, took a little detour."

I frowned. "A detour where?" I pressed. 

Coughing, he mumbled the answer swiftly, as though it would soften the blow. "We're in Rome."

"Rome?! Rome as in Italy?" I screeched. So I hadn't misheard. Somehow, impossibly, I was across the world in Europe. "How long was I out?!" 

I looked around frantically, taking in the marble columns and antique bookcases, granite floors, and gold-guilded windows. I was obviously in some sort of mansion, maybe even a palace. Standing by a window, looking out into the distance, stood another stranger with silky dark hair and a black suit. 

Jungkook placed a warm hand at my back to help prop me up. His other hand brushed my hair lightly off of my neck, fingers grazing my skin. If we had been alone... honestly, I probably would have been into it. But we weren't, and I was so embarrassed to have an audience for this. 

"Jungkook, you need to explain what is going on right now," I demanded. 

He sighed, eyes flashing with something vaguely dangerous. "I would love to, but you wouldn't believe me if I did." 

My eyes narrowed. "No. I don't accept that answer. Explain why and how we are somehow in ROME and why my head is killing me and why I don't remember anything after I got into your car! And maybe I won't believe you, but you're going to tell me anyway." I glared at him, unflinching. 

He glared back. "Stubborn, aren't you?" Scoffing, he looked away from me and I knew I'd won. After a deep sigh, he finally spoke. 

"Evie, I don't know how to tell you this but... you are... special."

"Special how? What does that mean? Is that an insult?" I interrupted. 

He gave me a look. I clamped my mouth shut, eyes wide and innocent, prompting him to continue.  

"You... what I mean is... oh forget it." He walked up to me and placed his hands on my shoulders aggressively. "You are something that we call Blessed. And that means that you bring a certain kind of light into the lives of those you touch. But it also means that you are a target." His face was deadly serious, despite the ridiculousness of what he was saying. 

"I bring a... light?"

He nodded solemnly, saying, "Yes. I guess you could call it luck or good fortune. But those you interact with take away some of that light with them."

I still didn't understand. "And that makes me a target? Who is targeting me?"

He hesitated. "Certain... forces... of... evil."

"Evil. Are you serious?" I could feel the volume rising in my voice, but I was too bewildered to care. He nodded again, which scared me into thinking that maybe, just maybe, he was serious. But that had to mean he was crazy, right?

"Okay, well that's insane. Maybe that car accident knocked some screws loose. What makes you think that I am—whatever you called me?" I huffed an incredulous laugh. 

He reached down slowly and grabbed my hand. I pulled back out of instinct, but his grip was unbreakable. Without breaking eye contact, he threaded his fingers through mine. Warmth spread through my palm. Then, he lifted our intertwined fingers to show me a miracle. 

Our hands were glowing. Not like some sort of artificial light, but like soft sunlight. 

I gasped. "This isn't possible. How is this happening? How did you do that?" I asked him in a breathless voice. 

"I didn't," he whispered, a soft smile curling his perfect lips. "You did." 

To prove it, he let his hand slip away from mine, but that tingling warmth lingered with me, as did the glow. I turned my hand this way and that, marveling at the miraculous light that still burned there. Eventually, the light dimmed and my hand faded into normal. 

I flicked my gaze back to his to find him smiling at me. "How did you know I could do that?"

His smile turned wry. "I guess you could say I'm special too." 

I knew instinctively that was the only answer I would get from him. For now.