My Fallen Angel

Chapter 6

I didn't know what to say. What could I say, after he'd opened up to me about something so raw and painful for him? I reached out to touch him, but he jerked away from me. Recognizing the volatile tension in his rigid posture, I froze. 

"Jungkook, I'm so sorry," I whispered. 

He barked a harsh laugh. "Sorry? What do you have to be sorry about? You're not a murderer."

I swallowed. "Maybe not, but I don't think that's what you are."

His eyebrow rose sardonically. "No? Then what would you call someone who killed their ex-girlfriend?"

I bit my lip. "I think I'd call you a hero."

It was the wrong thing to say. The black wings were back, looming large and intimidating behind him. He stared me down with alarming emotion. Before he could speak, I tried to backtrack. "I think you were put in a terrible position, and you acted to save as many people as you could. I think what happened to you was unfair, but I don't think it was your fault. And my heart breaks for you. Especially because of how it has destroyed your relationship with your brothers."

He looked away from me, too full of self-hatred to face me. 

"I also think... I think that if you told them the full story, they would understand," I dared to press further. 

"What would you know? You've met just two of them for what, ten minutes? I've known them all my life. I think I would know what they would understand," he hissed at me bitterly.

I cringed at the tone of his voice, cold and harsh, but admitted that he did have a point. I was in no position to give him advice here. "I'm sorry," I said again. "I just—I want to help you. I hate to see you so...alone."

His shoulders slumped in defeat, and the wings dematerialized once again. When he spoke, his voice was low and devoid of any emotion at all. "To be fallen is to be alone, Evangeline. I only told you this to make you understand why you should get away from this mess and go back to your life, before you get dragged down with me." He stepped away from the table and made swift strides to the door. It felt like he was trying to escape, and I wasn't about to let him. 

"Where are you going?" I said and rushed after him. 

"To get some air," he replied, marching through the halls and right out the front door. With a dramatic brush of wind, he was gone, and I was standing on the doorstep, staring into an empty sky. 

Storm clouds were beginning to roll in, which felt like some sort of omen to me. 

"He'll be back, don't cry."

I jumped at the sudden voice to my right. Propped up on a broom stood Suga, who had apparently set to work cleaning up the broken glass on the ground. I wiped at the tears I hadn't noticed forming in my eyes. 

"Are you sure? He didn't exactly plan on coming back here the first time," I mumbled. 

He shrugged. "He may not have planned it, but it seems that the higher powers have other ideas. He'll be back. And we'll wait for him." He paused and watched me with an inscrutable expression. "Maybe he'll even let us in on whatever it was that he told you." 

My eyes widened in surprise. 

He exhaled deeply. "We know him better than he thinks. We know there's more to the story with Bianca. We forgave him for that ages ago, but what we can't get over is how he has shut us out. We can't help him if he doesn't trust us, and that's... painful for us," he admitted. A flash of pain flickered in his face, the first sign of emotion I'd ever seen from him. Clearly, this man felt much more deeply than he let on. Why couldn't Jungkook see how much they loved him? Why wouldn't he trust them to help him carry this heavy burden?