Rise From Darkness (5 page)

The small brick and wood front porch provided some protection from the storm while she paused for a minute to locate her key. Why had she locked the door when there was nothing to steal? Habit. Mom always insisted they keep the house secured.

Water dripped through the gapping wood roof, sadly in need of repair. But then everything inside and out needed fixing, and she hadn’t thought that far ahead. As she dug for her key inside her art supplies carrier, overwhelming embarrassment filled her. In her experience, people, especially teens, could be superficial. You were only as good as the things you owned.

She sighed, knowing that made her worth nothing.

She jumped at an enormous boom and looked over her shoulder. Less than twenty yards from the house, a tree stood split down the middle, charred and smoldering from a fresh lightning strike.

Alexander reached out and steadied her. She glanced into his eyes, just a few inches away. The golden specks swam in a sea of blue, his face appeared chiseled from marble. Energy surged through her as if the bolt of lightning struck her instead of the tree. He was so close, she could feel his warm breath caressing her lips with each exhale. He held her for a moment, until Gaby realized Sammy watched them from only a few feet away. Pulling from his arms, her fingers tightened around the keys and she unlocked the door.

Still feeling flustered, she gave a half smile and opened the door gesturing them inside.

A muggy heat accosted her with a weighted feeling of dread as she entered the house. She flipped the switch for the ceiling fan, but nothing happened. She continued flicking the switch hoping extra effort might force the fan to turn on. Alexander reached out and covered her hand with his.

“The electricity is out. Lightening must’ve hit a transformer.”

The familiar warmth radiated from her arm. This time it reached all the way to her face. Her cheeks grew hot, feeling a strange tingle while his hand rested on hers.

“Would you like something to drink?”

“Sure.”

Gaby made her way into the little kitchen. Dreary gray linoleum led to an avocado green refrigerator beside a daffodil yellow dishwasher. The entire room had an eclectic look that reminded her of a ‘
70’s
TV show. Since their well water tasted like sulfur, she grabbed three bottles of water.

Not wanting him to see more of the house than necessary, she spun around and found him standing two inches from her.

She sucked in a quick breath. “I-I didn’t hear you behind me.”

“What’re all the trophies in the living room? You a cheerleader?” he asked.

“No. I am not a cheerleader.” She winced at her harsh tone. Alexander took one of the waters and returned to the living room where he sat on the armrest of the sofa.

She quickly followed and handed Sammy a bottle.

“Thanks.” Sammy smiled like a cheerleader, something she could never be. There was no way she could be that peppy all the time. It was exhausting to talk with people she didn’t know. Popularity never found Gaby. She felt awkward in social settings, causing most people to leave her alone. Then there were their constant moves.

She reached out and her finger traced one of the brass-covered statues. “They’re from various things like baseball, basketball, dancing, gymnastics, and running.”

“Really?” Alexander rose from the couch and walked around the small room.

“Don’t sound so shocked. A girl can play sports you know.”

“I know. I’m surprised. It’s unusual for a person to succeed in so many things.” He paused, perusing more of the pictures. Turning with a smile he told her, “I’m impressed.”

“Yeah, Gaby. You must be pretty athletic.” Sammy took a sip from her bottle.

Her cheeks warmed with embarrassment … and pride. “I guess I lose interest easily.” Not! Every time she took on a new identity, she played a different sport. It made finding them more difficult. Although why they had to hide when her dad worked for the government, her parents had never said, no matter how many times she asked. Their answer was always, “The work’s top secret and puts our lives at risk.”

“You have to try out for cheerleading at school. I made captain this year, but I’m not that good at the acrobatic portion,” Sammy said, her voice raising an octave in excitement. “I’ll help you with the cheering part and you can help me with the flips and stuff.”

“I-I,” but Gaby didn’t know how to tell her that it wasn’t an option, but she didn’t have a chance to refuse either.

“Oh, shoot,” Sammy groaned and stomped her foot on the ground. She moved to the door, opening it and peering out at the pouring rain. “I promised to meet a friend at the mall. I’ll meet you tomorrow morning so we can start practicing. There are only a couple months until school.” Sammy took off in the rain before Alexander or Gaby could say anything, leaving her feeling awkward having a guy in her house alone.

He walked around the room looking at the pictures on the walls of her being given medals and trophies. The images revealed a chronological account of her life from the time she could walk. Gaby wondered if he noticed no teammates were ever in the pictures and that there weren’t any names on the trophies. She always appeared alone, even in group sports.

“Who’s into boats?” Alexander pointed to the model boats sitting on a shelf.

“My dad. We went fishing and boating a lot when I was younger. We had so much fun out on the lake.”

“Do you still go?”

“No, we don’t have a boat and my dad wouldn’t have the time now anyway.” Gaby winced at the sorrow in her voice. Crap, what was it about Alexander and his sister that made her feel safe enough to open up?

“Do you think if you had a boat he might go again?”

“Maybe, I don’t know,” she said with a forced smile.

“Follow me.” Alexander turned and walked out the front door. She paused a moment then followed, hesitating on the front porch, she glanced down the drive. When they rounded the corner of the house, she let out a deep sigh not realizing she’d been holding her breath. She had to be more careful. If her dad caught a boy inside her house, they’d move by dawn.

****

The rain slowed to a drizzle. Alexander watched the steam rise from Gaby’s body and her curves sway as she walked. Her scent carried by the wind, smelled of fresh cut flowers and ocean breezes.

His body trembled so he refocused on the task at hand, an excuse to keep a close eye on Gaby without getting involved. Sammy would use cheerleading and cover most of the mornings. He would just have to cover afternoons. It wouldn’t be easy to keep
Forras
away.

No one else knew about Alexander’s hidden place. He had always flown there, and when he couldn’t fly anymore he’d stopped going, so when they reached the area outside the old boathouse, he wasn’t expecting the overgrowth.

“Well, here it is.”

“Here’s what?”

“My secret hiding place.” Alexander laughed and started to pull some branches and debris out of the way. “It’s not the overgrown lump of green in front of us. It’s what’s behind it. Here, help me clear some of this out of the way.”

As Gaby started to pull at the branches in front of them, he said. “You have to swear never to share this with anyone, especially my nosey sister. I don’t care if you have some sort of cheerleader sisterhood thing going on. No pinky swears or truth or dare at a sleepover. You got it?”

Gaby squeaked and nodded. She covered her mouth as if to stifle it.

It was endearing. Alexander wanted to tell her but thought better of it.

She held up her pinky. “I tell you what, we can skip the sleepover and just pinky-swear now. It will trump all future pinky-swears.” As they laughed, Alexander’s heart lifted and the weight of being a fallen angel no longer rested on his shoulders. Something he hadn’t felt in a long time, if ever. The last branch was hard to pull without tearing the tree apart. A hole formed large enough for them to crawl through.

He shimmied around an old, rusting hulk of a car to the front door. She grabbed his hand to follow and the hair on the nape of his neck rose in response. Distracted by her touch, he pulled the small boathouse door off its hinges. After a second, he dropped the door pretending it was too heavy to hold.

She stared at him. He ushered her inside before she had a chance to say anything.

“Merry Christmas.” Alexander teased pointing at a dilapidated old boat resting on a trailer.

“Ah, it’s July.” Gaby raised a curious eyebrow at him.

“I know, but look. We can fix this up by Christmas and surprise your father. What do you think?” Alex tapped his fingers against his legs waiting for a response.

“I think you’re crazy. I don’t know anything about boats. Besides that barely resembles a boat. It’s got a hole in the back of it and it’s covered in rust.” Gaby brushed the hair from her forehead and ran a finger across her full lips. Her legs glistened when she walked around studying the old boat.

Soft, they’d be soft to the touch. He looked away and took a deep breath. “I do.”

“In case you didn’t notice, I don’t have money oozing from my pockets, and I’m sure this will require a ton of money to fix.”

“Don’t worry about the money. I’ve got a lot of the parts we’ll need, and I know how to fix it. I just need some help.” Alexander’s stomach knotted. She had to agree. It was the only way he could think to keep an eye on her.

“I can’t accept a boat that you paid to fix, besides, doesn’t it belong to someone?”

“The old couple who lived here abandoned this boathouse years ago. They didn’t have any kids so when they passed away, the state auctioned off the property. I assume anything on the property belongs to you.”

“Still, if you spend your money on it I can’t—”

“I’ll tell you what. I will help you fix it up if you let me use it. Deal?” Alexander had to convince her. If not, he’d have to come up with another plan. He wouldn’t let
Forras
near her.

“Deal.” Gaby looked at her watch. “I need to get going.” She headed for the door.

“I’ll meet you tomorrow after you’re done practicing with Sammy.”

“Great. It’s a date.” Gaby’s face flushed. “I mean—”

“It’s a date then.” Alexander took both of her hands in his and kissed her cheek. He pulled away cursing himself. What was he thinking? This was a job. A reason to keep her safe there would be nothing else between them. He was an angel not some horny teenage boy. Shoving his hands in his pockets, they walked back toward Gaby’s house where they ran into Sammy.

“Hey, I was just looking for you guys.” Sammy bounced up in a little skirt and tennis shoes. Smile plastered and ready to cheer. “Where were you?”

“We were just taking a walk on the beach.” Alexander answered. What’s up?”

“I wanted to see if we could get some practice time in, but I see you had better plans.”

“I’m not sure about this cheerleading thing, Sammy.” Gaby glanced down at her shorts then at Sammy’s clothes and she bit her bottom lip. “I’m not that… um… cheerful?”

“Don’t worry about that. My sister has enough team spirit for the both of you.”

Sammy slugged him.

“How ‘bout I come over tomorrow and teach you a few routines, just the two of us, and then you can decide?” Sammy bounced in place with pleading eyes fixed on Gaby. “You never know, you might find your inner spirit.”

They all looked up at the sound of a car barreling down the half-mile gravel driveway.

Gaby’s eyes widened, a hint of fear in their depths. She quickly agreed to Sammy’s idea than ran to the back door of her house.