When Angels Fall (Fallen Angels) (7 page)

“What my little brother means is that we were blackmailed. Hi, we haven’t met yet. I’m Kevin Allen, and by the way, his attitude just changed. So, I’m going to guess that you must be Chloe Gardner.” Kevin sat backwards on the seat opposite Nick and gave her the once-over.

Chloe looked over at Nick and smiled. “He’s told you a lot about me?”

“Every night. He must say your name a million times before he goes to sleep,” Kevin said, continuing to torment his brother.

“Yeah, whatever you say. Just so you know, Chloe, Kevin still wets the bed.”

Instead of being rebuffed, Kevin punched him as the new leader came in.

“Don’t make me ground you two. Settle down, Gang, so we can get started,” the woman said, addressing them all.

Chloe leaned over Nick and dared to ask, “Why would she ground you?”

“She’s my mom. She was bored and my dad told her all about the opening for a youth leader, and she decided to take it.”

Kevin rolled his eyes and added, “As she put it, ‘To form the young minds of our youth.’ We got drafted as soon as we got home.”

Chloe laughed at them. She watched their mother talk about the first trip and how it would be to Lords Hospital. Chloe knew the place well because she’d spent most of her summer there with her young, ill friend Millie. She studied their mother and could see the strong family resemblance. Of the three Allen brothers she’d met, they all looked a lot alike. Nick was the only one who had the curls, and Chloe guessed they came from his mother.

 
Mrs. Allen was a short woman with medium-length hair that was pinned up today, but she had a few tight curls hanging in the back.
 
She wore a tweed gray skirt and light-blue cashmere sweater.

By the way she was dressed, Chloe could tell Allen family had money.

Kevin Allen had straighter hair like Max, but his was longer. She could tell he was the bad boy of the three she’d met. Like Nick, he had the big brown eyes, but you could see the mischief in them, where Nick’s were softer and serene, like his mother’s. She could only guess that the oldest of the boys was a copy of the ones she‘d already met.

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Friday came and the group boarded the bus to do some community service. Chloe got on the bus with a garment bag and a makeup box. She’d and found a set of seats that happened to be across from Nick. For trips, they were allowed to wear street clothes, so it was strange to see him in jeans and a tee shirt.

“The kids are getting makeovers,” Nick joked as he watched her put her stuff in the set and seemed to look at her outfit.

 
Chloe wore a demon mini-skirt and a low-cut tee shirt. Her hair was pulled back just so that half was up and the other down. “Why are you so strange sometimes?” She wasn’t in the mood for this. His mother had asked to pair him with her and all she really wanted to do was play with the kids and see Millie. Now she had to babysit Nick again.

“Why are you so mysterious?” He gave her a skeptical raise of his brow.

Chloe smiled at that. “To throw you off and keep you on your toes.” He was trying and she had to cut him a break. He didn’t understand what the floor did to her or how little Mille was her favorite. She had to loosen up before she got there.

“You’re doing a really good job of that. So what’s in the bag?” Nick wondered aloud.

“Don’t worry about it. Listen, you’re going to be on the kids’ ward with me and you will need to be kid friendly.” She wanted him to understand that this was no joke. They were sick and he needed to be prepared for that.

“I’m kid friendly. Just ask Max. I play with him for hours with Legos and cars.”

“This is different from playing Legos. These kids are sick and this is the only change they get every once in a while to get a break from their treatments and have a little fun. What kid songs do you know?” She tried to get him to understand this was serious.

“Kids songs? I’m not really sure. Does ‘Stairway to Heaven’ count?”

Chloe could see that he was trying to make her smile, but instead he was pissing her off. “Can you stop playing around?”

“I worked with kids at camp in the summer. I know a lot. Don’t worry. Maybe I should ask you what you’re going to do.”

“Don’t worry about me. How are you with dressing up?” she asked. He had to be open to anything if he was going to work with her there.

“Dressing up—how? Now you’re starting to freak me out.”

She laughed at that. “Don’t be. It is just easier for these kids to relate to us, if we dress up for them.” She opened her makeup box and started looking through it. “Look, I take this project seriously. If you’re going to joke around, then don’t bother helping me on the floor. It isn’t a joke.” She needed to get ready and started to apply glitter around her face. There was a huge pit growing in her stomach, as they got closer to the hospital.

“Hey, I promise I will stop kidding around. What do you want me to do? I’ll do it.”

“Give me a minute and I’ll work on you,” she answered as she tried to finish her makeup.

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Nick allowed her to do his face. They disembarked from the bus and now he stood outside the bathroom, waiting for Chloe to come out. He felt silly, with the clown face she’d painted on him, but she said it would help.

Finally, she came out of the bathroom dressed in a light-blue mini-dress and fairy wings. She had a little silver crown in her hair.

He smiled at the transformation.

 
At his stare, she rolled her eyes. “Just follow me and let me do most of the talking.” She pushed the button that opened the door to the children’s ward. She seemed to notice the grin on his face as he stared at her. “Okay, what?”

“You look like the Blue Fairy
.” A very sexy Blue Fairy, one that he wouldn’t mind coming to visit him at night.
He had to stop himself from thinking of her that way.

 
“And you look like Pinocchio. That’s the point. I volunteer here once a week and this is how I dress. The kids love it. Now, if you behave yourself, maybe I will turn you into a real boy.”

“Oooh… a real boy?”Nick mimicked her and she hit him on the arm. “Ouch. What was that for?” he asked, surprised at the strength behind the punch.

“To remind you of who is in charge. Come on.” She took his hand and led him into the day room.

He was very impressive with the kids. They seemed to interact with him as well as they did with her.

Chloe seemed happy about that.
 
After they finished, she stopped in the hallway. “We have one more special person I want you to meet. She’s very shy. I try to spend a little more one-on-one time with her because she’s so sick. Hopefully, when I tell her you’re my friend, she’ll warm up to you like the other kids did. Her name is Millie. So, just do what you did in there and you should be okay.”

 
“Whatever you say; you’re the boss,” Nick sensed something about her feelings for this little girl. She had a hold of Chloe’s heart and he could tell that she was special.

“Yeah, and don’t forget that.” She laughed a little. “I give Millie the extra time, so her mom gets a small break to go and get dinner, while she knows someone is there with Millie. Come on.” She knocked on the door, and then waved her wand in the doorway.

“Princess Chloe!” Nick heard a little voice say.

Chloe smiled and motioned for Nick to follow her.

“Hello, Fairy Princess! I missed you! I brought a friend with me. He wanted to play his guitar for you. Is that okay?” Chloe waved Nick into the room with her.

Millie looked out from under her blanket. She was just a little waif of a child. She looked pale with very little hair left, and deep, sunken eyes of blue. She seemed to study him for a minute, and then she smiled. “What’s your name?”

She reminded Nick of his little brother. “I’m Nick, and Princess Chloe told me so much about you. What was your name? Was it Silly?” he teased her, seeing if she would giggle.

“No, I’m Millicent, and I’m four years old. You can call me Millie if you want. I don’t like Millicent!” she proclaimed loudly.

Her mother laughed at that. “Well, since you have company, Mommy is going to get you some Jell-O. Do you want cherry or orange?”

“Cherry. Orange is gross. Nick, do you want some Jell-0?” Millie asked as she tilted her head to the side.

“No, I’m good. But Cherry is my favorite, too.” He immediately loved this kid. She was so funny. Chloe had been scared he would mess up, but he could now see why Millie was her favorite.

Chloe laughed at how fast Millie had taken to him. “Have a good dinner,” she called to Millie’s mother.

“Thanks. I’ll be back soon. Millie, have fun, honey.”

Nick thought he could see tears forming in the woman’s eyes. He was beginning to understand why Chloe was so attached to this floor.

“Chloe, can I wear your crown?” Millie asked, her little voice sounding shy.

“Of course, you can. Because, I only let sweet little girls like you wear it.” Chloe smiled and then looked at Nick. She leaned in closer to Millie but spoke, so he could hear. “Now what song should we have Nick sing for us?”

Millie seemed to concentrate hard on that one. “Do you know ‘Over the Rainbow’?”

“Are you kidding? That’s one of my favorite songs. Wow, you like a lot of the stuff I do.”

The three of them spent an hour coloring, with Nick playing whatever song the little girl requested.

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Back on the bus, Nick watched Chloe as she took off the makeup she had put on him. She’d been quiet after they left Millie. “What’s wrong with Millie?”

Chloe didn’t answer right away. She just thought about how Millie had been giggling while they were there. It had been weeks since she had giggled like that. Slowing her movements, she started to put the stuff away. “Cancer. She has been in and out of that place for months. You did a good job today. The kids liked you. I know we go like once a month, so if you think you can handle it, I think we would make a pretty good team. And I try to go once a week, so if you want, you can come with me,” she suggested. She hated to admit he was good with them.

“Does that mean you’re going to give me your number?” he teased her.

“We’ll see. Next month, we do a Halloween party for them. I have just one request. No skeleton costumes. It’s too much like death and they don’t need to see that.” It was the only thing about Halloween she didn’t like.

“I’ll see what I can do. Are you okay?”

“I’m good. It’s just a long day and I’m going home to an empty house.” It was the only thing she hated about these days. No one was home and she usually just went to her room and cried. She knew what was happening with Millie but didn’t want to admit it.

“Do you want some company? We could order a pizza or something.”

“If I say okay, you have to understand it’s not a date,” she replied, not wanting to lead him on or have him turn into the guys who would try anything once they were alone. So far, he had been a really good friend, and she wanted to keep it that way.

“I hardly know you, so why would I think it was a date?”

Once they got back to Chloe’s house, she dropped her stuff on the stairs and told him to follow her into the kitchen. “We really are not allowed in the living room. It’s only for show. I let them hang in there to make her mad, but tonight we aren’t,” she informed him as she rolled her eyes.