Redeeming Angel by J.L. Weil Page B

the confined space. Her eyes took in
everything, familiarizing herself with her things as if she was
seeing them for the first time. Then her gaze landed on her
reflection, and she let out a loud gasp. Leaning forward, her hand
flew to her face as she tilted her head from side-to-side. “What am
I going to tell my mom?”
    Wide eyes the color of polished
amethysts stared back. I said the first thing that popped into my
mind. “We’ll tell her you got contacts.” Anything, as long as the
defeated look was erased from her face. I knew how much it would
bother Angel to lie to her mom, but I also knew she wasn’t ready to
talk about what had gone down.
    Her bottom lip quivered, and I thought
she might cry, finally break down, and I knew it would send me over
the edge. But just as her eyes started to glisten, her chin lifted
and she pulled it together.
    Angel never ceased to
amaze.
    “ Okay. I can do that,” she
said, meeting my eyes in the mirror.
    I nodded.
    What a pair we were. No one could ever
say our relationship was dull. Unhealthy? Hell yes, but never
boring.
    The hiss of the shower sounded almost
immediately after the door closed behind me. I leaned against the
wall and closed my eyes. How the hell was I going to leave her
alone?
     
    {Angel }
    I’d taken countless showers. It was a
mundane task, but this shower was like none of the others. There
was an immense appreciation for something as simple as having hot
water spray over my face in a waterfall effect. The water didn’t
sputter or turn brown. There weren’t spiders dangling from the
ceiling or some ugly as sin creature scampering
underfoot.
    Everything was exactly where I’d left
it. I ran my fingers over the variety of bottles and jars, wanting
to touch it all. Opening my shampoo bottle, I dragged in a deep
breath of honeysuckle and ripe strawberries. I wanted to drench my
body in the scent; it was that good. Oh. My. God. A razor. I could
kiss the little beauty tool. Once glance at my pale skin confirmed
my legs had definitely seen better days.
    A few times I pressed my shaky hands
to my face, but the steady stream of water washed away the grime
and sweat stuck to my body. The shower worked with the sugar and
caffeine Chase had left for me, clearing a few of the cobwebs so I
could put my mind to other things.
    Like seeing my mom.
    Overall, it felt good, like cleansing
the soul in a way.
    I opened the door, a fog of steam
following me into the bedroom and floating along the floor.
Clutching the towel to my chest, I went into the room, my eyes
immediately drawn to Chase pacing the floor.
    He exhaled, leaning against the
window. “I was two seconds from breaking the door down. I thought
you passed out in there.”
    My lips curved up. “Sorry,” I said,
padding across the carpet to my dresser. I opened the top drawer.
My gamer shirts and comfy clothes lay in disorder in the drawer. If
I’d been alone, I would have taken out each piece just to look at
them.
    I pulled out an outfit. With an armful
of clothes and my other hand still clamping the towel, I stood up
and turned around, smacking into Chase. I let out a little shriek.
“You’re never going to stop doing that, are you? Sneaking up on
me?”
    One side of his lips tilted up. He
twined a piece of my damp hair around his finger, inhaling the
fresh and sweet scent of my shampoo. “Feel better?”
    My heart fluttered at his nearness.
“Much.” I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. It was eleven in
the morning. “Is my mom home?” I realized I didn’t even know what
day it was.
    The strand of hair slipped through his
fingertips, and he brushed it behind my ear. “She is, but she
doesn’t know we’re here. I talked to Devin this
morning.”
    Part of me wanted to run into Mom’s
room and climb into her bed. I bit my lip. “How long have I been
sleeping?”
    “ It doesn’t matter. You
needed it.”
    He was being evasive. What else was
new?
    “ You hungry?” he quickly
asked.
    Now that I