My Immortal Phantom

My Angel

Chapter Two: My Angel

The boy...man...thing...whatever I saw...was the most beautiful sight that I'd ever experienced. It was like appearing in heaven and seeing an angel face-to-face. Was that what was happening? Was I slowly dying, and that was a glimpse of my future? He--it--had dirty blonde hair and jet black eyes that pierce my soul the minute I saw them (that would be why I dropped the box). It, his, whatever, had skin more pale than ice itself, speaking of which it felt as if its breath alone froze my lips to icicles. 

I felt myself being unconscious, with what I referred to as death really a mere feeling of something sweeping over my body. It chilled me then left. I could hear the sound of Peter, Mom, Dad, and Ella (my five year old baby sister) whispering things. I hated being talked about as if I wasn't there, but this interested me. I could hear my family's thoughts of me that they didn't want to say to my face.

"Mommy, did Sissie die?"

"Shh," my mother answered Ella. "No. Peter, check her pulse."

I felt a strong, warm hand against my breast. I longed to be able to move so that I could smack my brother away and call him a pervert for so willingly touching my bust. 

"She's breathing," Peter replied. "Her heartbeat is rapid."

"June...Junie Bear..."

I again wished for consciousness. I hated when my father called me Junie Bear. I mean, it was fine and dandy when I was eight but now its just getting old.

"Peter, I think you're going to have to do mouth-to-mouth," my father confirmed.

No one could describe how much I wanted to break out of this trance and scream at the top of my lungs. I didn't want to lie here and let my brother openly kiss me. It was just wierd, even for me.

"Eww, hell no!" he argued. 

"Watch your mouth!" Dad snapped. "It's just your sister."

"Can't I just get her some water?" he whined.

I couldn't see, but I could gurantee you that Peter was grinning sarcastically and my father was rolling his eyes at him.

After a few moments, Peter returned. I never realized how heavy his footsteps were before now, but they sounded louder than a bull in a china cabinet. He held the cool water to my lips, and I was relieved that I could swallow. My eyes then opened into slits, and I sat up straight.

"What happened?"

"Were you trying to kill yourself? Or is stabbing yourself with tacks and falling down just daily entertainment?"

"N-n-no," I stuttered. "I just saw...I just thought...I thought I saw a man. Well not really a man. An angel. Not neccessarily an angel either..."

"Point being," Mom cut me off, "you thought you saw something, you fainted, and everything's okay, right?"

I nodded silently. Of course its not okay! You dragged me down here away from the only person keeping me alive! I wish that fall would have killed me!

Of course, I didn't say that. I never say what I think to anyone but Liz.

That night, when I slipped into the world of dreamland, I dreamed of that thing. I was in a forest, holding a white rose. I was skipping and singing an unfamiliar happy tune when it came out from behind a tree and began to follow me. Every time it touched or passed something, orange and red flames crackled on it. I began to run as the scene changed to a graveyard and a million other "it"s were rising from their graves. Fire was everywhere, and I decided somewhere within myself to stop running. I wheeled and the its surrounded me, the flames licking my body. 

I awoke disappointed. I thought maybe I would get a dream that wasn't about death tonight.

I picked up my phone and read the time; 3:28 A.M. I dialed Liz, knowing that to her, the most predictable thing in the world would be a call between midnight and morning from me, though she was one hour ahead of me. 

"...hello...?" my best friend mumbled groggily. 

"HIi!" I gushed. "I know its only been two days, but I miss you like crazy! I need someone to talk to. I have so much to tell you! Okay, so I almost cut myself with a tack, but I didn't so its okay because Peter reminded me that you would smack my face off. Of course, I might want to cut myself just so you would fly down to Alabama to slap me. Anyway, I went into my new house and saw this amazing angel looking thing. Then I fainted and told my family that I just thought I saw something, but I'm pretty sure I actually saw something real. I mean, I even felt his freezing breath on my face. I know its crazy. Then I had a dream about him! It was really creepy and, of course, I died in the end. But you know, that figures."

"Mmm-hmm. Hey, June, I love you, but can we talk in the morning?"

Feeling a little disappointed but knowing she needed her sleep, I agreed and we hung up. I decided to take the time that I had between now and morning to look around the house. I skipped lightheartedly, trying to keep my spirits up, as I went down the dark hallway and into the new living room. This one was so much grander than ours in New York, since we went from an apartment to here, having our own building. It wasn't hard to tell that I hated our new house. Though I did like how in the kitchen a whole wall was made of transparent glass. But we had a suckish view, so it wasn't that great of a upside anyway.

"Looking for this?"

I jumped. There my angel was again, dangling my locket. It was a gold chain with a key and a heart locket that contained a picture of Liz and me. She had given it to me for my 14th birthhday. I was scared more than anything of the beautiful creature, but he couldn't take something like that away from me. Something that gave me my last of Liz.

"Please..." I murmured. "Please...its mine."

He chuckled. "Come and get it."

I took two dangerous slides towards the creature mannish thing, then stopped. "Am I close enough?"

"Don't play games with me. Just come over here," he snarled.

Tears began to roll down my cheeks. Damn my sensitivity. I sauntered closer, edging until I was a spitting distance from him. I snatched the turning neckalce out of his grasp. As I did, I began to hang it from my neck when a pale hand gripped my throat.