Fallen Angel

Chapter 17: Brannon

Lunch was quiet, even Delaney sat and ate her meal without a word said. It was like there was a heaviness in the air, one that everyone could feel. Ordinarily, Cara would be eager to return to her room, today she seemed to linger as if her phone wasn't waiting with several hundred messages for her to read.

Trying to eat lunch was difficult when all I could think about was Emily. Wondering what she was doing, if she had fallen asleep again after I left or if she was eating something. Maybe she'd gone for a swim. My mind flushed with hedonistic thoughts of Emily in a bathing suit, her teasing me as she pulled away the tiny bikini top.

Gripping the cutlery hard I could feel it bend under my touch, I wished for someone to dump a bucket of cold water on me. Frosty cold.

When I released the handles I looked at the knife and fork that had dips in the handles from my fingers. Stupidly I lifted my eyes and saw my father looking at them, his eyes raised to mine, the eyebrow raising higher.

We said nothing but we both knew that my mind was elsewhere and it was likely that he knew where it was. With an angel.

Lunch was done, my father gripped my mother's hand, looking at her with love.

"Darling, join us in the study when you are ready."

She smiled at him and then turned to me, offering a sympathetic smile. It pained me to do so, but I offered a begrudging smile in return as I stood from the table. The wait staff scurried around us, collecting the plates and tidying as they moved.

My father was standing by the door, waiting for me. This was not fun at all, I hated the walk to his study. I was waiting for him to yell out dead man walking. The door opened for me, my father's will over this world was everywhere. I sat on the large lounge, the door shut with a slow click as my father closed it quietly.

"So this is where you start at the beginning and do not forget to tell me a single thing, Brannon. I do not want secrets, I want honesty in everything. You can also explain why I feel a tightness within me, what are you doing that is causing this?"

He could feel her. Damn it. I just had to buy a few more hours for her, then she'd be right to go back to earth without issue.

My father crossed the room and poured two drinks which were highly unusual. Usually, he poured one for himself and would then sit and listen as I told him what I had done to misbehave on that day. But today was different. Today he knew I was different.

A glass was held out to me, warily I took it.

"You can drop the act, Brannon. I know what you and Luca get up to, I know about the car and the apartment, I know about your drunken globetrotting efforts every weekend. If I was upset about it I would have dealt with it when I first learned about it."

He sat on the lounge, turning side on to face me.

"I don't understand why you think you can hide these things from me. You come home smelling like you've taken a swim in a vat of whiskey. You think that I didn't notice the sizable chunks of money disappear from your bank account or that I have demons walking the streets, seeing many things. So we are going to ignore those things because, in the grand scheme of our lives, they aren't really that important. What is important is your education and you are lucky that Mrs Emery has assured me that you are doing exceptionally well at your studies. I hold concern that Luca is easily distracted, maybe you need to tell him to stop worrying about what you are and how you do things until after he has finished his education."

I nodded, taking a sip of the alcohol. It was harsh but slid down my throat with ease.

"But I cannot avoid the thoughts that there is something wrong with this world, something is going on that you're not telling me."

He stopped and waited, I sighed and nodded. As I readied to say something, my mother walked in and took her and my father's preferred place, on his lap.

"So there may be something and you're going to freak out at me and yell and all that stuff but you've got to promise me something or I'm not telling you."

My parents looked at each other, the worry filling them quickly.

"And what is it that you want us to promise Bran?" My mother asked calmly.

"That you won't hurt Emily and that you won't search for her."

"I don't understand why you'd ask such things, Brannon." My father said cautiously.

"See, you're going to have a major meltdown about it so I need to make sure."

With one outstretched hand, I found the compassion from my mother that I needed as her warm fingers gripped my hand. She smiled so reassuringly, offering solace with one little gesture.

"We promise darling."

"We do?" My father said rather shocked.

"Yes, we do Anton, because you asked for complete honesty from Brannon and he is going to give you that but he frets for the angel's wellbeing. Now I know what that might mean but do you?"

Mercilessly she chuckled and turned back to me.

"Go on darling and ignore your father's confusion."

"Luca and I were at a vampire club last night and Emily turned up. The vampires were about to jump her so I bound her and shot her up into the sky."

I looked at their stunned faces, likely because they didn't know that I'd harnessed such skills.

"By the time I went up there to retrieve her, she was in a cocoon, frozen and close to death."

"Angels don't die." My father said tersely.

"You know what I mean. I thought she was dead, I couldn't wake her so I wrapped her into my own warmth but it wasn't enough. She needed serious heat."

"Please tell me you didn't bring her to hell."

I shrugged, looking down to my empty glass and wished that I could have the whole bottle. My father groaned rather loudly.

"Where is she?"

"Not on this layer."

"Lucky for you. Don't think I wouldn't have you hanging over the pit as punishment."

"Anton!" My mother scolded him. "Don't give me that look, I don't care if it wouldn't hurt or harm, you don't say those kinds of things."

"I'm the devil Sarah, I do say those kinds of things."

I watched with growing unease, their fights always ended one way. Behind the closed door of their bedroom and me with my headphones on so that I didn't have to pretend that I didn't know what they were up to.

My father huffed and flicked his hand.

"Continue, please. Tell me why you care if I hurt an angel."

"Not all angels, just her."

"Fine. Why can't I hurt this one?"

I looked up at my parents, my mother was smiling like she already knew and my father was frowning. I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, hoping to find strength. Okay here goes.

"Because I like her."