Rising Dawn (Willy Wonka X OC)

You're an Angel

     "It was cold. Really cold...and dark." I take a breath and look down. "It was cloudy, but you couldn't see the clouds themselves so much as the absence of light from the moon and stars. It felt nice to be out in the crisp night air. I felt mysterious and enchanting, almost like I could do anything or be anybody."

     "And who did you want to be?" Will asks, rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand in lazy circles.

     I shrug. "I don't know who I wanted to be, but I'll tell you what I turned into. A temptress. A siren on land singing my song of ensnarement to the sleeping city." Will's eyebrows shoot up in surprise, and I nod, avoiding his gaze. "The feeling didn't last long, believe me. But for about ten minutes, walking along those streets in the dark, I felt powerful. It was the worst feeling ever because...well, because it came from a dark place. I loved the new feeling, but at the same time, I hated it and wanted it to stop. It was confusing and scary and I couldn't make it stop." Gentle tears start to drip onto my cheeks. "I didn't have control over the way I felt in that moment when I've always been able to shut off certain, unpleasant feelings. And that was before I even got to his house."

     Will hugs me closer and tucks my head under his chin. "Who's house, love?"

     It's been a couple days since the wedding when Will and I promised to tell each other about what makes us distant, and we were just settling down tonight to watch a movie when I launched into the story. There is no "right moment" for this type of thing, and if I gave the situation preface, I knew I would never get all the way to the end of the story. The only way to do this was to jump in with both feet before I knew what I was doing.

     Right away he could tell that I was saying something grave and serious. We know each other so well that he could hear the slight tremor in my voice and odd context of my description of that night and knew I was finally giving him the story he had wanted for months. So, he didn't ask what I was talking about in the beginning, he merely asked who I wanted to be. He never interrupted me or asked prying questions, only listened attentatively and asked the occasional encouraging, properly sequential question.

     I take a deep breath. "Nigel."

     I feel as if a huge weight has been pried from my shoulders with that one word. A big breath comes whooshing out of my lungs, and now tears of relief spill down my cheeks. I glance up at Will to see him staring blankly above my head, putting the pieces together and surmising what had happened and what this new character had done. It's almost as if I can see the gears turning in his brain as he mouths Nigel over and over.

     He brings his legs together a little, tightening them around me, as if assuring himself I'm still here. I pull my knees up to my chest and watch him until he finally looks down and begins stroking the back of my head.

     "Would you happen to have his last name?" he asks with a strange, low menace in his tone. Butterflies flutter restlessly in my stomach at hearing the darker side of Will come out. I simply shake my head. He nods slowly. "I don't suppose Nigel is his real name, do you?"

     I shrug. "Probably not."

     "But you do have the address, correct?" He pulls out his pocket watch on a chain and checks the time as if wondering if he has time to go destroy a man before bed.

     I shake my head and put a hand on his chest. "No, Will. You are not going to make another man disappear. One was bad enough."

     Of course I want Nigel to suffer for what he did. After all this time and separation, he still manages to torture my mind. I still flinch occasionally when Will moves to hug or cuddle me. I wouldn't mind if Nigel met his demise, but I don't want it to be by Will's hand. This is a dark path that I don't want Will going down. If I let him do this, then who knows what else I'll be letting him do next. I'm his wife. I have a duty to protect him. Even if I have to protect him from himself.