The sound of the lock sliding out of place, followed by light pouring into the tiny closet, had him slamming his eyes shut and covering them with his little hands. It was almost as if the sun itself was in the space.
Squinting, he looked up to see the devil’s wretched face staring down at him. It was a look he would never forget for as long as he lived. A look of pure fury. That was when he knew he had won.
“Clean this shit up,” Lucifer hissed at Dominic, who was standing in the doorway, before he turned and left.
Closing his eyes again, he felt a hand touch his forehead.
“You did good, Angel.”
Angel didn’t bother opening his eyes as he asked, “D-did I-I?”
“You did.” Taking his arm, Dominic slowly tried to raise him. “Now, let’s clean you up.”
The embarrassment of soiling himself several times made him not want to get up, but his brother wouldn’t have it, forcing him to try.
Angel couldn’t even move at first, yet he eventually got himself up enough to lean on Dominic for support. Each step hurt and felt foreign.
Stopping halfway to the bathroom, he didn’t know how much longer he could walk, until his eyes drifted into his bedroom, seeing Matthias curled up on his bed.
Angel was looking at someone who looked like his brother yet was no longer.
Falling to his knees, he wanted it all to just end.
Dominic sat down beside him, his eyes going between his twin brothers. “Bella asked me today where you and Matthias are.”
“S-she did?” Something deep down inside him lit up.
“Yes, I think she misses you.”
That thing deep down in him … stirred as he pushed himself up off the ground to stand tall. Taking a step…
…Angel walked over to his fallen phone, picking it back up. As he looked down at the cracked screen, his finger hovered over Matthias’s name before pushing call.
“Yes, brother?” his twin asked.
Smiling, he had just one question for him.
“Heads or tails?”
Twenty-Five
Which Angel Was Her Angel?
Sneaking out of Vincent and Lake’s place the next day, Adalyn started the journey to the elevator, wondering if she really should do this. When she hit the button, she decided not to turn back, even when she walked down the hall and knocked on the door that she now stood in front of.
When the door was opened, revealing Angel, there seemed to be something … off.
Crossing his arms, he leaned against the doorframe while unashamedly travelling his eyes all up and down her body.
She started to feel self-conscious from his blatant staring, which made her severely regret coming to see him. If she had known he would act like this after the elevator ride from hell, she wouldn’t have come.
Clearing her throat, she came out with it. “After what you said yesterday, I felt bad about you being stuck here all day.” When he still didn’t speak, she continued, “I thought maybe we could do something that didn’t involve you being my babysitter, if you wanted.”
“Adalyn.” A smile finally touched his lips that lit up his eyes. “Wow, you’re awfully pretty … today.”
Confused, she glanced down at herself. “I slept over at Lake’s, so I literally look the same as yesterday.” Wait … Did he just call me pretty?
“Right, I know that.” Reaching out, he grabbed a lock of her thick brown hair. “So, what do you have in mind, sweetness?”
With that dark look in his eyes, she didn’t think they were on the same page. She did want to go into his hotel room and have him properly finish what he had started yesterday, but the cameras were on today, and she would be damned if she would let him do that to her again.
“You’re the one who’s been stuck in here. What do you wanna do?”
Wrapping her hair around his finger, he gave it a light tug. “Oh, I can think of several things we can do.”
Heat rushed to her cheeks, not knowing where this Angel had fallen from, but holy fuck, if she didn’t think of something quick, she wouldn’t give a shit who saw her walk into his room.
Trying to think fast, she saw the skateboard he had stolen out of the corner of her eye. Oh yes.
She smiled from ear to ear. “I have an idea.”
His brow raised. “What’s that?”
“Show me what you can do on that skateboard.”
Angel smiled, not taking a second to answer, “Sure thing, sweetness.”
She watched him turn around to quickly throw on a sweatshirt, then he grabbed the board and closed the door behind them.
“Let’s go.” He threw his free arm around her, pulling her down the hall.
Adalyn laughed at his sudden enthusiasm. “Where are we going? The elevator’s the other way.”
“We’re taking the stairs today.”
“That’s probably a good idea after last night,” she agreed; thankfully, they were only nine floors up.