Wings. -6-

"I'm heading to bed, goodnight." Aubrey called to her grandmother from the stairs. "Night." She said from the living room. Aubrey bolted down the hall, summoning towels and turning the tap on the bathroom with her mind. She guided the towel with her eyes, dipping it into the warm water. She turned the tap off, walking down the hall to her room, one dry, one wet towel drifted behind her. Derek sat on her bed with his head in his hands. She moved the wet towel to him, letting it drop in his lap. He didn't move. "Derek?" She said, approaching him cautiously. "I saw him do it." "Saw who do what?" She reached for the wet towel, sitting beside him. She reached for his hand gently wiping the blood off. "The dark angel murdered my father." He said. Aubrey shuddered. "I'm sorry Derek... I know how you feel. The cold pale skin... Blood everywhere.. It's painful." She felt a ball form in her throat, she focused on wiping each finger. Derek relaxed as she slowly worked to his palm, then up his arm, smiling at her soothing touch. She moved to his other hand, doing the same. "What did you do to the dark angel?" "Stabbed him in the back, he eventually disappeared, back to his realm." "And your father?" "I stayed with him until he went back up." "Back up?" "Our realm." Aubrey nodded, struggling to read his eyes in the dim light. "Well, I can come up with an excuse for Gram to let you stay... That's easy. But your wings... Not a feather can be left behind." She said. Derek nodded. "By now she would be in bed, from the looks of things, she's on the couch for the night. Do you think you can go home, gather a few things, and do what you to with your wings?" Derek thought for a moment. "Yeah... I can. I'll be a good half an hour. Thanks aubrey... This means a lot." "You're my friend. Of course." Derek felt his heart flutter, he wanted to grab her and put his mouth to hers, but he held back. She was shy, and jumpy. He couldn't do that to her, she was delicate. He opened the window, leaping out. Aubrey watched him fly, his wings carried him into the night sky. She shut the window, taking the bloody towel, shoving it into the bottom of her hamper. Her mind raced at the thought of this beautiful, tormented angel living with her. He was mesmerizing. She pulled out extra blankets and pillows from the top shelf of her closet. She flopped on the bed, staring around the dark purple walls, with her grey dresser and small desk in on corner, her grey bed and bookshelf in the other. She stared at the ceiling, finding herself slowly drifting asleep.

***
"Aubrey..." A distant, familiar voice called. Something moved her hair from her face. "Before your grand mother finds a boy with a back coated in dry blood laying beside you and beat the crap out of him, wake up." Derek said softly. She could hear the smile in his voice, she felt her mouth curl into a smile as she rolled over, her face in his chest. She breathed in his fresh peppermint smell, opening her eyes. "Hi." He said smiling, eyes bright, gold rings glowing. She looked at his strong bare chest. "Where is your shirt?" "On the floor, it was stinging." Aubrey sighed sitting up. "It's friday, we have school you know." She said, slipping out the door to get him another wet towel, to rid of the dry blood surrounding the hideous v-shaped gouge across his back. He winced as she pressed the cold water to it, he slowly relaxed. Slowly she cleaned it for a few minutes, then wrapped gauze around him. "Thank you." He said, slipping a loose grey t-shirt on. "You slept in your jeans?" Her grandmother called from the living room as Aubrey walked by. Derek hid in the corner. She looked at him, meaning "stay put until I say". "Yeah, I fell asleep fast. But um, last night, a friend of mine came here in need of a place to stay. His father was killed in a.. Car accident last night." "Where's his mother?" "Doesn't have one. So, he stayed with me, he slept on the floor. Do you mind if he stays with us for a while?" Abigail frowned, standing up. "Let's have a look at him." "Derek?" Holding his breath, he walked in. Tough old abigail was not to be messed with, she knew the difference of a good boy and a bad one. She walked around him, inspecting him. She looked up at him. "Ever drank or done drugs?" "No m'am." "Passing in all of your classes?" "Yes, eighty percent average." "Very nice. I'm very sorry for your loss... You may stay here for as long as necessary." Aubrey smiled. "We uh, gotta hurry, school starts soon." Abigail nodded, returning to her seat. Aubrey opened the pantry, pulling out a box of pop tarts. "These okay?" Derek smiled. "Great." Aubrey poured two glassed of milk, balancing the box on top, heading back up to her room, Derek following her, smiling.