Wingless (10 page)

"I do like you," I tell him, and then clamp my mouth shut. I'm so stupid for saying that and almost instantly I can feel my cheeks heat up and burn. Other than a smile, he doesn't ask or talk anymore. He takes my hand in his, and we walk to the next location.

CHAPTER TEN

Training Center

Micha walks me up to a large, brick building that has a sign on it stating it's a gym. I basically lived in the training center in the Veil so I'm excited to check this place out. It was the best place to visit when I was stressed or frustrated, and it's where I prepared to become a Fighter.

Micha squeezes my hand, and then we walk together towards the glass doors. There's a set of short, hard stairs that only have about five steps to them. They lead to the front door, which Micha so kindly holds for me.

As we step through the doors, my excitement instantly plummets. In the Veil, everything was white, perfectly kept, and shiny. I swear the place was so immaculate that you could lick the ground, and it would taste like clean air. Of course, I don't know why you'd do that, but you could.

This place would be the polar opposite to that. First of all, nothing is white in this place, not even the walls. Actually now that I think on it, not much on Earth is white except for those lines down the middle of the street. The floor matches the doors, which matches the hues of the place: black and dark gray with some glass to bring the light in.

Other than the darkness, the place is extreme. Everything looks intense and intimidating. There are things I've never seen before in gyms. Like these little ropes that hang from the ceiling, and the bikes you sit on with pedals. It's a known fact that Angels have weak legs; we don't need them much because we fly, so it's surprising to see these leg machines. I want to try one out right now.

"I got you a membership," Micha's voice breaks through my admiration as I stand still in shock, still rooted in the entryway.

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" I jump up and yell. I wrap my arms around his neck and squeeze as hard as I can. He chuckles into my hair. When I release him, he actually looks like he's having fun.

"This is Carla," Micha says as he walks me over to a dark brown desk. A pale woman sits behind it, clicking on a television and typing furiously. At Micha's voice, her head darts up and she smiles. She stands up to greet us.

"Mike!" she yells, reaching across the counter. "It's been way too long since you visited us. How's it going?" she asks while chomping on something in her mouth. It's not an attractive look.
 

"It's going well," he answers. "This is Annie. I got her a membership. She just moved here and doesn't know anyone." Micha reaches back towards me and grabs my shoulder. He pushes me forward a little bit, and I stand in front of this girl awkwardly, swaying on my heels.

"Hey, Annie. I'm Carla," she drawls, popping whatever is in her mouth. It's a weird noise. I try to hide the disgust on my face since it makes her look even worse than before. "You can hang here whenever. Do you need a trainer?" she asks, looking from my face to Micha's, as if he speaks for me. The way she looks at him bothers me. I can't place why, but it's like she's admiring him, which is completely understandable, yet annoying to me. I try to hide the scorn on my face as I watch them converse.

"She's a good fighter. I think she'll be okay working out alone," Micha stands up for me.

"That sounds good. Here's a key tag for you," she says as she reaches into a drawer under the television. She pulls out a little square piece of thick paper and hands it to me. I take it with trembling hands. "Most people just attach it to their keys." She winks at me like I'm unintelligent.

"Oh, okay," I say, searching my pocket for my house key. I pull out the key and look between it and the piece of paper with confusion. Micha takes both from me and fixes it, sliding a ring into the key and the tag. "Thanks," I tell him as I take the key with the dangly paper back and shove it into my pocket again.

"I'm going to show her back really quick," Micha says and smiles at Carla. I smile at her, too, but it's very much forced and completely just to be polite. I follow behind Micha as we make our way through the maze of machines.
 

Micha steps through an arched entry way and inside is a ring surrounded by different bags hanging from the high ceiling. "You can still train to be a Fighter. I know that's your dream, and even though you won't get to fight Demons, you can still train." My heart warms, because he's thinking of me.

"This is amazing," I say as I walk up to one of the hanging bags. I punch it lightly and the thing barely moves. I do it harder and it swings left and right. "I love it." I turn and face Micha, my eyes wide with happiness.

"I'm glad," he says, stepping towards me.

"Thank you for all of this."
 

I look around the room and decide that this will be where I spend most of my time. Just like Micha said, I can still be a Fighter in my own way. Although, he doesn't know that I know about halflings. If I can find them, maybe I can still fight Demons like Perry said.

"I just want you to be happy here," he says, looking down at the ground. "You ready to head back?" he asks, his face a little tense.

"Sure," I answer, despite the fact that I don't want to go back to my house. I know that once I'm settled, Micha is going to leave me, and I don't think that I'm ready for it yet. I'm not ready to be alone.

But there's no point in prolonging the inevitable.
 

We say goodbye to Carla on our way out, and she promises to give me a full tour next time I come in. We pass most of the same places on the walk home, and it's starting to feel familiar.

The bottom level of the apartment building is vacant, and we move through it fast. Once we get into the stairwell, Micha stops and stares at me with a wicked gleam in his sky blue eyes.

"Want to fly?" he asks.

"Um. Sure?" I answer, not knowing what he's going to do. He swoops me into his arms and takes off. I wrap my arms around his thick body, afraid of falling to the ground. I giggle as my stomach lags behind us, waiting on the bottom floor. The sensation is amazing.
 

"It's much faster that way," he says as he places me back down on solid ground.

"Thanks," I reply, suddenly shyer than before. I unwrinkle my jacket and fix my clothes, which were rumpled during flight. I step in front of the door to my house and jiggle the handle, only to remember that it's locked. I grab my key from my back pocket and unlock the house so we can get in. I hold the door for Micha, and he follows behind me, shutting the door behind us and locking the bolt.
 

I awkwardly roam from room to room, unsure of how to behave. I know there's only a short amount of time before he has to leave, but I'm just not ready. He's the last thing I can cling to from the Veil. I'm scared.
 

"So, what are they telling the others about me?" I ask him. I lean against the counter in the kitchen, resting my head on my palm and my elbow on the counter.

"I think the truth to those who ask. They're not telling anyone out of our community, though. It's not exactly a secret, but it's not being broadcasted."

"That makes sense," I muse, playing with my fingernails to keep busy.
 

"You'll have to tell people you're eighteen, since you're not in school."

"What's the difference?" I ask him, questioning what difference two human years makes. I know technically I'd be way older than sixteen, but still. I like being sixteen.

"At sixteen, girls are still considered children. They go to school all day long; they don't have responsibilities. You're more mature than that, above it. You're eighteen to the humans. That's the oldest you can pass off as, since you look young."
 

"Got it," I tell him, nodding back in understanding. A tense-filled moment passes, and I decide to just come out with it. "You're leaving now, aren't you?"

"I think it's time for me to go," he says regretfully.

"Okay," I say back, because what else am I to do? I can't force him to stay. I don't want to need him, but at the same time, I do.

He comes over to me and stops right in front of me, just a foot of air between us. He reaches forward and pulls me towards him, hugging me tight against his body. "I'm sorry," he murmurs into my neck as I squeeze him. His voice is hoarse and strained.

"I don't think I'm ready," I confess while clutching him, feeling more comfortable in his arms.

"You're ready," he states, leaning back. He places his hands on my shoulders and stares down at me. His hand comes up to my face and traces my jawline, sending shivers down my back with each prickle of a touch. "You will be perfectly fine here. I wouldn't go if I didn't believe it."
 

"I don't believe you."

"I promise," he tells me, wrapping a strand of my hair around his pointer finger. He lets it fall into my face, and I have to blow to move it out of my eyes.

"Will you come back?" I ask him, praying to Rem.

"Next time I'm on Earth, I swear I will come check on you," he vows and I believe him. I trust him.
 

Before I know it, I'm walking him to the window. It's now fully dark out. There's a white moon in the sky and a white little sprinkle of stars. We don't have them in the Veil, and it's truly mesmerizing to see them for the first time in real life.

"Thank you," I tell him as he hovers just outside the window. His black wings wrap around his body, flaring out to suspend him in the air. "Thank you for everything." My emotions threaten to spill out of me. He leans in and just barely kisses my cheek. His lips are soft, gentle. I shut my eyes, trying to memorize the feel of him against my cheek.

"I'll watch over you."
 

When I open my eyes, he's gone, along with his words.
 

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Alone At Last

I turn and face my empty apartment. Everything is shiny and new, beautiful in its own way, yet it doesn't feel right. It's dead silent, not a peep in the place. I look around the main room, contemplating what to do, but I come up blank. Tears threaten to spill over my eyes, and I try my hardest not to let them. I have no reason to be sad. I have to stop being so emotional. But with nothing to do, my brain is stuck on the emptiness.

We didn't have much free time in the Veil. We'd go to our classes in the early morning, have brief break in the middle of the day to socialize, and work on our specialties during the afternoon. We each had to take up extracurricular activities, so I trained in the early evening.
 

Guardian time was crucial and everyone had to commit to his or her families. So every night at exactly seven, I was forced to go home and sit at a table with my parents and discuss the things going on in each of our lives.

It was dreadful.
 

My parents mostly spoke of their jobs and what was going on in our community, while I tried to sit there in silence and listen to their words. It was painfully boring. But, I'm glad I had that time now, since it is going to have to last me a year without them. Those conversations are the only thing I have left of them.

I turn and gaze out the window that Micha left through. My eyes search for him, despite the fact that I know he's long gone by now. It's stupid of me, but I just wish he were closer. I wish I knew when he'd be back so that I have something to look forward to.

Lights line all of the buildings in perfectly straight rows up and down and side to side. I want to reach out and touch them, but Micha's warning of fragility goes off in the back of my mind. I look up at the stars and see pictures in them. But, my stargazing only lasts so long.

I think I'm experiencing true boredom for the first time ever. I'm tired of sitting around, pacing the room, looking out the window, and staring out into the darkness. I actually miss the fact that the Veil was never dark. I get up and grab my leather jacket off the back of the kitchen chair and throw it over my shoulders. It's time to explore on my own.

I remember to lock the apartment door and shove the little key in my back pocket so it doesn't get lost. Perry told me the people I'm looking for are half human, half Angels that aren't allowed in the Veil. She said they're my best chance to fit in here.
 

I have to find some halflings.
 

The only problem is…I have no idea where to go.

By night three, I'm in the same exact place I started with finding the halflings. I've searched everywhere I could think of. While my search for help has proven a failure, I've learned a lot about Earth as a whole.
 

I never set out during the day with a mission. So far, I've gone every which way from my apartment. I've found cute little markets where the nicest people try to sell trinkets and food to me for inexpensive prices. I've spent more money on food than anything else because it's so addicting.
 

Today is no different, other than the fact that I'm going to the gym for the first time. To be honest, in all my adventuring, I forgot about the training center. So today, I wrote myself a note so that I don't forget. I'm excited to check out the gym, and I can feel the adrenaline rush though my veins.