Angel of Mine (19 page)

Flickers of light hit the corner of my vision, and I scan the area for photographers but only notice a woman in jogging gear on the path by the road. She is keeled over struggling for breath. I’ve always wanted to know what it felt like to run through the open air, and not like a caged animal on my treadmill at home. I guess now’s my chance, although it doesn’t look like much fun. Oh well, at least it will take my mind off things. If Theo is watching through the window of his house, it might even lure him out and give me a chance figure out his health problems.

I jump up, and without hesitation, I stalk towards the woman. Without explanation, I splay my hands on her chest as she heaves for air. Instantly I feel my heart rate accelerate, and my breathing grow shallow and quick; there is a burn in my lungs, but not the same kind of heat I get from healing.

“What on earth are you doing to me?” The woman demands. She is glaring, and her hands are resting on her hips. I don’t understand why she is angry with me. I was trying to help her.

The ache in my chest is easing, my breathing starts to slow, and a new feeling creeps in. Sudden bursts of energy fill me. It feels like I have been flying and I can do it again. I feel euphoric; this is incredible. My crappy mood has totally disappeared.

Awareness strikes and I realize what I have done. This woman worked hard for this feeling, and I took it away. I assumed I was helping her, but now I just feel like the Grinch at Christmas.

“Sorry.” I backtrack, acting like nothing strange just happened, “I thought you were having an asthma attack and just wanted to check you were okay.” Maybe she will shrug off the fact that she felt better instantly, and my hands were glowing like lightsabers. Maybe she will blame it on her own insanity and not my gift.

“I guess you’re fine.” Chagrin laces my smile. “Take it easy.” I turn around and start to jog home, seeing if I can create that feeling of euphoria again in the process. It sure beats the gloom that was threatening to destroy me.

I slow down as I approach my house, inhaling and exhaling deeply to try to regulate my breathing. It’s on the third inhale that I smell it. One hand against the light post next to me for balance, I lift my foot up and look underneath it. Yuck, dog poo. My nose scrunches and I hold my breath in distaste. Maybe this whole running scene isn’t so great after all. I certainly have mixed emotions about it now. Plus, utterly gross sweat covers me.

Not wanting another confrontation with my mum and wanting to avoid any media that may be lurking, I sneak through my neighbour’s yard, take off my ruined shoes and quietly climb through my window. It’s a couple of meters off the ground, but there is a large pot full of lavender underneath it to help give me a boost and I’m easily able to pull myself the rest of the way in.

Once inside I hold my breath and pause, listening for any sign that Mum may have heard me. “We will be arriving in about two days, and I will be happy to come in for an interview as soon as I get there.” I’m able to hear her talking from the living room and figure from her side of the conversation she must be on the phone trying to line up a job interview.

Great, so she is still determined to go, I will have to steer clear of her and try to hold this move off. My eyes land on my black hoodie, resting on the top of the pile of clothes on my suitcase, and an idea comes to mind. A pair of black yoga pants is somewhere amongst this mess, as quickly and as quietly as I can I search through the pile for them.

Bingo, gotcha
. This outfit will be perfect. My old outfit hits the floor, and I pull on the yoga pants and the hoodie. It smells faintly of mothballs, but that is probably because I stored it in the back of my closet since last winter. I keep the hood drawn up around my face because this will help keep me as hidden as possible. The odour of old clothes and sweat from my run is not the best. However, the sound of the shower would alert Mum to my presence.

“That would be fantastic. Thank you so much for this opportunity. I will call you when I get into town.” Mum is wrapping up her call, and I know I don’t have much time. Scrambling to the tall antique cupboard, I grab my black boots and put them on. There is no time left to pack a small backpack, so I guess all I have are the clothes on my back. When I go past my dresser, I see my black mascara and shove it in the pocket of my hoodie. If I’m going to go through with this plan, then I’m going to be thorough.

Giving the room one last quick scan, I take a deep breath and climb out the window. The neighbour’s yard is still empty and I skip through it before going back out to the footpath. Not wanting to draw any attention to myself, I keep my eyes averted from the media and my head down. This time when I go to the park I will keep hidden in the shadows and wait until the time is right to carry out my master plan. If Theo won’t come to me, I’m going to him.

My stomach grumbles and I try to ignore it. At least it’s long past dinnertime and smells of cooking from around the neighbourhood aren’t floating around torturing me anymore. The loud protests my stomach produce join other noises of rustling leaves and a few sounds I can’t decipher. I’m trying to be brave and tell myself it’s just animals in the park. The lights from the street don’t reach this far back, and I can’t see a thing.

With a stick I found earlier gripped securely in my hand, I am ready to fight off any predator if needed. The feel of the rough bark against my skin is reassuring. I pull my knees up to my chest, and rock back and forth trying to stay warm. Waiting for all the lights to go off, I anchor my gaze on Theo’s house.

There is no chance of Theo coming to the door to see me if I just go up and knock. I’m going to wait until they are all asleep, and perform a stealthy break and enter. He can’t stop me from healing him if he is asleep and doesn’t know any better. Yes, he might be pissed, but he also won’t be able to change it once it’s done. I’m sure he will get over it eventually. He can’t stay angry with me forever when my intentions are so pure.

A shadow moves behind the curtain and the last light in the house shuts off. Thank God for that. My teeth are starting to chatter now it’s getting so cold, and I want to get moving.

Another half an hour is all my patience can take. Surely they must all be asleep by now. With shaking hands, I put the stick down and grab the mascara out of my pocket. Completing my look, I swipe black lines over each of my cheeks like a warrior to help put me in the mood and make me feel braver then I am at attempting this. I just hope I am able to heal him before anyone catches me.

As I walk slyly towards his house, I feel myself getting warm, both from the movement and the healing power coming through, sensing that it has a job to do. My body starts to tingle, and when I reach the side of the house, they start to glow. I jam them into my pockets so that no one sees me hovering somewhere I’m not supposed to be.

There is a force pulling me towards the backyard, and I follow it on instinct. “Yowch,” I squeal out as I accidentally kick a garden gnome I didn’t see.
Crap,
I lean into the house hoping nobody heard and woke up from my yelp. My heart is starting to pound and adrenalin courses through me.

There is a window above me; it is slightly open, but a little high up. A quick scan of the backyard reveals the outline of an outdoor table setting. The plastic chair is fairly light, and I carry it with ease back to the small window.

Ever so slowly, I push it up. It sits in an old wooden frame, and it whines as I move it, making me falter. Deeps breaths, I can do this, I’m so close. Persisting, I press on bit by bit until it’s finally open.

Stealthily I climb through and know straight away that I have the right room. My body hums with energy and I have no choice but to obey my body’s orders and pull my hands out of my pockets. They light the room and I pray that it doesn’t wake him.

I’m confused when my hands don’t know what area to concentrate on as they heal. There is a distressed look contorting the features on his face, and I decide to start there.

My heart feels like it is about to leap out of my throat it is beating that fast. Other than that, I feel no changes. Why isn’t anything happening? His eyes start to flutter open, and the fast pitter-patter in my chest stops suddenly. I’m out of time. I blew my chance.

I’m on the brink of consciousness, not awake but not asleep either. It’s the dead of night, and everything is so peaceful. Darkness is all around me, and in front of me, I see a small light start to illuminate from seemingly nowhere. It is small at first and then gets brighter and larger. It’s warm and pleasant, and I want to float towards it.

In my dream-like state, I see Ally’s face beyond the light. Is this my time to go? Is this the light at the end of the tunnel everyone talks about? I’ve hardly suffered at all. I didn’t expect to go so quickly.

Ally’s exasperated voice breaks the silence, “Why isn’t this working?” Her voice is in no way like an angel’s, and I immediately come to my senses.

“No!” Rolling to the other side of the bed, I sit up and switch on the bedside lamp to confront her. “What are you doing here?” As what she was trying to do sinks in my voice starts to tremble. “Keep those hands away from me Ally. You better not have been attempting what I think you were?”

Her face looks crestfallen, and she bursts into tears. “It-it-it-it’s not working. What’s wrong with ya-ya-you? Where a-a-are you hurting?” She stutters in between sniffles. “I don’t know what area to concentrate on.”

There is a mammoth lump in my throat and the need to comfort her is eating away at me. “Awe, come here, sweet girl, don’t cry,” I beckon her to me, and she runs into my arms. “Be good and keep those hands to yourself though okay?” She nods into my shoulder and I hold her shaking frame tighter to me.

My mouth is next to her ear, and I whisper exactly how much she means to me. “I’ve missed you so much, more then you could ever imagine.” I tenderly kiss the side of her face then lift the bottom of my shirt to wipe her tears away. They seem mixed in with some type of black war paint she has on her face.

Her glowing hands curl up in her lap. I lift them carefully and place them in the pockets of her black hoodie. She’s gone all out in some type of spy outfit, and it puts a smile on my face at the most inopportune of moments. “You’re like a regular Bond girl, how did you get in here?”

She glances at the open window and back to me. “Umm,” she stalls and bites her lip.

“The window? You performed a break and enter, and dressed up in a costume for me? You’re so damn sexy.” This earns me a smile, and I feel the weight of the past few days temporarily lift off me.

Being able to feel as if I can breathe again makes me want to keep her near me, but before I ask, a thought occurs to me. “Will your mum be worried if she finds out you’re missing?” She cringes and a look I can’t comprehend comes over her features.

“What is it Ally?”

She looks down to where her hands are still glowing through her pockets. “We had a fight, I told her I was coming to stay with you and ran off. If you don’t want me though...” That line of thought is unthinkable, and I press my finger up to her mouth to stop it.

“Ally, I will always want you, as long as I live, and I’m sure even after that. My soul will drift aimlessly in the atmosphere, forever looking for you.” Bright eyes stare back at me with pure love and devotion, and I will remember her like this for all of time. It is ingrained in my memory.

“Stay with me,” I say, although it is not a question. I’m already rolling over to turn off the lamp and pulling her down to cradle in my arms. A dim light still glows from her hands, but it seems she wasn’t able to help me anyway, so I feel safe that she won’t try anything again. My guess is that she can’t help me because the cancer runs all through my blood and she can’t concentrate on a certain area.

Before long her breathing evens out and she sleeps peacefully nestled into my side. There’s a soft knock at my door, and it creaks open. Soft light from the hallway shines through and Mum sticks her head in. Her eyebrows raise high as she explains in hushed tones, “I heard a noise coming from your room, and wanted to check you were okay.”