Personal Backwards Angel

          I slammed the door to my apartment and leaned against it, tears streaming down my cheeks.  They all wanted the same things.  Every single one of them.  The more I was around guys, the more I hated them.  I didn’t know why I just couldn’t give up on anything male related.  All they did was hurt me in one way or another.
         I threw my bag onto the floor and tossed my phone onto the couch.  The thing was pointless anyways.  I never got any pleasant calls on it these days.  I jumped when I heard a commotion outside in the hallway.  Stupid Mason twins always running up and down the halls.  No, rolling down the halls.  Their parents got them skateboards for their eleventh birthday, and they haven’t relented.  Don’t think I’m a cranky old bat.  I’m just a lonely girl in my early twenties who can’t seem to find anyone that loves her. 
         I screamed when the door flew open, sending me reeling a few feet forward.  The door closed with a crash, and a guy whose size and stature seemed to fit my age stood panting with his forehead against the fake wood.  I turned to the mysterious intruder, my mouth agape.  How he had even gotten in here, I had no clue.  I took a wary step towards him, but stopped when he turned around. 
         “Hello, young maiden.  Would it be alright if I took refuge here for some time?  I know it is terribly improper, but I am quite lost and very much in danger.”
         I weighed the options in my head silently.  Reject the otherworldly beauty standing in my apartment and send him to his death?  Edgar Allan Poe would find that quite appealing, but the idea seemed stupid to me.  So let him stay with me?  He didn’t seem the kind to slip into my bed at night, so I figured that would be alright.  I hoped with all of my might that I could trust this seemingly respectful stranger.  I fought for words to come to my mouth.  “Sure.  I have a guest bedroom if you’re interested.”
         He nodded once, almost in a grateful bow.  “I will be forever indebted to you.”  Indebted?  No one ever said that they were indebted to me before.  Who was this guy?
         “Yeah…it’s all good.  You won’t be bringing this danger into my house, will you?”
         “No, not at all.  I am pleased to see that they cannot enter this charming estate of yours, although I was not quite so sure at first.  My name is Damien.  What is your name?”
         I hesitated for a moment.  Was it really that smart to tell this random guy my name?  I knew nothing about him, so all signs led to no.  For some reason against my better judgment, I wanted to tell him the truth.  I bantered with myself, trying to ignore the wide-eyed gaze he was giving me and finally blurted out, “Paige”. 
         To my disbelief, he bowed low.  “I am very pleased to meet you, Paige.  Please, tell me about—”
         “What’s stopping those people from getting in here if you could get in?” I interrupted, earning a childlike startled look.  He seemed to do that a lot.  He blinked his ice blue eyes and ran his fingers through his shimmery blond hair.  I must have seemed so drab to him with my lank brown hair and muddy brown eyes. 
         “Magic, of course.”
         “Magic?  Okay, maybe you can’t stay here because that makes you sound ridiculous.”
         “Honestly.  I would not lie to you.”
         “Right, you and all the other losers out there.”
         He bit his lip, looking distraught like someone had just kicked his puppy, cooked it, and served it warm with tea and biscuits.  He turned to the door and leaned against it.  “If I am a problem here, I will leave you.”
         “Like I haven’t heard that a million times.  So what’s your deal?”
         “May I show you?”
         “Be my guest.”
         He unlocked the door and opened it.  No sooner had I gotten a glimpse of the apartment door across from mine, a scaly, drooling creature scrambled into view and snapped at him, growling loud enough to shake my mirrors and windows.  It slashed at the empty space between itself and Damien, but it never came within a few inches of his body.  He slammed the door shut in his face and turned to find me all the way across the room, my chest heaving as I tried to control my breathing.
         “What was that thing, and why is it in my apartment building?”
         He perched himself on the edge of my rickety couch and folded his hands in his lap, looking princely.  He watched me until I joined him, though unlike his graceful seating, I flopped down onto the worn cushions, ignoring their complaining squeaks.  “As I said.  Magic.  You may not believe what I tell you, but magic is all around you.  There are many different realms and worlds beyond this place called Earth.  I am from another place, just as that creature you saw was.  Either the builder of this structure or the previous owner must have believed in magic.  They charmed this room to only allow those of pure magic to enter.  From whom did you buy this apartment?  Is that what they are called here?”
         “Yeah.  Apartments.  And I bought it from this crazy old cat lady who didn’t know her right from her left or anything in between.  I got it from her right before she kicked the bucket.  One of her cats went psycho on her or so the story says.  There’s no way she protected it with your magic.”
         He smiled and his eyes glittered in the dull overhead lighting.  “It is always the curious ones that make the best geniuses.” 
         “Fascinating insight.  So what was that thing, and how do we get rid of it?”
         “The name has no translation into any Earth languages.  We can only get rid of it by drawing it away from this place.  And if it is not too much to ask…I request your assistance in this task.  You can be my protector and together, we can vanquish this foe.”
         I slid away from him on the couch a few inches in order to make a dramatic turn to look at him.  I put on my best stunned expression.  “Isn’t it supposed to be that the guy is the knight in shining armor protects the girl? You want me to be your bodyguard?”
         He dropped his gaze and fiddled with a stray string on the couch, wrapping and unwrapping it around his fingers.  “Well…yes.  I suppose that is how the fairytales work.  However, you have a protective kind of magic that will assist me as I battle this monster.”
         “Magic?  In me?  No way.  That’s it, we’re done for tonight.  I’m going to bed.  Sleep on the couch or in that bedroom over there but don’t bother me with this magic crap again.”  He made a noise as if he was about to protest, but I ignored him and stormed off to my room.  I shut the door harder than I should have, making my paper thin walls tremble.  I weaved my way around all the junk on my floor and made my way into the attached bathroom.  I leaned over the sink to be closer to the mirror.  Peering into the eyes of my reflection, I heaved a heavy sigh and tried to see any magic in me.
         I pulled away sharply and shook my head.  It wasn’t possible.  This guy was just a lunatic who got a friend in on it to scare me with that stupid costume.  A hot lunatic, but a lunatic nevertheless.  But…it had looked so real…so inhuman that it couldn’t be real, not to this Earth at least.  I heard the awful scream I had let out as I scrambled across the room over and over in my head, and it felt more real in my head every time. 
         I clambered onto my bed once I had finished getting ready and squinted through a small crack in the wall.  Damien had moved into the bedroom, and I could barely make out his thin frame through the crack.  He moved like a man defeated, one that knew he was about to go off to his death the next day.  If I didn’t help him with this mission thing he was talking about…he probably would be.  I bit my lip, still in disbelief that I was about to do this.  I nodded to myself and pulled out a sheet of paper from my bedside table.  On it, I scrawled:

Damien,

Don’t leave in the morning.  I don’t know why I’m doing this, but I guess I am.  I’ll be your bodyguard or whatever I’m supposed to be.  Let me know in the morning what I’m supposed to bring or any other details I should know before we leave.  Sleep well.

Paige.

I shifted in my bed and slid the folded note through the crack in the wall.  When I saw him turn his attention to it, I switched off my light and cuddled into my covers, waiting to hear his reaction.  Although this whole thing was a little weird for me, I was excited to get to know more about this “magic”, as silly as it was, and more about the sexy man that was in my spare bedroom, reading the note that I had written to him.  Maybe this trip wouldn’t be so bad after all.

~

         I awoke with a start when I heard a soft knock on my wall close to my head.  I turned and couldn’t help but smile when I saw Damien trying to look at me through the crack.  “Good morning to you, too.”
         “I have taken the liberty of making breakfast.  Would you like some as well?”
         “Sure, sounds great.”
         He nodded and within seconds, he entered my room with a full, steaming tray.  The tray was filled with all sorts of breakfast foods and looked divine.  I had only had a breakfast like this a few times as a kid when Mom would drag me out of bed for a morning with the family.  Back then, I hated it more than anything, but now, I could get used to having a sexy, mystical man bringing me breakfast in bed.
         “This looks fantastic, Damien.  Thank you.”  I narrowed my eyes at him as I reached for my fork.  “Are you being nice just because I agreed to go with you?”
         Deer in the headlights expression again.  “No, of course not.  I just thought you would enjoy it.”
         I drew my knees up and balanced the tray between my knees and my chest.  “So, tell me about you.  You said you’re from another world.  Are you one of those creepy creatures hidden underneath that pretty face of yours?”
         He smiled, giving me one of those gorgeous ‘I’m halfway in this conversation and halfway modeling for the invisible camera’ looks as he combed his fingers through his silky hair.  Why did he have to be so beautiful?!  “No, I am from a completely different world than they are.”
         “So what are you then?”
         He cast me a shadowed, knowing look.  “I cannot tell you this information.  That would be crossing the boundaries that have been set for me.  Perhaps you can figure it out along the way, but I am forbidden to disclose this information to you directly.”
         Of course he couldn’t tell me what he was because that would be too easy.
         “Okay…then where are we going to?  Let me guess, you can’t tell me that either.”
         “I am afraid not.  Although the creature cannot get in, he can still hear.  If he were to find out our destination, they would waste no time ambushing us.”
         “Figures.  Okay.  What do I pack?”
         Before I could get up, he held up his hand and to my dismay and horror, began rummaging through my drawers to gather my things for me.  I snapped into reality when his hand skimmed the corner of the forbidden underwear drawer.  I flew to my feet and slapped at his hand until he backed off, eyes wide.  “I’ll do it.  Keep out of my drawers, please.”
         “It is not as if you have anything bad in them, am I correct?”
         “You were about to reach the bad drawer.”
         He took a moment to process then turned away with cherry red cheeks when he realized what I meant.  Apparently, they had the unmentionable drawers in his world too.  He bit his lip and refused to look at me.  “I am truly sorry.”
         “It’s fine.  But I’ll pack from now on, okay?  You can go sit on the bed.”
         “Yes, I do believe that is a good plan.”  He dropped to the bed, his cheeks still burning a very obvious red.  His gaze travelled up to mine at the speed of a snail.  “I am very sorry.”
         “It’s fine.  I said that.”
         He nodded and watched in silence as I alternated between packing and taking bites of breakfast.  The guy knew how to be creepily quiet; he didn’t say a word to me the whole time was packing.  When I finally finished both my breakfast and my suitcase, he took my bag and carried it out, leaving me to carry only my tray.  Chivalrous. 
         I dropped my plates into the sink and held up my keys.  “I’m assuming we need transportation?”
         “Yes, but not of that sort.”
         “Then of what sort?”
         “Take my hand.”  He offered his upturned hand, which I stared at with arched eyebrows.  “Please.”
         “Fine.”  I rested my hand on his and no sooner had our skin brushed, we were whisked away by his magic.

~

         When we finally arrived at our destination, I couldn’t help but look around in awe at the scenery around us.  The place was packed with creatures like the one that chased us.  Without thinking, I grabbed onto Damien’s shirt, causing him to laugh and smile down at me. 
         “Do not be afraid.  They are like any species, some are good, some are bad.  The ones here are just going about their daily lives in peace.  They wish us no harm.”
         “Let me guess, if they wanted to, we’d be dead by now.”
         “Exactly.”
         I shook my head and hoped that he was right about this.  He seemed to know about things that were, literally, out of this world.  How did he find out about all of this?  Why didn’t I know any of it if I had magic in me too?  I glanced up at him again and couldn’t help but imagine slipping him a quick kiss, which I shoved from my mind faster than it had come.  “So, now what?  What are we doing here?”
         “Our presence will lead him to wherever we are.  This species is known for tracking.  He will not attack in a drastic, devastating form because he would risk harming his own people.  He has no choice but to confront us personally and take us on face to face.”
         The more he said, the more I regretted coming on his mission.  The thing sounded like it could do major damage—what was that thing capable of?  Whatever it was, it sounded dangerous, and any hope I had of us making it out alive dwindled and swayed in the wind like Damien’s perfect golden hair. 
         I was still in my daydream when I heard him shout my name and shove me down to the ground, which happened to be a paved sidewalk covered with tiny pebbles.  I felt these said shards of rock dig into my palm with a painful bite and draw blood.  Just as I turned to tell him off, I saw him pinned to the ground with the beast on top of him.  I scrambled to my feet once the initial shock wore off and against my better judgment, tore towards the creature attacking my angel. 
         As I ran, thoughts flooded my head.  How could I protect him?  I hadn’t taken any training; I had weak upper and lower body strength; I wouldn’t be of any use to him.  But he said I had magic…his claim drove me forward and gave me the confidence I needed to make my feet fight my head. 
         Colliding hard with the monster, I felt a shock wave of pain shoot up and down my body.  Its scales were like heavy armor, and it looked impenetrable.  But all armors had chinks, and I was determined to find it.  I glanced over at Damien, who was lying forgotten on the ground, his chest heaving with pained breaths and his blond hair scattered on the pavement.  Creature passers-by watched us with wide eyes as they sidestepped our brawl to hurry off to somewhere safer.  So much for Good Samaritans in this world. 
         I bit my lip hard, contemplating about whether to go to Damien or stay and fight the scaly thing that looked like he was smiling with pride at me.  Every ounce of me wanted to wipe that arrogant smile off of his face with an impressive right hook, but I knew if Damien couldn’t take it on his own, neither could I.  With an impulsive jolt, I dove towards my friend and gathered his shoulders in my arms. 
         “Damien…”  I found myself whispering his name without thinking about it as I gazed down at his angelic face.  Was that what he was?  An angel?  No, he wouldn’t have to have a lowly human girl protect him if he was.  I gasped when his eyes fluttered open halfway.
         “Paige…help me…I think he...”  He didn’t need to say anymore.  I could already see the blood collecting and soaking the front of his shirt. 
         My heart skipped a few beats as I bit my lip and gazed at the blood.  I never had been good with blood, especially this much and knowing that this was fatal.  That thing must have hit him so hard; I couldn’t imagine the pain he was in right now. 
         His pained face and soft, gasping breath drew me to attention and gave me the push I needed to fix this.  I was glad the creature held back, watching and waiting for Damien to die.  Too bad Damien came prepared, creep.  I pulled his shirt over his head and scolded myself for even thinking about his sculpted abs and chest.  I tore my eyes from his body and looked up into his ice blue eyes.  “Tell me what to do.”
         “Heal me.  Reach into yourself, and you will know.”  He paused to allow himself a deep breath that looked like it hurt worse than childbearing, though I knew nothing of that.  With my luck, he broke his ribs and punctured his lungs, causing internal bleeding.  It would be too easy to just give me a simple bruise to deal with.
         I braced myself and laid my hand on his bare skin, trying to ignore the cry of pain he replied with.  I could feel my hand shaking against him and hoped he was more focused on the injury instead of how pathetic and scared I looked.  I closed my eyes to shut everything else out and find how to help him within myself.
         Just as I was about to give up and write this all off as a bad dream, I tapped into a place that I had never felt in myself before.  It filled me with such power that I imagined it was visible to Damien, the creature, and all of his other unhelpful minions.  If that didn’t catch their attention, I didn’t know what would. 
         I opened my eyes and looked down at Damien’s body.  He had grown stiff and his entire body was illuminated with a golden glow to rival his hair.  I watched in amazement as his eyes snapped open, the blue even more intense and frighteningly beautiful than usual.  He let out a screamed stream of words in a language I couldn’t place, and it made me tremble even more; I wished either he would stop or I could run away from him.  I forced myself to stay sitting, holding him in my arms until the aura faded away and his colors dulled back to normal, his eyes closing again.  I waited with bated breath until he opened them on his own and gasped when I saw that they were still the magically enhanced shocking blue.  When he sat up, I scrambled away from him and folded my knees to my chest.  I couldn’t lie, I was scared of him right now, and I hoped that he would end this soon and go back to normal.
         He pulled himself to his feet like he didn’t have any control over his own movement and advanced towards the creature.  I was torn between wanting to watch him and hide my eyes until he was finished.  I chose the latter, burying my face in my arms and trying to block out the sounds of the fight.  Whenever I peeked, I saw Damien’s form, lit up again, bearing down on the creature and completely dominating him.  I heard a gut-wrenching scream and winced, hoping that it was the creature and not Damien. 
         When the noise died down, I waited in silence, not daring to look up for fear of looking up into the eyes of the beast.  I never had been one to be afraid of much, but all of this had pushed me over the edge.  I knew what I was afraid of now.  I screamed when something cold and clammy brushed my arm, and I scrambled out of reach.
         “Paige.”  Damien.  His soft, silky voice drifted to my ears and covered me like a warm blanket.  Did I really want to look up at him to see his eyes either?  They were so inhuman and alarming. 
         I dared a glance and came out of my human pretzel when I saw that his eyes were back to normal and he had no glow around him.  I took his hand and let him pull me up to my feet.  “What…just happened?”
         He took my arms into his hands and held me closer, smiling down at me.  “You helped me, Paige.  You saved my life and assisted me enough to vanquish him.  Thank you.  Without you, I would not have been able to do so.  You did well in accessing your magic.  You acted like a natural.”
         “What did the magic do to you?  Was it…because of what you are?”
         He bit his lip and looked away from me, somewhere off in the distance behind me.  He obviously didn’t want to tell me, but I was going to get this out of him sooner or later because I got the feeling from him that he wouldn’t be around much longer.  Just like all of the other guys before him.  Typical.
         I yanked away from him and turned my back to him, tears welling up in my eyes faster than I could stop them.  “Take me home.  Now.”
         “Paige—”
         “If you’re going to leave, just take me home and leave me.”  I cowered when I felt his warm arms around me, pulling me close into his protective arms.  I was shaking and trying to hold my tears back seemed impossible now.  Tears slid down my cheeks and onto his smooth, creamy skin.
         “I am not going to leave you, Paige.  I will take you home, and we will have a proper conversation about what I am and what you do to me.”
         I nodded without speaking, not wanting to leave the safety of his arms.  That was so typical me: always falling for them, becoming vulnerable, and then finally having my heart ripped out of my chest.  I had the bad feeling that it was going to happen all over again, but I couldn’t help but fall for his protectiveness, kindness, and everything else about him.  I closed my eyes and let him take us back to my apartment.
         When we arrived, I moved over to the couch and numbly dropped onto the couch.  He joined me and slipped his arm around my shoulders.  He pulled me closer and kissed my temple.  He sighed and set his jaw, preparing to choose his words with care.
         “I am not supposed to tell you any of this.  You are merely supposed to aid me and be done with it, taking your job in step and not asking any questions.  Everyone in your kind is like that.  You, however, seem to be different.  Curious.  Sharp.  Determined.  Strong.  Why are you so different?”
         “We’re talking about you, not me, remember?”
         He paused, defeated in attempting to change the subject.  He drew in a deep breath and let it out, slow and controlled.  “Paige, I am an ethereal creature.”
         “Does that mean you’re an angel or something?”
         “No, not quite.  That is one meaning of the word, but the other meaning is a ghostlike creature.  We are delicate, yet strong.  We are fragile and refined, but with the help of magic from your kind, we can become strong and impenetrable.  That is why we need your kind.  Our species complete each other.  Without you, we cannot survive and be strong.  Without us, you cannot tap into your magic.  Unless, you do not wish to access that, then…I suppose I can—”
         “Don’t go,” I blurted without thinking.  I looked up into his eyes and fought tears in my eyes again.  “I’m being completely ridiculous, I know.  But I—I like being around you.  I know I was horrible to you before, but I’m sorry.  I’ve been hurt a lot in the past by guys, and I didn’t think you were any different.  I didn’t give you a chance, and that wasn’t fair to you.  I’m sorry.  And I’m sure I’m jumping into this, and I hope I don’t get myself into something I can’t get out of without getting hurt.  But I have a different feeling about you now.  I didn’t before, but I do now.”
         He took my hand in one of his and with the other, tilted my chin up to look into his eyes.  When I tried to look away, he held my jaw lightly, keeping my attention on him.  His eyes were warm and gentle, no malice or other intent in them.  “I want you to come back with me.  To my world.  I will not leave you, Paige.  I give you my word, and that is something that I hold very dear to my heart.”  He slid his hand up into my hair and drew me into a kiss, delicate and tender, unlike I’ve ever felt with a guy.  It was at that moment that I knew that he would be true to his word and I knew that I would be going with him to live with him in his world.  As cynical as I had been about him, he had no grounds to be treated as such.  I wouldn’t lose my sarcasm with him, of course.  That was in my personality, so he’d have to deal with it, but I wouldn’t be hurtful to him.  I’d probably get breakfast out of it again.
         When he drew away from me, he gazed down into my eyes as if asking me—pleading with me—to come with him.  I could tell he was holding his breath.  Did I really mean that much to him already?  Was it me or was it my magic?  The look in his eyes told me that it was a mixture of both.
         I smiled, giving into his gorgeous eyes and cutting his suspense.  I nodded and reached up to twirl my fingers in one of his blond locks.  “Yes.  I’ll come with you.  I guess it won’t be all that bad.”
         He laughed and threw his arms around me, his eyes sparkling and brilliant.  When he drew away, he couldn’t seem to stop smiling.  “Good thing that you are already packed!”
         “Well, if I’m leaving, never to return, I’ll have to pack more.  So, since you made the request, I’ll pack those drawers, and you get everything else, okay?”
         “Anything to get you out of this place.” 
         I couldn’t help but feel my whole body fill with warmth and affection.  He really did want to protect me and be that knight in shining armor.  So, I guess we would protect each other when it came down to it. 
         “Before we pack everything up, would you like to go see it?”
         “Sure!”
         He nodded and within seconds, we were in a completely different place.  I looked around in awe at all of the beautiful creatures milling about around us—much better than the last place he took me too.  Sure, I’d feel like the ugly duckling amidst a flock of beautiful swans, but I wouldn’t complain.  This place was going to be a lot better than that dingy apartment I called home.  And to top it all off, I finally got the guy.