Next chapter. That is all.

I own nothing but the plot line. The Almighty Larson owns the rest.

Angel was lying in bed next to Collins staring at the ceiling. She couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the blinking light on the answering machine. She really wanted to know who the man was that called and why Collins had lied to her about him having the wrong number. After attempting to make herself believe that the man actually did have the wrong number just so she could get some sleep, Angel turned and looked at her sleeping lover. She waited about three minutes before slowly slipping out of bed and tiptoing out of the bedroom.

As she quietly made her way down the hall, she periodically looked over her shoulder to make sure Collins wasn't following her. The minute she turned the corner into the living room, her eyes went to the answering machine. The bright, red light was still flashing. She quickly crossed the room and stared at the light for a few more seconds before pressing the button on the machine to replay the message from earlier.

"Tom? Tom, it's me. I've been callin' around tryin' to find you for three days. Why are you hiding? Look . . . Ma's in the hospital again. She's real sick, Tom . . . the cancer's back. She's in so much pain and she really wants to see both of us before she . . . just call me back. Please, Tom. You owe it to her."

Angel stared at the answering machine as questions swarmed around in her mind. Could this man be Collins' brother? Why hadn't Collins mentioned him before? Why didn't Collins seem to care that his mother was in the hospital? If the man was Collins' brother, was Collins avoiding him? Is that what he meant by 'hiding?'"

"What are you doing?" Collins said, causing Angel to quickly turn and face him. He had an angry expression on his face and his arms were crossed. Angel was speechless. "What are you doing, Angel?"

"I was just really curious, honey," Angel explained, barely looking at her lover. "Is that guy your brother? Why didn't you take the call?" It was quiet for a long moment.

"Go back to bed, Angel," Collins finally said. There was no emotion to his voice whatsoever. Angel was then able to make herself look at Collins' face. His voice didn't match his expression at all.

"Collins, honey, I-"

"SHUT UP AND GO TO BED!" Collins interrupted. Angel took a step back before practically running past Collins to get back to the bedroom.

When Collins woke up the next morning, Angel wasn't beside him. She had cowered when he tried to put an arm around her and apologize for yelling at her. And he could've sworn he heard her crying before she finally fell asleep. He got out of bed and went to the living room where Angel was sitting on the couch with her sketch pad on her lap. He couldn't see what she was sketching, but he assumed it was a new outfit. He slowly approached the couch.

"Angel?" he said. Angel slowly looked up at him. "You workin' on an outfit?" Angel nodded her head and held the sketch pad up to let Collins see her new creation. She went back to sketching her outfit as her lover sat down next to her. "Baby . . . I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to yell at you. Did I . . . scare you?"

"Yes," Angel replied, placing her sketch pad on the coffee table and folding her arms across her chest. "And you really hurt my feelings."

"I'm so sorry, Angel. I really didn't mean to hurt you." Angel looked at Collins. He looked extremely tired.

"Honey, are you okay?" she asked.

"I didn't sleep well last night. I felt so bad for yelling at you." Angel unfolded her arms and slid closer to Collins. "I'm sorry, baby. Can you forgive me?"

"You know I can't stay mad at you." Collins kissed Angel's forehead. "But you have to promise you won't yell at me anymore."

"I promise."

"Good. Now, I can tell you that we were invited to the Life Café for brunch by Mark, Roger, and Mimi."

"That sounds nice." Collins yawned.

"Honey, if you're tired, we can just-"

"No, I'm fine, baby," Collins interrupted. "I'm sure a shower'll wake me up." He placed a hand on Angel's thigh. "Especially if you join me." Angel giggled as Collins pulled her to her feet and toward the bathroom.

"Hi, Mark, it's Angel and Collins," Angel said into the payphone outside Mark, Roger, and Mimi's apartment building. "We need the key, please." Angel and Mark hung up the phone at the same time. She watched as Mark appeared on the fire escape. He tossed the key to her and she caught it. "Thank you, honey!"

Once she and Collins arrived at the door of the loft, Angel unlocked it and Collins slid it open. He let Angel go inside before him and shut the door after he stepped inside. Angel gave Mark the key back.

"You should let Angel call for the key more often," the filmmaker commented. "She's much more polite than you are." Collins flipped Mark off as he sat down on their couch. Angel sat next to him and he put an arm around her shoulders. Roger and Mimi then emerged from the rocker's room.

"Hi, chica!" Mimi exclaimed. "Hey, Collins!"

"Hey!" Angel and Collins replied together.

"Now, we have wait for Maureen and Joanne," Mark said, winding his camera. Roger sat in the armchair next to the couch and Mimi sat on his lap. "Hey, Collins, did a James Martin call you last night?" Angel's attention quickly went to Mark and Collins stiffened.

"No," Collins lied. "Why'd you ask?"

"He called here last night looking for you. He said he's been looking for you for a while, so I gave him your number." Mark walked toward the couch. "I'm really surprised he didn't call. He seemed like he really needed to talk to you." The phone suddenly rang and the answering machine picked up.

"SPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAK!" Mark and Roger's recorded voices came from the answering was a loud beep.

"Look, I'm pretty sure Tom's avoiding me, so can I ask you for a favor?" James' voice said. Collins closed his eyes and swore violently in his head. Mark walked over to the phone and picked it up.

"Collins said you never called him last night," he said into the phone. Collins' eyes snapped open and landed on Mark. "Well, he's right here. Do you want to talk to him?" Collins stood up and quickly crossed the room. "Okay, I'm giving him the phone right-" Mark's sentence was cut short by Collins ripping the phone cord out of the wall. His friends and lover stared at him with widened eyes and opened mouths as the loft door slid open.

"Are we ready for brunch?" Maureen asked excitedly, entering the loft with Joanne right behind her. She then noticed everyone was staring at Collins. "Did we miss something?"

"Collins, what the hell was that about?" Roger asked. Collins looked around the room at the confused faces of all of his friends. He wanted to answer Roger's question, but he couldn't . . . Angel and his friends meant way too much to him. Angel stood up, but didn't go near him.

"Nothin'," he said. "Nothin', I just . . . Maureen and Joanne are here!" Collins walked toward Angel and grabbed her hand. "Let's go! The Life Café awaits!"

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