Author's Note- Ha...so it's been awhile. No real excuse for the because or the why, although life has kinda been rough, but you gotta keep pushing on, amiright? Anyway, hope you guys enjoy it. I lent out my copy of Finale and it is missing, that's right, missing. So, any Finale requests will be pushed off. This is Patch's POV of half of Chapter 21 and all of Chapter 22. It's short, obviously, but I only included the meat of it. After all, I don't think that Patch's ramblings can be too interesting out of context with his life, ya know? I have my copies of Hush, Hush, Silence, and Crescendo, so if you guys wanna hear anything from those let me know! Much love, thanks for reading, and please let me hear what you think or improvements you believe can be made!
Rixon grinned over at me, almost like he was daring me to sink the next ball into the pocket I called. The challenge only urged me further and I poised the pool stick, my focus remained on the ball and its destination, I drew back, and...ring...ring...I struck, completely distracted by the ringing of my phone.
"Dammit!" I hissed. Who would be calling this number anyway? The only person that could possibly have anything to do with me would be Dabria or Rixon. And Rixon was right here, the number certainly wasn't Dabria's.
I debated answering for a few seconds. Sighing, I whipped my cell from my pocket and answering somewhat briskly, "what's up?"
A broken breath answered from the other end and I straightened, the game forgotten as Nora's familiar voice stammered, "it's me." Hearing her sound so frazzled put my nerves on edge and all I could do was pray that I was mistaken. This definitely wasn't her phone number- extensive...observation...of her life insured that I knew Nora's number, should I ever need it- and the area code was unfamiliar, too.
"Nora?"
"I'm in P-Portland. On the corner of Hempshire and Nantucket. Can you pick me up? It's urgent." She stuttered, words thick and heavy with tears. I tossed a few hundred on the table and gave Rixon a brief mental rundown of the situation.
"Angel, I'm on the way to get you now. Don't worry. I'll be there soon."
"I-I have to hang up. I'm in a phone booth and-" Nora's sentence was cut short. The payphone must have cut her off. Or, at least, I hoped it was the payphone that cut her off. My panic only increased as I thought of the other reasons I could have suddenly lost contact with her. I was in my Jeep Commander before I could summon another thought and driving much faster than what is legal to make it to Nora. Imagining her worry spurred me to move quicker and drove my nerves to wondrous heights. That was by no means a safe part of town.
Finally, thirteen minutes later, I pulled up by the only phone booth on the street. Curled up in the corner of the booth was Nora. Her entire body trembled and was ashen, a light sheen of sweat covering her face. She was a mess. Without thinking, I slipped my long-sleeved T-shirt off and over her body, all the while forcing my mind to focus on how frail she looked instead of how tantalizing my shirt looked on her. Her tense body seemed to loosen marginally once it covered her.
"Let's get you in the car," I said, lifting her up, thinking about not thinking about what her body would feel like pressed up against my own. Mmmm. Nora clutched me close and dug her face into the crook of my neck.
"I think I'm going to be sick. I need my iron pills." My poor Angel, what has she been through tonight?
"Shh," my grip tightened,"it's going to be alright. I'm here now." And I'll keep you safe. The idea of using Nora as a sacrifice was becoming more and more difficult to swallow and holding her body against my own wasn't making detaching myself any easier. When she nodded against me, I took it as my cue to place her in the passenger, reaching across her shaking form to click the seatbelt into place.
Safety first. I almost rolled my eyes at the thought.
The Jeep was quiet while we rode to pick up Vee- ew - the only sound being Nora's chattering teeth and staggered breathing. She broke the silence eventually.
"Were you in the middle of a game?"
"I was winning a condo."
"A condo?"
"One of those swank ones on the lake. I would have hated the place." Lie. It was beautiful and would have been somewhere I'd love to explore with Nora. "This is Highsmith. Do you have an address?" The last thing I wanted was to pick up Vee and I realized that now would be my last chance. If I wanted Nora, I had to take her. My emotions for this girl were overpowering the humanity I had been craving for decades. Rixon was right, this was fleeting. I didn't love her. I would never love her. Lust was what caused me to fall and now it was causing me to fail. I couldn't give Nora that power over me. Giving her my phone, I mind-tricked her into believing the battery was dead, formulating my plot while she tried to touch base with Vee.
"It died. Do you have the charger?"
"Not on me." Another lie.
"Vee's going back to Coldwater. Do you think you could drop me off at her house?" Sure, I can, Angel. Without an answer, I took off in the direction of Coldwater, driving quietly. Nora still shook beside me. You would think after helping her, I'd be permitted some answers without having to ask. Chivalry must be dead.
"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Her eyes met mine and she resembled a deer in headlights, eyes wide and confused like she couldn't decide whether she was going to respond or not. I didn't push her, only drove forward and let the curiosity- not concern- eat away at me.
"I got lost, and a bag lady cornered me. She talked me out of my coat," sniffle, "she got my beanie, too."
I. Am. Not. Concerned. She explained briefly that she was meeting Vee at a party and I rolled my eyes, grateful for the cloak of darkness, of course, Vee would be the reason Nora found herself in a perilous situation. Taking advantage of the dark night and empty road, I sent the image of my Jeep going up in smoke into Nora's vulnerable mind. I cursed, pulled over, and commanded Nora to remain in the car while I 'checked under the hood'.
After investigating the lack of damage, I made my way to the passenger side of the Jeep, delivering the terrible news of the death of the engine to a bewildered and confused Nora.
"It won't move?"
"Not unless we push it. Where's your cell?" A beat of silence from Nora.
"I lost it."
"Let me guess. In your coat pocket. The bag lady really cashed in, didn't she? Two choices. We can flag down a ride, or we can walk to the next exit and find a phone." Instead of responding, Nora exited the Jeep and attacked. She slammed the door much harder than necessary and kicked the front tire with impressive strength for her...bedraggled state. Nora resembled an adorably angry kitten.
"I think there's a motel at the next exit. I'll go c-c-call a cab. Y-y-you wait here with the Jeep."
"I'm not letting you out of my sight. You're looking a little deranged, Angel. We'll go together." Of course, I'm only concerned because you're my best option for a sacrifice, not because I care about you. I've shoved all of those emotions- that lust because that is all I feel for Nora Grey- deep down inside me. Her stubborn nature shined through as she stood toe to toe with me, challenge written in her eyes. She declared she wasn't going anywhere near a motel with me. Any other time, the challenge would have been appreciated and reciprocated, but with the storm clouds rolling in, I had no interest in fighting a fight I was sure to win in the end. It was only a waste of both of our time.
After making my point, Nora huffed at me, stomping off in front of me. And I definitely did not wait a few seconds to stare at the way her hips shifted as she walked before following. God, as He often does spat at me with an onslaught of sleeting rain ten minutes into our walk...considering it though, as I watched Nora jogging in front of me, He may have been blessing me this time around. Her clothes clung to her mouthwatering shape and Nora's curves were sinfully accentuated in front of me. Mmm.
Once we arrived at the seedy motel, I fought a chuckle as Nora requested a phone, only to be met with disappointment from the clerk. No phones. Thankful for the small miracle, I paid for a non-smoking king room while Nora searched for ways out of spending the night with me. Silly Angel.
"This is crazy." She spat after the clerk insinuated the different sexual prowesses that took place here.
"I'm crazy. About you." More than crazy. Bipolar, erratic, indecisive, out of control, delusional. "How much for the flashlight?" The man offered me candles instead at no charge. Taking them and Nora, we retired to our room, soaking wet. And in Nora's case, chilled to the bone. I lit our emergency candles and promptly shook my hair out.
"You need a shower. Looks like bar soap and two towels." I noted after scoping out the dinky bathroom. Naturally, Nora fought me.
"You can't f-force me to stay here."
"That sounded more like a question than a statement."
"Then ans-s-swer it." I grinned, wondering if she knew that the longer she stood there, the less likely she was to leave this motel with her virtue intact. She looked more delectable than ever, soaked and shaking in my shirt as it highlighted her figure.
"It's hard to concentrate on answers with you looking like that." Very true, but I knew that appealing to her modesty would be what would get her in the shower and gain me a few moments alone with my thoughts, so I could work through where I was going from here with my Angel. Dammit, no, with Nora. Nora. She didn't respond, only went to the bathroom, quiet in her surrender.
Instead of concentrating on my plan to sacrifice Nora, as I had wanted to, my mind kept thinking back to the way she made me feel. If I attempted to think of what I would do to complete the sacrifice, my mind would drift to how the room lit up when she smiled. Whenever thoughts of having a human body entered my head, I'd be overcome by ideas of what it would feel like to have my Angel bury her head in my shoulder, seeking comfort from me. Nora made me feel like every nerve in my body was alight again. Like I'd be okay if I spent eternity as one of the fallen, so long as she was by my side. It made me sick to think of everything I would be willing to give up to be with her. What would Rixon say? But did it matter what Rixon said? The only approval I sought anymore was Nora's. Would a human existence be worth it without her? I wanted, maybe even needed, her touch in my life. How had everything changed so quickly? A groan fell from my lips and I ripped my baseball hat off, running my hands through my hair and wishing I could feel the tinge of discomfort that accompanied the gesture of tugging at the strands. Damn it all.
"Patch?" Her sweet voice called.
"Done?"
"Blow out the candle." As you wish, Angel.
"Done," I whispered like if I stayed quiet enough, the intimacy of the moment would remain unbroken. I couldn't help the smile pulling at my lips and the chuckle that came along with it. She complained of not having anything to wear, the embarrassment in her tone evident. But it didn't stop the smug, "Lucky me," from leaving my mouth. I removed my shirt and took a few steps closer. My presence had the desired effect.
"This is really awkward." Nora choked out and my smirk broke into a full blown grin. I made her feel awkward. That had to mean something.
"You should shower, right now."
"I smell that bad?" The look on her face assured me that was not the problem at all. I took that as my cue to exit and made my way to the bathroom. I would not think about the fact that Nora shared this same shower only minutes earlier and I was going to ignore the knowledge that she touched this same bar of soap, maybe even rubbed it- no. I couldn't dwell on that.
Cutting the shower short, so my mind didn't wander too far into the gutter, when I reentered the room in only my jeans, Nora's eyes shot to my body. They widened a bit before she seemed to dip into herself, visibly self-conscious. Oh, Nora, dear, you have no reason to doubt the power your body has over mine. Instead of addressing her insecurity, I brushed them aside and gestured to the bed. "Which side of the bed do you want?"
Her jaw went slack and she only hummed in response. "Nervous?"
"No." It was cute to watch her straighten up and attempt to broadcast a confident air. She failed.
"You're a bad liar," my words coupled with a teasing smile, "the worst I've seen." Nora jumped to attention, her hands shooting to her hips. She reminded me of a kitten playing the role of a tiger. Her wet, unkempt curls only making the sight more entrancing. She encaptured me and, though I teased her, I feared she had all the power. Nora officially held my heart and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to take it back. My tone softened and all I craved was to touch her again, even if I couldn't feel it.
"Come here." My eyes trained on hers, although they avoided my own, it didn't matter. We were close and I was sure that if I could feel the air, electricity would be pulsing wildly. She smelled incredible and I dropped my guard, shutting my lids to breathe her in more deeply. This was it. She had won. I couldn't fight her pull anymore, I leaned closer, two magnets connecting at last. Except whenever I opened my eyes again, I realized what was happening.
Nora had spotted my scars. And before I could stop her, she was moving her fingers to rest against the puckered skin.
No. It was too late to stop her and the paralysis that briefly accompanied the touch allowed her to be immersed in my memories. This was it. I had lost her for good.