I OWN NOTHING (except extra characters and plot).
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Chapter 26
Collins took a deep drag of his cigarette, checking his watch. 6pm. Angel is probably having a good time with her family, but he was sure that she'd call him before she went to bed. The apartment was lifeless without Angel bustling about. Silence was not something he was a fan of, finding it unnerving. The sound of two women arguing loudly in Spanish brought the professor back to consciousness, only making out some of their conversation from his very limited recollection of the language. He found that he recognized the two voices, as they argued almost weekly. Normally, Angel would have been able to tell Collins what was happening and they'd cuddle on the fire escape listening to the conversation ebb and flow. This one wasn't as bad as the others though, which Collins found himself thankful for. He didn't want to have to tell Angel when she got back that she missed a huge blow out. A phone rang suddenly, but the professor peeked his head in the house, disappointed as the sound wasn't come from inside, but below him. She'll call, she'll call.
"Miss, would you like me to call you a cab? I'd hate to have you sitting out here very much longer." The ticketing agent brought Sonya another glass of water, placing it into the cup holder next to her left arm. Sonya's eyes were filled with foreboding, her nerves on edge. The woman wrung her hands so roughly that they were beginning to get sore, but that was the very least of her worries. "No, thank you. I'll wait for Angel here. Something must have happened, I'll wait for her. May I use your phone? I've run out of quarters." Smiling with sympathy, the ticketing agent nodded to her, asking her to follow him into the office. "Hello ma'am, I'm sorry but you're not allowed in here." A tall, brown haired older man approached the two of them, eyeing the younger man suspiciously. "Allen, she's been waiting since noon for her sister-in-law to get off of the train. Her ticket has been stamped, but she's nowhere to be found. She'd like to call home to see if possibly her sister-in-law made it there without her knowing. Is that okay?" Sonya was beginning to feel sick with worry. "I do apologize for disturbing you sir, but I am just so worried." The supervisor felt a twinge of pity for the woman, eyeing the ticket in her hand. "May I take a look at the time stamp on the ticket?"
Dusk finally settled in, a final streak of light hitting Angel's face. The warmth of the ray was so comforting that she found herself wanting to go deeper into the abyss that she'd found herself in. "A one in a million…" she could hear a man singing. "Chance of a lifetime…" the song became much grew closer to her. "And life showed compassion…" suddenly, the song was playing directly in her ear. A hand gently brushed her cheek, followed by a very chaste kiss on said cheek. Angel couldn't tell whether she was dreaming or whether she was awake. The entire sensation of the singing and kiss was something that she couldn't quite wrap her mind around. Her body felt strange, numb and foreign. Unable to "check in" with herself, she took what she could do and look about her. Again, the images that came to her weren't registering, nothing seemed familiar. Tears ran down from the corner of her eyes, her confusion angering her by every minute. Why couldn't she recognize where she was? "And sent to me a stroke of love called You…" The voice wasn't familiar, Collins' was much richer. God, how much she missed that man. Angel moved her head slightly toward the sound of the music, a man's face coming into view. "A one in million you…" As she stared into the stranger's face, a searing realization came into her mind, the events of the last few hours slamming into her consciousness.
Sonya was in tears by the time the supervisor came back with yet another glass of water. "What could have happened to her?" The older man crouched down to meet her, his face filled with concern. "Ma'am, I hate to ask this, but are you sure she was coming to meet you? Could she have scheduled to meet someone else and used you as an excuse?" It was true, Sonya didn't know Angel personally and had only heard of her from Petra, but she never got the sense that this is something that would transpire especially with her niece involved. "No. She'd never do this. She wanted to see her niece…our niece." When the younger man returned from helping a long line of customers, grabbed a nearby box of tissues, placing the box gently on the table next to her. "Allen, my shift is done. Should I stay?" Sonya roughly rubbed away her tears on a tissue, "No. I'm sorry for holding you up. You've been so kind to me and I thank you for letting me use the phone." Allen stood up, facing his employee. "Jake, you've gone above and beyond. Thank you. I've got to get in touch with the person who scanned that ticket. Ma'am, do you have someone we can call in order to possibly get in touch with Angel? A beeper number?" Instantly Sonya, rushed toward the phone almost knocking the glass of water to the ground. "Oh my God, I've got to call Collins!"
Fuck. Collins raised himself up slowly from the couch, the sound of the phone drilling into his ears, papers falling from his lap. He picked them up, grumbling slightly as he noticed all of red markings he'd placed on them. The professor couldn't remember the last time he assigned so many Ds in his entire career. He managed to drag himself across the room, placing the phone onto his ear as he yawned. "Yo." A woman gasped as she tried to calm herself on the other end, "Collins? Is this Collins? Oh my God, do I have the right number?" Collins woke up a bit, sensing her tone. "Yes, this is Tom Collins. Who is this?" Silence. "Hello?" More silence, then a marked sigh. "Tom, its Sonya. Petra's sister." Tom's heart raced a bit, thankful that he heard from Angel at last. "Oh! Hey Sonya! How are you?" The woman began to sob as she managed to form coherent words. "Tom, I cannot find Angel. Has she contacted you? I've been waiting for hours and I'm so damn worried!" His heart dropped right to the floor and as he steadied himself on the kitchen island he said, "I haven't heard from her. What do you mean you can't find her!?"