Crash and Burn: Part 4
The next morning before anything else could happen; several others from the base proceeded to materialize. Smokesceen and Prowl appeared, shortly after that Ratchet and the twins popped out of no where. I was happy to see them show up but I think Angel was even happier to have them come. What she had told me that weekend when we first met, when my spark had become a part of her was utterly true. She did not truly fit in with her human family no matter how hard she tried.
The night before when her cousin had shown up was when it became apparent to me. I honestly don't think any one in her family really meant to ignore her, or meant to actually hurt her feelings. But the more this blond girl showed off her baby, the less and less people seemed to care that Angel was even any where around. So I have to admit, as much of trouble as it could possibly cause for all of us, as much as I was coming to realize her family, with the exception of her father possibly, hadn't wanted her to marry me, I was glad that they were here to help her the way that no one else around seemed to be able to.
It would have been good if it had just stopped there, unfortunately the reason that all of the people here, My Angel included had gathered at this place, had yet to appear. So I shouldn't have been shocked when it finally did. Still I was. I was expecting Angel's sister to be something like her in some way. I couldn't have been more wrong if I had set out to do it on purpose.
She pulled her self out of the car and looked at all of the relatives there with an expression plastered on her face that spoke volumes. It was an expression that said she'd had a difficult time in her life and there for she expected every one she met to acknowledge the fact. I don't know if she wanted sympathy, but it was the horrid jaded look that first set her apart from Angel. Then there was the way she looked. Saying that she was anorexic would have been a compliment; she was nothing but skin and bones. Her hair had been mutated into some strange blond color and it looked like the dye had gone and sucked every bit of life out of it. Finally there were her eyes, snappish cold, gold that again gave me the impression that she expected some thing from every one around her.
I looked down and Angel and saw her looking at the woman with the strangest look on her face. I don't think it was really jealousy but there was definitely something there. I looked from her sister to her and wondered why. In my opinion there wasn't any thing this woman had that My Angel didn't have more and better of, in both her beauty and personality. I was wracking my brain about why Angel would be even envious of her when I found out why. The family that had been treating my poor life mate like she was the biggest outsider to ever walk into the house, suddenly were going out of their way to make this person feel more welcome than anything I had ever seen. Then they went out of their way to insult me again.
Angel's sister's husband pulled him self out of the car and then began to produce more children from in there. At least two for the moment but I got the feeling that there was more to this than any one was telling. As he helped the sister take these kids into the house and the whole family disappeared leaving Angel and my self standing out side.
"Well that went well," Angel said.
"IF that's your definition of going well Angel," I blinked down at her, "Please don't tell me what you call going badly."
"You've already seen bad love," She sighed then turned away and headed up to the barn, "Come on, I wanna see what the guys are up to."
I shook my head and followed her. A large part of me wanted to demand that she go back into that house and make her family treat her civil, but she didn't seem to want to so I let it got for the moment.
Up in the barn, Wheeljack and Alyssa, had basically turned the thing into a mini headquarters for all of us. What had been a dusty old barn less than two days ago was now set up to be something that, even though we were shrunk down, did a good job of making us all feel very much at home. They must have been doing some thing right; because that was the first time I had seen Angel smile in days. She wandered off to talk to Alyssa for a while and I made my way over to where the guys were.
"So what's been going on down there?" Wheeljack asked when he spotted me.
"What's been going on is my dislike for Angel's human family has been growing exponentially over the last 48 hours." I grumbled.
"They aren't that bad are they?" Jazz got out as he popped up from behind a panel.
"They treat her like she crawled out from under a rock Jazz," I glared, "The only people down there that have put in any effort at all are her Mother and Father."
"Guess her sister's making it worse huh?" Sideswipe wandered over, while Sunstreaker was still busy talking to both of the girls.
"I don't know about her sister yet, I just don't think its fair that they act like that girl is so perfect, and then treat Angel that way."
"Well you could tell 'em off," Bluestreak offered.
"Oh don't think I haven't thought about it more than once," I shook my head, "But what good would that do? It would just alienate me from her whole bunch and I don't think any one would want that."
"If you ask me," Prowl offered, "I think it's because her
sister is a bit envious of her. I mean really, she's got everything
that woman doesn't, so her sister goes out of her way to make Angel
feel like she's the inadequate one."
I looked back to where
Angel was, now the happy confident person I knew, and I had to agree
with him. "I just wish I knew a lil' more about her family. Maybe
if I had more information Prowl, I'd know what's really gone
on."
"So," He shrugged, "Ask. What's it going to hurt?"
I opened my mouth to say more at that point when someone appeared at the edge of the barn. It was the Aunt and she was trying very hard to get Angel's attention. She managed to call her over before I could get over and both of them walked out of the barn and took off back to the house. I was about to head off in that direction when someone stopped me.
"Hey," It was Sunstreaker, "I think you'd better get up there as fast as you can Boss."
"What's the matter," I demanded, "What did you over hear?"
"Not a lot really," He shrugged, "Just that they needed her back there because it was time to make a decision about the "Family Crisis."
"Thanks Sunny," I left him standing there and took off back to the house.
Unfortunately I was way too late to stop it when I got there. I had my hand on the door and was ready to open it when the silence inside erupted into a scream from My Angel.
"YOU WHAT?" She demanded.
"You heard me," Her sister snarled, "And I think it's about time you actually took some responsibility in your life for a change too."
"What the hell do you mean by that?" Angel shot back.
"Well," Her sister continued, "I think you need to do this for me. You wasted your life playing around in college and then you went out and wasted more time on your stupid books. Then finally you went out and did the dumbest thing I've ever seen you pull by getting married to Him."
"Oh and your telling me your husband is SO much better than mine! At least mine hasn't tried to kill me, beat me, get drunk on me, or get my children taken away from me!"
"At least mine's human." The other girl snarked.
"That's not got a bloody thing to do with this and you know it, you just want me to do this for you because no one else will!" Angel shouted again.
"I think its time that you took a little bit of responsibility in your life for a change. You can't spend the rest of it playing around with your head in the dammed clouds. Eventually you have to come back down to earth and start living in the real world."
"Start living in the…" She trailed off here for a few seconds.
I was still standing out side of the door listening to all of this and was on the verge of going in there and ripping the sister a new one when Angel beat me to the punch.
"YOU MISERABLE…" She snarled, "HOW DARE you accuse me of not taking responsibility! HOW DARE YOU!"
"Well what would you…" Her sister stared but didn't get to finish it.
"You want responsibility! Where the hell were you when mom and dad were almost having a nervous break down? HUH!" Angel's voice took on a bit of a shrill tone that told me she was on the verge of tears, "Where were you when mom's head exploded and she had a dammed aneurysm? Where were you when dad had his by pass surgery? WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I NEEDED YOU?"
I heard some one move across the floor and there was a distinct slapping sound followed by a loud thud.
"I'll tell you where you were you BITCH! You were off in California getting you life messed up by DANILE SLAGGIN JONES! YOU were off in Florida bonking a man twice your age! YOU WERE pregnant with your ILLIGITAMATE child! That's where you were when they needed you, when I NEEDED Y OU! SO don't you EVER ," Angel's voice took on an even shriller tone here, "EVER tell me I haven't been responsible you…. You…"
That was when I heard foot steps running in my direction and the door burst open. Angel came running out into the darkness and took off in the direction of the barn again. I stood there with my mouth hanging open and stared at her whole family. Apparently none of them had expected her to act like that. I guess they had wanted her to roll over and give in like she so often seemed to do for them. This time apparently they had hit a nerve and she had decided that it was no longer worth taking.
I was about to go after her and try to calm her down when I heard it. Coming from just out side of the barn, the sound of someone transforming and their engine starting.
"I DON'T CARE! JUST DRIVE!" She wailed.
I made it back there in time to see Sunstreaker tear off the farm in a cloud of dust leaving me and her family behind. Leaving all of us behind to wonder, what was going to happen now.
