Fallen Angel by K. S. Thomas Page B

her face is killing me. Of course, this is temporary. Until Ava finds out. And then she’ll kill me. Literally.
    Adjusting the blanket to cover her bare chest, she sits up. “Fucking relax, Angel. I’m not eleven anymore. I’m a big girl and I knew what I was doing.” She shrugs. And I’m starting to think maybe I misread her initial reaction. “You were upset. I wanted to make you feel better. Do you feel better?”
    Not really. Not anymore. Now I feel like fucking shit. “Yeah.”
    She grabs her dress from the floor and slides it back over her head. “Then my work here is done.” She gets up and starts toward the door.
    “Bam Bam.” I can’t just let her leave like this.
    “Really. It’s fine. I promise.” She forces a smile and I know for damn sure things are not fine. Things are the opposite of fine. But this is uncharted territory for me. I’ve never regretted a hook up. I’ve never felt anything after a hook up.
    The door falls shut behind her. And the dark is back. And I can’t breathe.

Chapter 8
    A fter spending five days in humiliated seclusion, doing my best to lead my sister to believe my sudden desire to revisit my previous attempts of sleeping non-stop has everything to do with my ex and that special dose of drama, and nothing at all to do with Angel and my most recent visit to his house, I’ve finally stumbled onto a reason to come out and rejoin society again. It’s a risky move, but ultimately, if it were to work out, it would be enough to make me forget about men all together. Well, almost all men.
    Now all I need, is Ava to get on board and help me make it happen.
    “Eda?” I wander through my sister’s massive house aimlessly in search of her. Finally, I stumble onto Blaise. “Hey, B. You seen Eda around?”
    “ Ava ,” he emphasizes the correct pronunciation of her name dramatically, “went next door to see Royce.”
    “I bet he’s regretting being back in town.” It’s been less than two weeks since they got home from their honeymoon, but between the drama with Angel and Ava’s inability to respect boundaries, I’m sure they’re wishing they were still on a deserted island in the tropics somewhere.
    “Yep. At least today I managed to hold Ava back until after nine a.m. before she catapulted out the front door and ran right into his. I don’t even think she knocked.” He shakes his head.
    So much for the weeks Hudson and Royce spent in a completely Ava-free zone. Hopefully, they haven’t gotten too accustomed to that, because my sister is completely uncomfortable with alone time and therefor figures the rest of the world hates it too. Something I am having to learn all over again now that I am living with her and Blaise. I find myself constantly wondering why they bother having doors to any of the rooms at all. It certainly doesn’t make a difference to Ava whether or not those suckers are closed or open. If she’s going in, nothing is stopping her. And more often than not, she’s going in.
    I mean, she was always sort of bossy and controlling when we were kids, taking on the motherly role when our own mom crapped out on us thanks to her little liquid buddy Jose’, but even back then she wasn’t this bad. Maybe this is what happens when you spend years of your life living on a bus with people. You forget the concept of privacy because no one ever has any anyway.
    “Where are you going?” Blaise calls after me as I leave the room.
    “Where do you think? I’m going next door.”
    “Yeah, because that’s what they really need. Another crazy Jennison girl killing their post-honeymoon buzz,” he mumbles. Thanks to the high ceilings, his voice travels well into the hall where I can still hear him.
    “I’ll be sure to let Eda know you think so.” I grin. She already knows. She just doesn’t care.
    Then, before I know it, I’m in massive house number two, searching some more. “Eda?”
    “They’re out back.” Hudson walks in from the kitchen grinning. Not