As much as I loved Nicole, I didn’t like that she took my Angel out of the dorm. I’d rather my girl had stayed there until her graduation, where I always kept an eye on her. Where she was safe.
Where I could visit whenever I pleased.
I could have made the academy insist she stay and reject her day school application, but I’d never seen my Angel happier when she knew she’d be living at her own apartment.
The things I’d do for your happiness…
When I stared at the three locks on their door, fury rumbled inside me, though. Like that was going to stop me from entering a condo in my own building. Yeah, I bought the whole thing when I knew they were going to move in and rented the penthouse in the building across the street so I could watch my Angel at all times.
Using my keys, I disengaged the locks one by one and opened the door. Then some relief washed over me as I realized I was overreacting. These locks were meant for my Angel’s protection, to keep crazy strangers away. Certainly not me.
Good girl, Nicky. Keep my Angel safe like you always have.
The idea of sharing my girl with anyone, even her own sister, made me want to kill something. But Nicole really loved and looked after her. If Angel wasn’t going to be sleeping in my school—or my bed yet—the next-best thing was for her to share a condo with her sister, where we could both protect her.
As I stepped inside, the smell of wood and cardboard filled my nostrils. The living room was a mess. Couch still in plastic wrapping. Table yet to be installed. Stacks of empty and unpacked boxes.
Was it the same inside the bedrooms, too?
I wished I could have helped my girl settle down, unpack the rest of the boxes for her, arrange her clothes in the closet, set her toiletries in the bathroom… I walked toward one of the boxes and opened it. It had some books and a folder with the name Lina written on it. My Angel’s schoolwork.
If I unpacked them for her, would she notice or would she just assume she’d done it herself among the other stuff already out?
Unwilling to risk it, I put down everything the way they were and dragged my feet away. I fought so hard not to snoop inside more boxes and get a few things out myself. Maybe even take something that had her smell to keep at my place.
But no. I wouldn’t want to freak her out. I clenched my fists and spun. Down the hallway, I took a deep breath, my heart fluttering, before I entered the second room. The one I saw Angel choose this morning.
Her scent tickled me the second I opened the door. Peach, licorice and honey with a touch of Jasmine. My Angel’s room smelled like the sweet little girl she was.
The room was in a better condition than the living room. Almost ready to live in. I stared at the closet for a long minute. I wanted to go in and never come out, but I knew if I went in there, I’d do just that and everything would be ruined.
I sat at the foot of her bed, tracing the red floral patterns on the purple sheets. They weren’t soft enough for her delicate skin, but that was the best she could afford for now. Soon, she’d have the largest bedroom she could ever wish for, and only the softest silk and cotton would touch her beautiful skin.
I took a whiff at the sheets. They smelled fresh and new. Her scent hadn’t soaked into them yet. Disappointment coursed through me but immediately vanished when I spotted her violin case on the floor.
Carefully, I picked it up and got the instrument out. I held it in my arms as if I were holding a baby. As if I was holding her.
My eyes shut as I touched the strings her fingers played, Angel’s image at her first recital at the academy vivid behind my eyelids. Fuck, she was perfect. A true artist in the making, destined for glory. I was there, of course, watching her in the dark without her knowing. I could have never missed it.
When I first got her the violin, she wasn’t very happy about it. Her music teacher’s files told me Angel was more enthusiastic about playing the piano, but I still got her the violin for her sweet sixteen. While she was talented at playing both instruments, I loved her with the violin much more than with the piano. When she played it, it looked like it was a part of her. She just hadn’t understood it yet.
It was my job to help her choose what was truly right for her, help her see what she couldn’t see on her own yet. It was my duty to clear out the obstacles that stopped her from following her path of greatness, from being where she belonged.
Just like I did when I got Baldi out of her way. Our way.
And I was right, once she got used to the custom made violin with the perfect chin rest for her—the one at the academy wasuncomfortable and itchyas she’d told the teacher—she fell in love, and now they’d become inseparable.
My sweet Angel, I can’t wait for the day you’ll play for me. Only for me.
My chest contracted with the reminder of the time I still had to endure without her in my arms. Why did she have to be so fucking young?
The phone vibrated in my pocket, distracting me from my agony. I checked the text message I’d received. It was from Michele, the bodyguard that watched Angel and her sister.
Michele:They’re leaving the mall.
Me:Everything ok?
Michele:Super.
