Lucifer's Angel

“I don’t think I can go to school like this. No. Do you think they’ll understand?...Yes. I know. Okay…”

I stared blankly at the marble before me, silently picking words out of my saint’s conversation over the sound of water. There is no greater luxury than a long, hot shower. The headquarters of Varrio Chico Norte was not very hygienic, at least not for the grunts. Sure, it was important to wash off the evidence, but the good stuff was reserved for Arturo. None of us cared though; we like being a bunch of crazed dirty men. The respect level for Arturo is also very high; he comes from a legacy of powerful men. He took me in when no one else would.

I turned the nozzle and watched the water stop falling, feeling individual drops slither down my back to my nether-regions. Cara’s voice had ceased so I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist. My, once again, useless wings slumped onto the floor, heavy with water. After securing the towel, I walked out of the bathroom to find my silent saint. I found her sitting on the couch in her pajamas, phone in hand. Her eyes fluttered lazily over nothing before shifting her head in my direction. A leisurely silence drifted between us, both of us in our own little world.

“I’ll be going to school tomorrow,” she spoke, dispelling the silence. I moved forward and leaned over the back of the couch, waiting for her to continue.

“Amy offered to escort me around now. I have to talk to the Sisters in the morning to see what they’ll do with me,” she whispered, energy abandoning her at this hour. After the whole demon fiasco, we’d, well me, cleaned the remaining ooze from the street while screaming at curious neighbors to fuck off. I was surprised not one of them called the police to report me for bitching in the middle of the night.

“Is that your way of telling me you no longer want my assistance?” I asked stiffly. “With Amy, you wouldn’t need me around.”

Her head snapped towards me quickly, sightless eyes widening.

“N-no! She’s only going to escort me around school. I would like very much for you to stay,” she replied nervously, fingers twitching.

I felt a smile work its way to my face. I was not expecting such a brazen answer from her. Somehow, it made me happy to know someone actually needed, wanted, me around. But despite this, I still have another problem to face if I am to stick around.

“Come on, Cara. You’ll need some sleep for tomorrow,” I sighed, grasping her arm and escorting her back to her bedroom.

....................

The bright sun burned my eyes as my saint and I approached her school. To think, only a few days ago I’d sat at a bench here and made this girl my victim. That was a time before demons and angels existed, before I was forced to hide my wings, before sight left my saint.

“Hey! Why is the evil beast here!?” I heard a familiar, annoying voice yell.

I glanced ahead of us and saw the ever pleasant Amy waiting for us near the entrance. I watched in horror as Cara’s face lit up to the creature’s voice.

“Amy!” she cried, running blindly towards her crazy friend.

“Cara!” Amy cried, joining her friend in a blind run until they collided with a loud pop. The girls laughed happily on the floor and I quickly realized my presence didn’t belong here. This was their time, I shouldn’t be a part of it; it is obvious. Quickly telling her I’d pick her up at 3pm, I turned and walked down the sidewalk away from their over squeally moment. I was about to cross the street when I felt a tug on my coat. I looked down over my shoulder onto a familiar pile of blond hair. With a sigh, I turned around and faced her.

“Um… thank you for walking me to school,” she mumbled while playing with her fingers. I let out a quiet ‘mmhmm’ and watched as she chewed one her little pink lip. How cute, she’s nervous. Without warning, she jumped forward and wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace. My whole body stiffened at the sudden display of affection. A very public display of affection.

“Uh… Cara?”

She looked up towards me before blushing and releasing me. A sheepish smile grew on her face before she took off back to Amy, crashing into a few classmates along the way. With a crooked smile, I crossed the street and headed towards a place full of men that must be terribly angry at me.

“I’m coming, Arturo.”

....................

Cara took a seat in the back of her class with the help of Amy. She sported sunglasses that the Sisters had given her. They did not know how to deal with her newfound handicap, and in a rash decision to gain more thinking time, they gave her glasses to fool the students for now. Amy was to help her with notes and get through classes until after school, when decisions on how to approach this can be made.

“Stay here a minute, will ya? I’ma go tell my boyfriend not to wait for me afterschool, k?” Amy said, already bounding out the door before Cara could truly reply. Amy’s boyfriend, Ryan, was a cool guy on the outside that was always the life of the party. But aside from his physical appearance, his halo was quite tainted. Yet, he always made time to be with Amy.
Cara hung her head, still tired from the overly eventful day yesterday. It was only when the sound of a hand slamming down on her desk echoed that she realized she’d been dozing off. The familiar scent of rose perfume reached her nose and she knew Lisa was the one who disrupted her nap.

“Oh, hey Cara! I love what you did with your hair! The short boy look is really in right now!” Lisa said, earning a few chuckles from her friends. Cara looked past the underlying insult and put on a smile.

“Thank you. How was your weekend, Lisa?”

Lisa snorted from amusement and glanced at her friends to join in the short chuckle.

"It was loads of fun! Had a big party, sorry I couldn't invite you. I seem to have lost your number! Anyways, I saw you this morning and I was totally gonna say hi to you, but I saw this really uh, creepy, guy with you. So who is he? What's his name? Oh, and why are you wearing sunglasses indoors, sweety? Are you trying to create a fashion statement with the short hair and sunglasses, ahaha?!"

Cara's face turned red at the mention of Luce. She hasn't really thought that anyone would notice them together, but it makes sense. He's the type that would stand out amongst a crowd.

"Oh, it's ok, I'm not really into parties," she started off shakily. "That guy, he's my... friend? He was escorting me to school this morning, that's all. His name is Luce."

Lisa's smile widened. "Oh my gosh, that's such a cool name! Did he give you those sunglasses? Are you secrelt obsessed with him so you where them around? You can tell me!"

"Oh, uh no. I'm wearing them because... well... I," Cara stuttered, trying not to lie but unable to speak the truth.

"Ugh, Lisa move your big butt out of my way, that's my seat! And she's wearing them cause she went to the optimologist yesterday. Her eyes are sensitive so Luce and I have been making sure she doesn't hurt them. No go buzz off, your perfume is making me yak. Try a spritz, not the whole damned bottle!" Amy suddenly barged in, shoving Lisa out of the way to take her seat beside Cara.

Lisa sent a toxic glare at the redhead before telling her friend's they don't communicate with foul-mouthed sinners and move back to their seats.

"Thank you," Cara whispered. Amy smiled and pat her friend in the back.

"I don't care how much I sin! Lemme kick her celulite ass next time!"