Not Your Angel

Milan stayed with Stina and Rubi for days. She didn’t care were her brother thought she was, nor her father or Emmett. At least she tried to convince herself she didn’t. She started to wonder if she just should stay with her former mother, and she really liked Rubi, she was such a likable person.

Rubi came home from school Friday just as Milan was done preparing a meal for herself; she sighed and put the big, raw beef in the fridge again. Stina wouldn’t be home for a few hours yet.
“Hey, Rubes,” Milan smiled and started preparing normal human food for her friend. “How was school?”
Rubi rolled her eyes at her. “You don’t have to pretend you’re interested, Milly. But you have to come with me to a party tonight!”

Milan laughed. “A party?” she hadn’t been to a party in years.
“I know you’re probably used to cool parties with old people, sorry, I mean older like eighteen – twenty. Mom won’t let me go to parties, but if you come with me she’ll have no arguments, because she seems to trust you.”
Milan thought about it for a second and set the food on the table. She had barley left the house since she came, only by night to hunt. “Yeah, sure, I’ll come with you.”

“Yay, I love you!” Rubi threw her arms around Milan in a hug before she sat down at the table and ate her food quickly. “Come on, we have to find clothes.”
Milan let herself get dragged upstairs and into the teenage dream room. It had a humble sized walk in closet filled with any clothes Rubi could possibly desire.

The two girl played dress up, Rubi was excited when Milan told her she preferred dark clothes because Rubi was the opposite – more preppy than punk. She finally got a cause to use some of her black clothes. They picked out Milan’s outfit and were just about to choose what Rubi was going to wear when they heard the door open downstairs and Stina calling for them.

Rubi grabbed Milan’s arm before they walked to the door.
“I wish you were my sister,” Rubi said with serious eyes.
“I know that if I had a little sister, she would be you,” Milan told her sincerely. “Now come on, you’ll have to ask permission for the party.”
Rubi smiled.

Milan pressed her palms against her head at the top of the staircase and tried to make her headache go away. It subsided and she followed after Rubi down to the hall to meet Stina but she continued past them and out the open front door. She kept walking until she felt someone take a hold of her arm.

She threw the person aside in a quick and easy maneuver.
“Milly!” She heard Rubi’s panicked voice and snapped out of her trance.
She stared at the young girl in the doorway before she glanced to the ground where Stina was thrown. “Oh god,” Milan said horrified and covered her mouth with her hand. “Stina, I’m so sorry.”

Stina stared at her with intruding eyes for a second before she smiled weakly. “Please, help me up.”
Milan helped her up easily and leaned close to her ear. “I’m so terribly sorry; Amari is calling for me, I couldn’t help it.”
“Okay Milly,” Stina said and brushed the dirt of her white suit. “Let’s go inside before Mrs. Donovan across the street make smudges on her kitchen window.”

Rubi stared at Milan with confused eyes as she and Stina walked inside the house again before she turned to her mother and started begging for permission to go to the party.
“I’ll watch so she won’t do anything stupid or dangerous,” Milan reassured the anxious mother.
“Please mom, pretty please?”
Stina sighed. “Fine, but be home before eleven.”
“But mom, everybody is staying till three a.m.”
“Not you.”

“Hey, don’t push it kiddo,” Milan winked at Rubi.
“Fine,” she grumbled before she perked up. “Let’s go get ready.”
They disappeared upstairs again and Milan started with curling Rubi’s hair and got her makeup done. She made herself presentable while Rubi got dressed. She didn’t really have to do anything with her hair but she put on some makeup.

They left the house two hours later with a wave over the shoulder and a promise about coming home before eleven to Stina.

^^^

Stina sat in kitchen with a cup of warm tea and a good book when she heard a knock on the front door. The clock was past ten so it couldn’t be any of the neighbors needing a cup of sugar or an egg. She put the bookmark in the book before she rose and walked into the hall and to the door.

She opened it and came face to face with two tall, serious looking men. She recognized the leaner one of them immediately. He hadn’t changed one bit appearance like in fifteen years.

“Stina,” Amari said seriously and tried to look past her shoulder for his sister.
Stina smiled at him and took his hand in hers. “It’s good to finally see you again, Ami.”
Amari stared at her for a second before he put his arms around her in a familiar hug. “I come for a cause; Milan has runaway. I found your address in a letter and thought maybe she went to see you.”

“Milan is here; but she went to a party with my daughter.”
“Is she harmed?” the broad-shouldered man beside Amari asked.
Stina shook her head slowly. “Not other than the harm you put her heart through, Emmett.”
Emmett sighed and turned away from the two others. He had to keep himself together, not lose his control.

“Can we come inside and wait for her?” Amari asked his former mother.
“Of course, Ami, they will be back soon.”

The three of them sat in the living room. Stina explained why she’d let Milan stay – and why Milan had ran away in the first place. Emmett kept beating himself up for it.
Stina wondered why Amari wasn’t upset with Emmett for hurting his sister but he explained they had fought; but ended it with the conclusion that they had to work together to get her home. And Amari knew that his sister loved the vampire even though she was hurt by his reaction.

Stina scolded Emmett for hurting Milan. She wanted to knock some sense into his head but she didn’t dare; he was a vampire after all. She was satisfied with seeing how upset he was.

^^^

Rubi and Milan came giggling through the front door forty minutes later. Milan froze – of course – when she recognized the smell. But she calmed down when she heard a heartbeat familiar to her own.

Amari appeared in front of her seconds later, startling Rubi but ignoring her as he pulled his twin sister into a bone crushing hug.
“Amari,” She breathed in relief and buried her face in his jacket.
He held her at an arm-length distance and stared at her angrily. “Are you fucking stupid, Milly? Dad has been worried sick! And me, how could you just leave me behind without a word?”

Milan stared at the floor. “He was planning to leave me.”
“So you thought it would be smart to leave all of us before he got the chance to explain?”
“Stop yelling at me; you’re scaring Rubi,” Milan said in an attempt on getting the focus of her stupid mistake.
Amari only glanced at the young girl before he bored his eyes into his sister again. “You are fucking stupid Milan. Irresponsible. Talk to him, sort things out because one way or another you’ll come home with me tonight, even if I have to drag you by your hind leg.”

“Emmett!” Amari called over his shoulder and the sulking vampire walked slowly – being more used to keep up appearance in front of humans than the outraged half-breed – out in the front hall and stared at Milan with big apologetic eyes.

“Milly,” He said and tried to take her hand.
Milan stepped away from him – and her brother – and glared at him.
“Outside, now,” she ordered the vampire and stalked into the kitchen and out the backdoor.