My Constant Companion

Shannon felt like he had to protect me. Why? I was tired of people saying I needed protection but not giving me the faintest idea as to why.

The two sat in my grandma's living room, the others who were still her were in the kitchen. Shannon was looking through a photo album, trying to avoid the questions burning in my mind. “You look just like her.” he murmured, referring to my mother.

And that was true, I did. We had the same bushy, curly dark brown hair, the same golden complexion, freckles, full lips and the same brown slightly slanted eyes. I had very few of my fathers features. Most of the pictures of the woman who had giving me life were from before she was even my age. She had me when she was twenty five, and there weren't any pictures of her when she was pregnant, something that used to bother me when I was a younger.

“Beautiful.”

“Yeah.” I sighed. “She was.”

“But you can't see it in yourself.” he murmured, his lips by my ear.

“Why do I need protection, Shannon?”

His eyes became dark. Literally a shade or two darker. Shit.

“We'll talk about this all in private. I promise. But I can't say if you'll get the full truth. Remember what I said about Jared being in your head.”

Oh, right.

Shannon's eyes seemed to got back to normal and his attention once more was on the photos. He didn't ask who was who in any of them, and since he reveled he's been hovering around my life since I was a child he must already know.

By nine we were leaving, grandma had packed me up some leftovers and with a tear in her big brown eyes she kissed us both and said bye. “I'll be back on the weekend if things aren't too hectic.” I told her.

“Alright. Go. It's going to be too dark to ride that thing soon.” she told me, referring to the motorcycle. “You take care of her, you hear.” she said to Shannon.

“I will. I promise.” he said, then after a sweet goodbye he walked down the path to the bike, giving me and grandma a moment alone.

“You really should go visit her.” my grandma said to me. “I know she'd really love it.”

I nodded somberly. “I know. I will... some time.” I sighed. “I love you granny.”

“I love you too baby. Get home safe.”

I went to meet Shannon and with a wave we got on and drove home. By ten we were in my living room, and I was beat. Shannon got on his knees and slipped my shoes and socks off as I leaned back against the cushions of my couch. “Come on, let's shower.” he whispered as he dragged me up.

We took a nice hot shower, Shannon washed me from head to toe, and I felt like a goddess. “Don't think this lets you off the hook.” I said as he rubbed the washcloth over my breast and down my stomach.

“Wouldn't dream of it, doll.” he murmured then his lips were on mine. Yes, he was trying to distract me and yes I kind of fell for it.

My fingers raked through his short hair, to his neck and down his back, touching his scars. He groan and that made me pull away from him. “Do they hurt?” I asked.

“No.” his beautiful voice was low, almost a growl. Then he was on me again. I touched the scars again, remembering the dream in which he still had them. How beautiful they were. “It feels good.” he murmured against my mouth. He then lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. And well... we got out once the water was icily cold.

Shannon rubbed a towel on my damp hair as I sat on my bed. The two of were both still gloriously naked, and I was even more tired after our little workout in the shower. “Tell me why I need to be protected.” I muttered.

“Like I said, you can see things you aren't supposed to.” he threw the towel to the floor and grabbed my brush and ran it through my wild, damp hair. “Some of us don't like to be seen, even when the person seeing us doesn't know what we are. I just want you to be safe.”

“And how come I can see demons and angels?”

He shrugged. “Some people just can.” That didn't sound entirely like the truth.

“And how do you know I've seen them?”

“One of your teachers was a demon.” my eyes shot up to his face as he looked down at me.

“You're bullshitting me now, aren't you?”

“No, doll, I'm not. Do you remember your imaginary friend, Alice?”

How could I forget? Before Ivy came along the only friend I had was a little girl named Alice, that lived in my closet. “Please don't tell me she was a demon, too.”

“An angel, actually. I knew her well.”

This new information made my head spin. I moved away from him and lied my head on my pillow, shutting my eyes. “So you're telling me, that she was real after all.”

“Yes.”

“Did you show up before or after her?”

After.” he said shortly. I knew he didn't want to go down that road yet. So it had to be when I was about six or seven. That's a long time.

“And I had a demon teacher?” I asked.

“Don't freak out. Not all demons are bad. Like not all angels are good.”

“There are different types of angels and demons?” I questioned. “Tell me something about them, please Shannon.”

“Nikka.” he sighed in exasperation and climbed over me to lie by my side.

“I know it's for my own good not to know, but how am I supposed to arm myself against an enemy I know nothing about?”

“Enemy?” he smiled at me. “I like that. You're thinking the right way, doll.” he sighed then reached over and opened my bedside table drawer. He pulled out the long dark gray feather. His feather. He smiled softly then ran it down my skin, between my breast, down my stomach, as he spoke softly. “Well, Demons and Angels, despite their reputations aren't that different. Our kinds don't usually mix, but I've found a few demon allies.” he smiled slightly. “Demons look like us, save for their wings. Theirs are more leathery, like skin, usually dark, black or red. And that's the only way someone like you, a human, can tell what we are by the wings or other markings.”

I sat up on my elbows. “Are their a lot of Demons and Angels around?”

“Depends on what you think is a lot. Most keep to our world, a lot of them aren't to keen on humans, unless they need something. But there are still pockets of them in most major cities.”

“And you say some of them are good.”

He nodded. “Each race has it's good and bad, light and dark, just like the human race. Then there are those like me.” he paused then said, “You've heard of Fallen Angels.” I nodded. “Well I'm like that. One of the Fallen. A Darker Angel.” he sighed. “Wingless.” he added bitterly.

That didn't surprise me entirely. I turned to lie on my side to face him. “And you're one of the Fallen because?”

“I've been a bad boy Nikka.” he teased then chuckled. I know he was trying to lighten the mood, but I just wanted to know the facts. “I'm not entirely pure. But I figured you already knew that. I've hurt people. Human and other alike. Not that they didn't deserve it.” he muttered.

He twirled the feather between his fingers, examining it closely. I frowned, thinking, and he asked, “Does it scare you? Knowing I'm capable of evil things? That I may hurt you?” he looked at me intensely.

I took his face in my hands, pulling it closer to mine. “No.” That was the truth. Was he trying to scare me away? We grew silent for a little bit, my mind was trying to process everything he had told me. He looked away from me and I let my hands fall away. “So what is Jared? Dark? Light?”

He chuckled darkly. “Jared is in-between but leaning towards Dark, but if you ask him he's still on the Light side of things. He's dangerous. He manipulates. But he believes it's done for the greater good.” He started stroking the feather over my skin again, it tickled. His eyes followed it's journey over my body. “He wants to hurt me, and he'll do it through you. I know what he's capable of.”

“But why? Why does he want to hurt you so much? What transpired between you two that made him this way?” I couldn't understand how these two brothers got to this point.

“No one made him this way, he is what he is. I am what I am. And he's hated me for a long time.”

“Even when you were...” I was going to say kids but I wasn't sure if they had ever been kids, “younger?”

“No. Not always. We were close, but as we grew up we grew apart.”

He still wasn't telling me why. “So something had to have happened to make him want to hurt you. Who did you betray?”

He shut his eyes. “We're not going there. Not tonight.”

“If not now, when?”

“Not tonight.” he raised his voice slightly, sounded both angry and tired.

Then my phone rang. Shannon reached over me to grab it from the nightstand, eyes still closed. “Hi Ivy.” he said as he answered it. How did he do that? Opening his eyes, he smiled at me then handed it over.

“Hi best friend.” I said apologetically. I had forgotten to call her. Gosh, I wouldn't be winning the friend of the year award anytime soon.

“If you weren't my best friend maybe I wouldn't be this pissed.”

“I know, I'm sorry, my phone went dead” True, “and I was over at my grandma's for dinner” Also true, “and I lost track of time and forgot.” All true but it sounded so lame. God, I suck. “Please forgive me.”

She sighed. “Alright. You're forgiven... again. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I'm fine.”

“So he's already sleeping over, huh?”

She moved on quickly. “Yes.”

“Have you...?”

“Uh...” I said stupidly.

“Oh. My. God. Nikka.” she exclaimed loud enough for Shannon, who was watching me, could hear. “Oh, you naughty girl. It's about damn time you got
laid.”

“Good night Ivy.” I said quickly. “We'll talk in the morning.”

“Yes we will. Good night Nikka. Don't stay up too late, we do have a business to run.” then we hung up.

Shannon laughed at my embarrassed expression, the feather twirling between his fingers again. “She's right. You getting laid was long overdue.”



“So I have a date and I was hoping that you and Shannon could double date with us.” Ivy said as we set up the shop before we opened Monday morning.

She had already drilled me about Shannon and I gave her what information I could. He and I didn't speak much more last night, and I was too tired to ask anything else. But I was getting my questions ready and by god he was going to answer.

“A date?” I furrowed my brow. “With you and Jack?”

“Oh no, not him.” she said with a laugh.

I was shocked. “What happened to Jack?”

“See what happens when you don't call your best friend. You miss out on a lot of info. He dumped me.” she said blandly.

“What?” I exclaimed. “Why?” They were just fine at the concert. More than fine actually. What went wrong?

“He told me he just couldn't be with me, something about my flirting.” she waved her hand around dismissively. “Whatever.”

“And you're okay.” I said as I gave her a hug.

“Oh yeah, you know me, I keep it moving. It's his lost.” None of it made sense. “So how 'bout it? You, and Shannon. Me and my possible new man?”

“You're serious?”

“As a heart attack.”

Alrighty. “So who's the new guy?” I asked her after I gave up trying to wrap my head around this turn of events.

“You know him... sort of.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, his name is Jared.”

My heart nearly stopped. You have got to be kidding me.