Your Guardian Angel

Natasha woke up to her phone screaming beside her ear. Groaning loudly, she slammed the palm of her hand on the screen, but the sound still blasted from it. As she became more awake, she recognized Callie’s ringtone and picked the phone up, turning her head towards it. She dragged the screen to accept the call and placed it next to her ear.

“What?”

“That’s a very rude way to answer the phone. WAKE UP!”

“Callie, seriously, you don’t need to yell at me at this time of day.”

“I wanted you to wake up! I’m so excited to go shopping today. Remind me to get some shoes, oh and I need jeans, too. I was thinking that –”

“Natasha, do you—” Caleb said from the doorway, but paused when he saw her finger cover her lips, telling him to be quiet.

“Who was that?” Callie asked quietly.

“Uh, that was my dad wondering if I wanted some breakfast,” Natasha thought quickly.

“Your dad never asks if you want breakfast. He also doesn’t sound like that. Who is that?”

“It’s nobody, Cal, look I’ll call you when I get close, okay?”

“Is it Justin? Did he STAY with you last night?” Callie accused.

“No, Callie, it’s not Justin. He left after he dropped me off,” Natasha said rolling her eyes. She settled her gaze on Caleb and mouthed “I hate you” to him. He shrugged apologetically.

“You’re keeping something from me and I don’t like it.”

“Look, Callie, I’ll call you when I’m on my way to your house. It should be about an hour. Love you,” Natasha said and she hung up the phone. “Oh my God, I’m going to kill you.”

Caleb watched as she pushed herself up and got out of bed. Sometime in the night she had removed the shirt she had originally put on and was left in her shorts and sports bra. Caleb found himself watching her as she moved throughout her room, gathering clothes to get ready for the day. Finally she turned towards him and smiled. She motioned for him to move, and she walked past him to go downstairs.

He literally smacked himself in the face as he watched her walk away. Angels were not supposed to have feelings for their charges, but Natasha was making it too hard for him. Of course, he’d come to care for her as he watched her grow up, but now that he was having more contact with her… he was finding it more and more difficult to not have feelings for her. This was going to be more difficult than he thought.



Dressed in a blue t-shirt and jeans, Natasha slid into her car and started the engine, heading towards Callie’s house. As soon as Callie was in the car, she turned to Natasha.
“Who was he?”

“Oh my God, is that all you’ve thought about the past hour?”

“Yes. Unless it was Ben, I don’t know who it could be.”

Natasha jumped at the idea. “It was Ben. He stayed last night since mom and dad were out of town. I’ve been a little jumpy since the carnival thing.”

“Yeah, that was real freaky. Unfortunately for you, I asked Ben if he was at your house. He said he wasn’t there this morning. You’re lying, Ash. Who is he?”

“He’s no one, Cal. I promise. If there was something there I’d tell you about it, trust me.”

“So you’re having sex with random guys now? Who does that?”

“I am not having sex!” Natasha burst out with enough force to make Callie believe her. She stopped asking questions and handed Natasha a pack of cigarettes. She willing took one from Callie and lit it, inhaling deeply.

“Okay, fine. Don’t tell me,” Callie said, pouting.

Minutes later, she was fine and off on a different topic. They talked the whole way to the shops. Pulling into the square, Natasha found a spot available in front of the bookstore. They made their way through the different shops, finally coming to one they both enjoyed. Going in, they made their way through the racks, picking at different pieces, putting them together into outfits.

They made their way to the dressing rooms and entered their stalls. Natasha was the first to have her outfit on and she stepped outside to look at herself in the mirror. She turned all different ways to make sure the shirt looked okay, and just as she was about to go back into her dressing room, she caught sight of Caleb behind her. Whirling, she motioned for him to come to her.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“My job,” he said easily, rolling his eyes.

“Can she see you?”

“Not now, she’s in the dressing room.”

“You know what the hell I meant.”

“Natasha who are you talking to?” Callie asked, opening the door. Natasha saw the movement and shoved Caleb into her stall, pulling the door almost shut.

“I was talking to you, obviously. I was asking you to come out so you could tell me what this looks like. Oh! That dress is adorable on you,” Natasha covered with a smile.

“That shirt is killer on you, for real. You should get that one,” Callie replied and they both twirled in front of the mirror, laughing.

Callie moved back to her stall and the smile fell from Natasha’s face as she pushed the door open to hers. Caleb was sitting on the small bench beside her purse, looking at the different pieces she’d picked out.

“Are you invisible?” she hissed as she pulled the shirt from her body.

“Are you getting naked right now?”

“I’m trying to keep up pretenses by changing. That’s what I’m supposed to be doing right now. If she came in here, could she see you?”

“No, she wouldn’t be able to see me,” Caleb said, handing her a tight-fitting club top she’d picked out.

She ripped it from his hands and threw it over her head. After it was on, she realized she wasn’t supposed to wear a bra with it. Keeping her bra on, she glared at Caleb through the mirror and opened the door to see Callie already standing outside looking at a skirt she was now trying on.

“Oh, that top is cute,” Callie said looking at it.

“It would look better without the bra,” Caleb joked from behind her. Natasha was able to keep from jumping at the sound of his voice, but as she headed back into the dressing room, she kicked him in the shin.



After letting her know he would be close by if she needed him, Caleb disappeared. They went to every shop in the area, even stopping at the Mexican restaurant for lunch. They were thinking of other stores to go to when Natasha’s phone rang. She looked at it, reading CALEB across the screen. She had saved his number after he’d gone to the guest room the night before. She slid her thumb across the screen and raised it to her ear.

“Hello?”

“Natasha, I need you to get out of the area. I don’t care where you and Callie go, just get out of there. Ben should be calling you in a few minutes; meet up with him. Whatever you do, be careful of the storms. They’re not natural.”

“Okay, how bad is the storm?”

“It’s getting really bad. I haven’t joined in yet. I wanted to make sure you knew first. Stay out of open areas, and don’t go into public areas unless Ben is with you. Also, make sure that you stay on big roads; don’t take any back roads. If they find you, I want other people to be able to see your car.”

“Okay. Well, be careful,” Natasha said concerned.

“Don’t worry, I’m always careful.”

The phone beeped, signaling that he had hung up and she put the phone down in the console. She told Callie her dad had said they had some storms and would be late getting home. The rest of the way back to Douglasville, she was concerned. The sky got darker and darker by the minute to the point where it looked like midnight at two in the afternoon.

They went to Natasha’s house, where Ben was waiting on them. By the time they opened the front door, the rain came pouring down. Flashes of lightning lit up the sky and thunder shook the house. Ben and Natasha shared a look. Natasha was worried for Caleb’s sake. She hadn’t heard from him in over an hour. She could tell by the thunder the fight was getting closer, and she got more worried.

Ben took her mind off of the situation momentarily as he told her Formula One had another gig at Onyx tonight. Natasha was excited as she moved to the kitchen. She stood at the sink, drinking some water when a loud clap of thunder resonated through the house. She saw a flash of light from the sky and something else. As she squinted her eyes, the object seemed to be falling from the sky. She recognized what it was just as another flash of lightning cut the power from her house. The scream drew Ben and Callie towards the kitchen.

“I’m fine,” she said as they entered. “I was just startled by the lightning.”

“Okay, good,” Callie said, turning around and leaving the kitchen.

“Ben? I need you to get her out of the house. Caleb’s hurt. I can’t go get him and help him until she’s gone.”

“What the hell am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know; offer to take her home to get her clothes. Tell her you want her help picking something out. I don’t care what you do; just get her out of the house.”

“Fine!”

Natasha waited until she heard Callie holler that she’d see Natasha later before she opened the deck doors. She ran outside, instantly getting soaked. She screamed Caleb’s name, but she heard nothing. He lay motionless near the back of the yard. As she crossed the patio and ran by the pool, she screamed for Adam and Isabel. She dove on her knees and making sure she didn’t touch his back, she rolled him over. He was covered in dirt and mud.

His face was a completely different story. There was a cut above his left eye that a steady stream of blood was pouring from. A bruise was forming under the right eye, and his bottom lip and nose were profusely bleeding, too. His chest had blood splattered all over it and his ribs were a blackish purple. She ran her fingers around his head, making sure there were no bumps there. Her hands raised his cheek, lightly slapping it to wake him. Nothing happened. Within minutes, she was covered in his blood from trying to wake him up. Suddenly, Adam was in front of her and Isabel was beside her.

“Fix him!” Natasha screamed, raising her tear-filled eyes to Adam. Isabel placed a hand on Natasha’s shoulder, but she ignored it. She lowered her eyes to Caleb’s face, waiting for him to move or make a sound; nothing happen. When Adam didn’t move, she looked back up at him. “Why aren’t you doing anything?”

“He has to heal on his own; there’s nothing I can do to speed the process,” he said, giving her an apologetic look.

“How long does that take?”

“It depends on the seriousness of the injury, really. This one could take him a day, maybe less,” Isabel said, slightly running her fingers over Caleb’s ribs, touching the bruises.

Natasha knew she was crying and reached to wipe the tears away, not caring that she was smearing blood all over her. Isabel noticed, though. She motioned for Adam to pick him up.

“No! What are you doing?!” Natasha screamed, trying to stand up. Isabel finally had to help pull her up.

“I’m taking him back to his house where he can rest.”

Suddenly they all stilled as Caleb’s head rolled. His eyes opened, but they were glazed over. “Natasha?” came the hoarse whisper.

“I’m here, Caleb. Adam’s got you. You’re going to be okay,” Natasha said, rushing forward to stand beside him.

Caleb moved his mouth to say something and Adam shifted. The motion caused Caleb’s ribs to be pushed by Adam’s body, making Caleb scream out in agony. Fresh tears rose to Natasha’s eyes as she covered her mouth with her hands. She couldn’t take his screams. Suddenly, Adam rolled his shoulders, and two massive silver-white wings spread from his shoulder blades. Natasha was in awe of how beautiful they were. She couldn’t even pay attention as Adam gave instructions to Isabel. She watched as he crouched down, pushing off from the ground and rising in the air before his wings flapped a few times and he was gone.

Natasha’s look of horror turned from the sky to Isabel. “Where is he taking Caleb?!”

“He’s taking him to Caleb’s house. We need to get you inside and cleaned up. We’ve got to pack a bag for you; you’re staying at Caleb’s house for a few nights.”
“Why?”

“It’s going to take him a few days to get back to normal. While he’ll be completely healed by tomorrow, he’s not going to feel like himself. It’ll be better if you’re there with him.”

“I’ve got school on Monday and Callie and I ride together. What am I supposed to tell her?”

“Tell her to meet you there or something. You’ll figure it out. Come on now, let’s get you cleaned up and packed.”

Natasha nodded and followed her towards the house, keeping her eyes on the sky until she was inside.