Her Guardian Angel (Part 5)

I got back somewhere around 3:30. Caroline had fallen asleep watching a movie and was slumped against the headboard of the bed, her face lit up by the dvd menu that was playing on loop. I gently took the laptop from her knee, closed it up and put it on the desk. “Adam?”

“Yeah, it’s just me.” I encouraged her to lay down and she quickly drifted back off as I flopped down on the bed next to her. I kicked off my boots that were lightly dusted with the dirt of Travis’ final resting place and joined her in sleep. I woke up a few hours later as the alarm clock next to my head started beeping incessantly. My first reaction was to through the damn thing at the wall but instead I slammed my hand down on top of it a couple of times until it shut up. Caroline groaned and pulled the cover over her head. “Come on, Kid.” I nudged her. “You’ve got class first thing.” Then I remembered. “And I need to tell you something.”

“Tell me what?” She dragged herself upright, pulling her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them. “Hey, hey, no. Don’t do that. You’ll fall back to sleep. Come on, get up.” I yanked the cover off the bed, much to her annoyance. When she was finally up, dressed and somewhat awake, I began to explain what I’d discovered about Travis and told her I’d dealt with him, leaving out the details of how and refusing to give them up when she asked. The thought of been betrayed like that brought out a lot of emotions in Caroline; anger, sadness, guilt, a feeling that she’d been naïve and I comforted her the best I could. Surprisingly she held nothing against me, I was expecting something, anger or disgust that I’d just up and killed her boyfriend but nothing. She understood I couldn’t have stood by and let him get away with it and I think deep down she was maybe relieved she didn’t have to deal with it or maybe even happy he’d been punished for what he did. I told her to act normal, not tell anyone about it even Mindy. She understood and we went off to class.

                There was a police enquiry, obviously. A boy like that doesn’t just disappear without people noticing. Luckily, Caroline wasn’t the last person to see Travis and she’d spent the night he’d gone missing with Mindy and a couple of others so after some questioning the police eventually lost interest in her. She handled it well, never let on that she knew about the other girls and actually cried when it was brought up. I’m not sure if the tears were real or not but they looked real and I hated it; something tightened in my chest as I watched her wiping at her eyes with shaking hands and I held her tight when she’d rushed to me after been released by the detectives. Red Head and Blondie didn’t know they were sharing Travis either and for the next few months it was the talk of the campus.

                I’d never heard Mindy’s angel speak. Any time I was around and he needed to say something, he’d bend down and whisper in her ear. But a month into the search for Travis, we were heading to the library. I let the girls walk ahead of me while Cornelius stayed a little way off to Mindy’s right. He began dropping back until he was walking next to me; he wore the usual angel attire and was a foot or more taller than my six one, not unusual as all angels are freakishly tall. He kept his hands clasped and his eyes on Caroline and Mindy. “What did you do to that young man?” His voice was deeper than I imagined. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do. That boy was,” he hesitated like he didn’t want to say the words. “Having relations …”

“He was fucking two girls behind my kid’s back.” He grimaced. “Nonetheless, you found out and did something terrible to him, didn’t you? You killed that poor boy, didn’t you?”

“It’s Cornelius, right?”

“An abomination like you doesn’t deserve to speak an angel’s name.”

“Yeah, well, I might be an abomination but I’m her abomination and I’m not like you assholes, I protect my kid. That dick wasn’t a ‘poor boy,’ he deserved what he got.”

“So, you admit whatever befell him and his guardian was your doing?”

“I don’t admit anything but you should be careful, Cornelius, start snooping into things you shouldn’t and something might befall you. It’d be a shame for Mindy to have to go through life without a guardian now, wouldn’t it?” His jaw clenched and his body stiffened before he quickly returned to Mindy’s side.

                Things sort of plodded along nicely after that; Caroline slowly got over the Travis thing, concentrated on her studies and the gossip surrounding the entire thing dwindled. When it came time to apply to university both her and Mindy chose the same place, no surprise there, and both got in. They moved into the flat they were renting together in late August. Caroline didn’t say much about it but I could tell she was excited. Mindy, of course, was practically buzzing, talking continuously about how ‘awesome’ and ‘amazing’ all of it was going to be while gesturing wildly with her hands. The place was small; a boxy bedroom each, little bathroom and a combined living room and kitchen area, it was kind of grimy and run down but cheap and they loved it and it was soon packed with all their crap.

Despite her close relationship with Mindy, Caroline was still the loner kid she’d been when I met her; if someone approached her first she’d be polite and engage but she was still slightly awkward, quiet and happy to be left alone. She still wasn’t a fan of going out but was persuaded to occasionally by Mindy. On one of those rare nights when she had given in and gone to the pub in town, she caught the attention of one guy in particular. I was standing back, giving her some room to enjoy herself even though she’d look in my direction every now and then to check I was still around. This guy, Mark, sat beside her and tried to start a conversation. He was a little older than her and resembled most guys you’d find in a bar on a Friday night; crew cut, clean shaven and stinking of cheap aftershave. Caroline clearly wasn’t interested but he was persistent and I was about to go over when she seemed to warm up to the idea and began talking. He was still there when Mindy came over and told Caroline she was going to some guy’s place and would see her in the morning. After a quick hug, she disappeared out the door with her arm around someone who looked like a Forward. Shortly after, Caroline invited Mark over to the flat and he happily accepted, telling his angel to wait for him at home as he would be fine without him for a few hours and he reluctantly agreed.

Back at the flat, Caroline was pouring herself and Mark a drink when she realized she’d left her bag behind. I said I’d go get it, I was out of cigarettes anyway and it was nice that she was enjoying herself like someone her age should. I left them laughing at some lame joke Mark had just delivered. The all-too-friendly and not-too-difficult-to-look-at barmaid had found Caroline’s bag and handed it over without a question. I quickly checked its contents, nothing missing, thanked her and left, declining her offer to stay for a drink despite been very tempted to. The shop I planned on going to was already closed so I forgot about the cigarettes and headed home. I was half way up the street when I heard a scream. I didn’t pay attention to it, in a student area like that you often heard shouting and screaming on a weekend; either drunken arguments or people just fooling around. That is until I heard my name a few seconds later. I bolted for the flat. Caroline had screamed my name three more times before I burst through the door. “Kid?!”

Copyright Anna Smith 2020