WestFiction- "In the Arms of an Angel" by Xtine

stories

readers

authors zone

character call form

authors

www

home

In the Arms of an Angel> chapters 9-11

Gaby felt someone’s breath on her face and that woke her up. She opened her eyes and saw that she was on top of some lad! She panicked. Was I raped? She thought. “OH NO!!!” she gasped. “Did I rape this man?” she pried herself off from the unknown character and studied him. His face was flushed and he looked haggard. His lips were unbelievably red. His coat was opened and he was there, on her blanket, sleeping soundly. What did I do? Did I rape him? She asked herself over and over again. “I have to get out of here,” she said out loud, instantly panicking. What did just happen to me? She started looking for her knapsack, walking about in no particular direction. “SHIT!” she shrieked. She was sprawled on the grass. She tripped on the strap of her knapsack. She saw him stir and she scrambled to her feet.

“Where are you going?” the Irish accent-laden voice asked.

She cleared her throat. What does she tell him? “Um,” she began, “did I rape you?” she asked.

He bolted right up. He was laughing yet shocked. “What did you ask me?”

“I asked if I raped you!!”

“What made you ask me that?” he queried again.

She looked confused and mad at the same time. “I woke up on top of you! I must have done something terrible that I can't remember. Look at you! Your coat is opened, your lips looked like it was kissed savagely and again, I was on top of you!” she was getting hysterical. She needed to get this over and done with.

“No you didn't rape me! I would have let you, though,” he answered. She flinched at his remark. “I'm only kidding! Relax! You only kissed me!” he sounded like it was no big deal. But in truth, it was a big deal to him.

“Why would I want to kiss you?” she snapped back, scratching her head, not looking at him.

“You just grabbed me and then, BAM! You went lunatic and started kissing me!” he told her, looking at her, hoping she'd glance his way.

“Look, I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry. I truly am.” She was blushing now, her face turning red and her neck heating up with color.

He reached up to her face and wiped the dirt on her cheek with his thumb. She recoiled at his touch. He was hurt when she did that. He wanted nothing than to hold her again. He cleared his throat and began to ask her the questions burning at the back of his head. “Why were you going mental awhile back?”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. What did just happen? She asked herself. Visions of her falling from a ravine flashed before her. Mark saw the fear on her face and he instinctively touched his hands on hers. She relaxed. “I was having a bad dream. I dreamt I was falling from a cliff.”

Mark nodded, digesting the facts she was revealing. But why was she so scared? I've had nightmares before but I don't react that way, he thought. “Is that all? Then why were you shaking so bad?”

She sighed. “I was just extremely scared.” Gaby pulled her knees together and placed her chin on them and looked afar. “I'm so scared.” Funny how I try so hard to be brave but my dreams tell me just how scared I am and how unready I am to die, she quietly told herself.

A sob escaped her throat. She wasn't ready to die. She wanted to do so many things, things that she knows would make her a complete person. She wanted to grow old and have great-grandchildren. She wanted to love, to fall madly in love and get swept off her feet. She wanted to live. But time is running out. She can't do anything about it.

Mark sat beside her and wrapped his arms around her. There was something about her that made him care. He's a really kind person but he doesn't really hit it off at first with people because he comes off as snotty. And he's a shy fella. But not with this girl, he thought. She's beautiful but not your typical drop-dead gorgeous lady. She has a quiet beauty that he finds irresistible. “Are you ok?” he asked, still holding her close to him.

Gaby managed to nod her head and wiped her tears. “I'm going to be ok,” she choked. She reached for his hand and kissed it. “Thank you for being here. I do appreciate it.”

“You’re very much welcome,” he replied, squeezing her hand. He felt his tummy do a nose-dive when she kissed his hand. His neck was starting to heat up and he knew any second now he was going to turn beet-red.

She didn't notice the blush. She stared at him, studying his familiar face. The face she has grown to love. OH MY GOD! Her head screamed. HE'S MARK MICHAEL PATRICK FEEHILY! AND I JUST SNOGGED HIM!

CHAPTER 10

Mark felt her body go rigid. “What’s wrong?” What could be wrong again? he wondered. “Is there something on my face?” He felt conscious all of a sudden, reaching for his cheeks and wiping it off from some invisible dirt.

Gaby shook her head. “It's just that…” her voice trailed off. Something was clogging her voice. She cleared her throat and started again. “It’s just that, um, I recognize who you are now.”

“Does it matter?” he asked. Sigh. This is what sucked being in Westlife. I don't know if people want to get to know me for who I am or for what I am doing, he thought despondently.

“Of course not!” she retorted quickly. “It’s just that I've been waiting so long to see you and look at you. It's almost surreal.” A blush crept from her face and she looked away. “I'm embarrassed with what I did. It was totally improper. I'm so sorry.”

Improper? She's sorry? I thought it was amazing, Mark thought. Well, maybe except for the Sean part. “Don’t be sorry. I should have stopped you. I'm sorry,” he apologized, realizing that maybe he had actually taken advantage of the situation. Am I that perverted now? he asked himself.

Gaby was surprised. Right infront of her was her biggest crush and he was apologizing to her when she was the one who grabbed and kissed him! “Can we just forget about it? It's embarrassing, really.” But it was awesome, she thought, giggling to herself. Mentally, she touched her fingers to her lips and felt it. His lips touched mine. Wow, she exclaimed silently.

Forget it? Forget it, she's asking me? Mark thought to himself incredulously. How can I forget that kiss? It was nothing compared to the past kisses he's had. What was in her kiss? Was it the passion? The hunger? Or her lips? Or am I just getting hormonal? He shook his head and crossed the last statement. He was definitely not getting horny. It must be the feelings she poured in that kiss. “Ok, let’s forget about it if that's what you want.”

She smiled, flashing him her teeth. “Thanks. Boy am I glad I'm not getting star struck! But I got star struck with Shane, I'm telling ya!”

“Shane? You met Shane?”

“Yup! We were seatmates in the airplane! I had an amazing time with him. He's my friend now. I poked a gun on his side and demanded he becomes my friend!” she let out a loud laugh.

Mark laughed at the idea. Wow, Shane got to meet her first. Wow, I wish I were the one on the plane. “What were you doing on the plane?” he asked, and slapped his head at the stupid question. It slipped from his mouth before he thought about it.

She smiled. “I was on my way here, I believe. Isn’t that the purpose of the airplanes? To transport people from one place to another?”

Mark bit his lower lip and looked at her sheepishly. “It was a stupid question. I just didn't know how to phrase it.”

“I'm from the Philippines and I met Shane aboard a plane going to Sligo, Ireland,” Gaby explained, looking at the sun shining so high up in the sky.

“Cool. Now I know. So, do you have relatives here? Or are you staying in a hostel?”

“I wished I was staying a hostel! I practically sneaked out of my cousin’s house to see this place!” She looked at her watch and realized she's been gone for almost four hours. “Any minute now Anya will call me and demand that I go home!”

Mark looked at her big round dark eyes. She had dark circles under them and she looked tired. “Wow! Your cousin is so protective. Well, I'm glad you’ve discovered this place first. This is my favorite part in the whole world!”

She stood up and took a deep breath, letting the smell and feel of the place embrace her. “I'm glad I went this way as well. I love this place. This is so calm and peaceful compared to where I live.”

Mark followed suit. The need to be close to her was so strong. The persistent fluttering of butterflies in his tummy was driving him mad. He remembered watching an episode of Dawson`s Creek. Pacey`s brother was telling him about butterflies in the tummy. He said that it's not everyday that someone gives butterflies to your stomach. You should tell that person who makes you feel that way because as you grow older, the butterflies stop fluttering. What does that mean? he asked the voices in his head. You like her, idiot! the voices retorted loudly. He shook his head and brushed it off. It was too quick to feel that way. “I still don't know your name,” he whispered in her ear, trying his best to ignore the pounding of the voices in his head.

She didn't look at him. He wanted to turn her around, look at her face and kiss her for God knows how long. “It’s Gabrielle. Call me Gaby. Everyone does.”

“Gaby,” he softly said, uttering the name silently, liking the feel of her name on his lips. He inched closer, his body now touching hers. A jolt of electricity ran through his entire body. Static, he thought, brushing the idea that he's falling in love with the girl who grabbed and snogged him unceremoniously and passionately.

Gaby was standing still, her eyes closed, a sad-happy smile playing on her lips. If you only know how lucky I'm feeling right now, Mark, she mused to herself. I feel so much braver now that I know you’re here beside me, ready to protect me. I'm so lucky.

She turned around to face him and smiled brightly. “Do you know what I'm feeling right now?”

He reached up to her, holding her in an arm’s length and gazed at her face. “No. What is it?” he asked, his thumbs caressing the sides of her flushed cheeks.

“I feel so…” her voice trailed off.

Then a loud ringing startled both of them that they jumped apart! Mark searched for his mobile and so did Gaby. “It’s mine,” she said, smiling at the though that they were so close to kissing.

Mark watched her talk on the phone. Her left hand was perched on her hips, her eyes rolling, her lips pouting as she argued with the person on the other line. “I like you,” he whispered, the words escaping his lips. He was shocked. How can I like someone I've just met? This is insane, he thought. He shook the idea away from his head and grabbed some grass and started nibbling it. He needed a diversion---anything, just to dislodge the feelings sprouting inside him.

CHAPTER 11

Gaby turned around to face Mark after she clicked off her mobile. “I'm sorry,” she began, bending down to pick her bag and blanket. “I have to go. My cousin is going insane and wants me home.”

A sad look flashed in his face. “So soon?” he asked, stepping forward to come into contact with her.

She nodded. “‘Fraid so,” she sighed sadly. Will I see you again? She asked silently.

Not knowing where he got the courage to touch her face, Mark brushed her cheeks with his thumbs, caressing them and liking the feel of her soft cheeks on his palms. I want to see you again, he thought. I want to be with you soon. “Gaby, I…” he stammered, his throat lodged with fear.

She looked away, wishing Mark’s eyes wouldn’t look at her so sweetly. “I have to go,” she quickly said, moving away from him. “Bye.”

With that, Mark was left alone in the woods. Suddenly he felt like running after her and make her comeback. But he didn't. He's got his pride and he doesn't want to lose it just because of a girl who’s making his heart pound like a jackhammer.

<< previous chapters next chapters >>

In the Arms of an Angel - main page