Zadkiel – The Archangel of Mercy
Chaise picked me up at nine in the morning. When I hopped into his car, I noticed that the white SUV was gone.
I almost backed out of coming to this weekend getaway. I felt uncertain about how Denise’s cousins would react to me. One of his cousins already didn’t like me that much, he was trying his best to forget he even knew me at all.
When we got to Denise’s house, she was already in the front garden waiting. She almost cursed at Chaise for being late. She went inside a black SUV and I could see there were people with her.
Just then, a beautiful white Escalade went out of the garage and went ahead of us. It looked a lot like the car that was parked in front of my house last night.
As soon as the Escalade was in motion, Denise drove behind it, signaling Chaise to start his engine and follow.
“How long is this drive?” I asked Chaise.
“Not sure. But it could be more than half an hour.”
I yawned, my eyes getting heavier by the second. My lack of sleep last night was catching up on me.
“Sleepy?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Go ahead and close your eyes. I will wake you up when we get there.”
I leaned back on Chaise’s passenger seat and immediately drifted off. I was panting when Chaise tapped my cheeks. I sat up on the seat, ready to shield my face from the blow that I thought was coming.
But nothing came. Sunlight hit my skin and I could smell the fresh scent of the earth.
Chaise was looking at me with a worried expression on his face. I realized that I was having one of those nightmares again. They rarely came then. But when they did, they didn’t feel like nightmares at all. They were fresh memories replaying in my head over and over again.
I sighed in relief when I realized that I was safe. I looked at Chaise’s handsome face and I knew nothing would hurt me where I was. After all, my guardian angel was just sitting right next to me.
“I’m sorry. Are we here?”
Chaise nodded. Then he asked, “Are you alright? It looked like you were having some nightmares.”
I shook my head. “I’m okay.”
We went out of the car and took our bags from the backseat. We approached Denise. She was with two guys and two girls who were all eyeing us curiously. The girls were stealing side glances at Chaise. I couldn’t blame them. Chaise was really cute, no doubt about that.
The two guys were Ben and Ross. The girls introduced themselves as April and Mica. While they looked interested in Chaise, they barely smiled at me. Mica didn’t even hide the fact that she was curious about my scars when the wind blew the opposite direction and made my hair fly away from my face, revealing the monstrous patch of skin I hid underneath a mass of hair.
The Escalade’s door opened. My heart skipped a beat when I saw the familiar figure stepping out of it, wearing a pair of jeans, black shirt and sleek pitch-dark sunglasses.
The SUV that looked a lot like the car in front of my house last night and this morning belonged to Hunter.
Was it him in front of my house?
I heard my thoughts in my own head.
What would Hunter Vaughn be doing in front of my house all night?
For a moment, I was scared that Tania would be with him. I prayed so hard that she wasn’t. This weekend would be an even worse nightmare than it already was.
I heard Chaise’s silent groan when he saw Hunter. I also did not miss the hard intakes of breath coming from Mica and April.
I stared at them curiously.
Cousin, right?
Mica caught me staring at her and realized how obvious they were in ogling at Hunter. She glared at me. I just shook my head and looked away. Tania was nowhere in sight. But I was still pretty sure this weekend was going to be epic!
The house was a magnificent combination of wood and glass. The ceilings were high and the walls facing the beautiful view of the lake was made of glass, making the whole house almost visible to anybody on the opposite side.
“Why don’t you do the honors of touring us, Hunter?” Denise asked.
Hunter just raised a brow at her. “Go knock yourself out,” he replied and then left us to disappear through the glass doors.
Denise rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t even care!”
“Why does he need to come anyway?” Ben asked. Obviously, he wasn’t fond of Hunter either.
“Because Dad thought there should be somebody older than me who should be in-charge. I don’t completely agree because Hunter is only a few months older. But then again, this is actually Hunter’s house.”
“Isn’t he too young to own a house?” Ross asked.
“He’s eighteen,” Denise replied. “After his operation, he gained access to his trust funds and inheritance from his mom. Part of that inheritance is his own place. He chose this one. Yet he barely comes here. And when you guys came, Mom thought it would be a good idea for this house to have visitors.”
Chaise rolled his eyes and I had to nudge him with my elbow.
Denise led us all towards the glass staircase that led to the second floor of the house. It had five massive bedrooms. Denise announced the room assignments. The master’s bedroom, of course, would be occupied by Hunter. According to Denise, she’d seen all the parts of the house in her previous visits, but nobody was allowed inside the master’s bedroom.
Denise and I would be sharing the room opposite Hunter’s. The two girls would room together while the two guys got another room. Chaise got the room nearest to the staircase. Chaise’s room was almost empty save for the sofa bed lying on the corner.
“Hunter planned to turn this into a game room. But I hope you will find this cozy enough,” Denise told Chaise apologetically.
“I’ll be fine.” Chaise winked at her.
Denise and I went to our room to freshen up and change into bathing suits.
“Denise, how are you cousins with them?” I asked.
“They’re my mom’s brothers’ kids. Ben, Ross and April are siblings. Mica is an only child. You have to excuse her. She’s seventeen and quite a brat.”
“So Hunter is…”
“Not related to them at all. But they’ve met him plenty of times when we were growing up,” she said.
That explained why they were drooling over him. Not related by blood. I was almost afraid that something was wrong with Denise’s family.
“What do you think of the house?” Denise asked.
“It’s a dream,” I whispered.
“Hunter has a certain preference for lakes, I guess. I don’t know why. He was so obsessed with getting a lake house after his surgery.”
I smiled to myself. I knew why Hunter liked lakes. For almost a year since he lost his mom and eyesight, that garden by the lake was what made him feel safest. It had been his refuge… a place where he found a haven.
“There’s a smaller cabin on the opposite side of the lake. It’s part of this property.” Denise said, interrupting my thoughts. “It only has one bedroom and a fireplace. The water on that side is much more suitable for swimming. We will go there in a while.”
I emerged from the bathroom wearing a pair of white shorts and a decent blue bikini top. I had this swimming outfit for more than a year as a gift from Meredith, but I never wore them. There was no need for me to go swimming. I couldn’t even swim to save my life.
Denise gave me a smile of approval. “See? That’s one of the reasons why Chaise is crazy about you!”
“Denise!” I groaned at her.
“I’m just saying. You’re pretty. And your body… rocks!” Okay, in a way, that wasn’t really a lie. I didn’t always show much skin but I did have a slender figure and a flat belly. I didn’t exercise much but since I was so careful about spending money, I got to walk a lot, which had its own advantages too.
I took a smaller bag with me and stuffed it with one set of clothes that I could change into. The others were already in the patio, all dressed in their swimming outfits. Chaise was staring at me as I walked towards him, I actually felt self-conscious.
“Stop that!” I hissed at him.
He laughed and pushed a lock of hair away from my face.
“You never cease to take my breath away, rock princess,” he said.
“And you never cease to make me feel guilty about it, Chaise,” I said evenly.
He smiled at me but that smile did not exactly touch his eyes. “Maybe someday, babe.”
I sighed. “Chaise… could you also not… call me that?”
“Babe?” he asked, his eyes twinkling playfully.
I nodded. “It gives others the wrong impression about us.”
“I don’t really care what others think. I can’t hear their thoughts, you see,” he grinned playfully.
I sighed. “But I care. Because it makes them hate me even more.”
He raised a brow. “Why?”
I shrugged. “People can’t seem to believe that I could get a guy like you.”
“They better believe it. Because you got me. Unfortunately, it does not work both ways.”
“They can’t hurt or touch you. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work both ways too.”
Chaise sighed in frustration. “Okay. I’ll stop.”
I smiled up at him. “Come on, Denise is getting impatient.”
We went to the dock.
“What are we doing here?” Chaise asked when we reached Denise. She was only with Mica.
“We’re going to the cabin on the other side. The water there is better for swimming. Hunter took Ross, Ben and April already. The speedboat could only carry four at a time. We’re waiting for one of the guys to come back and take us to the other side.”
After half an hour, we were all in the cabin in the middle of the lake. This house was small but cozy. It only had one bedroom and a big living room with a fireplace. The glass doors opened up into a huge patio with a sundeck, and loungers. The edge of the dock was about thirty meters away from the house itself.
Denise was right. The water here seemed cleaner and deeper. Denise’s cousins wasted no time jumping into the water. Denise and Chaise also dove in. I sat at the edge of the dock and watched them.
“Come on, Alice! Jump in!” Chaise urged me.
I shook my head. “I’ll be okay here. You guys have fun.” Well, the truth was, the water looked very deep and I knew I didn’t stand a chance of staying afloat the minute I dove in. There weren’t even enough posts to hold on to.
I stared at the sky. It was unusually dark for this time of the day. The clouds looked thicker and darker. I suspected that rain would come in the evening. I hoped the others realized that, too, because the speed boat could not carry all of us in one go.
I heard music from afar. I looked to my right and found Hunter sitting in one of the loungers on the opposite end of the deck, dressed in only a pair of board shorts. He was wearing his sunglasses I wouldn’t know if he was looking at me or watching the others swim. He just acted like we didn’t exist.
I turned away from him. I felt really sad because the truth was… he had been acting like I didn’t exist at all. Not only did he make me feel like he didn’t know me, he made me feel that he didn’t give a damn.