Halfway to the parking lot she realized the coach was still running after her. He was yelling something but her ear hummed with the wind, or maybe it was dread. Rain drops began to bounce off her face. The adrenaline thrashed through her body and she picked up the speed.
When she finally turned the corner and saw the parking lot her heart sank. Of the few cars that had been there when they arrived, only two were left. Her heart pounded as her eyes searched around for anyone. She heard a car engine and tried to make out what direction it was coming from.
The car sped around the corner up toward the direction she’d just come from.
“Hey!” She yelled waving her arms in the air. But the car was going too fast. It was out of sight and she dare not run back in that direction. She could barely catch her breath and didn’t think she could run anymore anyway. Her stomach bottomed out when she saw the coach turn the corner.
“Sarah, wait. I wanna apologize.”
He ran slowly and Sarah could see he was just as exhausted as she was. She looked around for anything she could use as a weapon. There was nothing and still no one in sight.
“Don’t come near me,” Sarah could barely get the words out she was breathing so hard.
But her words did nothing to deter him. He charged at her with that crazed heat still in his eyes.
CHAPTER 29
Angel skidded to a stop when he realized it was the coach he’d just seen running up the trail. But he was alone. Where was Sarah? He looked down the trail. Maybe she’d fallen behind. Would the idiot really leave her alone?
Eric and Romero had eagerly volunteered to help him find Sarah and were driving around the park as well. He texted Eric to let them know he’d found them and where.
Angel peered through his rearview mirror and saw the coach turn into the parking lot he’d just passed up. The rain was beginning to come down harder now. He put the car in reverse and backed up fast.
The tires screeched as he turned into the parking lot and saw Sarah talking to the perv next to his car. He was too close to her and her stance seemed defensive. Angel pulled up next to them, turned off the car and jumped out.
Sarah’s expression crumbled when she saw him and she hurried to him. His fist tightened and he was immediately between Sarah and the coach.
“What happened? What’s wrong?” He asked her.
Her frightened eyes enraged him. The coach answered for her. “It was just a misunderstanding.”
Angel turned away from Sarah’s tearful eyes very slowly. His pulse throbbed in his ear. He spoke as calmly as he could manage. “What was a misunderstanding?”
The coach seemed to take it in stride. “We were talking. You know, about you and the break up. She got a little emotional. I was just trying to comfort her.”
Angel’s jaw tightened. The word comfort had never sounded so obscene. He could hardly contain himself anymore. He looked at Sarah’s frightened eyes. “Is that what happened? Tell me the truth.”
Something in her eyes flickered when he said the word truth. Her trembling lips tore him apart.
She put her hands over her mouth then said it, “He attacked me.”
No sooner had she said the words than Angel was lunging at the coach. “You son of a bitch!” He growled, landing a nose crushing punch to the face.
The coach stumbled back, his hands immediately to his nose. His face was a bloody mess. Angel raged after him landing another blow to the chin knocking the coach against the car. Angel charged at him ready to pound him unconscious, but his arms were held back by Eric and Romero. He managed a hard kick that caught the coach right in the groin, tumbling him to ground moaning.
“Holy shit, Angel. You kicked his ass,” Romero stared at the coach withering in pain on the ground.
Even as he watched the bloody trail from the coaches face run down the parking lot he wasn’t satisfied. He’d been enraged many times before but nothing compared to what he felt now. The bastard was lucky Eric and Romero showed up or who knows what may have happened.
Angel ignored Romero and rushed back to Sarah. He put one hand on her shoulder and searched her stunned eyes. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
Sarah shook her head. “No, he just scared me,” She sniffed. “He tried to kiss me and held me hard but I got away and ran. He’d just caught up to me. Oh, Angel if you hadn’t gotten here. I don’t know what would’ve happened. He was crazy.”
She threw her arms around his neck and he held her tight. The smell and feel of her in his arms was the only thing that calmed the tornado inside him.
They left the coach there to fend for himself but Angel drove straight to the La Jolla police. He insisted Sarah make a report immediately. He sat with her the entire time holding her hand. They put out a warrant for the coaches arrest. The police woman warned Sarah that it would probably get messy being that he was a teacher but encouraged her to be brave and stick with it so he wouldn’t be free to do this again to anyone else.
Angel would make sure of it. They walked out of the station. He’d seen her send her calls to voicemail the whole time they’d been in there. Angel was sure it was Sydney. Just as they put their seatbelts on, Sarah’s phone went off again and she finally answered it.
She greeted him and then her voice broke. “I know. I’m sorry I was at the police station…..no I’m okay. Yes, I’m with Angel. I’ll tell you about it later okay?” She lowered her voice but Angel heard it and wished to God he hadn’t. “I love you too.”
The blatant jealousy scorched through him. He stepped on the gas. Just a few hours ago he was anxious to kill for her, and now he just wanted her out of his car, his life.
He sped into her driveway. The rain was really coming down. He didn’t bother to turn the engine off or even attempt to soften his tone. “I hope you make sure that asshole goes to jail.”
Sarah nodded and gathered her things and the plastic zip lock the police woman had stuck all her paperwork in to keep it dry from the rain. “Thank you, Angel. You really saved me today… I don’t know what else to say to you. I just wish…”
She didn’t finish and opened the door in a hurry to get out.
He was out of patience. “Wish what, Sarah?”
“That I could understand how you got over me so fast,” She got out and closed the door.
Angel let his head fall back on his seat. Unbelievable.
He turned off the engine, opened the car door and jumped out. “You really think I’m over you?” He yelled over the hood of car.
Sarah didn’t answer. She didn’t even turn around she was halfway up the walk.
Angel charged around the car toward her. He called her name again and she stopped and turned around. Angel saw she was crying.
“I can’t even imagine being over you and moving on, but you’re already with someone else.”
“What?” He couldn’t believe she was doing this. “Don’t throw this shit back on me, Sarah. I’m not the one who-”
“Angel, I know you ran back to Dana two days after we broke up.”
Angel could see she was furious, and his mind raced to think about what she’d just said. “I went to talk to her, that’s all.”
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter, I hope you two are happy,” She began to turn back toward the house.
“No, no, wait,” Angel took a few steps forward. He wasn’t about to let her turn this on him. “Only reason I wanted to talk to her was because she had information on you.”
Sarah spun around. “What the hell would she know about me?”
“Someone saw you that night. The night you and Sydney were holding hands and hugging on the beach,” Just the image tossed his insides. “She called me that night to tell me and it made no sense to me. I ignored it. But after finding out the truth, I wanted to confirm exactly what it was she had seen.”
Thinking about sitting there and getting the confirmation from Dana, made him relive the pain, and he started to walk away. He was so
done with all of this.
“I’m so sick of crying over you, Angel,” He heard Sarah sob. “You’ll never understand about me and Sydney and he’s always going to be a part of my life.”
It killed him to hear her so upset. But she was right. He’d never accept it. He couldn’t. He turned around to face her. She looked as broken as he felt. But it only made him angrier, she’d done this damn it. Not him. “What do you want me to understand, Sarah? You really expect me to be okay with you moving in with this guy? This guy you’re in love with?”
“I. Am. Not… in love with him!” she yelled. “I love him, it’s different.”
They were both getting soaked but it didn’t matter. Angel had a feeling this would be the last time he’d ever talk to her and he wasn’t holding anything back. He laughed in disbelief. “Like a brother, Sarah?”
“Yes!”
He stalked forward but stopped a few yards away from her. “What about the dress?”
Sarah stared at him wide eyed at an apparent loss. Angel was glad the storm was so loud or his booming voice might bring out the neighbors. He could see Sarah trying to make sense of what he was yelling about.
“That fucking dress, Sarah! You’ve never dressed like that for me, but you wore it for your brother? You expect me to believe-”
“It was for you.” She cried.
She was still lying. Incredible. Angel clenched his teeth but was unable to calm his voice. He was too riled up. “I wasn’t even gonna see you that night!”
“But you were!” Her eyes lit up. “Remember? You were supposed to pick me up but then Sydney showed up last minute. I didn’t want you to find out like that so I left with him and called you.”
Angel thought about it for a second, still breathing hard. It didn’t make sense. She never dressed that way.
Sarah dropped everything in her hands on the lawn hurried toward him. She stood right in front of him and Angel looked into her flooded eyes. “This is gonna sound so stupid. I was gonna to tell you that night about Sydney. I swear. I worried about it the whole day. Valerie came up with the idea that dressing that way would distract you. I don’t know, make things easier. I didn’t have time to change when he got there. But the dress, the hair, all of it was for you, Angel, not him.”
Feeling an enormous weight lift from his heart and being so close to her, he had to resist pulling her to him. But he did move the wet strands of hair away from her face. Her eyes searched his. For the first time since they’d broken up, he began to feel a glimmer of hope. If only he could get past her going back to live with Sydney. “So, when do you go back to Arizona?”
She sniffed, and bit her lip. “I may not.”
Angel’s heart had just started to calm and he felt it start up again. He lifted an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“My mom may be getting out of jail sooner than we thought. Maybe a couple months. That’s why I’m still here. I went to see her and she asked me to hold on a little longer. But she also said it was up to me where we would live once she’s out.”
His eyes searched hers now. “So, what are you gonna do?”
“That depends.” She had that crinkle between her eyebrows.
Angel frowned. There was always something. “On what?”
“On you.” She seemed to hold her breath.
It took a second for it to sink in. But when it did he pulled her into his arms. She was startled but laughed. “Don’t play with me, Sarah. You’ll really stay?”
Her eyes welled up again. “You want me to?”
Angel smiled bringing his hands to her face and touched his forehead to hers. He stared in her beautiful eyes before kissing her tenderly. He’d missed her scent, her lips, her taste so much. He was never letting her go again.
Sarah pulled away and gazed in his eyes. “I love you, Angel.”
Hearing her say it for the first time choked him up. “Say it again,” he whispered.
Her eyes sparkled and she laughed. “I love you.”
“I love you too, baby.”
CHAPTER 30
Sarah laid there tracing the engraving on the chain around Angel’s neck with her fingers. She glanced at her wrist and smiled at the charm bracelet. She’d taken it off and refused to even look at it the entire time they were broken up, almost mailed it to him, when she’d lost all hope. Something in her heart wouldn’t let her and she was glad now she hadn’t.
After a week of being back together they still couldn’t get their fill of each other. Angel made sure he closed the restaurant every night ever since and Sarah was right there with him each night. She wondered if his parents had any idea of the things they did in that back room.
Angel lifted himself up on his elbow and played with her hair. “How’d you get so close?” He stared in her eyes. “You and Syd?”
Ever since they’d been back together Sarah made it a point to keep any talk of Sydney to a minimum and up until now Angel really hadn’t asked too much. She knew once the dust settled it would be coming and now here it was. She’d prepared herself, she wasn’t keeping anything from him again. No matter how uncomfortable.
“Well, I told you we moved a lot when I was little. So, I never had any friends. As soon as I made them I had to leave them. By the time we moved to Flagstaff, I’d given up making friends. Then Syd befriended me,” she smiled remembering. “He didn’t have any friends either, though he didn’t admit it at first. He was really chubby.”
“Sydney was fat?” Angel seemed amused by that.
Sarah smiled trying not to roll her eyes. “Yes, he got pretty big in middle school. I just never made much other friends ‘cause I wasn’t sure how long we were gonna be there. Then my mom told me her job was made permanent and we were staying put. By then me and Syd had already gotten pretty close. Since my mom was always gone, I spent a lot of time at his place. It became my home away from home and his family treated me like their own.”
Angel’s eyebrow lifted. “And he never made a move?”
Sarah shook her head. “Never. Like I said he was real heavy for a while there and very self conscious about it and I was self conscious about my teeth.”
“Your teeth? You have beautiful teeth.”
“Yeah, now, after three years of braces. They were a crooked mess before. So, me and Syd, were a couple of self conscious misfits who leaned on each other for years,” She smiled again thinking of the memories. Angel was staring at her so she went on. “Anyway, middle school is when I started nagging him about losing weight. That’s when I started running. It all began to get him to lose weight. We started to run every day, that’s when my love for running began. By high school he’d lost so much weight, then he stretched and that really helped. We joined the track team together and now you’d never even know he was so heavy.”
Angel chuckled. “Yeah, I would’ve never guessed he was a fat ass.”
Sarah frowned but was glad Angel wasn’t being uptight about it. Angel leaned over and kissed her sweetly. It amazed her how happy it made her just being with him.
He kissed her some more and then it came, “Babe, I know he’s your friend. And I’m gonna try my damndest to be as understanding about this as I can, but I need to know everything. I can’t have you keeping things from me, again, especially when it comes to him. So, if he ever calls you, I don’t need to know everything you two talk about, I just don’t want you keeping it from me.”
He must’ve seen something in her expression, or felt her tense up because he stopped then asked, “What?”
“You want me to tell you every time he calls?”
Angel’s eyes narrowed, “How often does he call, Sarah?”
Just like that, the complete honesty thing went out the window. Sarah knew it was wrong but with that look in his eyes and the tone of his voice there was no way the truth was going fly here. Telling him their calls were daily was out of the question. “Well, he doesn’t do the calling every time, but we talk …a few times a week.”
Sarah saw Angel trying to stay poised. He rolled his neck like he always did as if that would somehow release the tension. As far as she knew it never worked.
“I’ll work on it,” she added quickly.
“What does that mean? I’ll work on it? Is it really that big a sacrifice?”
“No, but…you just don’t understand-”
“I’m trying to,” he laid his head back, putting his hand behind his head.
Sarah lifted herself onto her elbow. “Is once a week too much?”
He stared at her but said nothing and now it was her turn to do the kissing. She leaned over and pecked his lips, then kissed the dimple that formed on his cheek with his furrowed expression.
He put his free hand behind her neck. “Sarah, Babe, I don’t want you to think I’m being insensitive. I get he’s your long time friend and all. It’s just gonna take me some time to get used to this.”
Sarah kissed him a little longer this time. “I know it is. We’ll make this work. We have to ‘cause I don’t want to be apart from you ever again.”
Angel smiled, and pulled her to him with both arms now. “I love hearing you say stuff like that,” He kissed her long and deep then stopped to add. “And yeah, I wanna know every time you talk to him.”
Sarah was just going to have to cut down on the talks with Sydney because lying to Angel was a thing of the past. She wouldn’t be making that mistake again. They made love again and then Angel took Sarah home without another word about Sydney.
***
Angel’s heart almost stopped when Sarah called him crying. He couldn’t make out a word she was saying. But then he heard her laugh in the midst of all the crying. “She’s getting out the day after tomorrow!”
For weeks they’d been waiting on the date and finally Sarah’s mom was being released from jail. Angel couldn’t be happier. Sarah’s mom would be there for her during the coach’s trial.
“I told you, baby, believe.” It was late in the evening and a school night but they still stayed up and talked. At first Sarah had the insane idea that she was going to Arizona alone to pick up her mom. Like she had when they were broken up. There was no way Angel was going to let that happen.