How to Be a Guardian Angel -- Chapter 3

Chapter Three

It was already past noon when Cash and I finished. My case was pretty full by then, and it was an amazing sensation to have the people look at me like they did now. A street rat with talent – I guess they never saw that one coming. At the thought, I laughed aloud, and made Cash look up at me in surprise from where he was sitting. “So, lunch?” He asked, the puzzled look fading from his face as quickly as it had come.

“Totally,” I said, closing my guitar into it’s case and pocketing the money. “You’ll get the share,” I said, when I saw his eyes follow the money.

“No, I don’t want it,” his voice cut through the air, as his eyes locked with mine. “It’s yours, really.” His brown eyes were stern, so I didn’t argue, even though I was completely confused by his reaction. “You sing beautifully – besides, I’ve got enough from other things.” Cash took my hand, and then pulled me down the park path. It wasn’t until I saw the huge China Town arch that I realized that he was taking me on yet another adventure.

“Well, this is a surprise.” My voice was tired from all the walking, and I had to admit that after this many blocks, the guitar case and it’s contents had grown heavy.

“I felt like furthering the change of pace, seeing as we’d already started one today.”

Cash had let go of my hand a while ago, but we’d walked fairly quickly to get here. Inside the exotic neighborhoods, little shops and cramped alleyways made the place shrink and gave me a minor claustrophobic reaction. It faded as we kept walking, and then was gone as we stepped into a restaurant, and then were seated.

“Have you come here before?” I asked, as we both looked at the menus.

“Nope,” his voice was light but his eyes focused on me. “I’ve been on this side of town, but I’ve never really stopped in anywhere. I just thought it would be cool to try.” He pointed to something on the menu. “I did hear that the eel is good, though. Tastes like chicken!”

I laughed, then. “Most things taste like chicken, if you cook it long enough. As for eel, though, I may have had it once or twice when I was younger.” I shrugged. “It's really good,” I smiled at him, and then saw his expression change to something like sadness - but as soon as I acknowledged it, it was gone.

“What’s up with you? That look was really weird,” I locked eyes with him then, looked away. I peeled my gloves off, and then took my jacket, and other items off. My jeans and tee shirt stood out in modern contrast to the antiquated interior of the area, then again, so did Cash’s clothes. The difference between him and I was that he seemed to stand out more all by himself. He was beautiful, and though for a girl I was pretty well off, I didn’t shine as well as he did. My voice did it for me.

“Nothing is wrong,” He said, and ran a hand through his hair. “A thought just crossed my mind – it’s nothing, really.”

I looked at him for a second, then decided that I had no reason to doubt him. “So, what do you want to eat, Angel?” He asked, after that moments pause. Angel? I paused, again, then looked at my menu.

“Don’t really know. Their Pork Fried Rice sounds like I won’t be hungry for days.” Cash nodded.

“Chinese Dumplings, depending on how they’re made, are pretty damned good too. They’ll keep you full, for sure.” Cash eyed me again from across the table.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” I smiled, and then set down my menu. “And Mountain Dew. I can’t believe that they have it, but I’m so in.”

Cash and I sat for a few minutes, then gave our requests to a young waitress. When the food arrived, we both ate in silence before the question finally popped out of my mouth. “So where did you get all the money, anyways?” I asked. He shrugged.

“I won some in a game. Nothing to worry about, or to really think about at all, if you know what’s good.” Cash winked to make it a joke, but something like a ‘just don’t go there’ hung in his tone.

“Whatever,” I sighed, and then ate. Cash’s posture slumped for a moment, like I’d overreacted to something simple. I didn’t care – there was a lot that I didn’t know about this guy, even though I’d lived with him now for almost a year, it seemed. I’d opted for him over the other ‘girls’ who looked like they would kill me for two cents.

“I’m impressed with your voice, Krista,” he said, after he had shoveled a fair bit of food into his mouth. “How long were you planning to keep that from me?”

I ignored his question, and asked my own. “If you’re capable of making good money, why are you still at the halfway?” I asked, arching an eyebrow, irritation filling me.

“Why the sudden interest?” He asked, not reacting as I blushed.

“I just -,” I started, before he shook his head. “I haven’t left yet because I knew you didn’t have anybody else. I liked you.” The brown eyes in his face had grown dark, and deep. “I’m planning on leaving soon, though. I’m tired of dealing with the constant fighting.” I nodded. Finally, an answer.

“Okay, Cash.” I said, and then payed attention to my food once more.

“I’m leaving tomorrow.” My head snapped up.

“What?” I asked, shocked. This conversation was so up and down it was giving me whiplash, but I had caused the majority of it.

“I wanted to tell you today. That’s why I brought you.” Cash looked me square in the eyes, but then looked away as the sadness returned. “I can’t tell you exactly why – I know that you won’t except that I just left because of the fighting. I never get that hurt.” He sighed, and then took a sip of his soda. “I want you to visit me, okay?”

I nodded, but the hollow sensation didn’t ebb as we continued eating. When he payed, I saw that it was all in fresh and clean bills. Bank robberies, I supposed, were a real possibility. Where else could he have gotten all the cash? I couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen now, but what, I couldn’t guess. Whatever it was that he had done though, it didn't seem to make him worry at all.

The walk back was long, but relatively quiet, unless Cash and I started were laughing at some wanna-be gangster pumping his rap up so loud in his beaten up car, acting like everybody wanted to know how big he thought he was. There were other homeless on the streets, and people watching from corners. There was also the real gangsters, and the pimps waiting for their prostitutes. Cash took my hand during these parts, while I kept my other hand gripped on the end of my knife in my pocket. It was an even darker city at night.

Cash opted for me to clean up after we got back, seeing as our towels had been cleaned and my pajamas were freshly folded out on my bed. Normally, it would have been an insult, but to me, it meant that he had phone business to take care of. He was one of the few people in the house who had a cell phone, though most of the other peoples were either being payed by families, or where the five-dollar pay-as-you-go plans that you could buy at the local drug shop. I didn’t say anything when I left, as he was dialing, but the freshening sense of foreboding drove nausea straight into my stomach.

The shower made me feel no better, even though I was happy to be clean. The hallway was silent, but it meant that I could hear the conversation on Cash’s phone. He’d never yelled in the past, but this time he was, and it was loud. I was silent as the grave as I crept back towards the door, and pressed myself against the wall. “I can’t believe you still want me to do this. You’re just going to make me stand by and do nothing? Do you understand what you’re asking me to do to her?” He yelled into the tiny cell phone receiver, inside the room. I couldn’t hear the other end of the conversation, but then Cash was quieter, as if he’d been reprimanded, or even threatened. “I know my job. Yes.” He took a deep breath. “But this is against everything I’ve been taught to do – do you understand that?”

Then there was the click of the phone being closed. And the door opened, before I could move from where I was, leaning on the wall only inches away from the crappy wooden trip of the door.

“Krista?” He asked, unsurprised but probing. I couldn’t respond to his question. Fear gripped me, but before I could move, he pulled me against his chest in a bear hug. His shirt wasn’t there, and through my pajamas I felt the warmth of him. “I’m sorry.” He said, but didn’t say anything when I tore away, and walked to my bed. I felt shaky, and I knew something was horribly wrong, but I couldn’t say without a doubt that I was the ‘her’ he’d been talking about. My teddy bear was askew on my pillow, but on Cash’s bed, lay the cell phone where he’d thrown it. The tension was palpable in the room, and a chill had settled in the room despite the heat I felt in my face.

My warm covers didn’t make the chill go away as I lay there, facing the wall – away from where Cash sat on his bed, staring at the wall in front of the two beds, at the closet. Nothing made me feel more secure. Not my worn teddy bear that I was holding close. Not the knife under my pillow. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. I couldn’t even conjure memories to drag me to sleep, as none came. I could swear I hear the hours tick by on the digital clock, though it was impossible to. They dragged on slowly, until my world eventually faded to a light sleep – and it was dawn once more.