How to Be a Guardian Angel -- Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The suffocating sensation of a blanket over my face is what made me return from my little world; not the sounds of plastic bags that I should have heard when Cash had come back. I didn’t move from my spot, but instead looked out the windows to regain my bearings. It was futile, given that the raining clouds didn’t tell time. The purple-black masses didn’t give me the chills they once had, but now, as I watched them, I almost understood them. With a weak smile, I closed my eyes, and listened to more of what was going on around me. A navy blue comforter was what was covering me carefully, placed there right out of it’s new bag by Cash. From around the kitchen came the sounds of bags being emptied and boxes being opened. Then, it was the unclasping of a case that made me leap up.

The sound was too familiar, as I looked over to where Cash was huddled, to be anything other than what I knew it was. My old companion, my treasure, had to be just beyond there.

“Cash?” I asked, as he looked back to where I was standing, hand on the counter.

“Yes, Ang?” He said, his half smile placed perfectly on his lips. My smile couldn’t have been broader as I skidded knees first next to him to see what he’d opened, and there – in front of my new eyes – sat my guitar, cleaned and freshly stringed.

“You really did keep it for me,” I whispered, almost in shock. Cash nodded as he picked the guitar up gently and held it up for me to see.

“Of course, I had to do some vanity work on it. All those dings and dents didn’t really work for you – you deserved something nice. I guess, though, I knew you wouldn’t want to part with your old friend.”

I didn’t know what to say to him, as he stood and began unloading more bags. “I went to my storage locker to get it. You may need to tune it – because it’s been sitting there for a month or two. The strings are some of the latest, so it may not be too bad. You know new strings though, always finicky.” I took my time looking over the instrument, and found where the biggest of the gashes in the guitar’s finish had been. The fix on it was very clean, and it took me a few seconds to find it, but the nostalgia of the instrument made me feel like I could fly. The music that suddenly flooded my mind once more made me smile – each and every word weighed with many memories.

And now, the memories didn’t seem so bad.

Closing the guitar back in it’s case for now, I stood to look at what Cash was doing. Already on the counter top lay multiple pairs of jeans, socks, a few tee shirts and what looked like four sweaters that looked more than a little expensive.

“Cash, why’s all of this here?” I asked, though I already had guessed his answer.

“You can’t wear those every day, can you?” He asked, looking me over with a questioning smile. I shrugged, and pulled a quick retort.

“You never complained before – I’ve almost always dressed like this,” I said, and leaned my elbows on the counter, peeking into another bag casually. There was a jacket in there. A pea coat, to be exact. It’s black fabric looked soft, but before I reached in, Cash distracted me. “Why don’t you go change? I mean, I’d like to know that I got the right stuff.” He said, looking away conveniently as I tried to see his expression.

“Fine,” I said, hiding the curiosity that had suddenly bitten the back of my mind.

I went into his room, a couple bags in hand, and closed the door. I locked it, quietly, then set the bags on the floor. Fresh underwear made me blush, as I opened the bags. Then, I saw the clothes. Jeans, a tee shirt, a sweater. Socks, and my sneakers. A 'well-collected casual', I thought. Making sure my long hair was still tied back, I walked out.

“Okay, genius. How do I look?” I asked. He looked away from the TV, and after a brief moment, smiled broadly.

“Well, it’s good to know that my guessing skills are dead on,” he said, and then ran a hand through his blonde hair.

“That doesn’t answer the question,” I sighed, putting a flippant hand on my hip and eying him. He arched an eyebrow at the attitude, but then laughed quietly.

“You look great, Krista. You always do.” He said, unfazed by his own words. I blushed again, realizing that he’d actually been looking.

Then, I realized I was blushing. Okay, so I could blush? But, I couldn’t cry? No, that wasn’t the case. I hadn’t cried before, because I didn’t need to. The thought made me frown, but then I thought better of it, and walked over to join him over at the sofa. Cash moved his feet off of the other side of the sofa to let me sit next to him, and I almost automatically recognized the old action movie he was watching. “Big Trouble in Little China?” I asked, almost surprised with his taste.

“Yeah, so?” He replied, looking at me with a puzzled look. “Oh, nothing.” I said, and snuggled in with the comforter Cash once again put over me.

“I bought an air mattress, too. So even if you don’t want to accept the perfect hospitality, you’ll have something better than a sofa.” He reached over and ruffed the top of my head playfully, even slightly condescendingly, but I knew it was still a friendly gesture.

The movie continued on, but before long my attention was drawn away by Cash – though not though anything he was doing. Looking at him as he watched the movie, I wondered how I had never guessed that he was immortal. I mean, sure, he’d never been injured in any of the fights I’d known about. He’d also never had a single blemish – no acne, no old scars – though I’d always supposed he’d just been a lucky teenager. He was a couple years older than me, in appearance. Maybe 21? 23? I’d never asked – and he’d never told. His blonde hair reflected the dim light from the outside, as we’d turned the lights down a few moments after my sitting down. His dark eyes focused on the movie, or at least seemed to. Part of me told me he knew I was looking at him – but was letting me be.

Shifting so that I wouldn’t be able to look at him anymore, I decided to close my eyes. I’d seen the movie many times before – my father had enjoyed the movie almost as much as my siblings had, what seemed like so long ago now. It seemed like so much had changed since the naive years I’d spent at home. Sighing, I swallowed the fact that I would never be able to go back to those days. Maybe it would be best to forget them, even.

It wasn’t until now that I realized I’d actually returned to my numb place – and had apparently seemed to have fallen asleep. Cash was walking around, and when I opened my eyes, I saw the mattress was inflated. He was walking to his room, apparently leaving me for the evening. “Goodnight, Krista.” He said, looking back at me. Yes, he did know when I was looking at him.

“Goodnight, Cash.”

When he was in his room, the door closed, I went to lay on the bed. Realizing that I was still in my clothes, I walked over to the plastic bags. Finding a pair of pajama shorts, I took my new jeans off, and laid them and the sweater on the counter once I’d refolded them.