Chapter Eleven

CHAPTER ELEVEN

　

I trailed behind Gauge as he entered his living room, and stared at the bare skin on his back in awe. I let my eyes glide over him appreciatively before settling my gaze on each side of his shoulders, where there were two angry looking scars. I swallowed hard and moved to touch one of them.

He turned fast clasping my hand in his. "I would prefer if you didn't do that." He said trying to keep his composure.

I bit my lip and nodded furiously. "Mmm, okay."

He then quickly retrieved his shirt from the arm of the couch, where it was most likely tossed carelessly before I arrived. I sighed inwardly as he tugged it over his head covering his beautifully sculpted body.

I tried to keep the image of Gauge getting his wings ripped off from surfacing, but all I could picture after seeing his scars was the memory that Drake had planted in my mind earlier. I cringed and pinched the bridge of my nose remembering the horrible stinging feeling that seemed to accompany Drake's presence.

"Alright spill." Gauge gestured toward me.

"Huh?" I tried to play dumb, I didn't want him to know that Drake was bothering me, and I still conveniently hadn't mentioned the stinging sensation that his touch always solicits.

"I know something's bothering you." He looked kind of angry now.

I felt my forehead wrinkle in confusion at his anger.

"Lace, you're killing me here." He groaned grabbing at his hair again.

"What did I do?" I gasped.

"I can't protect you if you keep stuff from me. I'm horrified that Richard did this to you." He gestured to the bruise on my face."I can't see when you need my help anymore, and I can tell there's something you're not telling me." He was starting to sound frantic.

"Calm down Gauge." I tried to move toward him but he backed away from me looking everywhere but at me.

"Tell me what happened with Drake." He sighed.

"Wha-"

"I can sense that he was near you today, and I can smell that he touched you." He sighed again, more heavily this time. "We can sense each other, and it's probably my fault that he is bothering you, because he knows that I've been around you, just as I know when he's been around you."

I cleared my throat and stared down at my finger nails trying to feign indifference before speaking. "Nothing big, he just showed me one of his memories."

Gauge was now looking livid. "What did he show you?" He whispered.

"Nothing of importance." I shrugged not wanting to tell him.

"What did he show you Lacey?" He was now shouting.

"Gauge." I warned feeling a little on edge because he was yelling at me.

"I have a right to know." He half growled trying (but failing miserably) to keep from yelling at me again.

He was really close to me now and I could feel the anger crackling around him.

"Stop." I whispered.

He was now pretty much on top of me just looking at me with a pained expression. "You saw it happen." He stated.

"Gauge, I-"

He interrupted me by ripping his shirt over his head violently. I gasped out loud staring at his bare chest, and the black ink that took up his side before he turned around showing me the scarred skin again. I stared at the two harsh looking thick red lines that marred his back, and felt my eyes starting to tear up.

I couldn't handle the fact that I was the reason this happened to him. He should be up in Heaven, he may not seem very angelic but he had such a beautiful soul.

"I'm sorry." I choked out and sprinted out of his house not able to face him.I was just about to my car when I felt a his strong arms around my waist.

"I would do it again to be able to do this." He turned me to him and kissed me. The kiss started out innocently enough before escalating to a full on make-out session on his front lawn. I felt him pull back from me and I whimpered from the loss of contact.

"Lace, I was in love with you, but I couldn't do something as simple as hold your hand." He then grabbed my good hand in his and kissed it causing me to sigh.

"I guess I'm just greedy." He whispered roughly causing me to shiver.

"Lets go inside." He offered before kissing the top of my head lightly.

"Kay." I answered timidly still feeling horribly guilty.

Once we were safely inside Gauge walked with his arms around me until my back came up against a wall.

"What are you doing?" I raised my brow at him.

He rested his arms on the wall behind me on either side of my head, and all I could smell was him. His close proximity causing my head to spin as I breathed him in. He still didn't have his shirt on and he leaned in even closer to me before whispering in my ear with his husky voice. "As much as you'll let me."

I opened my mouth to speak, but his lips crashed down on mine before I could mutter a word. I felt like I was drunk because of how dizzy I was. I let my hands travel up his chest and over his shoulders to his back, before resting them on the raised skin where his wings would have been. He let out a low moan and pressed his body up against mine.

I could feel every inch of him on me, EVERY INCH.

He lifted me up and leaned me up against the wall continuing to kiss me. I started breathing really heavily, my heart rate accelerating full throttle. I couldn't touch him enough, and I felt like I couldn't get him close enough to me, and that simply wasn't true because his body was crushed up against mine. My hand started traveling lower and lower down his abdomen.

"Woah, easy girl." He whispered grabbing my arms and pinning them down to keep me from touching him. He laughed as I pouted like a five year old. God I wanted him.

"Lace." He whispered carrying me over to his couch before placing me softly on one of the cushions.

"Yeah?" I smiled lazily still feeling a little buzzed from our kiss.

"You're not going home tonight."

"Okay." I pursed my lips together trying to figure out what I was going to do.

"You'll stay here."

"Um, I don't think Richard will handle that idea well, and my mom is basically a brainwashed zombie." I bit at the skin around my thumbnail nervously.

"Just say you're staying at a friends." He shrugged.

"Mmm-"

"You're not going back to that house until I figure something out to keep you safe." He was kneeling in front of where I was sitting with his arms on either side of me. I stared down at his beautiful eyes and thought about the first time I saw him.

"Okay, I'll tell them I'm staying at Krystal's."

He handed my phone to me nodding. "Do it now."

I let out a sigh and took the phone from him feeling anxious. My mom still hadn't seen what Richard did to my face, and he probably already has her believing that I got hurt some other bogus way. I didn't even want to talk to her, and I definitely didn't want to talk to Richard either. I listened as the line conected and started ringing, my heart beating rapidly in my chest making me feel like hanging up. Someone picked up on the other end, and I felt like I was going to burst into a billion tiny pieces, like the mirror on the floor in my room.

"Hello?" My mom answered timidly sounding like a scared little mouse.

"Um, hey mom." I sighed pinching the bridge of my nose as Gauge picked a piece of lint off my pants.

She was silent on the other end.

"I'm gonna stay over my friend Krystal's house tonight, we have a school project that we need to finish up." I said all this as I looked into Gauge's silver and gold eyes.

"Alright honey, be careful." She sounded so weak.

"Right, see you later." I muttered before hanging up, I mean who was she kidding? I was more apt to get hurt at home at this point. I sighed and rested my head against the pillow behind me keeping my eyes closed for a moment.

Gauge's voice cut through my thoughts. "Talk to me Lace."

I opened one eye to peek at him and then clamped it back shut.

He then proceeded to tackle me off the couch causing a house rattling bang when we hit the floor.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I hissed.

"Sorry I guess I'm just as crazy around you, as you are around me." He chuckled. "I seem to remember a certain somebody tackling me to the assphalt in a parking lot."

"You were walking away from me before I could explain myself, because you're so hot headed and impulsive." I snarked feeling myself flush.

"What Lacey?" He cracked a playful smile rolling so that he was positioned over me. "What was that? I'm hot?!"

"I said hot headed, GAH." I tapped him playfully on the head "Could this thing get any bigger?"

He just looked at me then, eyes wide and mouth twitching at my remark. "No need to talk dirty love."

"You're impossible Gauge." I sighed.

"I'm just trying to cheer you up, I can't stand to see you sad." He looked down at me with concern.

"I'll be fine." I stated weakly.

"I shouldn't have been so selfish, I should have stayed up there and kept watching over you." He sighed.

I moved out from underneath him on the floor and sat up leaning against the couch.

"Your previous life got cut short because I couldn't save you, and now you're miserable in this life. I shouldn't have interfered." He looked really upset.

"But Gauge, I love having you in my life."

He looked at me with shame in his eyes making me curious as to just what happened to me in my last life. "I still would have been a part of your life, I would have been able to keep you safe, but I had to be greedy so I started making myself visible to you. I had to get to know you personally, I was obsessed." He sighed. "I caused an all out war because I was acting like hormonal child."

I shook my head in response.

"I mean take today for example, I couldn't even control myself! I practically attacked you against the wall."

"I definitely contributed to that attack. Gauge, I want you just as much as you want me. None of my misery is your fault, so stop blaming yourself."

He looked at me and smiled weakly. "I really am in love with you Lacey."

I felt my eyes tear up and my heart fill with warmth. "I'm in love with you too."

Later that night when we were watching T.V. I was working up the courage to ask about my past life. I was chewing intensely on my lip to the point I was surprised I didn't draw blood when there was a knock at the door.

Who could that be?