Wingless And Beautiful episode 6

🕊WINGLESS AND BEAUTIFUL🕊
🍁EPISODE SIX🍁

If before, Chaise was pestering me, pretending to be cute
and teasing me around school, he was now staying away. I
could still see him watching me during lunch or on the
grounds when he was hanging out with some friends and I
happened to pass by. I couldn’t make out the expression on
his face. He looked genuinely hurt… or pissed.

“Did you do something to Chaise?” Denise asked me
one time during lunch. I was sitting with her at the far
corner of the cafeteria. Chaise was in the center table with
all the other popular boys and girls.
When I looked at Chaise, he was staring at me. He was
wearing a red jacket over his hooded sweater.
I stared at Denise for a while and then I shrugged.
“You know… ever since he came to school, he was
always watching you. He looked really interested.”
“Seriously?” I asked Denise. “Have you looked at my
face lately?”
Denise rolled her eyes. “Yes! And I say you’re pretty!
Prettier than most girls in this school. Prettier than Chelsea
and her gang. And they didn’t have the scars you have.”
“Exactly! I have ugly scars.”
Denise sighed. “You’re beautiful, Alice. And when you
cover your scars with your hair like that… no one would
actually guess you weren’t flawless,” she said. “Chaise must
have seen what I am seeing. Don’t you want to give him a
chance? Wasn’t he nice enough to help you out with your
job at his aunt’s shop? Maybe he really does like you.”
I shook my head.

“It’s still that guy, isn’t it?” Denise asked, looking at my
necklace. “H?”
I looked down at my pendant and remembered Hunter.
Yes. It will always be Hunter.
“You don’t know what happened to him,” Denise said.
“Maybe he’s not coming back. Has he even called you since
he left? Emailed or snail-mailed you? If he’s serious about
making you wait, he would have at least given you hope
that you are waiting for something.”
I bit my lip. I hate to admit it, but Denise had a point.
Where was Hunter? If he had a treatment, or a transplant, it
would have healed by now. If it was unsuccessful, then he
would have returned to the center. And if he’s back, he
would have called me, right? After all, Meredith’s contact
numbers were still there. He had a way of reaching me. But I
had no way of reaching him.
Has he given up on me? On us?
“Maybe it’s time you give some other guy a chance,”

Denise said. “What if Chaise was serious about you? What if
he was sincere? He knows about your scars… and he’s still
making an effort to reach out to you. Don’t you think that’s
reason enough to give him… a chance? Just get to know him
at least?”
“I don’t think so, Denise,” I said. “I don’t think I’d be
dating soon.”
“You won’t,” Denise said sadly. “Because you weren’t
even trying. Because your boyfriend… who may never come
back… still lives in you. You’re not even giving another guy
a chance. I hope you think about this. Before it’s too late.”
That night, I closed Alibri thirty minutes later than usual
because of last minute customers. Good thing, Meredith
wasn’t in town tonight. She wouldn’t like me getting home
later than ten-fifteen.

As I double-locked the doors, I turned to look at the
corner street and something caught my eye. There was a
guy standing behind the post in the corner. He was wearing
a dark gray hooded jacket. He looked like he was waiting for
someone.
Dismissing him, I began to hike. After I walked a block, I
turned to look behind me, like I always did. I saw the hooded
guy walking about thirty meters away. He walked a normal
pace… his strides didn’t look suspicious at all.

Coincidence!

I turned the corner again. After a few steps, he turned
up the same corner and walked on the same direction. This
time, I kept a faster pace to increase the distance between
us. He didn’t make an effort to walk faster. I turned the last
corner leading to my house. I ran to the porch and ins**ted
my key. I quickly got in,side and double-locked the doors. I
went to the window and took a peek. The guy walked past
my house, looked at it for a couple of seconds and then
walked away. I didn’t catch a glimpse of his face. But his
form looked like he was just a teenager.
I know it isn’t possible, but suddenly, I had a strong
feeling that it was Chaise.
But why?
I couldn’t help remembering that the last time I spoke to
him, I gave him a power slap on the face.
What if… he was following me and finding the right time
to attack? What if he couldn’t accept the fact that I rejected
him and he was thinking of avenging his ego?
The next day in school, Chaise was still the same. He
never made an attempt to talk to me anymore. But boy, if
looks could kill, I would be dead already. He kept his eyes on
me. Watching me. Sometimes, even glaring at me.

That night, I saw that guy again. He was standing in the
same corner as last night. And when I started walking, he
started walking too. My heart pounded in my chest and I
could feel all the hairs in my body rise.
I took a few short breaths and reached out for my bag to
grip my pepper spray. I took a different route tonight. Just to
see if he would still follow.
After walking a few blocks, I looked behind me and to
my dismay, the guy was also there. But he kept his distance. Sometimes, he walked much slower, making no
attempt to close the distance between us.

Was it still a coincidence? Or was he really following
me?
When I reached my porch, I turned around to look
behind me again. I saw the boy standing at the corner street
about thirty meters away from me. He just stood there and
watched me go in,side the house. Once I was safely in, I
peeked through the window. I saw him turn around and walk
away.

Now, that was really creepy!
The next night, I saw him again. I walked slower this
time, still keeping my pepper spray within reach. I held my
breath and looked behind me. There was no one there. I
sighed in relief. He didn’t follow this time. Maybe the last
two nights were just coincidences. Maybe I was just being
paranoid. After all, what could he want from me?
I kept looking behind me. I didn’t see him. I was alone,
walking the des**ted streets towards my house. For the first
time in days, I felt myself relax.
I went in,side my house and locked the door behind me. I
felt relieved. No one was stalking me. I had nothing to worry
about.

But just as if it had become a habit, I couldn’t resist
peeking through the window, just to check. My heart
dropped to my toes, I forgot to breathe and all the hairs in
my body rose to attention when I saw the familiar hooded
guy walking on the sidewalk. He turned to look at my house,
slowed his pace down for a little bit… and then jogged away.
I leaned against the wall and took a couple of deep
breaths, trying to calm my hammering pulse.
When I wrote to my diary that night, I told Hunter how
scared I was because I suspected that the boy was stalking
me. I told him it could be Chaise, the same guy who stole a
k-ss from me.
It took me a moment to realize that I was rambling in
what I was writing. But I thought that if something
happened to me, Meredith would find my diary and read it.
So, I had to make sure I leave enough clues about my
suspicions. If it wasn’t Chaise, he’d be able to prove his
innocence.

I paused from writing. Maybe I was just being paranoid.
Crazy, even.
Yes, I’m crazy for thinking that Chaise Anderson was
stalking me.
I sighed and looked at the diary before me. Maybe I was
even crazier for thinking that Hunter would get to read this
diary someday.
I touched his necklace. He said he loved me. But why
hasn’t he come back for me yet?
Is there still hope for Hunter and me?
The next day was the same as any other day. The
corridors still went abuzz about me when I walked to my
locker, girls still slipped in snide remarks intended to insult
me when I walked past them during lunchtime. Denise and I
still sat at the far corner looking like a bunch of outcasts.
“Chaise didn’t go to school today,” Denise said.

I gave her a weird look and then a teasing grin. “Okay…
that’s bordering obsession.”
“No, silly!” She giggled. “I kinda miss watching him
watch you. It’s really entertaining.”
I rolled my eyes. “For the last time, Denise, he’s not
interested in me. If he is… then it would be for scary
reasons.” I almost shivered at the thought of the boy, who I
suspected was following me every night. He had the same
height and built as Chaise. If he was Chaise… then I should
really be scared of his intentions… especially since I bruised
his ego.

That night, I closed up quite late again. I wouldn’t
usually mind the last minute shoppers. They were good for
business. But then they were making my walk home a little bit more dangerous. By nine in the evening the streets to
my house would still be well-populated. In other words, safe.
However, past ten, it was almost des**ted, to the point that
you should actually beware of the people who walked
around you… especially those that regularly followed you,
pretending to keep their distance, waiting for the right
moment to attack.
I looked around the streets before I started my journey.
No one was around. A car or two passed by, but I didn’t see
the hooded boy lurking in the shadows.
I walked two blocks in safety. However, when I turned
the corner, I saw two guys leaning by the light post. They
were wearing shabby clothes and it looked like they were
smoking pot. My heart pounded in my chest. There was no
way to avoid them, unless I turned around and walked back.

They were blocking the sidewalk. I calmly stepped out of
their way and walked past them, not making a sound, not
even breathing, praying that they wouldn’t notice me.
I managed to walk two or three steps away when I heard
somebody ask, “What’s a pretty miss doing here at this time
of the night?”
I heard their footsteps behind me. I increased my pace,
trying to keep my cool, quietly reaching out for my pepper
spray.
“Hey! We’re talking to you!” I felt somebody grab my
arm and pull me back.

“Please!” I managed to say. “I’m just passing through. I
need to get home.”
I saw their faces. They looked older than me and they
stank of pot.
“Come on. Sure you can spare a few hours of fun.”
I shook my head. “Sorry. I have to go.”
I yanked my arm away and tried to escape. But soon the
other guy grabbed my arm again.
“Not too fast!” he said. They both blocked my way and
stared at my face.
“Wow! This one’s a looker,” one guy said.
“Aren’t we lucky?” the other guy grinned maliciously.
“Please! I don’t want trouble,” I pleaded. “I need to get
home. Let me go.”
“Why would we do that? Seeing as you are hot and…
alone,” the guy said, stepping closer to me and pulling me
to him.
I reacted on instinct. I raised my hand, the one holding a
pepper spray, and started spraying on his face. He released
me, giving me time to push him away, finding that little
space I needed to escape.
I prayed to God that I would make it home in one piece.

I prayed that they weren’t runners. For the second time in
my life, I wished I had a guardian angel who will protect me
and save me from a certain doom.
“You, bitch!” I heard one of the guys shout. “You will pay
for that!”
I heard their footsteps as they ran after me.
Unfortunately, their strides were longer than mine, and they
were able to close the distance on me within seconds. I felt
somebody grab my jacket and then my arms.
“Help!” I shouted as loud as I could. I struggled to get
away from them, but there were two of them and one of me.
And they were a lot stronger and taller. I flung my arms in
every direction, tried to spray on them again, but one of
them got hold of my hand and the pepper spray. My only
defense now was to shout.
“Help!” I didn’t give up shouting. They pulled me to
them, getting hold of my arms. I sat on the ground, making
it a little difficult to pull me.
Suddenly, I saw a blinding light, and then I heard a
screeching of tires. A car stopped by near us.

“Help!” I shouted once again.
One of my attackers was pulled behind by a strong
force, and the next thing I saw was his body falling to the ground. As he struggled to stand back up, the other guy
released me and went for their attacker.
I was free. That’s when I saw the guy who came to my
aid. He had his back on me. His head was hidden under a
gray hood. But I couldn’t have mistaken it. I know it was
him. That boy who followed me. The one I called my stalker.
He was driving a black Porsche this time. He fought off my
attackers almost effortlessly.
I turned to grab my bag and started to run. I heard a
sharp scratching sound. I stopped to look behind me and
saw that one of the guys was down on the ground now. But
the other one had a knife with him and he purposefully
scratched the hood of the car of my rescuer.
“F-ck!” I heard somebody curse. It could be my rescuer
when he saw what the guy did to his Porsche. Panic was still
gripping my senses. I did the only sensible thing I could
think of at that moment. I ran.
I ran without turning back. I ran without checking if the
boy who helped me made it through the fight scathe-free. I
didn’t even stop until he finished the fight, so I could thank
him. I was so scared. I didn’t have time to think logically. I
only did what I thought would save my life… or my virtue, or
both.

Only when I was safely in,side my house did I realize that
I hadn’t been breathing properly. I double-locked the doors.
Then I turned on the lights and checked if all the windows
were also locked. When I peeked through the front window, I
saw a black Porsche pass by. It slowed down in front of my
house and then it sped off.
I breathed in relief knowing that he made it out of the
fight alive and well enough to drive away.
I lay on the couch and hugged myself. I was thankful
that Meredith still wasn’t home. If she knew about this, she
would panic, or worse blame herself.
I allowed myself a moment of weakness. As I wrapped
my arms around myself, I let all the tears out.
When the tears subsided, I replayed the moments in my
head again. I remembered the first night I saw that car. I
walked past it, and I knew the engine was on and somebody
was in,side. Then as I walked the streets, that car was there
until I safely got home. Then the following days, the hooded
boy was following me, keeping his distance, but now… I
couldn’t help thinking that he was watching me… making
sure I would get home safely, knowing I would be walking
the streets alone.

Chaise.

I’m sure it was him. Same height, same built… same
black Porsche he drove to school.
He was protecting me even though I made it clear that I
didn’t want him, didn’t need him. Even though I believed I
didn’t need somebody to protect me or come to my rescue
when I meet danger face to face.
Tears rolled down my cheeks. I realized that I owed him
more than an apology for treating him the way I did. Now, I
owed him my life. And I would always be thankful that he
was there… he protected me… he saved me… he risked his
own life for mine.

I felt both guilty and grateful that he had been there for
me this night and every night before. I underestimated the
danger around me. I thought nothing worse could happen to
me after that night I lost my parents. I thought I didn’t need
a protector. But God knew I did! And even though I didn’t
know it, I realized that I did have a guardian angel after all.
And because of him, I’m still alive… wh0le… scathe-free and
safe.
***
The next day in school, I was pretty quiet. Denise was
rambling about not being able to get a good night’s sleep
because of some chaos in her house. Something about her
father and some relative staying over. I wasn’t listening to her. I was still pretty shaken up about what happened to me
the night before.
I wanted to tell her. But I didn’t have the courage. And I
didn’t want to burden her or scare her. But I wanted to talk
to somebody… somebody who would understand what I
went through.

I was on the lookout for Chaise all day. I sure hope he
was alright. I hope he didn’t sustain any injury at all.
I was sitting under a tree with Denise. Our last period
was literature. Our teacher wanted us to write an essay. He
thought it would inspire us to be outdoors.
I worked on my essay fast. Writing was effortless for me.
I practiced every day writing to Hunter. I took my diary with
me to school today and decided to write on it again. I told
him everything… from the way the guys attacked me, and
how that boy from school came to my rescue.

I knew Hunter would want to know every little detail
about this event. And even if he didn’t get to read it at all, I
wanted to remember everything that happened so I could
read about it in the future, and know that during the times
my life was an utter misfortune, God always sent a guardian
angel my way.
I heard Denise cough beside me. She nudged my arm
with her elbow. I turned to her. With her head, she motioned
for me to look up.
I looked over at my left side and saw a guy looking down
at me. I shut my diary and hid it in my bag. Then I stood up
and faced Chaise. He was wearing a gray hooded jacket
again, much like the one he wore the night before.
He looked down at me quizzically through narrowed
eyes, as if he was studying my expression, searching my
face for answers to questions he didn’t even ask.
Finally, his expression softened. “Are… are you okay?”
he asked in the gentlest tone he could manage.
Immediately, we both knew we were talking about the
same thing. I felt my knees tremble and the brave façade I wore all day began to crumble.

I nodded. Tears rolled down my cheeks. Chaise reached
up and wiped them with his fingers.
“It’s okay,” he whispered. “You’re safe now.”
I tried to laugh in spite of my tears. I was so thankful to
him for saving me… protecting me. And I knew I would
never be able to repay him for what he had done, so
instead, I leaned forward and hugged him. I buried my face
against the lean muscles of his chest. I felt him enclose me
in his arms.
“Thank you,” I said in between my tears. “Thank you. If
you weren’t there… I don’t know what would have
happened to me. Thank you for saving me.”
It took him a wh0le minute to answer. He took a deep
breath and he whispered against my ear. “You’re welcome,”
he said in a weak voice. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
I nodded against his chest. “Because you were there to
save me, nothing happened to me.” I pulled away from him.
He stared down at me and looked like he was reading
my thoughts… trying to decipher the words I couldn’t say
out loud. And then he smiled. “I told you. I’m not such a bad
guy, if you only gave me a chance.”
I smiled at him. “Thank you.”
“So does this mean you’ll be nicer to me from now on?”
he asked, grinning.
I gave him a short laugh. “I am not making promises.

But I sure will try.”

He nodded. “Well, maybe that’s good enough for now.”
I stared up his handsome face and his genuine smile. If
in the previous days, he looked gloomy, now, the
playfulness returned to his face. Maybe Denise was right.
Maybe he really only had good intentions for me.
I stepped away from him and I realized that almost half
of the kids around us had stopped whatever they were
doing to watch us. A blush crept to my face, as I remembered that I hugged Chaise and he hugged me
back… in front of all these people.
I took another step back again and nodded at Chaise.
“I’ll see you around.”
Chaise raised a brow at me. “What? I thought we’re
okay now.”
I nodded. “We are. We’re okay enough for me not to…
be mean to you anymore.”
He shook his head. “Oh no. I just risked my pretty face
to save you, princess. You at least owe me a date this time.”
My eyes w¡dened in disbelief.
A date? Is he serious?
I shook my head. “I’m grateful. And I probably will owe
you for the rest of my life. But I’m not for sale, not even in
exchange for my life.”

He frowned but then he nodded slightly. “Would you at
least consider a friendly date? No pressure. You can even
bring your friend if you want.”
I looked at him skeptically. First, he helped me out with
my job. Then he stole a k-ss from me. Then he stalked me
and scared me half to death. And then… he saved me from
sure tragedy and maybe even a possibility of death. And
now, he wanted to go on a date with me.
“What do you want from me, Chaise?”
He shrugged and smiled at me sheepishly. “You really
have no idea, rock princess?”
I shook my head.
Instead of answering, he said, “Okay. Friends.” Then he
smiled and added, “Now, can I get your phone number?”
“What for?”
He shrugged. “Friends call each other, you know. And
you said I could be your friend.”
He got me there. Reluctantly, I gave him my number. He
fished his phone and pressed the buttons on it. After a few
seconds, my phone beeped. Chaise grinned at me and then
he turned to leave.
I sat beside Denise again. She was giving me a weird
look. So were the other kids around us. Some girls were
even glaring at me, including Candy and Chelsea, who were
sitting on a bench nearby.
“Okay, care to tell me what that was about?” Denise
asked. I could see the excitement on her face.
“Don’t get your hopes up. You heard what I said. We
could be friends. Nothing more.”
“Okay. But why? Why the change of heart? You said you
don’t want anything to do with him.”
I nodded. “I did. But that was after…” I sighed.

I guess I really have to tell Denise even a little about
last night.
“Well… I owe him. Last night, I sort of ran into some
weirdoes. He… happened to be in the area…” Stalking me
maybe, I added in my head. “And he sort of saved me from
being… assaulted.”
Her eyes w¡dened. “Allison Elise Harley! That’s serious!
You realize that you will walk those streets home almost
every day until you quit your job, right?”
I sighed. “I know. I was hoping that was a one-off deal.” I
wasn’t hoping. I was desperately begging God to make last
night the last scare of my life.
“And you’re still showing up to work tonight?”
I nodded. “I need this job, Denise.”
“But how are you going to get home… safely?!”

I shrugged and then I flipped my phone open
remembering Chaise’s unread message.
Chaise: Pick you up after work tonight… friend. 😉
Relief washed over me. I guess I will be safe for one
more night.