Free Milayna's Angel by Michelle Pickett Page B

the hint of a smile.
    I laughed so hard my stomach started to hurt.
Pulling my knees up to my chest, I looped my arms around them. I
laid my cheek on my knees and looked out the window, taking large
gulps of air to control my laughter.
    As soon as I turned and looked at Xavier and
my dad, I started to laugh again. I laughed so hard I snorted. I
slapped my hand over my mouth.
    “Why didn’t you tell me before now? You’ve
been hanging around enough. You’ve had plenty of
opportunities.”
    “I asked Xavier not to introduce himself to
you until we were able to sit down and discuss things.” My dad gave
Xavier a pointed look.
    “The school is the reason we were thrust
together. I didn’t ask the principal to have Milayna show me
around. Besides, once we’d met, I didn’t see the need to stay
away.” Xavier looked at me.
    “Didn’t see the need to tell the truth
either,” I grumbled, earning a stern look from my not-so-angelic
father. “I still don’t know what this has to do with me. So you’re
an angel, big deal. So is my dad, Chay’s dad, Jen’s mother,
Muriel’s dad, and Drew’s mother. Oh, and I almost forgot. My
grandma is an angel, too. So it’s not like this is something new to
me. Angels are everywhere in my world. What’s so special about one
more?”
    “Because I came to earth for you.”
     
    ***
     
    “Chay, please call me back,” I said into the
phone. It was the fifth message I’d left him. So far, I’d gotten
nothing, not even a measly text message. Even though I must have
sent a hundred texts telling him things weren’t what they looked
like. That my dad had invited Xavier over because he knew his
‘ family ,’ which was sort of true.
    After Xavier told me he came to earth for me,
I bolted. I ran up the stairs, into my bedroom, and locked the
door. I didn’t know what he meant by the comment, but all the
stories I’d heard about angels coming to earth was because they
were in love. My dad fell in love with my mom. Grams fell in love
with my grandpa. If that was the only reason they came to earth,
then that meant… Xavier was in love with me. But surely he knew
about Chay. I was in love with Chay. Xavier wasted a trip. Too bad
it was nonrefundable.
    By my sixth message to Chay, I was getting
desperate. So I blurted it out. “Chay! Call me back. Xavier came
over because he’s an angel and knows my father. Ask your dad, they
probably know each other, too. You’re acting like an ass, by the
way. I really needed you tonight.” I clicked off the line and threw
my phone on my bed, flopping down after it. My feet dangled off the
end, and my arms were above my head. I lay on my bed and waited,
staring at the posters pasted to my ceiling. In the middle of them
was a poster-sized photo of Chay and me we had taken one day at the
Waterway downtown. We were both laughing and happy. For some
reason, that poster spurred my anger.
    When my phone finally rang a few minutes
later, I grabbed it, looked at the caller ID, and jammed the answer
button. “It’s about damn time,” I said through clenched teeth. “You
didn’t even give me time to explain before you hung up on me.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “No, you’re an idiot. You’re not sorry.
You’re only calling now because I told you about Xavier. You didn’t
listen when I told you I had no idea he was coming over or that I
didn’t want to see him and was hiding in my room. You didn’t
believe any of that. You jumped to conclusions and didn’t give me
the chance to explain. Now that you know he’s here because he’s an
angel, you call—”
    “He’s an angel?”
    “Well, yeah. Didn’t you listen to my
message?”
    “No.”
    “How could you not listen to my message? Did
you listen to any of them?”
    “No.”
    “Why?” I asked quietly. It stung that he
didn’t believe me, that he distrusted me so much that he wouldn’t
even listen to a flippin’ voice mail message.
    “I don’t know. I was mad.”
    “But it wasn’t