Free Honor: a novella by Chasie Noble Page A

that he was just telling me about his past. This was something I had wanted to know about him, and the anxiety started to fade as he continued. “I was born in a town near the Sea of Galilee. My mother’s name was Moriah, she was never married.” As he spoke, I remembered hearing about the sea of Galilee as a child in Sunday school when my parents took me to church.  
    “I remember very few things about my father, but he left when I was a small child.” He looked out the window as if he was trying to recall his childhood. “I was different from most children. My mother and grandparents tried to hide what I was because of how people would react.” He was now staring at me. His eyes were full of hurt. I reached for his hand and he pulled away.  
    “I am confused,” I told him. I thought back to when I first saw him, and how taken back I was at his size and his looks. So, he was attractive, but why would anyone want to hide that?  
    “I was different because of who my father was.”  
    I still didn’t understand. “Who was your father?” I asked.
    “My father…was a messenger of God.”  
    When he said this, for some reason the door-to-door, Bible-pushing folk came to my mind. “A messenger of God? Define what you mean.” I felt anger rising up. Was he telling me the truth, or was he trying to push me away?
    “My father was a watcher.” He peered over at me, knowing that I still wasn’t sure what he meant. “An angel,” he whispered and waited for me to say something.  
    I was unsure how to react to what he was telling me. This was absurd. Was this gorgeous man out of his mind? After realizing I wasn’t going to respond, he continued, “I have never told anyone this before. I know how it must sound, but I want you to know the truth.”  
    I wanted to scream, but held it back. “Osric, do you hear what you are saying to me? This is too much…why are you saying this? You’re trying to push me away, aren’t you?” I stood up from my chair quickly and it tipped backwards and crashed to the floor. Tears began to spill over my eyelids. He rose too and came toward me. “No!   Stay away from me!” I screamed at him. “You got what you wanted from me last night and your done with me now — is that what this is?” He tried to reach for me and I pulled away. “Stop it! You don’t have to make up some elaborate lie to get rid of me!”  
    He ran both hands through his hair and came closer again as I walked backwards to the doorway. “Honor, that isn’t true. I love you,” he responded achingly.  
    I reached up and pulled the necklace he had given me from my neck, and dropped it to the floor. “Just stay away,” I gasped as I wiped my eyes and walked out the back door.

Chapter 16

    I was making the walk through the snow in the opposite direction of my apartment. I knew there was a gas station on the corner just outside of Osric’s neighborhood. I decided once I made it to the station I would call for a cab. I pulled my hood over my head and buttoned my coat. I tried to calm myself down as I walked. My mind was racing and I was so angry. The tears stung my eyes as they hit the cold air that surrounded me.
    My feet were numb by the time I made it to the parking lot of the gas station. I walked in and went straight to the ladies room to find a cab company on my phone. I saw Osric had called a handful of times and I blocked his number.  
    Once the cab was on its way, I bought a cup of coffee and waited inside. I stood looking out the windows and saw Osric drive slowly past the gas station, and I quickly hid behind a sunglasses display. I almost knocked it over and the young kid working the counter laughed at me. The cab pulled up shortly after and I hurried out to get inside. I gave the driver the address, sat back, and breathed a sigh of relief.  
    “Cold out there…isn’t it miss?” said the little Asian cab driver.  
    “It is pretty cold,” I replied. My voice was hoarse from