História Broken Sky - Ch. 2 "Settling In"

I told you I had people who would do it for cheaper and who have a better grip on the circumstances but no! You had it all figured out! You and your stubborn blood. You never take my advice you just go galavanting on your own in order to protect everyone else, and then you get yourself killed. This is the last time! You hear me Lilith! The last time you go against my advice. I tell you these things because I care, not because I'm trying to be an asshole! Jesus Christ Lil I almost lost you." His shoulders hunched over as he took a seat next to me on the couch and hugged me against his side.

I stared at the floor while Allister continued to berate me with his worried words while soothing me with his gentle hands as he rubbed little circles into my tired shoulders. I blinked back the tears that threatened to spill, they tended to betray me every time Allister treated me like I was his own. I worried the poor man to death every time I so much as as stubbed a toe.

We'd known each other for 3 years now. It was a wonder to me that he cared for me at all. He showed more concern for me over the course of 3 years than my father had in the last 17.

I knew he wasn't really mad he was scared and sad. He had almost lost me like he had lost my aunt. I felt really guilty but what was done was done and all I could do now was wait it out and follow our next course of action. In twenty-four hours we'd leave the east coast far behind for the sunny busy city of Los Angeles on the west coast.
And I would be leaving my mother, my name, and my life as a doormat behind forever, hopefully.
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SIX MONTHS LATER

December 17th, 20XX

I pulled my cap lower so it would mask my eyes from the sun and smashed my fist into my opponents chin. I heard his teeth clamp shut as I made contact with his face.

That's gonna hurt tomorrow. I winced inwardly the poor idiot didn't know any better.

I assumed he thought this was going to be an easy win, but then again this was his fourth loss this week. These unscheduled, outside the ring, fights were more than a joke they were a god dammed farce in the name of professional MMA. If it weren't for the fact that I was new in town and hiding my identity I would have had his licensed pulled. Or at least reported him to his trainer.

"Had enough Hendricks." I wiped the sweat from my brow and spit the blood from my mouth. He'd gotten a lucky sucker punch out of me earlier when he was pretending to apologize for the last fiasco, it threw me off but I was more than ready to make him taste defeat once again. I rolled with the punch and followed the momentum into a round house kick to the side of his head. A nasty crack sounded.

I hope I didn't just kill him.

"Fuck you bitch!" he spat as he groaned and clutched his head in the fetal position.

Nope not dead. I let out reluctant breath. Maybe I should have hit him harder so he stayed down.

I stepped on his chest forcing him to lie flat on his back then slowly moved my foot to his throat pushing him further into the gravel.

"Run that by me again." I pushed a little harder until I could here him starting to choke.

I sensed​ movement to my right and I ducked away from another fist coming from one of his goon looking side kicks. This gave Hendricks the opportunity to get back up on his feet although his balance seemed shakey leaving me to believe maybe I had hit him a little too hard.

"You bother me with an illegal match outside of the ring, lose, and still want to act like top dog. . . Do you need to be trained puppy boy?"

I heard him click his tongue in response. I ignored it and continued.

"Now are you gonna cut your shit or do I need to call your trainer to come pick you up after I've kicked your ass, again."

Hateful flames filled his eyes and he spit on my shoe leaving a nasty red stain on my blue converse.

You can't just have a nice pair of shoes not covered in blood can you? And these are my favorite. I pinched the bridge of my nose frustrated with the loss of my pretty blue converse, I mean I could wash out the blood but ugh... they'll never be the same again, and turned back to puppy boy.

I contemplated the amount if time it would take to deal with him while we glared at each other but decided to just end it quickly I had places I needed to be and Allistor was all about punctuality.

"Stop it you idiots. I'm gonna be the one to put her in her place." I scoffed and rolled my eyes provoking him further by doing so. I waited knowing that my mocking would make him attack me first. He stepped forward clearly furious and once again aimed for my head. I side stepped him tucked my leg behind his, threw my arm over his upper chest and launched him over my hip. I heard the whoosh of the air leaving his chest as he hit the concrete ground hard. His head lolled to once side and finally I was graced with some peace and quiet, but it only lasted a second.

I ignored screech of his weak sidekicks as they ran off cursing my name. I felt like I was on some twisted action flick where I had been forced too long to wait for my knight in shining armor and had to save myself, but what else was knew. Next up the hero would come in to save me and find out he wasn't needed.

I nudged puppy boy to his back an knelt down to check his pulse. His breathing and heart rate was normal so I was satisfied that the damage was minor and he would live. I pulled my cell from my pocket and called his trainer to come and pick him up. Glen was going to be pissed with Hendricks. He had already warned the idiot several times that he was too hot headed. He really couldn't stand losing, but then again so couldn't I. The difference between the two of us was that I settled things inside the ring. Following match rules was the only way I could guarantee I wouldn't kill anyone.

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I returned home with just enough time to start dinner and ice my face. With any luck I could pass off the bruise as an accident at the gym or my carelessness during a mock fight.

Allister returned home just as I finished setting the table.

"How was your day Lenna." He sounded tired must have been a long day.

"Just as sunshine filled as any other. Anything new happen at work. . . dad."

Allister worked as a personal trainer to the wealthy and obscure. It was how we had gotten away with our little disappearing act. He had connections with the rich and eccentric. Rub elbows with the right people and alternate identities and falsified documents just rain from the sky apparently. Well at least for Allister.

But those documents also meant we had to stick to our knew identities. Our background stories weren't hard to stick to because they were half truths. Its easier to lie about something that is slightly untrue then to fabricate something completely. Here I was living my life as Allister's adoptive daughter.

I was still having a difficult time adjusting to our new dynamic. I guess you could say I had therapy worthy daddy issues considering mine was never in my life and my real mother was what you could call a licensed to kill demon. Not literally of course, well maybe not literally, the jury was still out on that one thanks my somewhat super woman strength. I say that both endearingly and jokingly. As for why. . .

Not to be cliche but. . . It all started on my 14th birthday, that was the year I first noticed I was stronger than the average pimple popping, band boy chasing, makeup obsessed teen. Regardless of the fact that I did none of those things anyways. It was also the reason why I had convinced mother to let me hire a personal trainer. I wouldn't dare tell her I had just up and woken up the day I turned 14 with enough strength in one pinky to put a dent in a fender. I had no idea what she would have done with that kind of information.

Probably sold you to the circus.

Anyways, I knew I wasn't normal, but that was only the tip of the iceberg, sorry more cliches.

So after being professionally trained I was able to somewhat control my freakiness, and get away from my mother. Win - win right. Wrong.

"Lenna, honey, did I lose you to the inner working of your mind again. . .

Is it a boy. . .

Lenna . . .

Do I have to give you the birds and the bees talk."

I turned to look at Allister no longer lost in thought.

He stared at me still waiting for some kind of response with a horrified grimace. You would have thought someone just died with the way he was panicking.

"What's his name Lenna." His face changed from upset to furious in 0.1 seconds.

"Breathe dad! Breathe! There's no boys just nervous for my first day of school. You didn't forget I'm starting in two weeks right." I smiled trying to reassure him.

He immediately calmed down and looked at me. His brow was furrowed as he stared at me intently with his chocolate brown eyes. I could tell he was trying to decide if I was telling the truth. Recognition flashed in his eyes and he finally spoke.

"Lenna what happened to your cheek." Damn.

"Bad sparring match. I wasn't​ very focused today and Hendricks got the better of me. You know he's always out for blood when anything with female parts puts him in his place. Like I mentioned school jitters threw me off my concentration today." Even to my ears it wasn't a believable lie, more like I was muttering rehearsed lines under my breath, but I knew Allister wouldn't push it.

"Oh. . . pay better attention next time kid." He scratched his head and turned to finally focus on the food on his plate. I knew he was sincerely worried but as long as my life wasn't in danger Allister knew I was more than capable of caring for myself. He also knew I was as stubborn as a mule and hated depending on anyone else.

Well how else are you supposed to be when they beat self reliance into you everyday of your life until you were seventeen.

I could tell he was having a harder time with all the changes then I was. He wasn't used to sharing his home with a human of the female persuasion, and it was worse because he took me on as his child. The man had never even had a child of his own then one day my fourteen year old self comes barreling into his life. He had to give up everything so I could be free.

"You going to go check out the college any time soon." There's my good old trusty Allister, you always avoid the awkward topics.

"Yea, I'll check it out tomorrow, and scope out the campus hopefully I can find all my classes so I'm better prepared. Do you want me to check in around lunch." I looked away from my plate and searched his for some kind of disapproval, another habit. All I saw was worry.

"Yes, I know things have been quiet but, you know how thorough Mara can be. She may, beyond a reasonable doubt, believe you are gone but she won't hesitate to check any other possible explanation. She loves to cross her T's and dot her I's. . .

Do you even get that reference. . . man 'm getting old."

"Yes, Al- I mean dad. I did have to learn how to write as a child. But that's beside the point, I'm not exactly well versed in the norm of my generation either." My eyes narrowed on the food I had been moving around on my plate. My appetite had left me so I just stared at it while cursing my insecure sensibilities.

I could feel myself sinking back into the Nerezza mentality, I flinched and internally shook it all away. Excusing myself to my room I stood quickly but not before telling Al goodnight and giving him a kiss on the cheek. That man would forever be my savior even if we didn't have the father daughter thing down, he would always be the closest thing I would ever have to family.

That night I dreamt of Angels.
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I dreamt I lay in a bed of feathers as white and pure as snow surrounded by marshmallow clouds. They surrounded me softly and felt warm against my skin. Almost like hands touching and caressing me, assuring me that through all the hardships I would face I would be loved. Loved as I was when I entered the world. When I was full of innocence​ and without sin.

I slowly stood from my bed of feathers and felt wings curl into and then pulse away from my shoulder blades, they felt as if they were trying to break free but weren't ready to quite just yet. I could feel that they were an extension of myself. I tried to feel them out by curling them inward and outward until I felt I had control. I expanded them to there full length marveling at the feeling of freedom they gave me. I wanted to soar through sky but just as I was getting ready to, I looked around and found others with wings far off in the distance. I could only just barely make out there silouettes on the horizon but I didn't feel threatened or afraid.

I felt a barrage of warmth and love identical to the feathers that had enveloped me earlier. Without warning the warmth turned into an inferno of passion and I clutched my chest as it started to burn with a sensual heat. Something was happening to me but I was disoriented. I looked around me and the scenery changed. I was no longer wrapped up in a bed of feathers. Time flew by me as day turned to night, my senses were returned to me and stripped away once again over and over, and all I could feel was that somewhere in the world five souls were resonating with my own. It was painful, thrilling, lustful, frightening, and lonely. Many feelings ripped through me leaving me to wonder if they were all my own.

It was in that moment, filled with such raw emotions that I looked to the sky. I found myself in an empty meadow looking up at a vast obsidian night brimming with stars. It was beautifully overwhelming. I felt my beautiful wings abandon me before a comet blazed past the sky in a flash as bright as a supernova. The light was so bright everything else faded into oblivion in its glory.

As the light faded I slipped deep down into a dreamless sleep.