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. You were wrong, Angel. About what? About them not being your friends, he whispered. When I told them where you were, they gotto you as fast as they could.They didn t even hesitate. Angel nodded slowly. I know I was wrong. Why did you think they weren t your friends? Lowering his eyes, Angel said quietly, It was a misunderstanding.I thought that one of them wasa bad guy. He looked up, But I was wrong. Licking his lips, Maddy asked uncertainly, Are we still gonna leave? Leave.After everything Maddy had been through, Angel would do anything for him, take himanywhere he wanted to go, as soon as they had the money.Even if it meant leaving the club behind,and everyone in it. Do you want to leave? Do you? Maddy asked softly.That was the question, wasn t it? Suddenly the city didn t feel so awful, so threatening. I don tknow. Maddy shrugged. Maybe we could stay for a while.Cole said they would make sure we had aplace to live until we got back on our feet. How had he ever thought these men weren t his friends? Angel smiled. Well, we won t make any rash decisions. He looked at Maddy thoughtfully, and then asked quietly, Do you know whathappened to Axel? Maddy frowned. No.Why? Maddy, Axel was the one who told me Wade was lying about you.And I think they hurt himreally bad for telling me. Why would he tell you that? Maddy s frown deepened. He hates us. Angel shook his head slowly. Maybe, in some ways, Axel was a victim, too.You saw the wayWade and Byrd treated him. He met his little brother s eyes. Maybe he treated us the way he didbecause he couldn t lash out at them.People do that sometimes.They bully others because they,themselves, are being bullied. The boy s face pinched and he picked at the blanket. I still don t like him. Angel laughed softly, You don t have to. But as far as Angel was concerned, he didn t knowhow he felt about the guy.He had literally risked his life by telling Angel about Maddy.And he had tohave known what they would do to him.Maybe there was hope for the man, where he saw none forWade or Byrd. Chapter TwentyAshes of LoveThe metal door knob was a ball of ice in his palm, though he was sweating.His heart thumpedagainst his ribs hard enough to impair his breathing.Dane stared at the door; he was actually scaredto open it.He hadn t gone back to Angel s room earlier, after Cole had joined Gabe and Max invisiting with the young man.No one asked him why he was staying away, though Cole understood hisneed to get a handle on everything.He d gone home without talking to Angel again that day, and hefelt like shit for doing so.But the boy s forgiveness scared the hell out of him.Maybe it was his fear that Angel had said it in gratitude for Dane saving him.If that were it, theneverything from the past would eventually rise up again, the bitterness and hurt would begin to fester,and one day Angel might wake up and run away from him for good.He wanted to believe that Angel s gift came from a much deeper place, that it was real andlasting.But what if he grabbed onto that belief, only to have it ripped away?Angel had been released from the hospital after two days and had gone back to work at the clubhelping Carl at the bar, working as a stock boy, or whatever odds and end stuff Max needed done.Hedidn t go back to dancing and no one was surprised nor did anyone try to push him to do so.Having a couple of spare rooms, Max took in Angel and Maddy without hesitation.He said itwas nice to come home and actually have it feel like a home.He and Maddy bonded quickly, whichDane suspected left the man with regret that he had never had the chance to be a father.But maybe in away, he was being given that chance now; Maddy sure as hell had never had a decent father figure.Over the course of the two weeks following Angel s return to the club, Dane had made sparseappearances, though not to dance.He helped Max with the behind-the-scenes workings of the club, but felt no passion to go back out on the floor or stage.His and Angel s exchanges were minimal,which he took the blame for.The boy was ready to go forward, and yet he found himself holding backyet again.It felt as if they had rewound everything back to the start again.But this time around, Dane wasn t fighting his feelings for Angel.He loved him, he was fullyaware of this, and every second that Angel wasn t nearby hurt like crazy.But, where Angel hadsomehow come to terms with their past, Dane was still struggling.But his time spent at the club, andthus close to Angel, was growing longer each time, though they still didn t exchange more than casualwords, usually in passing.But the looks that passed between them were beginning to linger, and fillwith longing.The desire to hold Angel again was quickly becoming unbearable.And finally, Danehad cracked, and he asked Angel to have dinner with him at his place, so they could talk about things.Now here they were; Dane gripping the door handle, terrified to open that door, both literallyand figuratively, and Angel on the other side, surely as nervous and scared as Dane.Suck it up, grow a pair and open the damn door. Be rude about it, why don t you, hemumbled, took a deep breath and opened the door.Angel stood anxiously, hands shoved in his pockets [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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. You were wrong, Angel. About what? About them not being your friends, he whispered. When I told them where you were, they gotto you as fast as they could.They didn t even hesitate. Angel nodded slowly. I know I was wrong. Why did you think they weren t your friends? Lowering his eyes, Angel said quietly, It was a misunderstanding.I thought that one of them wasa bad guy. He looked up, But I was wrong. Licking his lips, Maddy asked uncertainly, Are we still gonna leave? Leave.After everything Maddy had been through, Angel would do anything for him, take himanywhere he wanted to go, as soon as they had the money.Even if it meant leaving the club behind,and everyone in it. Do you want to leave? Do you? Maddy asked softly.That was the question, wasn t it? Suddenly the city didn t feel so awful, so threatening. I don tknow. Maddy shrugged. Maybe we could stay for a while.Cole said they would make sure we had aplace to live until we got back on our feet. How had he ever thought these men weren t his friends? Angel smiled. Well, we won t make any rash decisions. He looked at Maddy thoughtfully, and then asked quietly, Do you know whathappened to Axel? Maddy frowned. No.Why? Maddy, Axel was the one who told me Wade was lying about you.And I think they hurt himreally bad for telling me. Why would he tell you that? Maddy s frown deepened. He hates us. Angel shook his head slowly. Maybe, in some ways, Axel was a victim, too.You saw the wayWade and Byrd treated him. He met his little brother s eyes. Maybe he treated us the way he didbecause he couldn t lash out at them.People do that sometimes.They bully others because they,themselves, are being bullied. The boy s face pinched and he picked at the blanket. I still don t like him. Angel laughed softly, You don t have to. But as far as Angel was concerned, he didn t knowhow he felt about the guy.He had literally risked his life by telling Angel about Maddy.And he had tohave known what they would do to him.Maybe there was hope for the man, where he saw none forWade or Byrd. Chapter TwentyAshes of LoveThe metal door knob was a ball of ice in his palm, though he was sweating.His heart thumpedagainst his ribs hard enough to impair his breathing.Dane stared at the door; he was actually scaredto open it.He hadn t gone back to Angel s room earlier, after Cole had joined Gabe and Max invisiting with the young man.No one asked him why he was staying away, though Cole understood hisneed to get a handle on everything.He d gone home without talking to Angel again that day, and hefelt like shit for doing so.But the boy s forgiveness scared the hell out of him.Maybe it was his fear that Angel had said it in gratitude for Dane saving him.If that were it, theneverything from the past would eventually rise up again, the bitterness and hurt would begin to fester,and one day Angel might wake up and run away from him for good.He wanted to believe that Angel s gift came from a much deeper place, that it was real andlasting.But what if he grabbed onto that belief, only to have it ripped away?Angel had been released from the hospital after two days and had gone back to work at the clubhelping Carl at the bar, working as a stock boy, or whatever odds and end stuff Max needed done.Hedidn t go back to dancing and no one was surprised nor did anyone try to push him to do so.Having a couple of spare rooms, Max took in Angel and Maddy without hesitation.He said itwas nice to come home and actually have it feel like a home.He and Maddy bonded quickly, whichDane suspected left the man with regret that he had never had the chance to be a father.But maybe in away, he was being given that chance now; Maddy sure as hell had never had a decent father figure.Over the course of the two weeks following Angel s return to the club, Dane had made sparseappearances, though not to dance.He helped Max with the behind-the-scenes workings of the club, but felt no passion to go back out on the floor or stage.His and Angel s exchanges were minimal,which he took the blame for.The boy was ready to go forward, and yet he found himself holding backyet again.It felt as if they had rewound everything back to the start again.But this time around, Dane wasn t fighting his feelings for Angel.He loved him, he was fullyaware of this, and every second that Angel wasn t nearby hurt like crazy.But, where Angel hadsomehow come to terms with their past, Dane was still struggling.But his time spent at the club, andthus close to Angel, was growing longer each time, though they still didn t exchange more than casualwords, usually in passing.But the looks that passed between them were beginning to linger, and fillwith longing.The desire to hold Angel again was quickly becoming unbearable.And finally, Danehad cracked, and he asked Angel to have dinner with him at his place, so they could talk about things.Now here they were; Dane gripping the door handle, terrified to open that door, both literallyand figuratively, and Angel on the other side, surely as nervous and scared as Dane.Suck it up, grow a pair and open the damn door. Be rude about it, why don t you, hemumbled, took a deep breath and opened the door.Angel stood anxiously, hands shoved in his pockets [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]