Listen, Angel!

It is a beautiful, peaceful night. The sky has no traces of clouds whatsoever and the stars shine bright like little crystals surrounding a golden full moon. The streets of this little town called Elbasan are already empty, though it’s not that late. People here usually tend to go home early and enjoy family time inside and then crash to bed to recharge their batteries for yet another monotone day. Maybe they do this, because there’s not much to do outside anyways, except from countless bars and lounges, if that’s your preferred activity. But even that, becomes boring eventually.

A two story house lays a little isolated from the others, in one of the central neighborhoods of Elbasan. It has a wonderful front yard, decorated with lights and several plants and rare flowers. In the dining room, there are four people chatting not so eagerly. The pearly white walls of the dining room are filled with several quotes about food, coffee and the importance of sharing a meal with the family. They are all in black, but in different fonts and sizes, giving the room a modern interior, complemented by the dark grey curtains, hanging lazily over the slightly opened window, allowing the warm September breeze inside. The wooden table is filled with all sorts of appetizers, salads and a casserole, but the food rests untouched.

At the head of the table sits Amadeus, a man in his fifties, tall, big and well built, with dark hair and even darker eyes, smiling softly at Sage, the woman occupying the chair to his right. She is cheerful and elegant, with raven black hair, dark eyes and a porcelain skin. Across from her stands Donovan and Angel, the teenagers that couldn’t be more different from each other. Donovan has shoulder-length, chestnut brown hair, hazel eyes and an angelic smile, but his badboy aesthetic, dressed in all black and the mischievous glint in his eyes speaks otherwise, while Angel…well her name practically speaks for her. Her petite frame is contoured with golden hair that fall in waves above her waist, golden eyes and bright smile that warms your heart.

“Amadeus and I are getting married.” Sage’s voice breaks the uncomfortable silence and is followed by a gasp from Angel and a grunt from Donovan, extending it to the limits of shooting a death glare at Amadeus.

He reciprocates by narrowing his eyes at Donovan and giving him a warning look. The boy sighs, gets up from his chair and leaves the kitchen without muttering a single word, while proceeding to slamming the front door. His actions evoke all kinds of emotion to the others. Angel freezes, surprise written all over her face.

“I’ll have a word with him.” Amadeus speaks while nodding in reassurance to the woman and the girl and walks outside to join Donovan.

“He’ll come around. Don’t worry!” Sage smiles to Angel and the girl walks to her offering a genuine hug.

“I’m so happy for you mom.” She smiles rubbing her mother’s back.

On the other hand, Donovan paces furiously in the front yard, a cigarette in his hand. He puffs the smoke angrily and is speaking countless profanities when Amadeus appears in his line of vision, looking as angry as him.

“How dare you!” Amadeus speaks in a low but threatening voice.

“How dare you!” Donovan raises his voice to the man, angry beyond reason.

“I’ve made myself clear, haven’t I?” The boy continues. “I promised I’d ruin any fucking relationship you ever had!”

Amadeus approached him, unaffected by this burst.

“Don’t you dare! Not this one. I’ve tolerated you enough through the years, but this time, you’d better watch your steps, son!” he spits the last word angrily.

Donovan challenges his father, coming face to face with him, his eyes suddenly turning all black. The raven color fills the entire eye, several dark veins appearing around his eyes too. This catches Amadeus off guard for an instance, but he shakes if off, throwing his head back in a chilling laughter. When he finally looks back at his son, Amadeus’s eyes shine in an angry yellow color.

“Is that all you got, Donovan? You think you’re a big guy now, don’t you?” he puts his hand on the boy’s shoulder, squeezing hard.

The action makes the boy flinch in pain and eventually kneel due to the pressure. His knees hit the ground with a thud as a painful moan leaves his lips.

“That’s what I thought.” The man smiles. “Now get yourself together, clean up and join us again. You’re going to apologize to Sage and her daughter.”

He turns to leave, but stops once more:

“Oh, and remember…Always on your best behavior. You wouldn’t want to know what happens if you ruin what I’m building with Sage.”

“Then tell me! Tell me what the fuck this is about!” the boy shouts, from his kneeling position. “If you want me to comply, it’s the least you can do. I’ve seen enough fuck-buddies of yours go down, hanged, drowned, burned…and I’ve seen you not give a rat’s ass about them.” He sighs out of breath. “Why is this any different?”

Amadeus gives his son a blank look and doesn’t bother answering. Instead, he turns on his heel and enters the house leaving Donovan alone again. The boy raises from the ground, accompanying the action by a curse streak, punching and kicking the thin air around him.

He takes a moment to relax, closing his eyes mumbling to himself: “If this is how you wanna play this, alright then dear dad…I’ll show you my best behavior.”

He fixes his clothes, his hair and walks back inside heading straight to Sage, like a man on a mission. A tight embrace follows suit as he finds his best angelic voice and apologizes to the woman: “I’m sorry! I’m so, so, so very sorry Mrs. Chandler!”

Sage is taken off guard by the sudden action, but still hugs him back, smoothing his hair reassuringly.

“Oh, baby! It’s ok! I understand. Look at me!” she touches his cheek gently making him look at her.

“I know this is hard for you, but we’ll make it work. Together…ok?”

Her soft motherly voice relaxes Donovan as he nods and offers her a faint smile.

“Thank you, Sage!” the boy kisses her cheek.

They both turn to look at Amadeus, who has a content smile on his face, while Angel on the other hand is watching this interaction wide eyed, her mouth hanging open.

“See! All better!” Sage smiles at everyone. “Now, who wants some cheesecake?”