The House of Angels

Under the moonlight

"But it's late, Mrs Solonov will kill us. And I'm in a camisole." She said, a little confused.

"We're not going outside. Meet me out of your room in two." He said, heading back inside without waiting for her reply.

Moon was left on the balcony alone and she couldn't help but feel her heart flutter in her chest.

She felt a jolt of excitement running through her body at the thought of being caught sneaking out of her room with Daniel, but at the same time she couldn't help but wonder what his intentions were and what was going to happen when they'd get alone.

She waited a little before opening her door and sneaking a peek. Daniel was there, holding a blanket in one hand and a bottle of Jack in the other. He'd worn sport shorts but didn't bother putting on a shirt.

He greeted her with a smile and started walking toward the other side of the hallway, soon followed by her.

It was comical the stark contrast between his steady, confident footsteps and her hasty, awkward ones, in a vain attempt to move stealthily along the hallways.

They reached a door at the far end of a small hallway she'd never noticed before. It was locked but Daniel pulled out a key and opened it, stepping through the threshold, then he pulled her in and locked it again behind her.

It was dark inside and she looked for the switch patting her hands along the wall, but he pulled out his phone and switched on the torch.

"It's better if we keep the litghts off. This way." He whispered, walking further inside the room until he reached a small wooden staircase barely lit by his phone. As they climbed the stairs, the wood under their feet creaked under their weight.

When they reached the last step, only a steel door was in front of them and Daniel didn't lose time opening it.

Moon found out that there was a rooftop and she didn't even know it. The house stood on a hill, placed high above the surrounding houses so she was offered a wonderful view of the city from where she stood, as the cool breeze tickled her skin.

"Cacchio (crap) Daniel... it's so beautiful!" She said, with a stunned smile.

He couldn't help but be pleased by her reaction, knowing he'd been the one to elicit it.

Moon was so beautiful in her camisole, her perfect thighs lit by the moonlight, her pale shoulders seemed to shine by their own.

He knew he had to stay away from her, but, as soon as he'd seen her in the balcony, he couldn't help but ask her to spend some time with him. He knew all too well that it was a dangerous game, that he wasn't able to resist the urge to touch her but he couldn't stop himself.

"I'm glad you like it. But don't tell anyone, nobody else here knows about this place." He said, positioning the blanket on the floor, before kneeling on it, offering a hand to help her sit down beside him.

"Nobody? Not even Josh?"

"Oh, no, he knows. He knows everything about me. Everything." He said, as if lost in thoughts, before uncapping the bottle and taking a long sip.

"You two are really close."

"He means so much to me. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him..." he said, offering her the bottle, which she gladly accepted.

"Really?" She asked, taking a sip before returning her attention on him again.

"Yeah. Moon, I was a mess when I first came here. I was a little, stupid kid acting like an asshole to hurt the others just because I'd been hurt too. Always putting myself in danger, doing stupid s**t to feel something but that emptiness that crushed me." He leaned on his elbows, looking at the dark blue sky above him.

Moon laid down on her side and looked at him intently, waiting for him to continue. She wanted to know. She needed it.

"What?" He chuckled softly when he noticed her looking at him with those big, beautiful eyes of hers.

"Then what happened?" She smiled at him.

"Then Josh came back. He'd been taken in by a couple but... let's say they weren't suitable. So he came back here after only a few months and he was loved by everyone here and I have to admit I'd already done a couple mistakes and was, like, feared and isolated by everyone. When he got closer to me I was confused and tried to push him away, like I'd done with everyone else. You know what he did?" He asked, a nostalgic, tender smile on his face.

"What?"

"He slapped me." He shrugged, grinning.

"What?!" She asked, stunned. She couldn't believe nice and kind Josh would do something like that.

"Yeah. He was just trying to be kind but I pushed him and started harassing him. I was thirteen, he was fourteen. I must have said a thing or two that pissed him off because he slapped me."

"No way! Josh?!" She was giggling helplessly, imagining the scene.

"Yeah, but I totally deserved it. He looked straight into my eyes and said: 'When you're done being a b***h, you know where to find me.' and just left me there, enraged and shocked." He shook his head, amused.

"Well, that boy is full of surprises." She smirked.

"You have no idea." He said, turning on his side to face her, a soft smile spreading across his face.

"You know, you remind me of myself. You're hurt like I was. Like I am. And, yes, we aren't doing a great job in helping ourselves, but it's okay. We just need time to figure it out."

"I hope so." She sighed, really meaning those words. She really hoped she would be fine one day. She noticed the shift in his expression and his hesitation before he started to talk again.

"Moon, I'm sorry for our misunderstandings. I didn't mean to piss you off but... I guess I had a flashback and it wasn't a pleasant one. I had no right to act like that or say those words. I have no excuse." He said, chewing the inside of his cheek nervously. He wasn't used admitting his faults but it was something he was working on.

He'd already made a lot of progress but he had a long road ahead of him.

"And I could have been more calm instead of attacking you back. I guess it's my way to protect myself, or so the shrink said." She smiled apologetically at him, then hesitated, before talking again.

"May I ask you what memories it brought back?"

Daniel sighed, took another sip of Jack and pulled out a joint to light it up.

"My mother... she was a nice woman, but she was weak. To make it short, she started doing drugs because of my father. She started with cocaine, alcohol and sedatives. Then crack..." he sighed. "In the end she became addicted to heroine and the problem was she had plenty of money to spend on it." He stopped himself for a moment. It was still really painful to remember, let alone talk about it. He had some good memories of her mother, before she became a drug addict, and it doubled his pain, knowing what a good mother she could have been if she hadn't married the wrong man.

"What about your father? Didn't he do anything?"

"He despised her. It was all his fault but he played the victim all the time. He was the monster. He ruined her. I ended up harboring a grudge for both of them. She was always too wasted to even care about me and he was always out. I'd come back home from school only to find her passed out on the floor. Until, one day, she never woke up." His voice was shaking and his eyes wavered, lost in the sky.

He still remembered that day when he found her dead body on the floor. Her wide, lifeless eyes staring at him, her cold hand wrapped tightly around a bottle of gin. He was only eight.

"I'm so sorry Daniel." Moon breathed out, reaching out to stroke his shoulder. She couldn't do anything to ease his pain but she could show him she was there for him.

"My mother had a sister who took me in since I didn't want to keep living with my father. I mean... I knew all too well he didn't care about my mother, but when I called him, that day, he didn't even bother to show up. He left me, his only son, alone with the maid and the police. He was too busy. Then, my aunt Rosalie, showed at my door and took me away from that damned house. With my aunt I could finally be happy. She was my everything... but he took her away too. He always takes everything from me." A single tear ran down his cheek.

"What happened to her?"

"I'd prefer not talking about it." He said, closing off so suddenly, she immediately took the hint and dropped it.

"I didn't mean to pry, sorry."

"It's alright. Just be careful with drugs ok? I'll be sticking to weed too. Don't wanna go near that s**t ever again. We'll help each other ok?"

"Okay." She smiled at him, feeling suddenly reassured.

They stayed in silence for a while, drinking and smoking, his eyes furtively running down the lenght of her body, alcohol and weed intoxicating his senses, it was a challenge to hide his arousal. He shifted closer to her, his eyes searched hers and she could feel the warmth emanating from his hard body.

"You are so beautiful, Moon." He whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. His eyes hooded as they landed on her plump lips.

She noticed his lust by the way he was looking at her and the bulge in his shorts made her core clench, as shivers ran down her spine.

His hand moved to stroke softly her cheek as he bit his bottom lip and leaned forward, his breath fanning her lips.

That was it. He was going to kiss her.

But, this time, nobody was going to interrupt them.