Page 7 of From Angel to Rogue (Four Foxes #6)

LAN

An angel.

That was what she was.

A gorgeous, ethereal angel with hair so golden like a halo.

They were so silky and shiny that my fingers itched to thread through them. I didn’t know if I was more captivated by her hair, or beautiful face, or those sparkling green eyes.

I caught her watching me thrice.

Even through that glaring kitchen window, I could see her, although she was blurry. I confirmed it was her the moment I entered my bedroom to the sight of her sitting cross-legged in a pile of dull red blankets, her tongue pressed to her upper lip as her hands fidgeted with some sort of string.

And I just stood there like a fool, staring before her shocked eyes found mine. The next ten minutes were probably the hardest of my life as I pretended to unpack my clothes. The entire time, I knew she was watching me.

“Band.” Her sweet voice brought my attention back to her. “My brother and his friends recently started a band, and they need one more member. Rock music. I think you should join them. You’re good.”

“No, thank you,” I said before I could stop myself.

A flush of red swept across her cheeks, and her eyes cast downward.

No. I wanted those eyes to look at me.

Why the hell did you say no, thank you, Lan? I cursed myself. That was probably the last thing she wanted to hear.

No girl had ever made me feel so flustered that I had no idea what to say.

“What I meant is,” I started, and her eyes shyly peeked from beneath her lashes. “I’m not much for rock music. But I’ll… I’ll think about it.”

She nodded but didn’t say a thing.

I couldn’t help but creep my eyes over to her red dress, the shade of it was the same color as her bedsheets. I wonder if red was her favorite color.

“Umm, why are you here?” I asked, and it came out sharper and more blunt than I intended. Fuck, everything about her was making me act like a fool. “I mean,” I attempted in a more softer tone. “Here as in my window.” I gestured.

“My mom asked me to give you this.” She lifted the foil tray in her hands. “It’s chocolate cupcakes,” she said shyly as she handed them to me.

“Oh, thanks,” I mumbled, taking it from her. I’d never had anyone in my life deliver cupcakes to my window before, but I wasn’t complaining. I was thinking of a way to talk to her anyway, so I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity than her showing up at my window.

“I’ll get going then,” she muttered, not really meeting my eyes. “Welcome to the neighborhood.”

And I just stood there not saying anything as she slowly turned around, her back getting farther and farther away from me.

“Wait,” I called out, and she froze before whipping her head toward me.

Those green eyes pinned me with question.

Think of something, Lan. You stopped her.

Not knowing what to do, I set those cupcakes aside and heaved myself over the ledge and jumped out the window. A ghost of a smile whispered on my lips as those green eyes widened when I neared her.

“Wh…what are you doing?” she gasped, her hand curling to her chest.

What was I doing? I didn’t know. But I’m intrigued by you, and I think you’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen, and I want to keep talking to you.

But instead, I said, “Grocery. Lara asked me to get a few things, but I don’t know where the store is,” I lied. We were getting takeout tonight, but I didn’t divulge that bit of information to her.

“It’s just a few streets over,” she replied, the pink still painted on the apples of her cheeks. “You just need to walk straight ahead and turn right, keep walking and then left. You’ll see the sign for Marty’s—”

“Come with me,” I cut in, running a hand through my hair. “I mean, you could show me. The way.”

“Hmm.” She blinked, her long lashes curling around her eyes.

Adorable.

“Okay. I’ll just go get my jacket.”

“You can wear mine,” I muttered, running back to my window and digging for my zipper hoodie that I had flung on my desk earlier. Thankfully, I had some dollars stuffed in my jeans. “Here.” I handed her my hoodie.

“Thanks,” she muttered, her delicate fingers clasped around the sleeves as she pulled it around her.

My hoodie swallowed her frame; she was taller than most girls, but I was taller than her.

I had always been taller than the average person, but my recent growth spurt made my previous skinny, lanky form fill out a bit.

I even had muscles showing up on my arms and abs.

I walked as close to her as I could get, digging my hands into the pockets of my jeans. Her sweet rose scent wafted my way whenever the wind brushed our skin, and I think I liked it. I liked it a lot. I wondered if her lips would taste like roses too. Not that I knew what roses tasted like.

“Do you always call your mom by her name?” Her question made my eyes slide to her. “I mean, you called her Lara earlier.”

“She’s not my mom. They are my parents’ friends. I just live with them.”

Her lips curved into an “O” as she frowned. “So that girl from earlier is not your sister?”

My lips twitched. Did she not like the fact that there was another girl our age under my roof? “Serena is a friend, but I’ve lived with her long enough that I consider her my sister.” I stressed the last word, and if I saw right, I’d say relief glowed in her eyes.

“Your parents… are they?” She hesitated, biting her plump lip. “Are they alive—”

“Yes, they are. They live out East. Let’s just say they are busy and wanted me to experience the whole small-town life.”

“I have never heard of something like that. What parents left their child with their friends? That seems so irresponsible and cold,” she muttered before her eyes rounded to saucers. “Not that I’m saying your parents are irresponsible. I’m sure they must have their reasons.”

Probably because they wanted their youngest to have the most normal life as possible. I did miss them, my family, my friends, and the only world I knew. But I liked living the regular American life with the Locksons.

“They do. They actually love their younger son a little too much and want him to experience small-town life. Let’s just say where I come from, that’s a little impossible.”

Twin City. That was my home, and normal wasn’t the right word to describe life up there.

My family, the Greigewoods, was one of the richest families in the world.

Coming from seventh-generational wealth, we, the Greigewoods, amassed billions and were major stakeholders in the Twins.

When a ransom attempt on me and my brother went wrong two years ago, they packed me up to go live with the Locksons, while my eldest stayed back.

Lucien was the face of the legacy, so there was no escape for him.

“It’s an unusual arrangement. But as long as everyone is happy, who really cares, right?” she added with a small smile.

And it was only then that I realized I hadn’t even asked her name.

That was how befuddled she made me in a matter of minutes.

I wasn’t one to lose composure. I was laid back, calm, and collected, and nothing usually fazed me. Sometimes, my best friend Jon called me an unfeeling monster. I’d much rather prefer the term socially selective, more of a lone wolf who loved his company more than other humans.

Although I wondered if that would change if she were to keep me company.

“Your name?” I asked, memorizing the slope of her nose and the dip of her lips.

“Katy,” she replied sweetly. “Yours?”

“Landon.”

“Landon.” She spelled my name on her lips as if she was testing it, and right at that moment, I never wanted anyone else to ever call me by name except her.

“That’s Marty’s.” She pointed at the big blue sign on a huge corner store next to the gas station. “This is the biggest grocery store in our town. There’s another one on the other side of town, but it’s pretty much the same thing.”

I nodded as she led me, and just as we approached the door, I sprang before her and held the door open. I knew girls liked it when guys did that. And Katy very well did, judging how the red flushed across her face matched the maroon of my hoodie she was wearing.

I’d never imagined when Linda and Frank told us we would be moving to a town called Bellevue, that I would spend the first night trying to impress a girl.

She grabbed a basket from the stand, and I immediately took it away from her delicate fingers.

“What did you want to get?”

“Umm.” My eyes swept over the rows and rows of labels, trying to think of something. I didn’t want to say anything that would cut our little trip short. I wanted to linger in the grocery store as long as I possibly could. “Milk, eggs, the usual. A bit of everything, I guess.”

“Okay, then let’s walk down all the aisles that way we can grab anything you need.”

Yes, that seemed like a good enough plan to me. The longer, the better.

“Will you be going to Bellevue High as well?” she asked, dropping a block of butter into my basket.

Bellevue High? I was home-schooled my entire life, but that could change depending on her answer. “Why, do you go there?”

“Yes, that’s the only high school in town.”

“Then that’s where I’ll be going too.” I sidestepped to make way for the woman rolling a filled cart in front of us. The motion made the back of my hand graze Katy’s soft ones.

And I was close, so close to her that only an inch separated us. She was sandwiched between the shelves and my body, and my gaze lowered as I watched her inhale sharply.

The moment didn’t last long as I mumbled a sorry and created a safe distance between us. But still remained close.

“Then we can be friends,” she blurted.

Confused, I eyed her.

“I mean, like we would be going to the same school and we are neighbors, so we could be friends. Or not.” She waved a hand. “Or try to. It’s not that we know each other enough to be friends.” She swallowed, a flare of fear crossing her glinting eyes. Like she was scared of what I would say.

I already had one friend whose personality matched the bodies of a hundred friends. Making new friends was a chore, and I never wanted another friend.

Yet right here, right now, I never wanted to be friends with anyone else more than her. Maybe even more than friends. I wanted it with her.

“I would love that,” I said softly. “I would love to be your friend.”

The way her eyes melted at my words was a picture I wanted to capture and keep in my pocket for the rest of my life.

We walked the last section, and I was already bummed that my time with her was nearing an end.

“These are good.” Her hand darted out to grab a jam pie. “They only brought them in last week, and it’s already my new favorite snack. My treat, I’ll get it for you,” she said with a wide smile that made the gold specks in her eyes shine.

I hated sugar. But then, I would eat sand if I could see that smile on her face. “It should be my treat,” I added the entire row of jam pies to my basket.

“That’s too much,” she mumbled.

“It’s nothing.” My family had enough money to buy a country, so it really was nothing.

Much to my dismay, we were soon standing by the counter to pay.

Katy stared intently at my basket, biting her lips. “We forgot milk,” she blurted like it was a crime we forgot milk. “I’ll go get it. Everyone needs milk.”

“No, it’s okay—” She started to walk away before I could stop her. I wanted to follow her, but the cashier had already started scanning the items.

I stood there bored, wishing the cashier who loudly chewed her bubble gum would hurry up.

The sound of the bell and girly giggles filtered through the store, which was almost empty now. I didn’t even bother to turn as I kept my eyes trained on the aisle where Katy disappeared.

The girly giggles and the smell of choking perfume came into my vision, annoying the fuck out of me.

A girl with ink-black hair in tight jeans with two similar-looking girls behind her grabbed a packet of Sour Patches while they whispered something to themselves as they made their way to the counter.

They stilled when they noticed my presence, and the girl in the middle looked shocked. For what? I had no idea. I hoped she would move so I could keep an eye out for my Katy.

“Hi.” The girl stepped forward. “I’ve never seen you before. I’m Sabrina, by the way.”

It took me a long second to understand that she was actually talking to me. I nodded politely.

But she didn’t get the hint. “And you are?” she asked, slyly tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Landon,” I mumbled.

“Landon,” she said in her grating voice, and I immediately wanted to wash her lips with bleach. “Did you just move here?”

“Yes.”

“We should hang out.”

“No, thank you,” I said honestly this time. Whatever perfume she was wearing was already giving me a headache.

She looked taken aback, like no one had ever denied her presence.

“We should be going to the same school. Trust me, nothing is interesting in Bellevue. It’s the most boring town, but I know all the cool places. I could show you…”

I wanted the girl with the golden hair, who spoke random things, making my heart fill with the kind of intrigue I’d never felt before. I wanted Katy to come back already and save me from this perfume-riddled assemblage.

I mustered a smile, hoping she would leave me alone. Just then, I saw Katy rushing toward me, clutching a carton of milk in her arms. Her steps faltered when her eyes dragged over to the girls in front of me.

Sabrina followed my gaze, and her lips pulled into an ugly snicker as she looked at Katy under her nose. And I didn’t like it one bit.

Katy swallowed and walked over to me so slowly like it was the last thing she wanted to do. Just as she crossed Sabrina and her friends, they said something to her in low tones so fast that I didn’t catch it.

I wanted to interrupt them, but the cashier rang up my bill just then, slowly announcing my total. I threw a few bills and turned, but Katy was already by my side, looking down as she extended the milk carton. “Here.”

“Thanks.” I took it and cast a frown toward Sabrina and her friends, whose giggles only got louder.

For some reason, that made Katy stiffen, and her shoulders bunched up in tension.

“You okay?” I muttered.

She nodded but didn’t say a thing.

Thankfully, right at that time, the cashier was done. I retrieved the brown bag and took hold of Katy’s hand without a second thought as I hauled her out of there.

A tiny gasp slipped through her lips when my warm fingers laced through her soft ones.

I’d never held hands with a girl before, but right here, right now, it felt like we were a perfect fit.