Fallen Angel

"Derek?" Travis called from the kitchen. "Get your lazy ass out of bed. Chief will be pissed if we are late again."

Ah. My human alarm clock with no snooze button. I rolled my eyes and sighed. As I rolled over, my hand gripped my pillow, and slammed it over the back of my head. It had been six months since I moved in with my partner in the department, Travis. He was my best friend, and I could trust him with anything. Most of the time, it seemed like nothing had changed. However, it felt as if I was living with my parent.

I couldn't blame Travis too much for that. He grew up an orphan and assumed responsibility for his little sister at a young age. He naturally started trying to help me through my shortcomings. I did appreciate Travis having my back and being there. Knowing his past, I did my best to brush it off when it was too much. I didn't know much about Cecilia, though. She was three years younger than Travis and me, making her twenty-four years old.

Cecilia was involved in a court case, and Travis was a wreck until I assumed they won. Honestly, I didn't feel it was my place to ask questions. I figured if Travis wanted to talk about it, he could. I was never the kind of person to pry. The whole situation was stressful in the first place; there was no reason to dig it all up every time he was home.

"Derek!"

My pillow had no chance; the same hand that grabbed it for a poor attempt at soundproofing sent it flying across the room. An irritated groan escaped my lips. I slithered to the edge of the bed, threw my legs overboard, and stretched.

"I'm up!" I shouted back.

I sighed again, running my hand over my face. The thick facial hair scratched the surface of my palm. I knew I needed to get up, but I somehow felt unprepared for the day. The sun still hadn't risen, but the moon's cool light shone through the window. The silver light illuminated the dark wood floor and pale blue walls. The cool rays seemed to add a foreboding chill to the air.

I forced myself to stand before ambling towards the bathroom. After a quick shower, I combed my shaggy light brown hair, allowing it to fall over the right side of my undercut.

"Fuck," I muttered. Past me was so unforgiving; throwing clothes in the general direction of the dresser is not an effective way of putting them away. My hands dug through until finding a white t-shirt and some standard-issued pants.

I dressed as fast as possible and started slipping my shoes on.

Ring!

I was surprised to hear the doorbell ring at this time.

"Can you get that?" Travis called out from the other bathroom.

My head fell back, and I sighed again. I grabbed the last piece of my uniform, a button-down company shirt, and started to the front door and went downstairs. My heavy feet drug across the carpet as I yawned, nearing the noise on the other side of our door. One arm in-

Ring!

The bell rang again as I slid my other arm into my shirt sleeve, ignoring the buttons.

"Geez..." I muttered, "Yeah! Yeah, I'm coming." I grumbled, wishing for a massive cup of black coffee.

I opened the door and froze at the sight of the scene in front of me. It wasn't the cautious chocolate brown eyes meeting mine for a fraction of a second before dropping to the ground. Nor was it the woman's honey-blonde hair that fell loosely in front of her face. It wasn't even the tiny child who clung to her leg that stopped me.

What drew me in was the black eye her hair was trying to hide. It was her swollen, bloodied lip and right wrist at least twice its normal size. I let my sage green eyes hesitantly trail to the young girl—a large gash spread across her forehead, blood matting her straight blonde hair. Anger bubbled in my chest. The child couldn't be more than four years old. Yet, she trembled and quivered from my gaze. The effort to not hide from me was apparent.

"Is Travis here?" The woman asked, nervously taking a step backward.

"Uh, yeah," I started, "come in. Please,"

I stepped out of the doorway so they could enter the house.

"No," She answered, jerking away quickly.

The child started crying quietly. Her hands clung to her mother's leg. Her bright blue eyes were so wide with fear they almost seemed too big for her face. Her small pink lips trembled despite being pressed into a firm line.

"Okay," I stepped back inside, holding up my hands. "Okay. I'll go get Travis."

I ran to Travis' room, throwing the door open. He was fastening the last button of his perfectly pressed shirt. His room was immaculate; his appearance was always clean. Living in orphanages his whole childhood made him a total neat freak.

"Seriously, dude?" He started, stopping when he saw my expression. "What happened?"

Travis' clean-shaven jaw stiffened, and light brown eyes tightened. His already light complexion paled slightly.

"I think it's your sister." I tried to force my voice to be calm.

I failed. I had never seen Travis look afraid. However, as his expression slackened, true terror filled his eyes. For a second, I was worried he would faint.

"Tav?" I asked, but he bolted past, ignoring me.

I followed slowly, allowing myself to imagine the Cecilia I dreamt up from childhood stories. She had always starred as the stubborn, sassy, fearless sidekick to Travis' stupid plans. It was hard to imagine the timid girl on the step as that fiery child, but there was no denying it. Her physical features were too close to Travis's to be a coincidence.

I was sure that she was Cecilia. All I needed to know was who I had to kill for hurting my best friend's baby sister. Travis was my only family, and I would do anything for him and his people.

Looking down at his sister, Travis stopped at the front door's threshold. It was clear he was making sure not to frighten her. His cropped military-style light brown hair glowed under the front porch light.

"Cici?" Travis asked breathlessly, but also somehow furious at the same time.

"Hey, Tav…" Her response was something between embarrassed and nervous.

I leaned against the wall behind him and fought to remain stoic. Cecilia eyed me warily before returning her gaze to her brother. Travis's shoulders seemed to relax when he noticed I had his back.

Travis sighed, sounding defeated. "When?"

"He showed up last night…" She trailed off, tears brimming her eyes, "I called the police, but he ran."

"Why didn't you guys go to the hospital?" He snapped, sounding too harsh, in my opinion.

The little girl whimpered, hiding farther behind her mother. Instincts I wasn't aware of made me stiffen protectively. As those petrified blue eyes met mine, I wanted to place myself between the child and everything that scared her.

"And wait for him to find us there?" Cecilia snapped, pulling the girl's trembling form closer. "I had to leave. I didn't know where else to go."

"Okay, okay…" Travis paused, sorting out his thoughts before crouching and reaching for the child. "Let's go, Skyler. Honey..."

The girl whimpered again, burying her face into her mother. Pain flashed across Travis' face as his niece cowered away from him. I could only imagine the hurt my best friend felt from the rejection.

"Where are we going?" Cecilia asked, seeming unsure.

"The hospital." Despite his valiant effort, pain was still evident in Travis' voice.

"Tav-" she started nervously.

"The department works through Dr. Smith. She won't allow any information to go anywhere but my boss." Travis cut her off desperately.

"I'll go straight to work and talk with the chief, then meet you guys at the hospital." I offered.

Travis shot me a thankful glance. I was glad to have a job, but Cecilia looked at me incredulously as if she wasn't quite sure why I had dared to speak. Her expression would have made me smile under different circumstances.

"Fine," she finally relented, frowning nervously.

"Cici," Travis said in a low, quiet tone. "I won't let this happen again."

Cecelia bit her lip and straightened her posture, nodding stiffly. Despite her bulletproof façade, tears filled her eyes, threatening to spill over, and her hands shook with nerves.

"I'll head to the station, then. I'm sure the chief will have plenty of questions I can't answer, so I'll pick up the paperwork." I said, feeling intrusive.

"No paperwork!" Cecilia said frantically.

"Thanks, man," Travis said as he stepped out, leading Cecilia to his car.

I followed them out, all too aware of Cecilia glancing backward regularly. Then I headed to my car and climbed in, waiting for them to leave. As they pulled out, Cecilia watched me through the window. Our eyes met, and I forced a smile, nodding in acknowledgment.