BXBX NOVEL Chapter 418 - We All Need Air
The siblings walked out of the restaurant with smiles on their faces while linking their arms together. Angela unhooked her arm from his as they stepped out, and Oliver nodded to the left as he said, "This way."
"Oh… Actually, I want to walk back to Nina\'s."
He arched his brow, peering over her shoulder as if looking towards the direction of where Nina\'s apartment was. "That\'s a few blocks away."
"It\'s just a twenty-minute walk. I need some air."
"We all need air, genius."
Angela rolled her eyes. "I mean… I need to walk alone.. I have lots of things to think about. Besides, I need to burn off that dinner we just ate."
Oliver glanced at his car that was parked at the lot across the street while subconsciously twirling his key in his finger. "Are you sure you don\'t want me to drive you? It\'s getting late."
She checked her watch. "Don\'t be ridiculous. It\'s only 8:30. And yes, I\'m sure. You\'re going that way, and I\'m going this way."
He didn\'t like that. His jaw clicked, and he pocketed his key, turning towards Angela. "I\'ll walk with you then. I\'ll just get a cab back here."
Her brother\'s sentiments touched her; she wanted to pinch his cheeks. "Oli… You\'re so sweet, but you don\'t need to worry. I already have a guardian angel." She nodded towards Santiago who was standing across the street under the lamp, smoking.
"Who the hell is that?" He drew his brows together. It was the first time he\'d seen the hulking man who was looking at them like a stalker.
"Santiago. He\'s one of Gael\'s soldiers."
"Well, damn. He\'s a giant. He\'s following you everywhere?"
Angela laughed. Santiago really was a giant. He was probably 6\'5". "Yeah. He\'s nice."
"He better be to you. And not to other people, I hope."
Other people meant those who might harm her. "Yeah, well, let\'s not wish there are other people."
"Of course." Oliver took a deep breath, looking more comfortable than earlier now that he knew someone was watching his sister. "I guess we\'ll split up here then."
Angela smiled and then kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Oli. Goodnight."
"Night, Sis." Oliver gestured for her to go first and watched her for a while to see how Santiago looked out for her. He left once he was satisfied.
The air was cool that night. Though there was some distance from the harbor, she could still smell and taste the faint salty breeze from there, brought by the wind. Angela began walking towards Nina\'s apartment, wondering if she should move into this neighborhood. It seemed quiet and had more police patrolling the area. It wasn\'t that far from her current apartment and Oliver\'s, with lots of restaurants, supermarkets, and hospitals nearby.
But did she really want another high-rise apartment? She thought about Gael\'s brownstone in Brooklyn, and she wanted a similar one. Not a townhouse, but a single-detached house. The view of the snow from her window in his guest bedroom was beautiful. She wanted a view like her bedroom at her father\'s home in Oakwood—quiet and green with a lake—kind of like the house where Gael stayed at whenever he was in Mayne. She became a little bored of seeing the sea as a view now. All her previous apartments always had that view.
A small smile formed on her face. Angela was going to be twenty-nine in a few days, and she did tell herself she would buy a house by the time she\'d reach thirty. Maybe it was time to get that dream house she had wanted for a long time. How exciting would it be to paint, furnish, and decorate her own home! Just the thought of it caused her belly to flutter. She was grinning from ear to ear.
"Hola mami…" A guy leaning outside a store nodded at her while giving an appreciative whistle as she walked past him. He was wearing distraught jeans and a bright floral shirt. He had robust features and tanned skin like that of a surfer. And his eyes raked over her body from head to toe, looking at her lasciviously. "You going home?"
She gave him an eye and kept on walking, not giving him the time of day. Angela was used to being catcalled, and it was honestly tiresome. Sometimes, she\'d tell them off. Other times, she\'d ignore them and wished they\'d fall on their face or get hit by a cab that day. That night, she didn\'t have the spirit to call him out, so she walked faster in the hopes of him getting the hint. Usually, that worked.
Not tonight, though. The man probably thought being relentless would get him what he wanted. He pushed off the wall and followed behind her, muttering something in Spanish that she didn\'t understand but was pretty sure it wasn\'t something she\'d want to hear from him.
This was quite disturbing, especially since she wasn\'t wearing anything revealing at all. She did wear a classy body-hugging dress, but she had on a thick coat over it that covered most of her body. The only skin she was showing was her face and a few inches of her lower legs and feet that were covered in closed shoes. Her hands were tucked inside her coat. She couldn\'t understand what guys like him thought when a woman walked past them.
One might think that because these men didn\'t seem like locals, they had more freedom and were more shameless, which wasn\'t the case. There really were special people like this one, regardless of their race, who thought they were cool if they did this—or that they\'d get off from catcalling. Angela sighed loudly. "Go away. You\'re bothering me."
"Now, don\'t be rude…" He grabbed her left arm and yanked her back. She nearly tripped on her heels. "I just want to—"
"Get your hands off me!" Angela didn\'t think. She reared her right fist back and then punched him right in the nose. There was a crack, and then blood gushed down his nostrils. It was instinct. She only realized what she did when the guy let go of her arm, and he shrieked, his hands flying to his bloody nose.
People started to gather around them.
"Chingado!" The fuck? His eyes were so wide in anger; she thought he was ready to beat her up.
Before he could step any closer, a big steel-booted foot kicked him in the ribs—another crack—and his body was sent smacking against the concrete wall. Santiago picked up the man by the collar and flung him across the sidewalk as if he weighed like a crumpled piece of paper. He spat out a few curses under his breath that also sounded like Spanish as he told off the man.
"You okay?" Santiago turned back to her and quickly scanned her down, ensuring she wasn\'t hurt and Angela nodded stiffly. She was still slightly stunned at what had just happened. "That was some punch. I think you broke his nose."
Her laugh sounded a little awkward. "I hope it did." She checked her right hand, noticing the redness, her knuckles starting to swell. Angela tried to open and close it, and she winced. She had punched harder than she thought.
"You should put ice on that."
"Right. Thanks…"
He shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Just doing my job."
The man behind them was still cursing and whimpering on the ground. The pedestrians ignored him, not one willing to help as they saw what had happened.
Angela headed to Nina\'s place with Santiago walking a few steps behind her. Once they reached the building, he assumed his station across the street while Angela walked inside. She wondered where he slept or stayed the night. He couldn\'t be watching the building 24/7. She wasn\'t sure if she should invite him upstairs to be hospitable. Gael might not like that, and it was Nina\'s apartment too. Santiago probably went to a motel nearby at night. He should have it all figured out.
That night, she stayed up later than usual, looking up houses for sale online. Her right hand was slightly swollen but she was too excited about her research that she didn\'t let it bother her. There were so many beautiful ones—traditional, modern, European, and Asian style structures, but nothing that really caught her eye.
There was one house located thirty minutes from Mayne, heading towards Harbor City. A new modern villa with a beautiful front yard and a two-car garage, but it was in a suburban area with neighbors left and right, front and back—too crowded for her taste. Then she found another one that looked like it was in the middle of nowhere, grungy and almost falling apart. There was some kind of a pond at the back of it. The grass was so tall, someone could hide in it. Many tall trees surrounded the house too. The feel of it was so creepy, it reminded her of hillbillies, making her shiver.
At midnight, her phone buzzed, and she smiled when she saw the notification.
[ Gael: Heard you punched some asswipe in the face. Good girl. I hope you wouldn\'t have to again, but just in case, throw in some kicks in the nuts to stop their chance of multiplying. ]
Angela threw her head back, laughing.
[ Angela: Will do. You going to bed? ]
[ Gael: I wish. I\'m in the middle of a meeting, so I just snuck out for a minute. But I wanted to tell you I miss you. I\'m glad you\'re safe. Good night, Angel. ]
She chewed on her lip as she contemplated her response. Then she typed.
[ Angela: I miss you too. Good night, Gael. ]