Where Angels Fear to Tread

Author's Note: Yes! I finally updated this story - and I seem to be on a role with it. I've already got a little of the next chapter in the works - hopefully it won't be too long before you see it. This chapter is monumental in some ways - it is the first chance you get to see Ross' powers. I hope you enjoy!


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I absolutely loathed mowing the lawn. I had never been able to figure out how, with five men in the house, I always seemed to be stuck with the job. Dad at least had an excuse - his heart was not in the greatest of health. Marcus lived in an apartment with his wife - but the twins were just lazy. They waved at me as I trudged outside, too caught up in their world of television to care what else was going on.

“I’ll help you in about an hour, Ross!” Dad called from the den. It was a weak promise - he always told me he would help and never did. The sway of the football game would keep him glued to the television long after I had finished mowing. Sometimes, I wonder if I am not the only man alive not drawn to sports.

I was surprised to find a car in front of our yard. I knew it wasn’t one of the neighbors. Our neighborhood had gotten picky years ago and demanded vehicles must not be parked on the curb. Marcus, sixteen at the time, had complained day and night about it . . Until a passing car ran into the back of his truck.

I decided to ignore the car, and turned to walk into the garage - only to smack into Enid. She yelped and backed away, laughing. She grinned and pushed her hair out of her eyes. “It’s nice to see you too, Ross.”

“Why are you here?” The blunt question surprised even me. Enid didn’t seem offended though. She simply perked up, and pointed toward her truck. “We just got it!” she announced proudly. “I have been saving my money for a while, and made the payment on it today. I just had this feeling that I needed to show you. You were the first person that came to mind.”

This surprised me. I recovered from my shock quickly, and scanned the truck. “It looks nice. What year?”

“’01. It has a about seventy thousand miles on it, which I didn’t think was bad at all. Dad is a little worried, of course. I have never owned my own car, and he’s paranoid about accidents.”

“Daddy’s little girl.”

“Proud of it.” She sent me a bright smile.

Birds chirped as an awkward silence fell between us. Enid toed the ground momentarily, before raising an eyebrow. “Looking good, Ross.” she commented, waving a hand at my sloppy attire.

“I’m mowing the lawn. ” I grumbled as I moved past her and into the garage. I had thrown on my work clothes - a white wife beater, and a ragged pair of shorts. I hadn’t been looking to impress anyone. “Give me a break.” I turned my back to her, and resisted the urge to cringe when Enid suddenly gasp.

“Ross, what happened?” The words seemed to spill from her mouth before she could stop them.

I didn’t have to ask what she was talking about. Enid had glimpsed the top of my “scars”. Two long, red welts covered my back from the top of my shoulder blades to the bottom of my back. During the day, when my wings were hidden, these ‘scars” would appear. Early in the morning until noon, they appeared as angry welts. They faded as the day went on, until twilight when my wings came out again.

“It’s nothing. I’ve had them almost all my life.” It wasn’t quite a lie.

Enid frowned. “Ross, they look new.”

“They bleed sometimes.”

“Have you ever had them examined? They could be infected, or -”

“Enid, they’re fine.” I snapped, immediately feeling bad when she shied away. I sighed and tried to tug my shirt over the top of them. “I told you, I’ve had these almost all of my life. We’ve seen doctors for them, and I know exactly what to do about them. You don’t need to worry on my benefit, I promise.”

She looked frustrated, but didn’t say anything else. I didn’t want to have to explain things further - the more questions people asked, the harder it became to lie. I hated lying to Enid. She had told me so much about herself already, I hated deceiving her to what I was. I decided now was the time for a topic change. “Why don’t you take me somewhere.” I offered. “You’re obviously proud of your new car, and old Bob could probably use a break.”

Enid rolled her eyes. “Bob could use more than a break. Bob needs a trip to the junkyard.”

I sent her a glare. “Bob runs just fine, thank you.” I snapped in my cars defense. “All he really needs is a new engine, which I am saving up for, and a new paint job. He’s gotten me this far for years.”

Enid seemed amused at the love for my car. “Ross,” she declared. “Only you could be in love with a piece of junk.”

She had me there.

“Where do you want to go?”

I shrugged. “Anywhere. Just get me away from my family.”

Enid seemed amused. “Big family driving you up the wall?”

“I fail to see how, in a house of five men, I always seem to be the one who mows the lawn. I am taking a break.” It was time for Blake or Allen to learn what work was. Hell, with the two of them, it might take less time. “Let me run inside.”

I ran back inside the house. Allen popped his head out of the bedroom, looking confused. “It just took you fifteen minutes to mow the lawn?”

“Nope,” I said, cheerfully. “It will take you much longer. I am going somewhere with Enid Grey, and leaving you the job. Take some responsibility, Allen. Drag Blake with you. You two do everything together anyway.”

Allen looked pissed, but I did not take the time to listen to his protests. I grabbed a random shirt off of the floor, and dashed back outside. Enid was already in her truck, and had it started. I slid into the passenger seat, and gave her a look. “So, where are we headed?”

“You tell me. Seat belt, please.” I rolled my eyes, but grabbed my seat belt and wound it around my body and clicked it in place. She looked pleased and pulled away from the curb. “How about we go somewhere and eat? Nothing fancy, but we could grab something like McDonalds, or something fast food. Unless you want something like Outback .”

“Freddy’s?” she asked, referring to the burger joint just down the street from my house. I nodded my agreement, and the pulled the car into the right direction.

Her emotions were in an uproar, and I did my best to both ignore, and soothe her. It doesn’t take much effort for me to calm people down; sending a little relaxation someone’s way can change their entire outlook on things. Right now, Enid was feeling embarrassed, confused, and a rush of . . Affection?

Freddy’s wasn’t too busy, and I jumped at the chance to get out of the small truck. Being cooped up there with so many emotions from one girl was exhausting.

We ordered our food, but Enid was silent besides ordering. She frowned as we sat down to eat, her eyes focusing on her hamburger. She took a bike and munched on it for a moment before finally sighing and dropping her food. Her eyes met mine. “We need to talk.”

I gulped. When my mother or sisters took that tone with me, it was usually something bad. “Go for it,” I managed to ground out.

Come on, Enid. Just talk to ---

The thought floated through before I managed to catch it. I put up more mental barriers to block the unguarded thoughts out. The last thing I needed was to answer a thought instead of her verbal words. It was harder than I’d imagined (I wanted to know what she thought)but I managed.

Enid took a deep breath. “I realize what I’m about to say is going to sound stupid, but it’s all I’ve got. I like you - a lot. I know we haven’t known each other long but . . Sometimes you just know.”

“Makes sense.”

A touch of irritation filled the air. “ ‘Makes sense?’ I confess my undying love to you and all you have to say is it ‘makes sense’? Am I just going to be made the fool here? If you don’t like me, Ross, then just -”

“Stop,” I interrupted, holding up a hand to stop her tirade. Frustration filled up her face, but she stopped and crossed her arms, pining me with a look that could have wilted a sunflower. “I didn’t say that I didn’t like you. It’s just. . Complicated.”

“Complicated?”

“Yes. I can’t . .” I bit my lip. What was I supposed to say? Sorry, Enid, I’m a modern day Cupid and I can’t date you because of that?

Why didn’t we just go ahead and call the insane asylum now?

“You can’t date me. I get it.”

Now I was frustrated. “Would you stop interrupting me!” I snapped, harsher than I had expected to and I saw her flinch in response. “Let me finish a sentence before you start making accusations! I can’t because of my family. Like I said, Enid, it’s complicated. They love you - hell, my mother thinks you’re one of the best girls in our school, just from what she’s heard alone. But .. . I’m not really supposed to date. They wouldn’t like it.”

“Wouldn’t like it?” Enid grumbled, and she frowned again. “Are you guys secretly Amish or don’t believe in dating? I mean, one of your brothers is married, right?”

“It’s not that. Just me.” I couldn’t explain much more.

Enid looked beyond frustrated, but refused to say anything else, even when I asked for questions. She munched on her hamburger a little more before finally announcing she needed to be home soon. I took this as my queue that I was in some major trouble with her.

Not that I blamed her. Girls didn’t usually spout out their feelings for a guy only to have him tell her “thank you.”

“Geeze Ross, who died?” Alan remarked as I slammed the door. His eyes went wide as I ignored him and chose to lock myself in my room.

At least it made me feel better.


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I was confused.

For the first time in my life, I was confused over a girl. I had watched countless others go through this ritual, not knowing if the person they had feelings for liked them back. I had even helped in these situations. I was the one who fixed them. It made no sense that I should be unable to tell anything about Enid Grey’s feelings for me.

Because I most certainly had them for her.

I groaned and collapsed on my bed, ignoring the few stray feathers that were now poking into my back. There were a million reasons why a relationship wouldn’t work out. For one, wings aren’t exactly in style anymore. For most, they died out with the Greeks and Romans, and were only left to those with a certain bloodline. My bloodline.

The other question was about my powers. Would, or could Enid truly have feelings for me of her own accord? I had found out the hard way, years ago, that I could tamper with people’s crushes. Would she like me for who I am . . . Or because I was making her? It was all very confusing.

A knock on my door startled me out of my thoughts. A few seconds later, Marcus poked his head in, and again knocked on my door. “You decent?”

“If I wasn’t, wouldn’t you still come in?”

He snorted. “Like I’d ever catch you naked. Don’t you have a fear of that?”

I glared at my brother and ignored his comment. There was no need to hit any nerves today. “What did you need, Marcus?” I growled out.

Marcus laughed and raised his hands in defense. “Believe it or not, little brother,” he said. “I didn’t come in here to tease or torture you. I actually came to talk. You’ve been distracted lately. More than I’ve ever seen you before. What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit.” he said. “There’s something going on and I want to know. I’m worried about you. Ross, in nineteen years, I’ve never seen you act so careless before. Is it this Enid girl?”

My silence confirmed his suspicions. He shifted the random books that littered my bed out of the way, and took a seat at the foot. “You need to tell her, Ross. She deserves to know you have feelings for her. And besides, who says it’s going to be a disaster? People fall in love - they get married, they have babies. . . It’s supposed to be a natural thing. You of all people should realize this.”

“It is not supposed to happen to me.”

“Why?” Marcus countered. “Why can’t it? I’ve never understood that rule - it’s never made any sense to me. Why can’t someone who helps everyone else find love everyday get a taste of what it’s like? It’s ridiculous that Mom and Dad even make you follow it. I hope that when my son is born, I’ll be more understanding.”

It was one of the longest rants I had ever heard Marcus go on. Out of all of my siblings, Marcus was probably the one who understood me the best. In a way, he had to - he carried the gene for an eros, and eventually would be the father of one someday.

Marcus finally shrugged. “I just think if you really like the girl, you should go for it. Forget what Mom and Dad say. Uncle Lucas did.”

I frowned. Lucas was still a bachelor and had been for all of his life. “How so?”

“It was a long time ago, before you were born. Lucas had a girlfriend; a pretty one if I remember correctly. Head over heels in love with her. Yes, the relationship ended, but from what I’ve heard from Lucas, he has never regretted the chance to have her. He cherishes it.

I bit my lip - My uncle was the last person I wanted advice from in this situation. On the other hand, Marcus looked torn between giving more advice and simply leaving things at that. I wasn’t ready to end the conversation though. “What does it feel like?” I asked. “To have a crush, I mean?”

“Exciting. New. It’s a fun feeling, but it can hurt when it’s not returned.”

I felt a stab of guilt. All of my life I’d been helping people with their crushes - even causing a few now and then. But I had never had one - never known the torture of the thing.

It sucked.

I knew what I needed to do . . And unfortunately, that chance might have passed.