"It's okay. He can't hurt you now." He says softly. "Let's get you home." 

My vision is blurred and I'm lying down, staring up at the ceiling. Although it's difficult to see, I can tell that I am in my bed and I am in my room. Sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I can make out a figure sat at the foot of my bed. 

"Woah!"

I fall off my bed with shock and hit my head on the floor below me.

"Ouch!"

I look up and see the man who stands up quickly. As I blink and look up at him I can see his face. Wow. What a face it is. His eyes are a bright icy blue and his hair is as black as the night sky, creating a perfect contrast. I want to tear my eyes away from the pretty boy but I find myself unable. 

When he speaks, I realise who he is. "Please don't freak out."

It's the man who saved my life

I shuffle away from my bed and my back hits the opposite wall. The man looks down at me and I look straight back up at him.

"Who... who are you? Why are you in my house?" I ask as I begin to shake.

"I'm Phil," He takes a deep breath "I'm your guardian angel."

I stand up, legs like jelly beneath me and feel around on my bedside table which is right next to me, not taking my eyes off the man.

"You're what?"

"I was sent here to protect you. This demon is trying to kill you and I'm here to stop that from happening." He tries to explain.

"You're crazy!" I shout as I grab a cup from the table and launch it at the man. As he lifts his arms to defend himself, I run out of the room and downstairs to try and get to my phone. I have to call someone. The police? Darby? Anyone?

"Stop!" The man yells at me and I hear his feet run downstairs.

"Get out of my house you creep!" I shout back to him as I run into my living room and slam the door behind me.

As I turn around, Phil is stood in the middle of the room, his hands out in front of him as if he's trying to tame a wild animal. "Calm down. I'm not here to hurt you."

"How did you- what- What do you want with me?"

Phil takes a risky step forward and I press my back up against the door, my hand on the handle. He glances at my hand and then looks back at my face.

"Okay. If you want me to leave then I will. Just let me explain to you why I'm here in the first place."

"Why should I listen to you?" My grip on the doorknob tightens.

"Because your life may depend on it."

My grip loosens and I decide that I should just hear him out- then kick him out.

"Okay," I say shakily. 

"You're not gonna throw any more cups at me are you?" Phil asks half seriously. I just look at him sceptically. "We might want to sit down. How about I make coffee?" 

I ponder this for a minute. I have only just woken up after all. And on top of that- I can only remember last night very vaguely. Perhaps that's for the better? Perhaps not.

"Okay." is all I can say.

We walk into the kitchen and I sit down at the breakfast bar as Phil looks for a couple of mugs and turns on the kettle. I watch him as he moves about the kitchen with grace. He's so tall it's as if he's a dancer or some sort of figure skater. 

He hands me my coffee and sits down next to me as he sips his. I turn on my stool and he does the same so now we are facing each other. I simply stare down into the tan coloured liquid and swirl it about instead of drinking it.

"I guess we got off to a bit of a bad start?" Phil chuckles. He's so bright and happy- despite me going crazy and being confused.

"Yeah. We did." I reply bluntly.

"How about we start from the beginning?" He suggests. I nod in response. "Hi. I'm Phil." He holds out a hand for me to shake.

I grasp his warm, slightly clammy hand and shake it. "I'm-"

"Samantha. I know." Phil sips his coffee again. "How much of last night do you remember?"

"I remember coming home from Darby's. I remember seeing this man and I remember passing out." I remember him saving my ass too, but I decide not to mention it.

Phil puckers his lips in thought. "Do you want to know what happened? Because If you'd rather forget, I understand but it'll be a little harder to explain things."

I finally take a sip of my coffee and close my eyes as I feel it touch my soul. "I'd rather forget." I start, "But if I need to know then I'd like you to tell me."

"This might sound crazy but you're just going to have to trust me."

I flinch at the word trust but nod anyway.

"Demons are real. So are angels. That's what I am. An angel. I was born when you were born- well- brought into existence. I've always been this age and always will be. If you die, I die. So your life is very valuable to me and I will always guard it as safely as my own. Now, this is kinda difficult because you, Samantha, have a demon after you." 

I find all of this hard to believe. I'm a pretty sceptical person but I decide to hear him out. The way Phil's face looks when he talks makes me want to believe him. "A demon? After me?"

Phil nods. "And he tried to kill you last night. He had you by the neck and you almost suffocated."

I feel my blood run cold. "Why me?"

"Well... When your mum was pregnant with you, I mean- you were in her tummy, you didn't get your mum pregnant." Phil sips his drink. "She got into an accident and was close to death. Daniel- your demon- made a deal with your dad that if your mum survives, he get's to have your soul." 

I blink. Would my dad really do something like this? He's as sceptical as me.

"Now there are rules when you get someone's soul. You can't just take it from them while they're alive. You need to wait for them to die. It seems Dan's getting impatient and so he's trying to kill you." Phil says as softly as he can, but the words he's trying to kill you feel like a knife. "If we send Dan back to hell then not only will he not be able to kill you but your soul will no longer belong to him."

"What? Why? Can't he just climb back out?"

"Well, that's what hell is. Losing everything you have. Being stripped of your humanity. Having nothing but your conscience and pain. When you go to hell, you lose everything. No matter if it's physical like a cat or something abstract like someone's soul, you'll lose it."

I feel myself shiver.

"Yes he can climb back out but he's going to have to start over."

I take a deep breath. "How do we... send him back?"

"Um... Actually about that..." Phil sets his mug on the breakfast bar. "It's not a matter of we. It's a matter of you. Only you can send him back. I have a couple of people up above working on a seraph- a knife which can banish demons- and as soon as it's finished, you can use it."

"I have to kill him?"

Phil nods.

"Why should I believe you?"

He simply looks at me with an expression of... desperation? Hope?

"You just have to." He says as he turns on his stool and faces away.

I think about this for a minute. "You don't look like an angel..." I say quietly, mostly to myself. "Don't angels usually have wings or something?"

"I have wings," Phil says as he turns back to face me.

"You do? Where are they?"

Phil scratches the back of his head. "You can't see them. They're invisible unless I show them to people or I let my mental guard down- like if I'm feeling a very extreme emotion."

"Extreme emotion?"

"Love- or lust. Fright. Rage." Phil shrugs. "You know, stuff like that."

As I look at him, I find it hard to believe a person so perfect could experience extreme rage. It's just impossible for me to imagine someone so... ethereal experience something so primal.

"Can I see them? Your wings I mean."

"I don't see why not..." Phil says as he lifts the back of his shirt up.

He tilts his head back and closes his eyes. He takes a deep, smooth breath and moves his shoulders. As he does this, a pair of beautiful, huge, feathery white wings sprout from his back.

I gawk and my mouth hangs slightly open. He was telling the truth. He's an angel. He has f*cking wings!

I try to contain my emotion as I stare at them. Phil blushes and they flop slightly as he catches sight of me gazing.

"Where do they go when I can't see them?"

"Where do your eyeballs go when you blink?"

I tilt my head. "Nowhere?"

Phil smiles. "Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they aren't there."

---

A/N:
So don't quote me on this but I'm gonna try and update every Saturday. If that goes well then I'll try twice a week.

Stay tuned,

-Beth