Chapter 15~My Guardian Angel~

"Your angels are always with you, every minute of every day. You are never alone. You are always loved and watched over."

Iris's POV

Oh, Mondays! The worst day of the week for me or should I say for all students.

I couldn't even concentrate in class, probably because I sensed a certain pair of blue eyes on me.

As soon as the lunch break bell rang, students ran out as their lives depended on it, not wanting to listen to what the teacher had to say.

As I stepped out of the class, someone roughly grabbed my left arm, and without even thinking I went on defense mood and gave the person a good punch at his abdominal region.

The victim groaned in pain while releasing my arm. I adjusted my glasses and right in front of me, were the people I planned to avoid.

Great! Just great!

"JESUS! you have one hell of a punch." James mumbled as he clutched his stomach with his arms.

"I am glad you know who Jesus is." I gave a sly smile.

"Next time don't come up to me like that, you are very lucky because I would have done worse."

"You know normal girls would have turned and acknowledged us," Lucas stated as the corner of his mouth quirked up.

"I guess I am not normal, so what do y'all want?"

"Can you guys hurry up! I am so hungry." Aspen said bouncing on his feet.

"You are always hungry." Henry declared and for the first time, he smiled knowingly at his friend.

Before I could say anything Zander made a groaning sound, with his eyes narrowed in annoyance and his jaw clenched. He gave me a once over before he walked out on us.

The nerve of this guy!

"Just ignore him, He's just not in the mood," James commented as he shared a knowing look with the boys.

"When has he ever been in the mood?" I smirked as they all laughed.

"So are you okay? You know what happened on Saturday?" Lucas questioned.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks for asking, and thanks for your help." I plastered a smile on my face.

"You should be thanking Zander, it was all his doing, even if he acts like he doesn't give a damn," Henry commented and gave a sad smile while I nodded mutely.

"Okay! See you around and don't even try to avoid us again." Aspen smiled mischievously and I shook my head as they left.

I strolled into the huge cafeteria, seeing every student at their usual sitting position eating, chatting, and blabbering.

"Girl! what took you so long." Treasure asked as she chewed on her chicken burritos.

"Sorry about that the boys wanted to know how I was feeling." I pointed at their table and shrugged.

"Oh! about that are you really okay?" Lizzy asked as she sipped her coke.

"Ugghh! I am fine. Y'all should stop treating me like some piece of chinaware."

Lizzy just nodded. "Okay!"

"Hey ladies!" Chris greeted placing a tray of fries, ketchup, and chicken with a bottle of water while taking a seat beside Lizzy.

Treasure and I shared a knowing look and grinned like a maniac as we both watched Lizzy's cheeks turn into a deeper shade of pink. Chris noticed this and just smiled displaying his dimples.

Aww! They look so freaking good together.

Lunch went on with both Treasure and I talking about random things. Chris and Lizzy were just in their world talking and laughing.

And for the first time today, I felt content and forgot about every problem I had. Occasionally, I would share a glance with Zander, but one of us will always look away first.

Talk about awkward!

The rest of the day passed in a blur with teachers giving unnecessary assignments just to ruin our lives. I was so happy I could finally go home.

I waited for Chris by his car.

"Hey Bibbs, you ready to go see your dad?"

"Duh! why do you think I was standing here for the past ten minutes?"

He rolled his eyes. "Anyways, my mom said we should go home first, she made some food for your dad."

"Oh wow! that's so thoughtful of her." I smiled for a few seconds.

Sadness then clouded my features, thinking of how our life would have been if mom was here.

"Bibbs!" Chris snapped me back to reality.

"What?" I questioned.

"I have been trying to get your attention for the last few seconds, you just zoned out." He eyed me skeptically.

"Sorry, just thinking. Can we go now?" I forced a smile and he just nodded.

* * *

We got to the hospital, welcomed by the familiar smell of antiseptic and the usual white walls and ceilings.

We walked straight to the receptionist, who was probably in her mid-thirties chewing gum and smiling at whatever was on her phone.

"Hi! we are here to see Andrew Jones." I smiled while she just glared at me and on seeing Chris she smiled as she gave him a once over.

"Room 53." She answered as we signed our names.

"Thank you." Chris smiled and winked at her and she blushed and I rolled my eyes dragging Chris away from her.

"Hold on! why are you in a rush?" Chris said as we entered the elevator.

"I don't want to see my best friend flirting with a woman way older than him." I deadpanned.

He tossed his head back and laughed. "It's so fun to annoy you." I hissed as we walked out of the elevator and into Dad's room.

Devon was already seated on the chair beside, with both of them chatting like they were long-lost best friends.

Dad noticed our presence and gave a heartwarming smile, and my heart ached for him. He looked slightly pale and it's obvious he has lost a considerable amount of weight and yet he still smiles like this.

"Hey, dad! how are you?" I sat down and held his hands.

"Come on! don't give me that look?"

"What look?" My forehead puckered.

"You know the look where you feel guilty and start blaming yourself for what happened to me.''

I fought back the tears that were threatening to fall and forced a smile. "I wasn't gonna blame myself, I wanted to blame you." I mocked and he just laughed.

"I am fine okay!" I nodded instead of questioning him further.

"Mrs. Parker asked us to bring you some food." I turned in the direction of where the food was and surprisingly both Chris and Devon were already devouring it.

Dad chuckled and they both gave innocent smiles.

Boys!

We spent the next few hours with him, chatting and making fun of each other before dad chased us out.

Zander's POV

ALEXANDER!!!

The name keeps ringing in my head.

Yes, it's my name... Unfortunately!

It seems like it was yesterday all this happened whereas it's been two years... Two freaking years.

Ever since she left, I couldn't even think straight, I can't even bring myself to be happy. It's all my fault that's she's gone.

She was the one person who always gave a damn about me, always putting me on the right track, always giving the best advice. Even when my so-called parents never paid that much attention to me, she was always there.

She was and still is my guardian angel.

Ever since Iris called me by my full name, I couldn't even think straight. I know I shouldn't have lashed out at her like that, but I couldn't help it. It brought back a lot of memories that I have always thought I kept in a box and even thrown the key deep down in the ocean.

Damn! I miss her.

* * *

Alarm beeps!

I groaned as I threw my alarm clock across the room.

Ugh! I hate school!

Phone rings!

"What the heck do you want this morning?"I sighed as I answered the phone without even checking the caller.

"Non parlami cosi, Giovannetti!" (don't talk to me like that, young man!) My eyes widen when I realized it was my nanny.

Yes, I have a nanny, Moving on...

"Scusa nonna!" (Sorry, grandma!) I apologized, depreciatingly.

"How many times have I told you not to call me grandma, I am not old. I am just seventy-two!" She deadpanned.

I chuckled. "Sorry nanny, you know I can't do without annoying you." I could sense she was rolling her eyes, at this point.

"Anyways, I called you to make sure you were awake because I know you probably must have poured out your anger on your alarm clock again."

She knows me too well.

"Ouch!" I faked gasped.

"And when will you come back home? It's been a week. Your nonna misses you a lot and your parents wil-" I cut her off.

"Nonna, please stop! You of all people know that my parents care more about their wealth and status than their son. Even when she left, I thought they would change, but it became worst. The only reason I will come to that house is because of you."

"Okay, son! be good okay and don't get into trouble and make sure you eat well and make sure you--" I cut her off again.

"Ugh! nonna I know what to do. Please don't worry about me, okay, unfortunately, I have to prepare for school, I promise I will call you again."

She laughed. "Addio!"(Bye)

I got ready in less than twenty minutes. I stared at myself in the mirror, using my hands to fix my hair. I sighed when it didn't even stay in place.

I grab a protein bar and an apple, as I drove to the hell they call the school in my black Mercedes Benz S550.

As I got out of my car, I covered my ears from the annoying squeals coming from girls.

Don't they ever get tired?

I sighed in disbelief, despite being in one of the most expensive and prestigious schools, I ain't surprise some people were allowed to attend this school.

Like my dad will always say: "With money and power you can get everything"

I brightened a little when I spotted James, Lucas, and Henry. As usual, we hang out in our cars before getting to class.

"Hey, where's Aspen?" I asked.

"Oh! he said he wanted to check on someone, so I think we will meet him inside," Lucas answered and we all headed inside walking through the enormous hallway receiving various flirtatious glances from some girls.

No surprise there!

I spotted Aspen talking to Iris. As soon as she spotted us, she tried to run but Aspen held her back. It's obvious she was trying to avoid us. Or me.

Aspen ran towards us as Iris left him.

"What was that about?" Henry asked.

"What are you talking about?". Aspen questioned as he raised his brows.

"He's talking about Iris, I hope you ain't hitting on her?" James chuckled as he punched his shoulder playfully.

Aspen laughed. "No, I'm not. Since I am an awesome friend, I just wanted to know how she was." He shrugged and I don't know why but I kind of felt relieved he didn't like her like that.

"And you." He pointed at me. "Why are you in a bad mood on this beautiful morning," Aspen asked cheerfully.

He always seems to be in a good mood unlike me. Pathetic I know.

"Nothing." I grimaced and they all sent me the usual look that meant they obviously knew something had happened. Before they could question me further, I was saved by the bell.

I strolled majestically into my first class which was AP calculus.

As I stepped into the class, I stared right into the familiar piercing grey eyes. After what seems like forever, or should I say a few seconds I sat at the seat adjacent to hers.

This is so going to be one long day!

*****

Hey, it's ibby again.

Finally a longer chapter, with little Italian.

Quick question: How many language(s) can y'all speak?

Love ibby