An Angel's Chaos, Is A Demon's Hell

Never ask an unorganised angel to look after anything!

“This is pure chaos!”

I looked up from the stack of letters I’d been searching through to look at Gabriel, my sometimes lover. Don’t let the name fool you - he’s no angel. In fact, he was the direct opposite. Didn’t make him a bad guy though, something I‘d had to point out to my superior when he kicked up a fuss about our relationship.

Gabriel was a low level grunt, which meant he dealt more with harmless temptations than with the big sins. He wasn’t very successful at his job either so on the grand scheme of things, he was about as threating to the Cosmo as a kitten.

“How do you find anything in this nightmare of clutter?”

“It’s not that bad!” I protested.

“There’s a dirty plate on the sofa!”

Okay, that was pretty bad, but in my defence, it had only been there since last night. I’d had an exhausting day and barely had had the energy to cook. Cleaning had been out the question.

“Look,” I said as I returned my focus to the pile of papers, “You knew how I lived when you’d given me the damn thing.”

“I stupidly thought you’d put it somewhere safe.”

“And I did.”

Gabriel stomped over to me and crouched down to glare into my eyes. I tried to glare back into his baby blues, but when you know you’re in the wrong, it’s hard to be that angry. Though if anyone could get me to the glaring stage, it’d be him.

“If it’s so safe, Bella, where exactly is it?”

That had been the question plaguing my mind since he turned up half an hour ago. I closed my eyes and tried to focus. I remembered him coming over, asking me to guard over something and giving me the item; after that it got hazy. No, not hazy, blank.

I opened my eyes and gave him my best innocent smile. He wasn’t fooled.

“You don’t know, do you?”

“I like to think of it more as it’s so safe-”

“Bella!”

“Haven’t the foggiest.” I admitted.

Gabriel growled - and I don’t mean with frustration, I mean he actually growled. I laughed so hard, I ended up rolling backwards, clutching my sides.

“What’s so damn funny?” He stood up so he could tower over me and look all intimating. It didn’t help my laughing fit.

When I finally had myself under control, I stood up. He was still glaring at me, arms crossed. I fought the urge to ruffle his dark locks. It’s what I usually did when he was in a snit.

“You growled.”

He raised an eyebrow, “That’s funny, why?”

“It’s just so clichéd. I mean come on, a demon growling, very original.”

“And I suppose threating the rip your wings off if you fail to find it is also clichéd?”

“Just a tad. Anyways, I don’t have my wings at the moment, so the threat lacks lustre.”

Gabriel’s anger dissolved into sulk.

“I should have known better then to trust you with anything, especially after last time.”

Now it was my turn to glare.

“Considering ‘last time’ cost me my flight privileges, I’d stop talking if I were you.”

Wings are a right, not a privilege according to my boss. Aiding a demon with hiding a stolen holy item is apparently a big no-no. So the wings- that were nothing more than a tattoo when not in use- were removed until I ‘learnt my lesson’. The fact that I hadn’t known what I was hiding was completely ignored. As an angel, I should have been able to tell what it was by the ‘feel’ of it. In one day, I lost both my wings and job confidence, and it was all Gabriel’s fault. As far as I was concerned, he should be thankful I even agreed to help him in the first place.

“Bella, her birthday is tomorrow, I need that certificate!”

“If it so important, why did you even give it me? You should have kept it at home.”

“I couldn’t take the risk; you know what she’s like.”

Yes I did. Gabriel’s mother was the nosiest woman I have ever known. Within five minutes of meeting me, she’d manage to get my entire life story from me. She was a bit disappointed I wasn’t human, but as I wasn’t a demon, she didn’t mind too much. If I’d been a demon, she’d have probably banned her son from seeing me.

Her hatred of demons stems from the fact that when Gabriel’s father had discovered he’d knocked her up; he’d spilt, leaving her to raise their hell-spawn all on her own. She had no clue that Gabriel had met his father and was now working for him. If she ever did, he’d be homeless.

I found it hilarious that at 52, he was still living with his mother. His argument was that in demon terms, he was still pretty young so why shouldn’t he still live with his human mother? I think the real reason was he got all his meals cooked for him, his laundry done and he didn’t have to pay a penny in rent.

“Think really hard, Bella. Where did you put it?”

“I don’t know!” I took a deep breath, “Couldn’t you just tell her what the present is?”

“After Mother’s day, she’s not going to believe me.”

Oh yeah, Mother’s day. Gabriel had completely forgotten, so he’d told her he’d purchased her own private seat at the opera house. He hadn’t expected his mother to check. The tongue lashing he’d received for that fib had not been a pleasant one. I should know; I’d been witness to it.

“I’m sorry but I really have no idea where it is.”

“Great! £25.95 down the drain!”

“Well next time buy something she can actually use instead of a star!”

He didn’t bother with a reply. Instead, he turned his back and stormed out of my flat, slamming the door on his way out. I will admit I felt a little guilty. Mainly for his mother though, not him. He knew what a slob I was when he asked me to look after it.

Sighing, I decided to straighten up a little, starting with the dirty plate. I took into the kitchen and put it on the side while I got the washing up liquid from under the sink. As I was removing it from the cupboard, I noticed a piece of paper below it. Frowning, I picked it up.

That’s when the blank spot of my memory became very clear. When Gabriel had come round, I’d been washing up. I must have put it away with the washing up liquid by accident. Laughing, I raced over to my home phone, dialled Gabriel’s mobile, and crossed my fingers that he’d answer.