Page 12 of My Alien Angel
Fin
Exhausted,annoyedbeyondmeasure,and very much aware that I smell like dog vomit, I collapse into the driver’s seat of my car, my head resting on the steering wheel. I should start the engine and drive home but currently, I feel so drained even breathing feels like a chore. If there was such a thing as the worst day at work Olympics, today would have taken gold in all categories.
Turns out, Mr. Robertson does know the difference between Labradors and Golden retrievers. Who would have thought? So, of course he yelled at me for getting the wrong kind of puppiesfirst thing in the morning. Then the owner of the puppies had to leave, and I was left on dog-sitting duty between the shots. Don’t get me wrong, I love puppies and these were no exception being totally adorable, but they aren’t house trained yet, so you can imagine what their crate looked like after an entire day.
On top of that, Pupper’s Choice apparently makes puppies vomit even if it’s mixed with a prime dog food brand. As they were throwing up everywhere, including over me, the owner got into a shouting match with Mr. Robertson, threatening to sue us for any damage to his litter’s health. After a few minutes of arguing, somehow, both of them agreed that everything was my fault. At that point, I was on the verge of tears and had to excuse myself to go change. Fortunately, I keep a spare set of clothes at work exactly for situations like this, so while I still stink of dog vomit, at least I’m not actually covered in it anymore. Small blessings, right?
At least some of my co-workers supported and comforted me. Not in front of Mr. Robertson, of course, no one would dare to do that, but Sheila from prop management whose dog threw up last week after the Pupper’s Choice mock-up shots said she will definitely make an anonymous phone call to the FDA to report it as harmful to animals. Pupper’s Choice likely won’t be making a grand entrance on the dog food market, which also means that the ad we’ve spent so much work on will never be aired. Good for dogs, a waste of time for us. At least we’re getting paid, even me. I may have been publicly shamed for every misfortune that happened before, during and after the shoot, and pretty much every bad thing that has ever happened all the way back to the plagues of Egypt. But hey, I still have a job, so…great?
God, all I want to do is curl up in the shower and cry, but I have to drive home first. Not to mention, I really should pick up some food on the way because my houseguest has a healthy appetite. If I still even have a houseguest? Hell, if I still have an apartmentto come back to? I’ve been monitoring the local fire and police department socials all day, hoping my address didn’t pop up on the feed, and didn’t see anything suspicious, so here’s hoping.
Omni was still asleep when I entered the living room this morning, sprawled out face down over the couch, one of his wings draped over him like a blanket. Of course he hadn’t taken them off before going to bed. At this point, it’s safe to assume that he’s never going to take them off.
As I was quietly moving around the kitchen, he’d lazily opened his eyes, yawning and stretching out like a cat. Still on his stomach and sinfully bare-chested, he’d propped up on his elbows, watching me make myself coffee into a travel mug. Since he was awake, I repeated the rules adding anything else I could think of. Omni promised he’d be careful but what if something happened? He wouldn’t even know how to call the emergency services. All it would take is him mistakenly turning on the stove and poof! We’d both be homeless.
Groaning from a combination of mental and physical strain, I order Italian takeout from a restaurant directly en route home. They’ll have it ready for me by the time I get there, so at least I won’t have to wait. Omni seemed to like the pizza last night, so he might like pasta as well. I should probably feed him something containing vegetables at some point, but that’s a dilemma for future Fin to deal with. Current Fin has reached her maximum mental capacity.
Take away in hand after nearly having a mental breakdown over the lack of available parking spaces anywhere near my apartment, I’m finally dragging my sorry ass upstairs. There were no fire trucks parked outside, nor was the entrance blocked off by police tape, which lifts my spirits a little. Perhaps I’m not coming home to a complete disaster.
Unlocking the door, I carefully sniff the air. I don’t smell any smoke or gas and there’s no water flooding the floor fromcracked pipes. Phew. Back in his slightly torn coveralls, Omni stands from the couch, greeting me with a wide smile. “Welcome to home, Fin,” he says, evidently pleased with himself for stringing a sentence together.
My attempt at a smile is lousy at best. “Hi. Everything okay today?” He’s still here, so either he truly has nowhere to go or has decided to stick around for a while. I probably shouldn’t be so excited about it. After all, my life would be a lot easier if he simply left. A lot less interesting, though.
“Yes. Everything good. No fire, no mess, no break thing.”
“Awesome. I’ll just take a shower and then I’ll…” I don’t know what. Probably collapse on the couch and watch some mindless TV before it’s time to go to sleep so that I’ll be rested for another day of hell at work.
The plastic bag with food containers almost slips out of my hands, making me realize I’m still holding it. Staring at the bag, I struggle to remember what it is I’m actually holding in the first place and what I should be doing with it. Omni solves the mental gymnastics by gently taking the bag from me. “You tired. You need sugar and caffeine. Sunny Mug coffee brand best for tired.”
Blinking, I try to comprehend what the hell he’s talking about. Slightly muted sounds from the TV gives me the hint I need. “Ads. You’ve been watching ads on TV. You know, we actually made that Sunny Mug ad. The cup in that shot is actually filled with soy sauce mixed with water and the cream on top is shaving cream. Yummy, right? It’s actually a really shitty brand of coffee. If they were any good, they’d hire someone better than us to make their ads. Wait, you do know that not everything you see on TV is real, right?”
Omni chuckles. “Yes, Fin. I know TV no real. You tired real.”
“Yeah. No kidding. Just put the food in the kitchen or start eating if you’re really hungry. I’ll join you once I’ve showered...”And pulled myself together a little, because I’m so on edge I’m tearing up from how sweet he is being.
Stepping into the shower, hot water pelts my aching muscles, causing one hell of a groan to escape. As the water streams down my shoulders and back, I imagine all of my stress and worries washing down the drain with it. It helps. A little. The thought that Omni is in the next room waiting for me also helps to prevent me from falling apart completely. He’s practically dependent on me like a child, so I can’t lose it now. “It’s just a bad day,” I say to no one in particular as I lather up the shampoo. I’m pretty sure there wasn’t any dog vomit in my hair but I feel like I can still smell it so better to be safe than sorry.. “Just a bad day. Tomorrow will be better.” It can hardly get any worse, can it? And now I’ve gone and jinxed myself. Perfect.
Since I totally forgot to bring any clean clothes into the bathroom to change into, I slip on my bathrobe, making sure it covers everything important before returning to the living room. Omni pauses-mid movement, his eyes trailing up from my bare legs to my thankfully covered cleavage, then on to my face. Aware that I’m very much naked under this robe, I’m fully blushing while his cheeks only darken slightly. Clearing his throat, he tears his gaze away from me and points at the table. “Good?”
“Wow.” He has taken the time to put the takeout food on actual plates and set the table with various utensils, glasses filled with the iced tea I’d served yesterday and— “Is that my Baby Groot figurine?” The little tree man in a small planter sits in the middle of the table.
Omni hesitates. “No good? TV show flower on table.” Vaguely gesturing at my living room, he adds, “No flower in Fin’s place.”
“Y-you…” I stutter, incapable of finishing the thought. He’s set the table for me. With flowers, no less. Or the best approximation he could find in my apartment at least, becauseif there’s something I don’t have aside from a sexy body and a healthy dose of self-confidence, it’s a green thumb. I can’t even keep a cactus alive. But Omni found something that resembled a flower and I’m almost certain he didn’t mean it in a romantic way, but dammit, itisromantic. It’s also the nicest thing anyone has done for me in a long while and fuck, I’m about to cry.
Chapter 11
Omni
IknewtouchingFin’sfigurines was a mistake. Fuck, I knew it! I just wanted to do something nice for her since she looked so sad and exhausted after coming home from her employment, and all the advertisements where dining was included displayed various blooming plants on the table. Since I hadn’t found any plants in Fin’s domicile and I wasn’t supposed to leave it, not that I could see any suitable plant life from the window anyway, I grabbed the creepy smiling tree creature instead, hoping it might make her smile too. I should have gone with my initial gut feeling and not touched anything shedidn’t explicitly allow me to touch, especially after the way she’d reacted to the tentacle images yesterday.
Now I’ve fucked up. Fin looks like she’s about to start crying. She’ll kick me out, and I haven’t got the slightest clue about what I’m going to do without her help. I can read the letters now and some shorter words like cat and dog, which are apparently popular Earth pets, but it’s not enough to find my footing in this world. Especially since the first person other than Fin to see me and my wings is likely to summon the authorities to arrest me, as evidenced by a frightening movie I watched on TV last night. The things the military did to that poor alien will haunt me forever.
Worrying about my own predicament isn’t the main reason I feel terrible, though. I wanted to do something nice for Fin, to thank her for being so extremely patient and gracious. Instead, I’ve made her sad and the guilt from it is clawing at my chest so hard it physically hurts. “Sorry,” I blurt out, panic surging when I see a tear roll down her cheek. “Many, many sorry.” Fuck, I sound like an idiot even to myself.
Gently grabbing the tiny tree, I intend to put it back on the shelf and never touch it again but Fin surprises me by placing a hand on my forearm to stop me. “It’s okay.” Looking up at me, she smiles through her tears. “I should be the one apologizing. I had a terrible day and this is all so sweet and I can’t even remember the last time someone did something so nice for me so…yeah, I’m sorry. I should be thanking you, not dissolving into tears like a blubbering idiot.”
Winds, humans truly are useless dicks to each other if she considers someone setting a table for her something extra. Relieved she doesn’t seem to be angry with me, I put the tree man back on the table and slowly raise my hands to cup her cheeks, giving her plenty of time to move away if she’s uncomfortable. Just like last night, she doesn’t, watching with wide eyes and slightly parted lips, ones I long to taste. I won’t,because she doesn’t know who and what I am and it wouldn’t be fair to her but, damn, it’s difficult to hold back. Gently wiping her tears away with my thumbs, I search for something to say but come up empty, and not just because I’m lacking in her language.
