Under the Arches

mum kneeling down in front of her. But Angelina had gone again. She sobbed uncontrollably and could no longer muster the power of speech.

  ‘My dear,’ said Zeus again. ‘If I may… This man assaulted your daughter. He was waiting for her when she returned from the party. I do not think she is physically hurt, but she needs your love, now more than ever.’

  Angelina’s mother looked at Derek’s prone form in wide-eyed disbelief.

  ‘No, it’s not possible. You’re lying,’ she said shaking her head.

  Angelina clutched at her and her sobs intensified.

  ‘You. Why are you here? How did you get into my house?’

  Zeus rose to his feet and suddenly his mighty presence filled the entire room. Angelina didn’t need to look. She could feel his power permeating every cell in her body and she knew that he was revealing his true self. Her mother gasped and dropped face down to the floor.

  ‘My Lord, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me,’ she said.

  Zeus reached down, took her hand and gently lifted her to her feet.

  ‘Forgiveness is my middle name,’ he said with a kind smile. Then he added, ‘Actually it’s Frank, but you know what I mean.’

  He gave Angelina a wink and she couldn’t help but laugh.

  ‘You’d better call the police,’ he said to Angelina’s mum. She nodded, and with a worried glance at her daughter, she left the room.

  ‘Let’s get you a hot drink,’ said Zeus, guiding Angelina through the door as well. ‘Then I had best be off before the fuzz show up.’

  ‘Don’t go!’ said Angelina clutching his arm tightly.

  He looked down at her, his eyes filled with compassion, and said, ‘I would never leave you Angelina Marsh.’

  It was six o’clock in the morning and Angelina was lying on the sofa with a blanket over her. The lights were off, but on the TV a bright yellow face smiled gormlessly out at her. Spongebob would keep her company while her mum slept in the room next door. Angelina couldn’t sleep. She was too afraid to close her eyes. She doubted she would ever be able to sleep again. She lay awake while outside the onset of dawn marched ever closer.

  The police had arrived within minutes of her mother’s call. Three panda cars had pulled up and an assortment of officers of different sizes and genders had trooped into the flat. Shortly afterwards they had all been whisked off to the police station in town for questioning, including Zeus, who true to his word had remained with Angelina. There had been an awful lot of explaining to do. In fairness to the police, they were dealing with quite a complex situation. Both Zeus and Derek had been found in a flat they didn’t live in with a thirteen-year-old girl. It did not look very good. Angelina was emotionally and physically drained and had frequently broken down into floods of tears and asked to be returned home. Eventually they relented and she and her mother were driven home. Zeus had to remain behind for further questioning. The police had clearly had dealings with him before, and had quickly jumped to the conclusion that he had been the villain of the piece. Derek, however, was not able to defend his case. He remained unconscious with no visible signs of injury, which baffled the medical staff greatly. They were told he would be kept in for observation and questioning.

  When Angelina awoke it was to the smiling face of her mother and the smell of a lovely fried breakfast. She was surprised, because she had no idea when she had drifted off to sleep. It was half past three in the afternoon, which meant that most of the daylight had already passed, but Angelina had no intentions of going outside.

  She sat up and took the large plate her mother offered her. She was ravenous, having not eaten for nearly a whole day, and she tucked in heartily and cleared her plate within minutes. Then she noticed something on the coffee table in front of her. It was a brown leather-bound book that had seen a fair amount of use. The pages were crinkled and the corners battered. Upon it’s cover was stuck a yellow post-it note. She picked it up and examined it more closely. The note said simply, ‘2 Thessalonians, Chapter 1.’ She opened the bible and flicked through the thin sheets of paper until she saw 2 Thessalonians at the top of the page. She turned to the beginning of Chapter 1 and began to read.

  The passage was not long and spoke briefly about a people who had weathered hard times and were rewarded for it at the end of their lives. Angelina had never really given much time to the scriptures, but this was straightforward and to the point and it was just what she needed to hear.

  ‘When did he call round?’ she asked her mum, who was over by the kitchen sink doing some washing-up.

  ‘About midday.’ She dried her hands and came and sat down next to her daughter. ‘He said to remember everything you’ve spoken about and to remain positive. He apologised also because he will not be around this week, but he promised to come and visit on Saturday. I must say he was quite a gent, and he even offered us some money so that I can take time off to look after you.’

  Angelina smiled. ‘He is a gent. He’s the nicest person I have ever met.’

  Her mother suddenly burst into tears.

  ‘Angelina I’m so sorry for everything. If I’d known what Derek was like, what he was capable of, I’d never have had anything to do with him. I’m so, so sorry.’

  She buried her head in her hands and wept. Angelina’s eyes were tearful too, and she reached across and put her arm around her mother’s shoulders.

  ‘Mum, Mum it’s OK. Really. I’m all right. You weren’t to know.’

  ‘But you saw through him. You never liked him. Not from the moment you first met him.’

  ‘Yes, but that was because I just found him a bit sleazy. I did not think he would ever try something like that.’

  ‘Well, I feel I’ve let you down in every possible way. I’ve let my personal life get in the way of our relationship and have ultimately ended up hurting you badly. I’ve not been the mother I should have.’

  ‘But Mum, don’t you see? None of it matters. Zeus is watching over us. He stopped Derek before anything really bad happened and he will always be here for us.’

  Her mum looked up and managed a weak smile.

  ‘Zeus?’ she said. ‘Is that what he likes to be called?’

  ‘He finds it easier than Jesus.’

  The smile grew.

  ‘How long… how long have you known him for?’

  ‘Since the start of term. He sells the Big Issue in town. That’s where I met him. And he’s living down under the Arches, behind the door where they bricked it up earlier this year.’

  ‘My God… I mean… I never had an inkling. Why didn’t you tell me?’

  ‘I didn’t think you’d believe me. He looks like a tramp most of the time. I guess I thought you’d assume he was some kind of child molester.’

  ‘Funny how things turn out,’ said her mum with a rueful laugh.

  ‘So what’s he doing here?’

  ‘That’s kind of a difficult question,’ said Angelina. ‘I think you’re better off having a chat with him when he comes round.’

  ‘OK. I shall. So what now?’

  ‘Well, I’m going to have a shower, then I was planning on watching lots of DVDs. Would you like to watch them with me?’

  ‘I would not be anywhere else, my darling.’

  As it turned out, Angelina was back in school on the Wednesday, following a couple of day’s rest and a number of visits from the police to discuss details of the incident and to ask whether she would like to press charges. She had taken it all in surprisingly good humour. Perhaps her happiness about Zeus’ return was offsetting her distress. Her classmates quizzed her about her absence, but she was reluctant to share too much about events with them, and settled on telling them she had been unwell. This immediately branded her a lightweight, for most of them had been at the party and had seen her leave. Amy was the only girl she trusted enough to tell the truth. She had missed Monday through illness as well, although hers had been genuine, and she had been worried when she arrived at school on Tuesday and Angelina was not there. She wa
s surprised and shocked when Angelina told her what had happened, but she praised her bravery for showing up at all.

  Angelina’s mum dropped her at the gates and was there to pick her up at the end of each day, and her Thursday tuition was cancelled, meaning that the latter part of the week flew by.

  On Saturday morning Angelina was up and dressed early and was eagerly awaiting Zeus’ visit. At ten o’clock the security buzzer went to let them know he was waiting outside and Angelina rushed out to greet him as he climbed the stairs to the first floor.

  ‘Hey Angelina, how you doing?’ he asked with a broad smile. He was dressed, as always, in his large woollen hoodie and ragged combats and was holding his black and pink beanie in one hand.

  ‘Zeus, it’s so great to see you!’ she cried, hugging him and breathing in the familiar aroma of cigarettes and booze that she had grown to love.

  ‘Blimey, what’s got into you?’ he asked as she led him into the flat. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen you quite this jolly before.’

  ‘I’ve just missed your company. I didn’t realise until you went away quite how important to me your company was. But you’re here now and that’s what’s important to me.’

  Zeus smiled again. ‘Hey, I never really left you. I was always along for the ride. In there.’ He pointed at her chest.

  ‘Oh but that’s not the same,’ she replied.

  ‘It can be,’ he said. ‘Most people get by with just that.’

  ‘They haven’t seen you in the