Even Angels Fall Read Free Page A

her eyes. She loves this picture, but hates it at the same time. She hates how it makes her feel; looking down at her brother’s smiling face from a time when he was happy and well, and still here. It is difficult to believe that it all went so wrong… thinking back to how it used to be and the person he was. She misses him so much, every single moment of every single day. Yet there is absolutely nothing she can do about it. There is nothing she can do to help him now.
    Abbey’s eyelids feel heavy, and after a long and hectic day of lifting, carrying and unpacking, she is completely exhausted. She has a million and one things racing through her mind; mainly her worries about the future and her regrets about the past. Everything has changed so much in such a short space of time and looking at the picture of Ryan that she treasures so much only makes her feel all the more lost. It is like she can’t catch her breath. No matter how hard she tries, she can’t wake up from this living nightmare. Lying on the bed in a room she doesn’t recognize, she clutches the photo album tightly to her chest and lets her tears fall, breaking down and allowing the complete and utter despair take hold of her without trying to fight it any longer. Before she even realises, her exhaustion pulls her under and she falls into a deep but disturbed sleep.
    It barely feels like 5 minutes have passed when the high pitched shrill of Abbey’s alarm clock jerks her awake. She hits the snooze button - perhaps a little more aggressively than needed - and rubs her eyes as they adjust to the light. It never turns out to be a bad dream. In that initial moment after waking, when the real world comes rushing back, she always gets that hollow, sinking feeling without fail. Looking around her new bedroom she feels that sense of dread even more than usual. It’s her second year of sixth form studying her A-levels and she has had the upheaval of moving house and transferring to a new school. The butterflies in her stomach make her feel nauseous as she wonders what the day will bring, her first day at Eden Comprehensive.
    Abbey reluctantly climbs out of bed and gets ready in a daze, hoping that by taking her time she can somehow avoid the inevitable. ‘I hate this’ she thinks to herself. When the idea of moving house was brought up, Abbey had made her feelings clear from the start. They were of course ignored. Being the youngest and always considered the baby of the family her opinion never seemed to hold much of an impact. Even on this occasion, when she thought her feelings would at least be considered, she was wrong.
    Her older sister Anna had moved to Leeds several years ago with her husband Dom. They originally met at university and loved the city so much, they stayed. When it was decided that the whole family needed to be together to get through the difficult times ahead, there was no question of Anna and Dom moving to them. They had just bought their first house, Dom had recently received a promotion at the I.T Company he works for and Anna is now, just over 4 months pregnant.
    Her brother Peter is a plumber by trade and being self-employed, the move hasn’t really fazed him at all. He will be able to find work and build up a client base in whatever city he finds himself in, which means it is only a minor setback.
    And then of course there is her Mum. Janet works for a firm of solicitors as a P.A but for almost a year now she has been on a leave of absence. It started with bereavement leave, before quickly turning into sick leave as her state of mind deteriorated and she was struggling at her lowest. Although things have improved and she is more or less back on track, the whole family are constantly on edge, hoping that she doesn’t fall back into the deep depression that completely took hold of her. Despite everything she has been through, Janet is still well regarded within her company. She has been a near perfect employee for the past 20 years and