The Fallen 3 Read Free Page A

picked up her clothes and shoes, and tiptoed to the bedroom door. Vilma hated to leave yet again without saying good-bye to the little girl, but the last thing she wanted, or needed, was a scene.
    Her abrupt departure from the household six months ago had created enough problems, although Vilma didn’t see what choice she’d had. Her life had changed so dramatically since she’d become involved with Aaron. Since she’d learned what she really was.
    Vilma stepped out into the hallway, quietly pulling the door closed behind her. She stood for a moment, breathing in the comforting aroma of freshly brewed coffee, then bent down to place her sneakers on the floor and pull on her jeans.
    “Would you like a cup of coffee?” asked a voice from behind her.
    Vilma zipped her pants and turned to find her aunt Edna standing at the end of the hallway, in the doorway to the kitchen, her bathrobe wrapped tightly around her.
    “Yes, please,” Vilma said, keeping her voice low. Shegrabbed her sneakers and followed her aunt into the kitchen, into the full smell of the morning brew.
    “How did you sleep?” Edna asked as she poured coffee from the full carafe into a mug.
    “Fine,” Vilma answered. Between the birthday party and the stress of being back home, she had been so tired that she probably could have slept soundly almost anywhere.
    Vilma pulled out a chair and sat at the kitchen table as Edna set the steaming mug down in front of her.
    “Thank you,” Vilma said, pulling the coffee closer, feeling its soothing warmth in the palms of her hands.
    Edna retrieved a carton of cream from the refrigerator and grabbed a square metal canister filled with sugar packets from the counter. She placed both on the table, pushing them toward Vilma, then turned back to the stove to fill another mug with coffee. Silently, she sat down across from her niece, blowing on the scalding liquid before taking a short, careful sip.
    Vilma added two sugar packets and a generous amount of cream to her cup, then took her first drink as well, closing her eyes and reveling at the strong brew. Coffee always tasted better in this house. It was as if the environment added a special ingredient that couldn’t be found anywhere else.
    Maybe it was love. There had never been a day that Vilma had not felt wanted or cared for here. After her mother’s death, her aunt and uncle had brought her home with them from Brazil and had treated her as one of their own.
    “Can I make you something? Some eggs or toast?” Edna asked, interrupting Vilma’s thoughts.
    “No, this is good.” Vilma smiled, cupping the hot mug.
    “It’s not a bother,” her aunt reassured her.
    “I know, but I’m fine with just the coffee. Thanks.” She smiled again as she lifted the mug to her lips for another sip.
    They continued to sit in silence, each wrapped in her own thoughts. Vilma knew the questions were coming, and she dreaded them. They’d been kept at bay yesterday with the excitement of Nicole’s party, but there was nothing to hold them back now—the questions about where she had gone and what she was doing with her life. If only there were easy answers. If only Vilma could tell her aunt the truth. But Edna would never understand—couldn’t understand.
    Vilma’s life had changed dramatically. Her understanding of the world and how it worked had been totally flipped upside down and sideways.
    Normal didn’t exist anymore, at least not for Vilma.
    “Are you leaving today?” Edna asked in a seemingly casual tone.
    Here it comes
.
    “Yeah. I have to get back.”
    “To him?” The disapproval was obvious in her aunt’s voice. “To that Aaron boy?”
    Vilma set her mug on the table. “Please,” she begged, “why can’t we just enjoy each other’s company without—”
    “You leave us in the middle of the night, I don’t hear from you for weeks. How should I act, Vilma?”
    Vilma could understand how it must seem to the woman, but the truth was so much worse. How