Chapter 5: A Guardian Arrives

DANICA

My head was throbbing as I trudged my way back home. I let my hair fall freely from its bun, hoping it might somehow alleviate the pain. I kept my eyes peeled, scanning my surroundings for that man.

He knew my name, he knew about my headaches. I couldn’t afford to let my guard down until I was safely inside my house. Thankfully, there were occasional passersby and open windows.

If I needed to scream, someone would hear me. But my house was in a more secluded area, and I had to traverse a tree-lined alley to reach it. That’s where I quickened my pace.

My steps slowed when I spotted someone standing at my front door, engaged in conversation with Ms. Moore. I recognized the clothes. It was the same guy from the diner.

But Ms. Moore seemed at ease. Did she know him? That could explain how he knew me. Neither of them seemed to notice my approach.

Was he terrorizing Ms. Moore like he did me? How did he know where I lived? Should I call the police?

“It’s not up for debate. I’ve been sent to protect her and I’ll do what I’m programmed to do!” he declared to a visibly worried Ms. Moore.

Her? Who were they talking about?

“She’s lived here all her life,” Ms. Moore retorted, sounding almost offended. “I’ve kept her safe and I’ll continue to do so!” she spat back.

Could they be talking about me? Who else could it be?

“Now it’s my turn to keep her safe,” he shot back. “You, of all people, should understand the danger if I was dispatched.”

I moved closer and finally, Ms. Moore noticed me. As her eyes widened in surprise, the man from earlier turned to face me. I halted at a safe distance.

“What’s going on?” I asked, my voice laced with suspicion and worry. He still had dried blood on his neck from our earlier encounter. It looked red on him, but back at the diner, it had been black.

My hands gripped my bag tightly, ready to run if necessary. I was certain they were discussing me. Ms. Moore’s expression gave it away.

The man, however, remained impassive. Not a hint of emotion from our previous encounter, while I was still rattled.

“Nothing,” she replied hastily, attempting to mask her concern with a smile. I quickly realized she wasn’t going to spill the beans that easily.

“How do you two know each other?” I asked, my gaze fixed on Ms. Moore. I tried to avoid eye contact with the man, his intense stare making me uncomfortable.

Ms. Moore clapped her hands together. “We’re old friends,” she announced, causing me to raise an eyebrow. Ms. Moore was seventy.

“How old of friends?” I probed. “He’s my age. Do you usually hang out with kids?” I asked, noting the man’s youthful appearance. They couldn’t possibly be old friends.

“I’m older than you,” he replied, his expression serious but his voice held a hint of amusement that made me even more wary. How did he know my age? Why did he know so much about me?

My headache intensified, but I tried to ignore it. “Why do you need to protect me?” I asked. They exchanged glances.

The man attempted to step forward, but Ms. Moore blocked him with an outstretched arm. “He’s your brother, Danica,” Ms. Moore stated, her face as impassive as stone. The man shot her a look.

I waited for her to continue this absurd lie, but she remained silent. “Do you think I’m stupid?” I yelled at her, the outburst amplifying my headache.

Ms. Moore seemed to notice and, of course, felt the need to comment. “Danica, are you okay?” she asked, concern etching her features as she tried to approach me.

I held up a hand to stop her. “I’m fine!” I snapped. A sharp pain shot through my head, but I managed to stay upright. I squeezed my eyes shut and doubled over.

“Danica,” she called out, worry lacing her voice. “Stop that! Now!” she yelled, but I had no idea what I’d done wrong. When I looked up, she was glaring at the man. He hadn’t moved, his hands still in his pockets.

“You’re supposed to protect her! You’re hurting her!” she continued to yell.

“I have my ways of making her listen!” he retorted coldly.

“Your world is a mystery to her!” Ms. Moore’s voice was laced with fear. Suddenly, I found myself losing interest in the answer, my vision becoming a blur.

“I… I need to sleep…,” I mumbled, my words slurred.

“You’re too curious for your own good,” he said, and I felt hands encircling me, followed by a soft whisper. “I apologize. You don’t comprehend now, but you will.” Suddenly, everything went black and I lost consciousness.

I was roused from my sleep by loud voices. I slowly opened my eyes to find Ms. Moore in my room, pulling back the curtains and flooding the room with early morning sunlight.

“Good morning,” she greeted. I glanced at the clock and realized I was running late for work.

“Damn!” I muttered, hastily unfastening the chain around my wrist.

“Oh, sweetheart. I don’t think you should go to work today,” she said, her voice filled with concern.

“Unlike you, I have obligations,” I retorted. “People are counting on me, I can’t just not show up.”

“Are you sure you’re all right?” she asked, and that’s when the events of last night came rushing back.

“I’m fine, what happened last night?” I asked, scrambling to get ready.

“You passed out, it’s happened before,” she said nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal. But she didn’t mention the man.

“Who was he?” She fell silent for a moment. I kept my gaze on her.

“How does he know me?” I pressed. She glanced around the room and then smiled.

“I don’t know.” Of course, she would say that. That was her go-to response. For once, I wanted her to be honest with me.

“He threatened me,” I told her, crossing my arms defensively, taking a moment to catch my breath. “Are you going to call the police now? You did when those guys were harassing me, so I assume you will now.” My jaw was set in a firm line.

This man had done far worse than those boys, and she was doing nothing. I needed to know why.

“I won’t,” she confessed.

I took a step closer to her. “Why?”

She closed her eyes, looking worn out. “Danica, you don’t want to do that.”

“Why?”

Her gaze dropped to the floor. “Because he’s here to protect you.”

Protect me? “From what?” I asked.

She shrugged. “It’s hard to say, but I feared this day would come. With your inheritance, it was inevitable.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re late for work, Danica,” she said, exiting my room. Now she cared about my job?

Despite her cryptic words, I hurriedly got ready and dashed to work. Miles was already waiting for me outside.

“I know, I know,” I said, trying to rush inside, but he stopped me.

“Take a deep breath,” he advised calmly. “It’s not the end of the world,” he added, and I finally paused to take a deep breath. “The only way you’d get fired is if you burned the place down,” he joked.

My paranoia always made me fear the worst, like getting fired, when in reality, the worst I could expect was a reprimand from the boss. I had a tendency to follow rules to the letter. Because I had learned that I was good at obeying orders, and that’s what I usually did.

“Is the boss even in?” I asked.

Miles laughed. “Of course not, he’s probably sleeping off a hangover,” he chuckled, and I felt my heart rate slow down.

I still felt off from yesterday. I hadn’t gotten any answers from Ms. Moore, so I had no idea who that man was or how they knew each other. It was unsettling knowing they were keeping secrets from me.

“Are you okay?” Miles asked, picking up on my unease.

“Yeah…maybe,” I replied, unsure myself. “Just some stuff on my mind, that’s all,” I explained.

“Want to talk about it?” he offered.

I shook my head, and he nodded in understanding. I was about to turn and finally go inside when he spoke up again.

“Do you want to go out with me?” he asked. His question caught me off guard. He had asked me the same thing a few years ago, and I had said no.

At twenty-five, I was living with my foster mom. Miles, on the other hand, was wrapping up college with flying colors, ready to follow in his father’s footsteps and head to law school. His family was loaded, but Miles was all about earning his own keep.

Ms. Moore was well-off too, but using her money just didn’t sit right with me. I was certain that college wasn’t my path. I had zero interest in any career, really. I was never the academic type. I knew my place was right here, in this small town. And maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.

“I don’t know,” I admitted, and Miles sighed heavily.

“Why?” he asked, a hint of frustration in his voice. “I’m just trying to understand you. You turned me down, but I haven’t seen you with anyone else. I still have feelings for you,” he confessed, catching me off guard. I hadn’t expected him to still harbor feelings for me. “Why not give it a shot?”

“You don’t want to be with me,” I told him, trying to keep my tone gentle. The idea of being with anyone felt strange. It just didn’t add up. Who would want to be with a girl plagued by chronic headaches? I never stayed up late because the pain was unbearable. I couldn’t enjoy the beauty of the night sky because of my condition, and I despised that. I hated feeling like a prisoner in my own body.

“I’ve known you since high school, then I left for college. I came back and I still have feelings for you. That has to mean something,” he said, looking at me earnestly. “Let’s hang out. Just as friends, this weekend. What do you say?” he proposed.

I didn’t want to give him false hope, but how could I turn down a friendly outing?

“Just friends,” I reiterated.

Miles smirked. “I can work with that,” he said, and I couldn’t help but smile as I returned to my work.

The day seemed to fly by faster than I anticipated, uneventful as it was. That is, until Miles approached me again.

“I have a proposition for you,” he said.

I rolled my eyes at him. “I already agreed to hang out with you…as friends,” I added, and he chuckled in response.

“Yes, and that’s all I’ll ever ask,” he said, brushing his hair back from his face. “Actually, there’s an order that came in. Well, our boss got it.”

“We don’t do deliveries outside the shop, we don’t have a courier for that,” I pointed out.

“Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner!” he exclaimed in a mock game show host voice. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

“The customer offered to pay triple if we deliver his order, and he guaranteed a tip. The boss said if I go now, I can head straight home from there.” I was clueless about what he was implying.

I narrowed my eyes, unsure of what he expected me to say. “Good for you?” I said, preparing to attend to a group of high schoolers who had just walked in.

“I’d love to get out of here, but I’m actually waiting for a delivery myself,” he explained. “I ordered a new guitar. It was supposed to arrive a week ago, but there were delays and mix-ups. I ended up having it sent to work.”

“What does that have to do with me?” I asked.

“Well, you could do it,” he suggested with a grin.

“William usually runs the errands,” I said, referring to our supposed manager who was as useless as our boss.

“Listen. Do you want to do this or not? I can tell him, but you could leave almost two hours early,” he offered.

At that, I immediately took off my apron. “Give me the address. I’ll change.”

“Coming right up,” he said, clearly pleased.

I headed to the changing rooms. When I returned, now dressed in my casual clothes and my black hair cascading down to my mid-back, Miles handed me a large bag filled with assorted pastries and donuts, a cup of coffee, and a cup of tea. He also gave me the address scribbled on a piece of paper.

I glanced at it, recognizing the general area but not the exact location. I set off on my delivery, half-guessing my way there. I knew it wasn’t far, so I decided to walk.

The further I walked, the quieter it became. Houses and people became scarce, and even the road seemed more worn down than the rest. The forest was inching closer.

I glanced at the paper in my hands, the address now seemed to match the surroundings, but I double-checked just to be sure. The place looked deserted, but I was certain the address was right.

I looked around, and it was eerily empty. No one passed by, and there were no houses in sight. Doubt began to creep in.

I tried to shake off the unease and muster up some courage. I moved toward the house. I hoped that as I got closer, I would hear some noise from within, but it was silent.

I reached the front door. Slowly, I raised my hand and knocked loudly. For a moment, nothing happened, and I began to lose hope.

But then the door opened, and I was greeted by Creed. This was unexpected. It was strange enough that he lived here, but his request was even more unusual.

Creed looked at me, his lips pressed into a thin line. “The girl that always stares,” he muttered.

“I’ll go get my wallet,” he said, disappearing into the depths of the house and leaving me standing in the doorway.

When he didn’t return for a while, curiosity got the better of me. I listened closely, then peeked into a room off the corridor. Inside, a man sat in an armchair, his back to me. From the shape of his head, I could tell he was old.

There was another armchair next to him, presumably Creed’s.

“Always staring,” Creed said, reappearing. “Always so curious about everything,” he continued, but I was still watching the old man.

“Is he dead?” The question slipped out before I could stop it.

Creed sighed. “Soon will be,” he said, counting money in his hands.

“Do you live here together?” I asked.

He seemed to consider whether to answer, but eventually did. “I live here alone. He’s an old friend, my only friend. He stopped by to say his last goodbye. But the road back will be his last, so why even bother.”

“Doesn’t he have anyone?” I asked, concern creeping into my voice.

Creed just shook his head and handed me the money. I looked at the cash in my hands and tried to give it back, but he refused.

“Honest work deserves honest pay,” he said, but I didn’t want to take the money. I noticed a small cabinet on the wall within reach and placed the money there since he wouldn’t take it back.

“Take care,” I told him. “And sorry for staring,” I apologized, then turned to leave.

But he called after me. “Hey girl!” I turned back to see him standing a little way out of the house. “Appreciate it.”

I smiled in response.

I looked down at my feet as I walked away, but a strange noise from the forest made me look up. It sounded like something breaking—branches or bones. The noise stopped, but I thought I saw a shadow move.

I looked around, but I was still alone. I don’t know what possessed me, but I found myself drawn toward the direction of the shadow.

I was scared, but also curious. Could the stories people told about something more being in the forest be true?