Chapter Six

Looking back, Angel could not remember the exact moment when he starting looking forward to the visits from the two cheerful, inquisitive, attentive boys. They came as often as they could, usually together. He didn't know when he stopped minding the interruptions in his quiet, daily routine to make a light snack for the boys and recount one of his heroic adventures to such a captive audience.

Life had fallen into a new pattern. Before Angel realized what was happening, he was actually planning his daily life to include William and Calder; opting to leave the flat after their bedtime rather than after sunset, buying real food again, and making sure all weapons and magical objects were always stowed well out of sight. In fact, were it not for the complete disruption in routine a few months after William was once again allowed to visit Angel, Angel would not have noticed the routine at all. That was when William and Calder stopped coming altogether.

It had been over a week and Angel hadn't heard anything from either boy. At Angel's age, the days tended to run into each other, so he checked the expiration date on his milk. It confirmed what seemed to him to be very odd: that his only visitor in the past eight days was a tall, rosy-colored demon wondering if Angel had heard anything about a Lur'ite that was rumored to have recently made itself a very bloody den on the north side of the city (yes, he had, and yes, there was, and most Lur'ites are allergic to copper—you can get a copper dagger at this address…).

It puzzled Angel that William had not even attempted to contact him in eight days when he averaged three visits a week, but he assumed there was a good reason for it, and William would have told him if it was important to know.

Calder came several days later and was able to answer Angel's questions.

"Hi," Calder said a bit glumly as he walked in.

"Hi. I've been wondering where you two were."

Calder nodded. "I've sort of been busy. And Will, well… He doesn't come out of his room much anymore."

"Why?"

Calder took a breath and said, "Because last Monday his parents told him they're getting a divorce. His dad even moved out."

Angel nodded thoughtfully. That explained a lot.

"He's pretty upset," Calder continued. "I only saw him once, outside of school, and he was trying not to cry. It was weird."

"Well," Angel said, "it'll take some time." Silence fell. Angel was about to ask if Calder wanted something to eat or drink when Calder spoke again,

"I think… I think he'd like to see you."

Angel raised his eyebrows.

"Or…it might be good for him."

"Why?"

"He won't talk to me… I think he's afraid to cry in front of me. And I heard Mrs. Cole talking to my mum last night and she said William won't talk to her or his dad, either."

"And you think he'll talk to me?"

"Well sure. You're a grownup, but you're not his parents, so…"

"And you think I could make him feel better?"

Calder shrugged. "I don't know. But I still think he'd like to see you." Then he added, more quietly, "And if it gets me my friend back…."

Angel considered Calder for a moment.

"Who's he living with?"

"Mrs. Cole. Mr. Cole's living on the other side of town now, so he visits there sometimes. But he's usually in his room at- at his mum's place. Their normal house." Calder was evidently struggling with the idea of split parents, as well. "So are you going to see him?"

Angel did not respond immediately. "I may stop in later this week to see how he's doing."

That seemed to satisfy Calder because he nodded and relaxed a bit. "

So do you want something to eat?" Angel asked.

Calder shook his head. "I should go, actually, I'm supposed to be getting a loaf of bread for my mum. I'll see you later." He turned and left, quietly closing the door behind him.

Angel decided to pay a visit to William the next night. He had no idea what he was going to say, and he wasn't even sure why he was going. Perhaps it was something that Calder said compelled him to go, or perhaps it was something else altogether. Either way, Angel found himself knocking on the Coles' door the following night. Mrs. Cole seemed surprised to find Angel on the other side of door as she opened it.

"Angel," her tone was curious.

"Hi," Angel said uncertainly. He hesitated; mothers were terrifying creatures, and this one had proved to be no exception. He had no idea of what she thought of his appearance at her door (especially because he didn't even really know what he was doing there himself), and that made it all the harder to choose the right words. Finally, he just spoke.

"Calder came to see me yesterday." Angel swallowed. "He told me what's been going on; that William's sort of gone into seclusion. I came to see him."

Mrs. Cole scrutinized him. "You think you can help?"

Angel shrugged. "I know a little about solitary brooding. And I was concerned when he stopped coming." He paused. "Can I come in?"

"Yes, I suppose so," she replied, moving aside. "Do you need an invitation each time?"

"No," Angel said, stepping through the doorway. "It's just polite to ask."

"Well," she said, taking a breath and closing the door behind him, "you know the way. I would take you there myself, but I'm not really on William's good side at the moment."

Angel nodded and made his own way down the hall. In front of William's door, he knocked gently. To any other person, inside it was completely silent. Angel, however, could hear William's breathing somewhere in the vicinity of his bed. Angel knocked again, and then entered.

"William?" he asked. William was indeed sitting on his bed, his legs straight out and his arms crossed. He, too, was surprised to see Angel.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Angel shrugged, closing the door behind him.

"I wanted to see how you were doing. It's been a while." He glanced around. "Nice room."

William looked around, too. "I guess," he replied.

"You have a lot more toys than I ever did." Angel circled the room, glancing at William's various possessions.

"What did you have?"

Angel thought a moment. "A wood sword, a hoop… We made our own toys a lot. Leaves and sticks for boats; stuff like that."

Silence fell; William seemed to be trying to imagine a boy Angel playing with his friends. Having made a full circle and ending up in front of William, Angel asked, "Can I sit down?"

William nodded.

Angel pulled up William's desk chair and sat down comfortably in front of the boy. "So you haven't stopped by in a while," he said. William looked away. "Why?"

William shifted. "Calder probably told you."

"I'd like to hear it from you."

William bit his lip and let his eyes sweep the floor. Angel waited. William sighed.

"My parents are getting a divorce. Dad moved out last week. He doesn't want to live with us anymore." He kicked his feet gently to relieve tension. Angel did not respond, which seemed to agitate William somewhat.

"Well?" William said after a moment.

"What?"

"You're not going to tell me that it's just my mum he doesn't want to live with, and not both of us?"

"Apparently you already know that. Why tell you something you already know?"

William did not seem to know how to respond, so he continued bouncing his feet up and down off the edge of the bed. Angel spoke after a moment,

"So does it help?"

"What?"

"Sitting here alone. Not talking to anyone."

William shrugged.

"Then why do it?"

William shrugged again. Angel waited to see if he would speak anyway, but he didn't. "What do you do to pass the time?"

"Nothing."

"That sounds boring."

"I guess." William paused. "I think a lot. I think about all the ways they could have stayed together and how we'd be a normal family again. I think about what could happen now to make things better." A tear spilled over William's cheek and he took a shaky breath. "I just want things to be like they were."

Angel waited an extra moment. "Can I be honest with you?"

William sniffed gently. "Yeah."

"Things are never going to be like they were."

William stared at Angel, somewhat shocked.

"Things are what they are and they're always changing. Nothing stays the same forever. And that's a good thing. Life would be boring if it stayed the same—I would know." Angel leaned forward. "Sitting in here all alone, William, is fine for a while. It gives you time to process things. But dwelling in the past and false presents? It never leads to anything good. Some day you're going to have to come out and be with people again. You'll have to accept the fact that your life is different now and you'll learn how to adjust. It seems hard now, but it's actually not as hard as you think."

William did not respond as he soaked in Angel's words.

"Well," Angel said, standing up, "I need to go. Will you stop by sometime?"

After a moment, William slowly nodded.

"Good." Angel carefully replaced the chair before he left to allow Mrs. Cole enough time to hurry off to the living room and take up the pretense that she had been reading the whole time. He nodded once to her on his way out.