Chapter Eight: The Visitors

It was fine, really; I was glad that she was dating again. It'd been three years since Dad's death and there was no law saying she couldn't have a boyfriend. I just wasn't wild that she'd brought him to Port Angeles for Christmas. Even less enamoured that they'd spent the last three nights having very audible sex in my bed. There was a word for this: Awkward. There was another word that went with it too: Insomnia. I tossed and turned on the sofa-bed in the living room, trying and failing to ignore the sounds of passion emanating from my bedroom. It was turning my stomach; a stomach that was already a huge bowling ball of stress from the events of the last few weeks. I was tempted to call Daniel. But there was no quicker way to get Mom poking her nose into my affairs, by talking to someone at five twenty in the morning. My Mother made the Spanish Inquisition look like a bunch of lightweights. There was nothing else to do, other than lie there hour after hour, with Lyra spark out beside me; staring into space and thinking about life, the universe and Daniel.

There was one consolation in all this and that was the freedom to construct an imaginary world in my head. A world where Daniel and I were together and he was some top Government employee, charged with keeping our nation safe and me incredibly aroused at night. He'd switched to working days in my fantasies and there was nothing I longed for more than those four little words: 'Hi honey, I'm home.' What made this all the more enjoyable was that Daniel had already staked his intention. He'd told me that he liked me, really liked me, and if things were different - if there weren't forces trying to stop us getting together, or if Mike wasn't in the way - we would be together. This wasn't me dreaming of what might be; this was how it would be. Daniel and I would be together in time, so could anyone blame me for keeping my eye on the prize?

It was the early hours of Christmas Eve and I was grateful that I'd gotten everything done before Mom arrived. Sam arriving with her was a shock that had to be tactfully disguised, while I tried to get my head around what was going on in my Mom's life. Mom was changed from the summer. She was slimmer and had bought a more stylish wardrobe. She was wearing jeans; my mother never wore jeans and now, here she was, in those and heels too. Sam was about Daniel's height and had the look of an aging rocker about him; his greying hair was pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. Both of them had a glint in their eye and I should've seen that that wasn't a good omen. Never was the phrase 'at it like rabbits' so apt.

The flashing red light had me grabbing my phone off the coffee table. It was on silent, but I knew who this would be and it was. Daniel, my early morning saviour! He'd been quiet for several days and I was beginning to pine for him. Getting this text message was like getting a drink in the desert.

Daniel: It's been a long night, how're you?

Me: Tired, no sleep for days. Mom and her guy keeping me awake with their antics.

Daniel: Your Mom? Do you want to meet for coffee at six? That place near you?

Did I ever!

Me: That would be great. See you there.

I got up, threw down a bowl of cereal, got washed, pulled on yesterday's clothes (no opportunity to get something fresh from my closet), left a note on the dining table and headed out just before six. Outside the early morning air was bracingly cold. I was glad that even for this short distance I'd put hat, gloves and a scarf on. I walked around the corner and there he was, waiting for me outside the door. What a glorious sight!

"Good morning." He said in his gorgeous, velvety-smooth voice. I desperately wished we could be more than friends right now. I wanted to hug him, but he stepped away and appraised me. "You look tired." He continued.

"I am. I need intravenous coffee. I barely feel human."

"Welcome to my world." He chuckled.

"At least you can sleep during the day. Wish I could."

"How long are they here for?"

"Until the twenty-ninth. I'm already wishing the week away." I yawned and the bolt sliding back on the door couldn't have come a moment too soon.

As much I wanted to talk to him, I was painfully tired and there was every chance that I wouldn't be great company. "I might fall asleep on you." I admitted, as we walked into the smell of freshly brewing coffee.

"That's OK, I have a paper." At this hour we had the pick of the seats and Daniel chose the sofa. I slumped into it and he put the very large cup of coffee down in front of me and I cupped my cold hands around the drink, allowing the warmth of it to defrost me. I closed my eyes and at what felt like the next second there was a little jab in my ribs. I jumped and my eyes shot back open. Daniel was looking at me with amusement. "Don't fall asleep in your coffee." He grinned.

"Hmm?"

"You dozed off. Am I boring you?"

"No." My shoulders sagged. "I'm just so tired!"

He pulled the cushion out from behind him and placed it on the back of the sofa up against the wall behind me. "Sleep," he ordered kindly. "I'll watch over you."

I took a gulp of the warming coffee, put the cup down, curled up sideways facing him and rested my head against the cushion. I looked at him in profile as he opened his morning paper. His skin was freshly shaven and incredibly smooth, as if somebody had airbrushed him into existence. Considering he'd come off the back of a night shift, he looked amazing. I revelled in my good fortune to know such a man, before my eyes closed and I knew nothing more.

"Stephanie!"

"Huh? Wha…?" My Mom's voice ripped me from sleep and I winced as I felt the pain in the back of my neck. My head had slumped forward as I'd slept. I supported my neck as I tried to turn it to look at Mom. She was stood on the other side of the table, hand in hand with Sam.

"You were asleep."

"Yeah." I wiped my mouth, I'd unattractively drooled. Daniel wasn't by my side but over at the counter.

"Why on earth are you asleep in here? What's wrong with your apartment?"

"She was meeting me." Daniel appeared behind them and placed a fresh, hot cup of coffee in front of me.

"Oh hello!" Mom said brightly. "Are you Mike?" I groaned.

"No, I'm Daniel. I'm a friend of Stephanie's. Pleased to meet you." He held out his hand to my Mom and she shook it. He was bundled up in his coat, gloves and scarf again. He must be leaving.

"Likewise. I'm Nancy, Stephanie's Mom." She beamed. "This is my boyfriend, Sam."

Sam and Daniel acknowledged one another but didn't shake hands. Sam looked the kind of guy who absolutely didn't do physical contact with another man.

Daniel turned to me. "I'm sorry, I have to go."

"Yeah, sure. Thanks for the coffee a-a-and the… sleep." I smiled with embarrassment.

"Anytime." His beautiful brown eyes flashed with amusement. "You have a great Christmas. I'll catch up with you in the New Year."

"Bye." I said and off he went. As I watched him leave I noticed the clock on the wall, it had gone nine. "Oh my God, I've been asleep for three hours!"

"On him?" Said Mom sitting down, whilst Sam went off to get coffee. "You lucky girl! He's just a friend?" Her implication was not lost on me.

"Yes, he's a friend." I emphasized. "I'm dating Mike, remember?"

"This Mike must be amazing if Daniel there is just in the category of friend. Is there no chance? Don't tell me he's gay? That would be such a tragedy."

"No, he's not gay. It's… complicated."

"Has he got a girlfriend?"

"No, he has an ex-wife."

"Oh. And she's trouble?"

I told a lie. "Yes. Daniel and I are friends, nothing more."

"Well, keep… friends." She raised her eyebrows. "I wouldn't mind being mother-in-law to him."

"Mom!" I laughed.

"So, tell me about Mike."

"Ah… Mike." I said plaintively, landing back in the real world. I sipped my fresh coffee and looked wistfully at the dent in the sofa that had, until a few minutes ago, been Daniel.

Christmas came and went and Mom and Sam had even more loud sex. I resorted to downing shots of tequila to knock me out and for a while it worked, although I hated the hangover the next morning. Once I got to know him, Sam turned out to be a really great guy and I could see why Mom was attracted to his personality, although not his choice of hairstyle. There were flashes of Dad in the things Sam did and the first few times I saw them, it hurt. But this was her life and I didn't want to pass comment, in the way she so freely did about mine.

Mike suggested a night out at The Shed. It would be the sort of thing Sam would like and it would give all four of us the chance to get together. I'd declined the offer of dinner with his parents. Mike was temporary and I didn't want to do anything that moved our relationship on. I was still using the excuse of coming out of my relationship with Scott and not wanting to rush things; but I was aware that I was being a complete bitch and lying through my teeth to Mike. How that had happened was interesting. Daniel had encouraged me to do it and here I was, blithely going along with what he suggested. The irony was not lost on me. Here was a man I hardly knew, who volunteered virtually nothing about himself and yet I was doing what he asked me to do, seemingly without question. I was acting like a puppet on a string again, just as I'd done with Scott. I was a disgrace to womankind.

Mike was right; Sam, and more surprisingly Mom, loved The Shed. Here, Sam didn't look out of place. There was a different crowd here from the last time I'd been. The average age of the audience was older and instead of jeans falling off skinny hips, they were wedged under expanding guts. I was glad Mike has suggested it; Mom and Sam were enjoying themselves. Sadly I wasn't, Mike's car having broken down between Forks and Port Angeles, leaving me stood here on my own. I gravitated back to the pillar I'd stood at before and looked to the back, hoping that Will was here again. He wasn't. I nursed my beer and tried to look interested in the band, finally deciding that I'd leave Mom and Sam to it and head back. It was only a short walk back to my apartment and I could stick a movie on and wait up for them. I downed the rest of my beer and had started for the door, when there was an unmistakeable voice behind me.

"Leaving so soon?"

I span round and my face spontaneously broke into a wide smile. It was Daniel! And then suddenly there was that feeling of being unsettled around him. He looked even more terrifying, as if he was freshly back from whatever it was that avenging angels went off to avenge.

"What're you doing here?" I asked.

"Just hanging out."

I looked around. "With anyone?"

He shook his head. "No. You were leaving?"

"Yes, I was heading back, leaving Mom and Sam to it."

"Fancy keeping me company?"

"Not at all, do you want to come over to mine?"

He shook his head. "Better to stay here." He looked really sad.

"Are you OK? You don't look so good."

"I'm not. I just got some really bad news."

"I'm sorry. Did someone die?"

"Yeah." He ran his hand through his hair and I saw the pain on his face. I reached out to touch his arm. "Actually, I came in search of you. I don't want to be alone right now; this is a tough one to cope with."

The music was loud and this was no place to try and deal with the loss of someone. He didn't want to come back to my apartment, but perhaps there was something else we could do. "Do you want to go for a walk?" I suggested. He nodded and we left the thumping music behind.

We walked side by side through the streets of Port Angeles. It was a mild night and the thick cloud cover blocked out the moon and the stars. He didn't say much, I don't suppose he wanted to give me specifics – after all, he barely knew me. But he was cut up about it; that much I could see.

"It makes you re-evaluate your life when someone so young loses theirs. I hadn't known her that long, but she was one of those instantly likeable people, you know? The kind that slots into your life like she's always been there. I just got off the phone with her partner. He could barely speak he's so distraught and all I could hear was their son crying in the background. He's just a little kid and all he wants is his Mommy, how do you deal with that? What do you say? I had to get out; I feel so alone here, so disconnected from everyone. I can't do anything to help they're so far away."

Can you go see them?"

His phone rang and he answered, telling the person on the other end of the line that it wasn't really convenient for him to talk right now and could he call them back.

"Work?"

"No, a family member. Word's getting around. They're checking I'm OK."

I asked my question again. "Can you go see them?"

"Not right now, perhaps in a few days."

"Are you going to the funeral?"

He shook his head. "I can't." That seemed to really hurt.

"I'm sorry." I said, softly.

"Thanks. I'm just glad I found you tonight."

"You wouldn't have done anything stupid would you?"

"No. This is just loneliness and feeling really…" He stopped and looked at me. The pained look was back again.

"What?"

"I want to tell you something about me, but I'm hesitating. If I do, then it'll change things between us."

I thought about that. "Well, whatever it is I'll still be your friend. That won't change. Is it the kind of thing that would affect anything that might develop between us in the future?"

He nodded. "It might, yes."

"OK, well, let's just throw it into the mix, along with the crazy people who are out to keep us apart and the weird thing I've got going on with Mike."

He eyed me speculatively and I could see him tensing. He stopped on the sidewalk and faced me. "I have a daughter."

"Oh." I paused for a moment. He did have an ex-wife after all and it wasn't the worst thing he could tell me. "I'm not running away screaming." I added.

"The thing is; is that I can't see her."

"Your ex-wife won't allow it?"

"No, circumstances won't allow it."

"This thing you do?"

"Yes. This is the hardest thing about my life. The rest I'm sort of figuring out as I go along, but being separated from her, hurts. Hearing their little boy down the phone just brought back how much I miss her."

This sounded so wrong. "Why can't you see her? You can see your brother?"

"I did mention he's not exactly my brother, right?"

"Yes, but he's part of your family?" He nodded. "So why can you see him and not your daughter?"

"In a word? Danger."

"You've removed yourself from her to keep her safe?"

"Yes."

"And your brother doesn't need that kind of protection?"

"He's elusive at the best of times. If anyone finds him they'll be lucky."

My heart went out to him. Perhaps getting him to talk about her might help? "What's her name?" I asked.

He looked at me sadly. "I can't tell you that. Not until we have this threat eliminated. I'm sorry, but that would be disclosing something far too personal."

"I understand."

"But, I promise, when I can, I'll tell you all about her." His love for her immediately shone through, like sun rays bursting through the clouds. "I will say though, that she's nine and… a handful." He snickered.

"You don't look old enough to have a nine year old daughter." I was taken aback; he really didn't look much older than twenty five.

"I'm thirty one." He grinned at my wide eyes. "Does that shock you? Am I too old for you?"

"No. It's just that you're wearing well."

He laughed and ran his hand over his jaw. "It's this great new moisturiser." He looked at me. "So, me having a daughter doesn't freak you out?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm just sad you can't see her."

"She's confidential information though, so please don't tell anybody about her."

"I wouldn't."

He exhaled sadly. "I'm sorry that my life is so complicated and that I can't let you in right now. But regardless of what I can't say, I want you to know that I really do like you and everything is being done to find out where this breach is and to plug it."

"I know, Chief Swan told…"

He cut me off. "Chief Swan?" His countenance changed. "What did Chief Swan tell you?" His dark look brought the fear of him back, adrenaline flooded my system as the fight or flight response warred within me.

"Just that everything was being done."

"Is that all? The Chief, of all people should know not to say a word."

"I think he was trying to reassure me." Which was something Daniel wasn't doing, he was scaring me. "Please don't be angry with him, he was only trying to help."

"I won't. He's more experienced than me in these matters, but he knows how sensitive this situation is. Chief Swan's a good man. To be honest, he's incredible. Doing his job and knowing what he knows, I'm surprised he doesn't flip. But he's as steady as a rock."

"He was very reassuring."

"Good."

We walked around Port Angeles in a circle and ended up outside my apartment building. Daniel saw me to the door.

"I won't come up, I need to go. Enjoy your last couple of days with your Mom and her guy."

"Thanks." I said. "Listening to your Mom having sex, is right up there with root canal for sheer enjoyment."

He grinned. "And thanks for letting me talk. I needed it."

"Anytime. Like the James Taylor song says, 'You've got a friend.' "

"Thanks. Sleep well."

"G'night."

I entered the building and trudged up the stairs. As I reached the second landing the lights went out. I put my hand out for the rail and found myself grabbed from behind with a knife pressed to my throat.

"You think this is dangerous? We're not the ones that want to hurt you." The person who spoke was not the person restraining me. The voice was coming from a short distance behind me. He continued in even, measured and very formal tones. "We're here to make you appreciate the seriousness of what you're getting yourself into. Do not be deceived, my dear; your friendship with Mr Mitchell will, at its ultimate conclusion, result in your death. Maybe not now, but it will in time. We only want to prevent such a shocking waste of a life. Do you know your Bible Miss Chambers?"

"Not really."

"Well, I suggest you get yourself one and look up two Corinthians, chapter eleven verse fourteen and read for yourself the warning about the devil masquerading as an angel of light. You know that Mitchell makes you feel unsettled and you need to ask yourself why that is. We don't want to hurt you; we're only here for your protection. Mitchell is the danger. Mitchell is the one you need to fear. Do not contact him. Do not give him any encouragement for the future. Stay with the school teacher and more than anything, stay in the sunlight, you are safest there. Trust nothing about Mitchell or the shadowy forces that are apparently out to protect you. They are only there to guide you into the trap. And interestingly, they're not here tonight, or would not have tried to make contact. Mitchell knows what he's dealing with in me; but what he doesn't know is the extent of it. Just as he has forces on his side, I have forces on mine." He chuckled. "You're surrounded and you can't see any of them. What a comforting thought. I say again, stay away from Mitchell for your own protection. I think in this you may need a little help. Because I know that the minute we leave, you'll call for his help and you mustn't do that. So your phone Stephanie; if you please?"

I held up my phone and felt it taken from me. What I didn't expect to hear was the sound of crushing metal and splintering plastic.

"Hold up your hand again." I did as I was told and the crushed phone was placed in it for me to take. "That's as much damage as we will do to your life. He, on the other hand has the potential to kill you. That girl he was telling you about? The one who died? You need to ask how that happened, because that's what happens to people who associate with him. Let that be your warning. We will leave you now and I hope that we will not need to pay you a return visit. Keep yourself safe, keep yourself in the light and more than anything keep away from Daniel Mitchell."

And then they were gone. I was left standing alone in a silent, dark stairway. There were no footsteps, no sounds of opening doors and nothing, other than the fading impression of the knife and my crumpled phone, to suggest that anyone had ever been there.