Meeting my Guardian

Prologue

"No. No. No," I tell my best friend as we sit drinking our weekend coffee.

"El, you have to go back at some point. They're worried about you," Kat tells me.

I mean, like I didn't know that they're worried about me. At least, that's what they like to tell everyone. Kat is referring to my parents, who, the last time I saw them, were in the middle of another argument as I left the house.

That was nearly a week ago.

You probably think that I'm being melodramatic, but you don't know my parents. It always starts with me asking a simple, innocent question that either my mom or dad begin to argue over. I then get pushed to the side and they argue for the next few hours.

Normally, I'm used to it, but last week I couldn't take any more of it. So I left the house with all the money I could find and have been staying in a crappy motel for the past week.

"Elora! Did you hear any of what I just said?" Kat asked with a look that told me I should have actually been listening.

Sheepishly, I picked up my coffee and hid behind it as I replied, "Sorry, I was just thinking of school starting next week." A lie, I know, but I didn't want her to know that I was thinking of my parents.

"You should know by now that I know when you're lying," she said, but didn't push the topic further.

Kat and I have known each for three years. We met on the first day of high school and immediately hit it off. Clichè, isn't it?

With me moving to a new town, she was the only person I knew until I was introduced to her wacky group of friends.

Not knowing anybody else, it was them I spoke to everyday and soon enough it was hard to imagine life without them.

Three years later, many of those friends have come and gone. Kat, our other friend Robin and I have been the only constants among the group.

Robin couldn't make it to this weekend's meetup and so it was just Kat and I.

"Crap, its already past one. I'm late for my date with Kade. I'll see you later El," Kat said all in one breath and before I could respond, she was halfway down the street.

Kaden is Kat's boyfriend. They've only been together for a few months, but damn they're so cute together.

With a sigh, I dump our rubbish in the bin and head out the door. I'm probably going to have to go back to the house today, I'm running out of clean clothes.

I turn right to go to the motel so that I can get my stuff from the motel before I head back home.

It's a short walk to the door of my temporary room. I walk inside and grab my things then head out the door and return my key.

Heading towards the nearest bus station, I patiently wait for the next bus. I memorised all of the routes some time last year when I ran away from home for the first time. The bus that stops close to home should be here in a few minutes.

I look around a bit as I wait. This part of town is relatively busy, with a few tables in the restaurant across the street and quite a few tourists looking around the quaint little shops.

My eyes scan over the bookshop on the corner and that's when I see him.

The creepy shadow man.

I look around to see if anyone else can see him, but apparently not.

When I look again, he's gone.