Hello Darkness

Chapter Eleven

I roll off the recliner careful not to wake Breccan. Just because I can't sleep doesn't mean I should wake him. His soft snores continue as I slip from the house and breathe in the crisp cherry blossom air. I lean over the railing, stretching the knots out of my spine, courtesy of the recliner. With the sun just pushing back the violet night sky, it feels so peaceful. I wonder what it's like to be the birds, trilling their morning hymns. They have nothing to worry about—other than the neighbor's cat, but she is quite fat, and they can just fly away from her.

I wish flying away was an option.

I turn my back to the sun and head deeper into the night, until I reach the garage. The concrete sends a chill slithering into my bare feet, alerting goosebumps along my calves. Breccan will definitely give me an earful when he finds out I went outside without telling him, but I will deal with that if necessary.

The garage has always been my escape, even in my darkest days. My feet caress the soft foam of my mats, curling my toes at the familiarity—the utter comfort. I bounce on the balls of my feet, warming my tight muscles. I find my kickboxing gloves and slip them on, then I beat the shit out of my heavy bag.

When I exhaust my body enough that even the sickness takes a rest, I wander back into the house and crash into my chair. My sweaty clothes stick to the quivering muscles in my arms and legs. I close my eyes, soaking in the lazy embrace of complete exhaustion. Just as I'm about to succumb to sleep, Breccan's alarm blares through the living room.

He shifts on the couch, the phone's light illuminating the ebony table lamp behind his head, casting slender, curved shadows across the vanilla cream-colored walls. Another night with no sleep. I wonder if I will ever have a full night's sleep again.

With a groan, I pull myself off my chair and shuffle into the kitchen. No use going back to bed now. Besides, Officer Silvano and Derek will be here in an hour, and then I'll have to leave for work. Instead, I make coffee.

"You look like hell." Breccan strolls into the kitchen. His white shirt soaking up any drops of water he missed with the towel, leaving little grey splotches across his broad chest.

Luckily by the time he finished his shower, my shirt dried. That means the only evidence of my morning workout was my frizzy hair, but the tiny ringlets that line my face could be attributed to bedhead.

"I'd say I've never looked better. Nothing like finding a dead body to spruce up the complexion." I slide a cup of coffee over to him—a little bit of milk and a drop of honey. Just the way he likes it.

"Are you okay?" His eyebrows furrow as his hands slip around the green mug and presses it to his lips. This is his apology—he'd open up to me, he always did.

"As good as I can be." I sigh, swirling a spoon in my cup.

"You know I'm doing everything I can."

"I know," I say my voice cracking. "Do you think there's someone after me?" I didn't want to fight, but I have to know.

His jaw flexes. "I think you were threatened, and no one threatens the people I love—my family."

Breccan is my family. Maybe not by blood, but that's never mattered. But that word: love. I've always known it was there, but we never verbalized it. I never verbalized it with anyone aside from Alma and Nana. A spindle of fear creeps up my back and through my chest. Like acknowledging it would make him disappear. That's exactly why I won't allow him to continue putting himself between me and this—this thing. I've lost too many people already.

"And I'll always do anything to protect you and Alma." His honey eyes speak nothing but truth. It's hard to accept it, but I know if the situation were reversed, I'd do the same.

A knock rumbles the front door, drawing Alma from her room—her hair already in a tight bun and light make-up on her face. How does she do it?

Breccan answers the door, allowing Officer Silvano and Derek in. Alma begins shuffling around behind me. "Coffee?"

Derek smiles. I get why him and Breccan are friends. It's just as warm as his. "I'll take some."

Derek happily takes the cup Alma offers, even though it looks like a tiny yellow teacup in his massive hands.

Officer Silvano declines with a polite wave. What kind of monster rejects the offer of coffee?

I sigh setting down my cup with a clink on the counter. "So how is this going to work?"

Derek takes a sip of his coffee. "Our main priority is to keep you safe." There is honesty in his deep, husky voice. "One of us will be with you for most of the day. We will escort you to and from work, but once you've arrived that will be our time off. After discussing with Breccan, we all agreed that is the time when there is the least risk."

"What about at night?" Alma spins around to join us at the kitchen island. "That seems to be the worst time for us right now."

"One of us will always be here." Derek's eyes land on Alma, and I feel the safety his presence will provide. "We will alternate nights."

"And I'll be covering any time they're not here," Breccan adds.

"For how long?" I hate feeling like a child, like my every move is going to be watched.

"Until the risk is eliminated." Officer Silvano's cool gaze meets mine as he speaks. His voice isn't gravely like Derek's, but grazes across my skin like velvet. But there's an edge to it, a seriousness that sends a chill straight to my bones. I shift in the chair, hoping my shudder goes unnoticed.

There's a long pause before Derek and Alma start to discuss her activities. Class in the morning, then a shift at the hospital, then various errands—much more complex than mine.

Of course, Officer Silvano would insist on accompanying me. "Good morning Officer Silvano, do you want to sit?" I gesture to the couch not hiding the mock sweetness in my voice.

He hesitates, but strolls to the chair and takes a seat, nothing comfortable about his posture. "Please, Talum." He looks out of place amongst our blueberry throw pillows and homemade quilts—too fancy in his black suit.

"What?" I shake my head sitting across from him.

He releases a loud breath through his nose, pinching his lips together. "My name. We're going to be spending a lot of time together. Please, just Talum."

He scans my face, like he hadn't seen it yesterday. "What's your schedule?" he asks, looking down and taking out his notepad from an inside pocket of his jacket.

I pause, nothing like getting to the point. "I just have work today. I'll be out by four." This leads to a series of questions about breaks, my colleagues and anyone who I might have contact with—emphasis on might. They will undergo a brief background check.

This is going to be a long few weeks.

I pull myself away as Talum tries to extract the names of every one of my colleagues to change for work. I practically have to shut the bathroom door in his face before he understands I won't be giving him any more names. I dress and put on my signature red lipstick. I won't let a stranger take that from me. Everything will go on as normal.