My Constant Companion

Shannon's arms were pulling me to him, pulling me out of the dream, the nightmare. “It's okay, doll. I've got you.”

It was dark and I fought him for a moment, not sure if it was really him. “Shannon?” I choked out.

“Yeah, it's me, doll. It's me. Shh.”

I touched his face, felt his beard, his hair, his arms, breathing in his scent. Then I sobbed uncontrollably against his chest in the darkness. I felt like a child.

“It was just a dream, just a bad dream.” he assured me over and over again. But it was much more than a dream, it was a memory. A memory I thought I had buried. Shannon stroked my back, my hair, my face, cooing me with tender words, until eventually I fell into a numb sleep in his arms.

I opened my heavy, half swollen eyes. I glanced at the clock and jumped up. I shouldn't have. I groaned in pain and my aching limbs screamed in protest. I was late for work, very late, and after a moment of feeling slightly lightheaded I jumped out of bed.

I half dragged myself out of my bedroom. I could hear music coming from the living room. I found Shannon sitting at the kitchen table, a bowl in front of him, his spoon stopped halfway to his mouth once he saw me. “You're up.” he said cheerfully.

He looked ten times better, his face was back to its normal rugged handsomeness, only a faint shadow of a bruise showed on his cheek. It must be an Angel thing. His short hair was stuck up on one side, he had shaven and his lips, minus the split it had before, quirked up into a smile.

“Do you know what time it is?” I asked in a half snarl, hands on my hips.

“It's...” he glanced at the microwave then back to me. “12:42.”

“Yeah. And you didn't think to wake me?” I said irritably.

“Relax. I told Ivy you wouldn't be coming in.”

“Why? Why would you do that?”

“Because you needed to sleep. You were fatigued. And you didn't sleep well.” I let out a heavy breath.

I hated to admit it but he was right. I couldn't possible go to work. Not after last night. I needed some time to wrap my head around all of this.

The record that had been playing clicked to a stop. Shannon stood and walked over to me, “Sit down. Eat. I made you some breakfast.”

“You cooked?” I raised an eyebrow at him as I sat.

“Why are you so surprised?” he said, going over to the microwave and heated up a plate that was already in there.“I figured I owed you.”

A minute later he sat it down in front of me. Bacon, scrambled eggs and waffles. My stomach rumbled and even though it hadn't felt right since last night I dug in. I had been starving and it wasn't half bad.
Shannon watched me eat, a curious look on his face.

“I thought you might like to know that Matt's okay.” he informed me.

“Oh, thank goodness.” He seemed like a good guy, he didn't deserve what had happened to him last night. “He didn't have any serious injuries?”

“Nothing he couldn't handle.”

“So is he an Angel as well?”

Shannon nodded then asked, “What had you been dreaming about last night?”

I looked down at my plate, my food suddenly tasted bitter. “Nothing.”

“You woke up screaming. It was more than nothing.” he said, his eyes studying my face when I looked up at him again.

“I don't want to talk about it.”

Who's keeping secrets now? I wanted to be honest with him but I really didn't want to think about it, let alone talk about it. I couldn't. Bury it, bury it deep inside, my mind told me. I had to put it back into that dark room and lock it up and throw away the key, forget it ever happened. I could do that again.

“I've got to go and sort some things out.” He told me once he realized I wasn't going to say anymore. “But I'll be back tonight.”

“It won't be like last time will it?” I asked.

He gave me a weird look before smirking. “I'll let you know if I won't be back.”

“And has this anything to do with your brother?”

“Maybe.” he said.

“I need to go see how Ivy is.”

“You needn't to worry about that?”

“Oh really? Jared is in her head. Who knows what he's doing to her.”

I made to stand up but Shannon put his hand on my arm and said, “She's fine. I've got someone watching her.”

I sat back down heavily and crossed my arms over my chest. “Another angel, I assume.”

“Something like that.”

“And you're sure she's safe?”

“Yes. Jared made his point clear, but I don't think he'll mess with the girl.”

I didn't believe him, his brother was crazy, he proved as much last night. But I knew it would do no good to argue, so I said nothing else. I dumped the dishes in the sink and Shannon kissed me bye and was out the door, leaving me feeling empty.

After a ten minutes I got dressed quickly, left a note for Shannon and went over to the shoppe. I went in through the back door, Ivy was just coming up from the basement when I entered.

She scowled at me. “I thought you were sick.” she said bitterly, skeptically, her lip twisting up in disgust.

“I feel better.” I said more happily than I felt. Ivy just stared at me for a moment longer before turning her back on me.

“You look different.” she muttered.

“Oh.” What did that mean? I looked down at myself. What did I look like to her? She gave me a brief concerned look but said nothing more. “Do you need some help?” I asked.

She shook her head no. “We're not busy. You could go back home.”

“But the new inventory will be here at two.” I hung up my jacket and limped over to one of the counters. “I could stay back here and put everything away when it gets here. I really don't want to be at home anyway.”

Ivy narrowed her eyes at me. “Are you sure you're feeling alright? And why are you limping?”

“Oh. I just fell. Nothing really.” I said absently, my back to her. “I'm fine.”

“Mm-hmm.” she muttered. She didn't believe me, she knew me too well.

“Ivy.” I said with a heavy sigh, turning to face her. “I know you hate me right now and all but I hate all this tension between us.”

“I don't hate you Nikka.” she sounded offended. “You're my best friend. I was just a little pissed at you, alright.”

She sounded like my Ivy, but could Jared be listening in on everything right now? I may be a little bit paranoid but I knew what he was capable of. I nearly shuddered thinking of him being in my head or rather me being in his or how ever it had gone.

I brought myself back to the here and now. “Alright. I understand.” I still think she had overreacted, perhaps I had too. “Are we gonna be cool?”

She seemed to think that over before nodding. “So I assume that double date is out of the question. I know Shannon has beef with Jared but couldn't we all get along for one night? I mean, if I'm going to be dating Jared and you're with Shannon they just might have to be around each other for our sake.”

What could I say about that? I can't because Jared and Shannon are brothers who aren't even human and calling what's going on with then beefing is an huge understatement. They were practically at war. And I doubt either of them, especially Jared, would be doing anything for our sake.

“I'll get back to you on that.”

She seemed a bit disappointed with that answer but gave me a smile all the same. Melissa came through the doors and was surprised to see me there. She told me hi and said Ivy was needed up front.
Once they were gone I let out a deep breath. “That went well.”

Since it was only a little before 1:30 I went into the basement and made room for the incoming inventory. At two the delivery guy arrived and I spent an hour putting things away. I didn't mind. I needed some alone time, some time to think.

I felt so tired, so wound up, so afraid, yet so determined. A part of me craved the way things were months ago, when I hadn't even known Angels and Demons actually existed but that would mean me not knowing Shannon and I really couldn't imagine life without him now. But last night had been a mixed bag of strange and crazy and I knew that whatever Jared was up to wasn't over yet. And that was enough to make me want to find a good place to hide.

“Hey.” someone said behind me and I jumped. Melissa standing on the stairs. “Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Someone's here to see you.”

Oh god, who could it be? I followed her upstairs and out into the store. By the register stood Micheal. I was surprised. I had been thinking it might be Shannon or Jared or god knows who else. He smiled a little when he saw me.

“Hello.” he said softly.

“Hi.” I said. What was he doing here?

“Can we talk?”

“Uh...” I glanced to my right to see my coworkers eying us but trying not to be too obvious about it. “Sure.” I told him and we went outside. The weather was pleasant and the afternoon sun was shinning. We walked a little away from the shop and I said, “So, what's up?”

“I want to apologize for the other night.”

The other night? Had the concert only been a few days ago? It seemed like ages ago and a lot had happened in between then and now.

“You didn't really have to come all this way for that.”

“I know.” he smiled, “But I was thinking about how I overreacted. We barely know one another, I could hardly expect you to have eyes for only me. And you're a pretty girl, so I knew I had some competition.” Typical guy, thinking everything is a competition. “It all just took me by surprise.” I know the feeling. “And what I said I hadn't meant.”

“It's fine. Truly.”I assured him. “I hadn't even known he would be there. I should be the one apologizing.”

“No need.” he looked down before meeting my eye again. “I know this might be a bit forward but I was wondering if-” he stopped talking and looked behind me, distracted.

I turned around to see but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Just everyday people going about their lives. And this was downtown so there were plenty of people. Micheal was still looking ahead, his eyes narrowed and a bit frightened.

“Micheal.” I whispered to get his attention and when he looked at me he backed up a few steps. He still looked like he was frightened... but of me. His eyes were wide and his hand was outstretched as if trying to keep me away.

“I'm sorry I have to… go.” and without waiting on a reply he turned and walked quickly away. I watched him walk away at a brisk pace, glancing behind him several times before he was out of my sight.

What had just happened?

I looked at the people around me, half expecting Shannon or his brother to appear but nothing happened but when I turned back around with the intention of heading back to the shop I collided with a somewhat familiar face. It was the dark haired man who had come into the shop yesterday. I lost my balance and half fell to the ground.

“Sorry.” I apologized. “My fault.”

He put his hands on my arms, tugging my upright and onto my feet. “No harm done.” he said with a strange look in his dark eyes.

I suddenly felt scared. I'm not sure why but I wanted to be away from him, and fast.

“Mm-hmm.”

I gave him a nervous smile, pulled out of his grasp, sidestepped and headed back, making sure not to move too fast but I could feel him watching me, his eyes burning holes in the back of my skull.

He wasn't human.

Once inside I tried to wipe my face clear of my fear but Ivy caught sight of me. I walked swiftly to the back and once alone I shuttered and had to hold on to the counter to keep upright. Great, another thing to worry about. He knew I knew he was something otherworldly... and he knew my name, he had said it yesterday. Could this get any worse?

I put my head in my hands and jumped when Ivy said spoke behind me. At this rate my heart would never beat normally again due to the fact that it keeps threatening to escape my chest. She stood by the door, watching me closely.

“Go home, Nikka.”

No. If I leave that man, whatever he was, might still be out there. What if he followed me? What if he worked for a certain blue eyed Angel? Well I couldn't say any of that out loud.

“You look tired and distracted. Go get some rest. Please.” she was half pleading.

I nodded realizing I wasn't going to do any good here. “Will you do me a favour?” I asked. She hesitantly nodded. “Be careful with him.” She knew whom I meant. “Please.”

She bit back whatever she had been intending to say. “Sure.” she said after a moment of thought.

I went over to her and gave her a quick hug. “I love you.” I whispered. She seemed taken aback by that. I grabbed my jacket and headed out the back door without looking back at my best friend.

As I walked home I was being vigilant. I didn't see the dark haired man or anyone else of suspicion but I wasn't taking any chances. Once I got inside I locked the door and looked around the apartment just to make sure I was alone. I was. But it didn't help the fear that was taking up residence inside of me. I hated this feeling of helplessness, of not knowing what to do, or what I was up against. Get a grip, Nikka, I told myself.

It was only four in the afternoon and I had no clue when Shan would come back, if he returned at all but I didn't want to just sit here so I got in my car and drove. I had no idea where I was going but I wound up at my grandma's.

She was pleasantly surprised to see me and she too noticed my distracted state of mind. I used to be so good at hiding my feeling but now apparently not so much. We sat out on the porch, drinking sweet iced tea and eating homemade oatmeal cookies.

“So where's your boyfriend?” she asked. I made a face. “Sorry, I mean your 'friend'.”

“He's busy.”

“Mm-hmm. So what's going on with you? You look down.”

“Nothing.” I said but couldn't met her eye. Gran would know if I lied to her, she always saw through my lies. “I'm just tired.”

“Nikka, whatever it is you know it's not good to bottle it all inside. It'll eat away at you.”

“I know.”

She had a point I needed to talk to Shannon. We had some things to discuss. I called his cell but no answer, of course.

I stayed for dinner and left after six, kissing my grandma bye, promising to come by this weekend and drive off feeling a little less heavyhearted. Home cooked meals can do that to you.

As I pulled into my spot in the parking garage and got out a black SUV pull up beside me. “Hey sexy.” Shannon said from the drivers seat after he rolled the windows down.

“You've got a SUV too.” I said leaning against my car. “Nice.”

“I think so too.” he turned serious. “You okay?”

I nodded and tried to smile.

He wasn't fooled but instead of grilling me about it he said, “Wanna take a ride?”