Be Your Everything

It was nearly 6 at night when Michael knocked on the door, saying that his relief was on his way up. The nerves returned and Alice started biting her nails.
“This stuff takes its toll, huh?” Dani nodded, leaning on the wall outside her own front door. Thankfully, she hadn’t asked why security guards were necessary. Apparently she had caught on that it was a private, and rather sensitive, matter for Alice – who was feeling a sudden wave of affection wash over her. Of all the things that had happened to her, she was glad to have found at least one true friend.
“A bit. I’m kind of a nervous wreck...” Alice rolled her eyes and smiled. “I’m probably being completely ridiculous worrying about it all so much.”
“You’re not,” Michael spoke up out of nowhere. “You have every right to be worried.”
“Aren’t you meant to make me feel better?” Alice bit her lip and looked away.
“It’s my job to protect you – and I can do that better if you know that truth.”
“Fair point.” She admitted reluctantly. In the back of her mind she had been hoping that he would lie and tell her everything is going to be okay. Unfortunately for her, everyone seemed to think the truth was the best way to go about things.
“Leon,” Michael addressed the newcomer, who was also dressed all in black, as he walked towards them. He gestured to the girl in front of him, “This is Alice.”
“Lovely to meet you, Miss,” Leon grinned holding out his hand.
Alice was pleasantly surprised at his tone as she shook it. “Same to you.”
“I assume you know what I’ll be doing?”
“Just standing outside the door, right?”
He chuckled, nodding. “Correct.”
“Do either of you want something to drink?” Dani asked out of nowhere, looking between the two guards.
“It’s not really-” Leon began, but she cut him off.
“Nonsense. This is my house, after all. What do you want?”
He deflated. “A cup of tea would be nice, I suppose.”
“Awesome!” Dani clapped her hands and beamed as though this was the best thing that could have possibly happened. “I’m Danielle, by the way.”
“Good to meet you.” Leon shook his head in an amused sort of way.
Danielle disappeared inside and left Alice with the two men.
“I’d best be going,” Michael announced. “I’ll talk to the both of you tomorrow.”
“Oh, okay. Bye then...” Alice waved awkwardly, not entirely sure what she was supposed to say. The whole situation was beginning to sound a lot more manageable, but that didn’t make it any less strange. In her own opinion, she wasn’t even worth protecting. She’d never say that out loud though; everyone around her would just shut it down – “You’re more than worth protecting!”, “You’re an amazing person!”, and “Don’t you dare say that!” were just a few of the things she could imagine Harry saying, and that was just skimming the top of her thoughts.
Leon was a lot nicer than he looked. The two girls learned that he had two little girls at home, and a wife that was pregnant with a third child – he was excited to find out the sex, but the wife was keeping it a surprise.
“You have a gorgeous family.” Alice commented as she looked at a photo of his girls on his mobile screen.
“Well thank you, I made it myself.” He replied with a twinkle in his eyes.
Laughing, Dani made to clear away the empty mugs and plate that had been full of biscuits only half an hour ago.
Leon sighed loudly and got to his feet. “It’s about time I got back to doing what I’m paid to do. I’ll see the two of you in the morning – if you’re up early enough, that is.”

“You never told me why they were needed.” Dani commented as she made herself comfortable at one end of the couch. Alice was curled up with a pillow in her lap at the other end.
“It’s kind of a long story…”
“We’ve got all night.” She said looking mildly amused. Alice could hear the title credits of Grease playing in the background as she began the long and gruelling recount of the past few months of her life.
Nearly an hour later, Danielle was staring at her with wide eyes. “That’s really scary.” Alice nodded without a word. She felt completely drained and didn’t want to talk about it anymore. “But you’re safe, which is all that matters.”
Again, she didn’t say anything.
“Do you want to put a different movie on? I’m not keen on watching them dance around at the moment.”
She nodded mutely, averting her eyes to the floor. She could feel her chest constricting slightly and willed herself to stop thinking about it, because she could feel a panic attack coming on. Focussing all her attention on Dani changing the DVD over, she managed to push the unwanted feelings away.
“I’ve got this friend,” Dani began, and Alice was grateful she had started talking again. The silence was killing her. “That I want you to meet. Me and her, we’re not very close, but she seems like the kind of girl you’d get along with.”
“Are you trying to set me up on a blind friendship-date?” Alice narrowed her eyes and pointed an accusing finger at the girl on the floor.
“I guess I sort of am.” Dani laughed, climbing back onto the couch.
“How do you know I’d like her?”
“I don’t. I’m just going on a hunch.”
“But I’m terrible at meeting new people.” Alice pouted, all bad thoughts and feelings forgotten.
“You were fine when you met me.” The older girl pointed out with raised eyebrows.
“Yeah, but…” Alice frowned and shook her head. She was confused. Since when was she able to have full conversations with people without making it awkward or offending them? Well, the answer was easy. Since she’d met Harry. “I guess you’re right.”
“Great. I’ll organize for her to meet us for breakfast in the morning!”