The House of Angels

Watched

It was monday afternoon and Moon had not been able to see Daniel again after he left with Vera on saturday night.

She'd spent all sunday afternoon in her room, fighting a terrible headache and only in the evening she felt a little better and could spend some time with Josh who played guitar to cheer her up.

Celine was a little disappointed when Moon asked her to postpone their evening together, but she made her promise to go out on wednesday.

Now Moon was getting ready for her shift at the diner, and she couldn't help but think about saturday.

There was a part of her that actually regretted what she'd done and the things she'd said when Daniel found out. But she really was tired of his mood swings. And then... he'd left wih Vera.

It was obvious that he didn't like her, she was just one of his play toys and Vera was the one he really liked. Well, Josh had previously mentioned their relationship when Vera first appeared so she was more or less expecting it.

She just had to learn to stop her urges. She knew it wasn't right to touch him like that after knowing him for two days. Maybe she had to stop with alcohol... no, she definitely needed to stop.

She was busy drying her hair, when she heard Daniel enter his room. Her bathroom wall divided her room from his, so she could hear quite everything.

Mrs Solonov was apparently scolding him, since he'd disappeared for two days.

"You think you can do what you want but guess what, kid? You can't! I should have called the police!!!" She yelled, angrily with her slight accent.

"What's happening here?" Sister's Monica voice echoed into the hallway.

Moon didn't mean to eavesdrop, but she couldn't help it when the voices were so loud and clear.

"Oh, Danny..." Sister Monica said after a brief pause. "We were so worried about you!"

"I'm fine. Here..." Moon heard his heavy footsteps on the floor. "Take this, give it to Sister Mary, it's for Lucy." He said.

"Oh God, Danny... what did you do?"

"She wants to dance, now she can." He said curtly.

"Did you see him?" The nun asked, hesitantly.

"Yes, but it's ok. He'd give anything to ease his sense of guilt. Now, could I take a shower?"

"Don't think it ends here!" Mrs Solonov barked, before Moon heard the door closing and everything going quiet.

What were they talking about? Were they talking about Lucy's father? It was the most reasonable explanation. Maybe Daniel knew him... maybe he could help her find the little girl's mother.

She tied her hair in a messy bun and wore her workwear, which consisted in a black skirt and white top, then she took her bag and phone and ran downstairs where Ant was waiting for her, car keys in hand.

His shiny hair tied high on his head, big, blue headphones around his neck, a green v-neck under a black vest and low-waist faded jeans. He was smiling, his ice blue eyes shining.

"Ready, myshka?" He asked, winking. "Josh needed to take care of something, so I'll be your driver tonight!" He smiled warmly at her.

"Oh my, thank you very much." She smiled, walking toward the door, soon followed by him.

"So, feeling better?" He asked opening the car door for her, casually displaying his usual charm.

"Much better than yesterday!" She chuckled, remembing how they woke up at eleven a.m., the three of them sprawled on the couches, dry mouths, bloodshot eyes, hammering headaches.

Josh had been the first to react, deciding it was time to take the situation in his own hands, since they were supposed to go back for lunch in an hour. He'd disappeared in the kitchen, reappearing shortly after with two providential water bottles, as the inviting smell of coffee slowly filled the air.

They'd been barely able to properly function before drinking their coffee and taking a few pills for the hangover and a cold shower, then they'd been able to get going.

Useless to say the three of them had disappeared in their rooms as soon as they were finished with their meals.

"Yeah, I can relate. I fell asleep yesterday after lunch and woke up only this morning." He chuckled, switchig the engine on, before driving the car out of the driveway.

"I'm sorry for what happened, Ant." She whispered, a little awkwardly.

"What for?" He glanced briefly at her frowning, confusion written all over his face.

"Well, you know, for the whole Daniel situation..." she shrugged, too embarassed to talk directly.

His heartily laughter filled the car, as he stopped at a red light.

"Don't worry, myshka. Do you think it's the first time Daniel gets wasted and attacks one of us?" His tone was amused.

"Yeah but... I lied to you to get what I wanted and you two fought because of me-"

"You got it all wrong, myshka. Yeah, I was a little disappointed when I found out you lied to me... but the fight wasn't your fault. Daniel just doesn't know how to deal with his feelings, and well, it's not surprising..." he said, frowning a little.

"What do you mean?" She asked, a little puzzled.

"Well, you should ask him. It's as personal as your scars." He said curtly, letting her know that it was Daniel's choice whether to tell her or not, subtly reminding her how she'd react when he'd asked about her past.

"I think he just doesn't like me. That's all." She said, eager to change the subject, since she now felt a little hypocrite,

Ant snickered.

"I think he likes you... it's that he likes you too much..." he teased.

"Well, doesn't matter. We're not friends anymore."

"I think you'll be WAY more than friends, very soon." He laughed, dodging her playfully strikes.

"Oh, shut up, you i***t!" He laughed heartily.

____

"Moon! Table seven!" Dora, Moon's collegue, handed her a tray full of drinks.

She was approaching the table to deliver the orders when she spotted him. He was looking at her from the sliding doors of the diner.

His cold, evil eyes following her closely, intently, like a predator watching his prey.

Fear immediately took over her, her brain not able to properly function as flashes of the past danced mercilessly inside her head, in a twisted vortex of pain and desperation.

The tray she was holding miserably fell on the floor as her eyes widened in terror and panic took ahold of her.

"What the f**k, Moon! Are you ok???" Dora shrieked, rushing to her side to make sure of her conditions.

"Dora..." Moon whispered in a tone that made Dora's hair stand as goosebumps found their way down her spine.

"Oh my God, Moon. You look like you saw a ghost!" Dora grasped her arms cautiously, concern written all over her face.

"Dora... he's here!" Moon breathed out, looking back at the spot where he was standing, only to find him gone.

There was no trace of him, as her eyes wandered furiously around the diner in a desperate attempt to spot him anywhere and be able to protect herself.

But it was like he'd never been there.