Guardian (4 page)

Two days later, I was just thinking that it was utterly useless to tell Colton not to slide down the railing of the outdoor church stairs – he did it every time we left the building, regardless of what I said – when I stopped so suddenly that I nearly pulled little Gracie off the large stone steps. He stood across the street from the church, not looking at me, as I would have expected. Or maybe hoped, I wasn’t sure. No, Rafael (if that was his name), stood with his hands shoved into the pockets of his leather jacket staring up at all the magnificent stained glass windows of St. Rose of Lima parish. I frowned, taking all the steps in a split second and looking up at all the windows as well. I couldn’t detect anything abnormal about the scenes depicted; the Annunciation, the Visitation, Michael the Archangel, several scenes from the life of St. Rose of Lima.

“Stay here a moment,” I told Colton and Grace. “I have to talk to someone.” Used to this kind of request, Colton and Grace waved me away as they found a few friends.

After looking back to make sure Colton and Grace were being watched by a group of doting mothers, I jogged across the street through the light Sunday traffic, but my steps slowed as I neared Rafael. It was suddenly occurring to me that just because he had saved me that night didn’t necessarily mean he was a good and safe person. I threw my shoulders back and jutted out my chin. Thanking him was the right thing to do, and it was broad daylight. I was perfectly safe.

“Ex-excuse me?” My voice wavered, and I inwardly cringed. I didn’t want him to think I was a wimp.

At the sound of my voice, he turned around sharply, as though he was expecting to see a threat. His stance relaxed considerably when he saw it was just me. Something was different about him though, and it took me a moment to realize what it was; he was
cleaner
. His face was smooth from stubble, his hair had even been trimmed. His clothes, though still considerably worn from age and use, looked as though they had been washed.

I was captivated once again by his eyes alone. They were the most unique color I’d ever seen, a deep green interwoven with flecks of violet, just barely noticeable. They were so… complex. Though he only appeared to be in his late twenties, his eyes told a different story; they made me think decades had come and gone before his gaze.

“May I help you in some way?”

I started, coming out of my little daze. His pleasant smile was still in place. It gave nothing away, pleasure or even dread at seeing me.

“Oh, yes, sorry,” I stumbled out. “Are you Rafael?”

He studied me for a long moment and then nodded slowly. “That’s me.”

“Good. Well, my name is Lyla Evans. You, um, saved me last weekend.” I extended my hand to shake, but Rafael just looked at it. I slowly lowered it, clasping both my arms behind my back. “Anyway, after what you did that night, after saving me, well, I just wanted to thank you. Not a lot of people would have stepped in the way you did and-”

“Look, lady,” he began.

“Lyla,” I corrected him quickly. “My name is Lyla.”

“All right, Lyla. Don’t turn me into some kind of hero or knight-in-shining-armor or superman. I was out hunting and your boyfriend happened to have my quarry. Don’t be too harsh on him, either. I doubt he’ll remember a whole lot of what happened. After effects.”

I stared at him. “Beg your pardon?” I finally settled for saying.

Rafael shifted from foot to foot. “I was doing my own job, and helping you just happened to coincide with that, all right?”

I held up my hands, startled by his hostility. “Hey, I’m not trying to freak you out or, or start stalking you or whatever it is you think I’m doing. You
saved
me, and I just wanted to thank you. That’s all.”

Rafael appeared to mull this over. “You’re welcome,” he finally conceded. The tone in his voice was that of giving someone a gift with their words alone.

I hesitated, then, “Are you sure you won’t join us for youth group this weekend? It’s movie night. We’ll have food.”

He gave me a whimsical grin, the one where it seemed he found a private joke within my words, one only he understood. “I’m sure. You don’t want my sort mixed in with yours, Lyla Evans.”

“We aren’t-” I began, but to my absolute astonishment, he walked away from me without a second glance. I stood there, in shock, wondering exactly who this Rafael person thought he was.

Saturday was a day with a routine ground in so hard I was sure that the three of us could do it in our sleep. We always dressed quietly, meeting out front after I had grabbed us an on-the-go breakfast. Today was no exception. We stealthily left the house, not wanting to wake up our parents, since they slept in late on the weekends; they stayed out late as well, occasionally bringing the party home with them, if the noises in the rest of the house were any indication.

And then we were off, walking as we rubbed sleep from our eyes and adjusted hastily thrown on shirts and socks. We began the long trudge up Broad Street, with a right on Grant, to the main branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library. We all had our backpacks, since this was homework time. But when we were done, it easily turned into play time. Books and stories were something that could provide an escape from life, from the present, and that was something I had taught Colton and Grace. Though young, through my tutoring and determination, they both read at a level far above their age group.

“That new Rick Riordan book is finally in on our reserve list,” I told Colton cheerfully. “We can finally continue the saga of Percy Jackson!”

“Ca-an’t wait,” Colton said through a jaw cracking yawn.

I ruffled his hair, pulling him against me and taking Grace’s hand as we crossed the street. I loved having them near me, around me. But even as we reached the middle of the long crosswalk, I felt my skin prickle and the hairs on the back of my neck begin to rise. My senses felt as if they had been switched to hyper-alert, and I looked around uneasily. It felt as though someone was watching me. But aside from a few other early birds, though it was already past nine, there was no one else taking an obvious interest in us. I looked behind us as well, but there was no one there.

Calm down,
I told myself.
Its broad daylight. Even if someone was following you, nothing is going to happen.

And it was true. It was a beautiful, crisp fall day. Dry, fallen leaves skittered and skated along the street, whispering in their own language, while the light breeze cooled the still-intense September heat. I watched the sidewalk as the shadow of a large bird flew from one building to the next in front of the bright sunlight.

Maybe it was because of Austin’s attempted attack on me a week before, or maybe it was just because I was so protective of my siblings, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched. No matter how beautiful and clear the day was, no matter how many times I looked over my shoulder to confirm that there was no one behind us, I couldn’t reassure myself.

It was a relief to finally reach the big library and walk quickly inside, where the hushed whispers and strong scent of books made me feel safe and welcomed. Nothing could happen to us here. But even so, I kept Colton and Grace close to me until we finally reached our table and settled down, me and my flood of oversized textbooks and papers on one side, Colton and Grace on the other. It was a familiar routine as we quietly settled into our work, and I took comfort in it and allowed it to put my mind at ease.

For a long time there was only silence at our table, the rustling of papers and squeaking of pencils. I grinned to myself when I saw Colton reading silently, his lips moving to form the words, and when I caught Grace wrinkling her nose and scrunching her face as she encountered something she didn’t fully understand right away. We had a solid hour of quiet time to work before Colton and Grace both began to fidget uncontrollably, and I looked up in relief when story time was called from across the room. I turned to my siblings.

“Colton, do you want to go today?”

Though technically he was too old for this particular story group, Colton loved the animation with which the readers read the stories.

“Yeah,” he said, taking Grace’s hand and practically pulling her off the chair. “I’ll go with Gracie today.”

I stood as well, following them across the room. Colton turned and walked backward so he could look at me while he walked, a giggling Grace imitating him.

“You don’t need to walk us over there,” he pointed out. “It’s two seconds across the room!”

“I know, but I… wanted to,” I said lamely. I knew he was right, but how could I explain an obsessive, motherly need to assure myself of their constant safety?

Once they were safely ensconced within the story time room, I headed back to my books, only to get up half an hour later in hunt of a scientific dictionary.

I found my dictionary on the second floor in the reference section and was heading back downstairs in minutes, heavy book in tow, when I found myself walking past the teen book section. Colton and Grace safely ensconced in story time, I allowed myself to dawdle and pick out several new books to take home. On my way back I stopped at the service desk to pick up our reserves, and finally headed back into the children’s area of the library. I passed the story room, hidden behind a large wall, and realized with a sinking feeling that it was silent. Silent and dark. I peeked behind the wall and saw that it was undeniably empty.

Calm down, calm down,
I told myself for the second time that day.
Colton and Grace are probably just sitting at the table, wondering where you are.

I walked quickly to the table, only a thin thread of self-control keeping me from running flat out all the way. I turned the corner and skidded to a halt when I saw that our table was empty of anyone. I darted over to the librarian station.

“Excuse me,” I said to the woman sitting there. “Have you seen the little boy and girl I was sitting with earlier? They’re blonde, ten and six-years-old, very short?”

“Not since you walked them over there awhile ago,” she said in a bored voice, pointing over to the story time room. But I was already gone, power walking up and down all the aisles in the children’s area. Grace and Colton were nowhere to be found. I stopped by our table once more, looking around wildly. They knew better than to go out into the main section of the library without me, didn’t they? Would I be wasting my time going out there to look? With a rush of dread, I remembered my eerie feeling of being watched. My panic hit a critical level and I dashed out of the children’s area.
Please, Lord, help me find them. Let them be safe.

I stopped at every service desk to see if anyone had seen them. I asked perfect strangers. A thin film of sweat from exertion and panic covered me as I headed to the second floor, and then the third. I couldn’t find them anywhere. As I stood at the top of the staircase, looking down to try and catch a glimpse of a blond head, I spotted a library security guard standing by the exit. I nodded. Much as I was absolutely hated to admit that I couldn’t handle this by myself, it was time to get some real help. I jogged down the steps.

“The last I saw them was in the story room,” I said, now trotting to keep up with the long-legged security guard who was leading the way into the children’s area once again. “We usually sit at that table right over there, by the librarian station and-” I stopped dead, staring at the bathrooms.

Because there was Colton, leaning against the wall by the women’s bathroom, his hands shoved in the pockets of his faded old jeans, kicking his feet against the wall and fidgeting with a classic case of ten-year-old ADD.

“Colton!” I yelled desperately. I ran up to him, pulling his small, thin body up against my own, as if to reassure myself that he was actually real. And he was, a fact made abundantly clear as he pushed out of my arms with a scowl.

“Where is Grace?” I asked, looking around wildly, very aware of the security guard who clearly thought I was now wasting his valuable time.

“She’s in the bathroom,” Colton said, ruffling the hair I had smoothed only seconds before. “There was a big line after the story time ended, so we were waiting inside the bathrooms.”

Just then Grace came out, and the security guard left, apparently deeming the mystery solved. I was much too relieved to worry about looking stupid for not checking the bathrooms. I clutched both Colton and Grace to me, kneeling on the floor so our heads were at the same level.

“You just scared
years
off my life,” I whispered to them, my heartbeat finally slowing a little. “And I don’t have a whole lot to spare. I couldn’t find you guys! Next time,
tell
me where you’re going!”

“But you weren’t at the table,” Colton objected. Older than Grace, he saw the unreasonableness in my panic and was trying to call me out on it. I was still too unnerved, from both Austin’s strange attack and the mysterious Rafael, to care. “And Gracie really had to pee!” he continued.

“Gracie had to use the
restroom
,” I corrected, unthinking. “And I don’t care, no excuses. I was so worried about you. I thought something awful had happened. I was scared to death.”

Grace was sucking her thumb, studying me. “Can we ride in the elevators today, Sissy?” she asked.

I sighed, giving up on pressing this important lesson into them. After all, they had been only ten feet away from the table the whole time. I supposed that didn’t really put them in the wrong. Finally thinking straight with the relief that finding them brought, I gently pulled Grace’s thumb from her mouth and nodded wearily.