Daphne
“Thank you so much for letting us stay here, Aunt Caroline,” said Daphne as she and Jack stepped into the spacious entry room of the large house.
“Of course!” said Caroline, her freshly-whitened teeth showing as she smiled. “You’re always welcome here. But stop calling me ‘aunt’; it makes me feel ancient!”
Jack held on tightly to his mother’s hand. His blue eyes searching around the mansion, he stayed close to Daphne’s leg. Looking down, Daphne could sense the uncertainty in her son. Ever since she’d told him that they’d be staying with her Aunt Caroline, he seemed to Daphne to have an uncanny sense of knowing that something was amiss.
“And there’s my big man!” said Caroline, wrapping her thin arms around Jack, the jewelry hanging from her wrists jangling around the boy’s head. “Aren’t you just the handsomest damn thing?”
“Jack,” said Daphne. “Say ‘thank you’.”
“Thank you,” he said, his voice flat.
“Aw,” said Caroline, “I know it’s weird to have to leave home for a while, but it’s not so bad here. How about some ice cream?”
His expression perked up a little at that. Jack looked up at Daphne with expectant eyes.
“Hey, it’s her house,” said Daphne. “She makes the rules here.”
A small smile formed on Jack’s mouth.
“Let’s go see what we have,” said Caroline, leading Jack from the entry room, their feet clicking on the marble floor. “I know there’s vanilla, but I think there’s chocolate … maybe butter pecan …”
Her voice trailed off as they left, and soon Daphne was alone.
Daphne walked up the spiral staircase to the bedroom where she’d be staying, the same one that she’d stayed in when she’d lived with Caroline a couple years back, when she was trying to get her feet on the ground after leaving Xander. Sitting down on the plush bed, she let out a sigh. Daphne knew she’d made the right decision in leaving home for a while –Caroline’s neighborhood was one of those ritzy places with a big, manned gate out front—but she hated having to put Jack through all of this.
And she thought back to the phone call she’d had with Xander. Part of her regretted being so harsh with Xander, especially since he’d seemed to genuinely want to help.
This is his goddamn mess, she thought. I wouldn’t be in this shit if it weren’t for his biker crap.
She let herself fall back onto the bed, her eyes already heavy with sleep. Daphne felt sick when she realized that she didn’t really have a plan. She’d stay here with Jack for a while—Caroline’s place was close enough to her work and Jack’s school to not disrupt things too much—but aside from that, she knew that all she could do was wait and hope that Xander was able to resolve things.
Her eyes drifted over to the phone where it lay on the dresser.
I could still call him, she thought. He’d be here in a half-hour. Xander’s a criminal, but he’d put everything on hold when it came to making sure I was safe.
But, she realized, there was the issue of Jack. Daphne knew that if she asked Xander to look out for her, it would only be a matter of time before he found out about the son he didn’t even know he had.
I’ll just do this for a little while, she thought as she stared up at the ceiling. Xander’s got his whole gang on this operation; it’s only a matter of time before they take care of this asshole who’s been stalking me.
With that in mind, Daphne went back downstairs and joined Caroline and Jack for some ice cream. Afterwards, they all gathered in the luxurious living room and watched TV. Daphne watched Jack out of the corner of her eye, seeing that he appeared to be feeling a little better about this situation.
The next day, Daphne took Jack to school and went to work. Once she was done, she headed straight home. Caroline, being long-retired, had more than enough time to look after Jack. The next day passed like that, then the next, then the next. After nearly a week had gone by, Daphne began to almost feel like things were slowly becoming something like normal once again. Still, she hoped for that call from Xander that would let her know that the rival gang situation had been taken care of, and that it was time to come home.
“Are we going to live here forever?” asked Jack one night as Daphne tucked him in.
“Not forever,” she said. “Just for a little while longer.”
Back down in the living room, she took a seat on the couch. Daphne could see Caroline watching her out of the corner of her eye, and Daphne knew right away what was on her mind.
“I’m not back with Xander,” she said.
“Oh, good,” said Caroline. “I mean, you’re an adult; you can do whatever you want. But with all that’s going on, I just couldn’t help but wonder.”
“It’s …” Daphne started, not wanting to give the whole story. “It’s something that has to do with Xander. It’s just so goddamn frustrating; I’ve gone through so much to keep Jack away from his father’s lifestyle, but here I am, getting pulled back into it.”
“Maybe …” started Caroline. “Maybe it’s time to consider moving to another city?”
The thought had occurred to Daphne.
“I could, but I’ve got a halfway decent job, finally. And I’d have to put Jack through a move … I don’t know.”
“Well,” said Caroline. “You can stay here for as long as you need. But I don’t need to tell you that you’re going to need to find a more long-term solution.”
Daphne nodded, knowing that Caroline was right. After a little more TV, Daphne said her goodnights and headed up to bed. Stripping down to her underwear, she slid under the covers and drifted into a deep sleep full of strange dreams.
The one she remembered most clearly involved her at some grungy dive bar, where she sat alone at the bar, drinking cheap beer. And as she drank, the place, which was at first empty, began to fill with tough-looking bikers, all of who stared at Daphne with angry eyes. Soon, just when she began to feel fearful, in came Xander. He looked over the men, then moved from one to the other, waving his hand in front of them and causing them to disappear, one by one. Soon, it was just Xander and Daphne in the bar. He sat down next to her, poured himself a glass from her pitcher, and the two of them drank in silence.
Then, they were back at Daphne’s home. It was just the two of them—Jack was nowhere to be found. And though it was her apartment, she felt pleased to see Xander there, as though it was a relief. They stared at each other for what seemed like several long minutes. Eventually, they flew to each other as though pushed by a great wind. They were in each other’s arms, and began kissing passionately. And right as they began to pull off one another’s clothes, Daphne woke up.
She looked down and saw, to her surprise, that her hand had slipped down into the front of her panties. Arousal overcame her, the dream of Xander holding her in his arms still fresh in Daphne’s mind. She looked around the room, as if someone might be watching, then began to touch herself. Pleasure radiated from her pussy instantly, as though she were letting loose arousal which had been building up for a long time. Reaching down with her other hand, she spread herself open with one hand and stimulated herself with the other. Moans began to slip from her lips, which she did her best to suppress. The pleasure built and built, coming on faster the harder she pictured Xander in her mind. Soon, an orgasm ripped through her body, and Daphne bit down hard on her lip to make sure she didn’t scream loudly enough for the whole house to hear.
When the orgasm faded, Daphne let her hands drop to her sides as she caught her breath. Soon, she was back into a deep sleep.
She awoke the next morning feeling refreshed, even feeling a little positive. She and Caroline got Jack ready for school, and soon they were off. Jack was dropped off, and soon Daphne was at work. The positive vibes from her sleep—not to mention the late-night orgasm—stayed with her as she worked. The shift passed quickly and productively, and by the time her shift was over, Daphne was feeling pretty good about everything.
However, that all changed as she drove from work. Looking into her rearview mirror, she spotted the last thing she wanted to see: the blood-red motorcycle. Her heart began to pound, and she sped up, trying to lose him. But it was no use; he followed her closely, now near enough that she could see the ugly features of his face. She tried to lose him by taking sharp turns down side streets, but he stayed close.
To her horror, Daphne realized that he wasn’t just trying to scare her—now he was playing for keeps.
She fumbled for her phone and called Xander. Speaking in breathless tones, she told him that the biker was on her and didn’t seem to intend to stop. Xander told her that he was going to meet her right then and there, and gave her an address. Daphne punched it into her phone and hurried in the direction.
Each mile seemed to take an eternity, and the biker didn’t lose her, not even for a second. He stayed close, at times near enough to where he could’ve reached and touch the car if he’d wanted to. Soon, however, Daphne arrived at the meeting location, which was a big box grocery store about halfway between Daphne and Xander’s places. She spotted Xander there, standing next to his bike.
He was the sweetest sight she could’ve imagined at that moment.
She pulled into the parking lot, and looking in the rearview mirror, she watched as the biker pulled into the lot, made a long, lazy circle, and drove out the other lot entrance.
“Stay here,” said Xander, running up to Daphne’s car as she pulled up. “I’m gonna try to stop him.”
Before Daphne could say a word, he climbed onto his bike and he was off. The other biker had already disappeared around the bend, and Xander was gone soon after. The ten minutes that she waited for Xander were some of the longest of her life.
I can’t believe I’m worried about him, she found herself thinking. After all he’s put me through.
Soon, however, Xander pulled back into the lot. And Daphne was more relieved than she could ever remember being.