Xander

 

Xander was furious. He’d followed Scar so closely, nearly catching up with him. But Scar’s bike wasn’t just built for show—as soon as he got the chance, he kicked the engine into high gear and tore off down the road, a middle finger in the air his only message to Xander. Xander scanned the road and realized that the traffic was just too tight to risk starting a high-speed chase. Letting out a roar of frustration, he turned the bike around and headed back to the parking lot where Daphne awaited him.

 

“What happened?” asked Daphne. “Did you get him?”

 

“Does it look like I got him?” asked Xander, letting his frustration get the better of him.

 

Daphne clammed up.

 

“Listen,” he said. “This is a serious fucking situation. But I swear that I’ll keep you safe. I have no priority higher right now than finding that miserable fuck and ending his goddamn life. You don’t need to worry for a second about anything.”

 

Xander could see some of the tension leave Daphne’s body.

 

“But,” he said. “I can’t be sitting by my phone waiting for you to spot him. The next time we might not be so lucky.”

 

“What are you saying?” asked Daphne.

 

“I’m saying that I need to be watching you closely, at all times. I know we’ve got our shit, but this situation is too important to let our past get in the way of things.”

 

Daphne nodded slowly, understanding that he was right.

 

“So I need to stay with you at your place. Don’t even think about arguing with me; there are no two ways about it.”

 

Daphne took in a slow draw of air and let it out.

 

“Fine,” she said. “I’ll tell you where I live. But … just let me make a phone call first.”

 

Xander watched as Daphne scrambled into her car and dialed up a number. Her face serious, she quickly spoke to whoever was on the other end. Then, her face brightened. She talked with a smile on her face, her eyes wide. It almost seemed to Xander that she was speaking to a child.

 

But before he could give the matter too much more thought, Daphne hung up and rolled down the window.

 

“Follow me,” she said, her voice businesslike.

 

Xander nodded and climbed back onto his bike. After a bit of driving, Xander followed Daphne into a block of plain, middle-class apartments. They came to a stop, and after a brief walk up some stairs, they stepped into Daphne’s apartment.

 

“I’ll sleep on the couch,” said Xander, eager to get the words out. “I want this to be as simple and no-bullshit as possible.”

 

“Fine,” she said, her eyes flicking down the hall. “Just don’t … don’t go in that door.”

 

She pointed to a nondescript door down the hall.

 

“Why?” asked Xander. “Got some kind of sex dungeon you don’t want me to know about?”

 

His mouth curled into a grin, but Daphne’s serious expression made it clear that she wasn’t joking around.

 

“Just don’t do it,” she said. “Just because you’re going to be staying here for the time being doesn’t mean you can just wander around wherever you like.”

 

A suspicious expression crossed Xander’s face, but he put those feelings aside. After all, she was right—this was her place, and he was here to perform a task, not as a welcomed guest. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder just what she was hiding. Daphne was just some single girl living on her own; what kind of secrets could she be hiding?

 

“Bathroom’s down the hall,” she said, turning away from Xander. “I’ve got to go into work tonight for a few hours, so help yourself to whatever you want in the fridge.”

 

“Noted,” said Xander, looking around the small but homey apartment. “But I’d feel a lot better if you weren’t working for the time being.”

 

Daphne whipped around. “I can’t just not work,” she said. “This place doesn’t pay for itself.”

 

“I can cover your expenses until this shit gets taken care of,” said Xander. “It’s not a problem.”

 

“No way,” said Daphne, her tone icy. “Not a chance in hell. I’m already frustrated that I’m involved in this biker shit again, the last thing I want is to feel like I owe you something else.”

 

“Fine,” said Xander, raising his hands. “Just trying to help.”

 

Daphne paused, as if realizing that she might’ve been just a little too stern about her rejection of Xander’s offer.

 

“It’s not just that,” she said. “This job really means a lot to me. I’m finally making decent money, and I’m in a position of real responsibility. Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do if I were just sitting around on my ass.”

 

“I can feel that,” said Xander. “Gotta do something.”

 

Daphne gave a quick nod. “Okay. I’m going to get ready. Just … make yourself comfortable, I guess.”

 

With that, she hurried off to her bedroom, checking the door of the forbidden room one last time to make sure it was locked. Xander couldn’t help but smirk as he watched her do it.

 

After grabbing a little something to eat from the fridge, Xander started around the apartment, going from window to window and noting the places around the apartment grounds where someone might be able to hide … or get in. But aside from the fire escape, the only entrance was through the front door.

 

And as he walked around, he stepped on something soft and squeaky. He moved his boot and saw that it was a small, stuffed puppy with a goofy expression and a red felt tongue hanging out of his mouth. Xander bent down and picked it up, looking carefully at the thing as though it were a clue at a crime scene.

 

“It’s the neighbor’s,” said Daphne, appearing back in the living room and now dressed in a stylish outfit of charcoal-colored slim-cut pants, a crisp white blouse, and dark blue pumps. “She’s a single mom, and I watch her kid sometimes. He ends up just leaving his stuff over here.”

 

“I see,” said Xander, looking over the stuffed puppy one last time before tossing it onto a small pile of toys in the corner of the room.

 

“Okay,” she said, quickly snatching her keys and purse from the small counter between the kitchen and living room. “I need to get going.”

 

“Go straight to work, and come straight back,” said Xander, his voice stern and no-nonsense. “No stops for drinks after work, no going out for dinner with friends.”

 

Daphne narrowed her eyes just a bit, as if bristling under Xander’s paternalistic tone. “I’m not really much of a drinker.”

 

“Could’ve fooled me,” said Xander, allowing the corner of one side of his mouth to turn up just a bit.

 

Daphne shook her head and hurried off. Moments later, she was gone, and Xander was alone in the house. He walked around it for a time, poking his head into Daphne’s bedroom, rooting through the fridge, and finally plopping down on the couch to watch some TV.

 

And as he did, he couldn’t help but think back to Daphne and his life together. They’d lived in a small but cozy place not too dissimilar from this, and being back with her made him think about just what their life might’ve been like if she hadn’t left without a word.

 

Maybe these toys would belong to a kid of ours, he wondered, his eyes flicking around to the various games and toys lying around the apartment. He shook his head, sending the thoughts away.

 

No time for thinking about shit that’ll never be true, he thought. Daphne’s making it pretty damn clear that she’s not too crazy about having me around. Best just to take out Scar and leave her to this new life of hers.

 

Xander watched TV for a time, the evening passing slowly. After a quick dinner of some microwaved food, he stepped out into the hallway and looked around. A ladder caught his eye, and climbing up it, he saw that it was capped by a square piece of wood. Pushing it aside, it revealed a black square of the night above. After a little more climbing, he was on the roof.

 

Good lookout spot, he thought.

 

Heading back down, he grabbed a foldout chair from the closet, along with a bottle of water, and took a seat. The roof allowed for a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view, so if Scar showed up, he’d know it.

 

Eventually, Daphne returned home. After Xander heard her enter, he watched her climb the ladder out of the corner of his eye.

 

“I’m back,” she said. “I got some food.”

 

“Just bring it up here,” said Xander.

 

“Come sit at the table like a civilized person,” she responded.

 

Xander heaved himself out of his chair and headed back down the ladder and into the apartment. Once inside, he saw that Daphne had set the table with some delicious-looking sandwiches, chips, and a couple of glasses of beer.

 

“Don’t get any funny ideas,” said Daphne. “I’m feeding you because you need to eat, not because I’m playing housewife.”

 

“Oh,” said Xander. “Don’t worry about me getting and ideas; you’ve made it pretty damn clear just how you feel about me being here.”

 

Daphne’s expression softened.

 

“I mean, don’t get me wrong,” she said. “I’m glad that you’re doing this. But at the same time, this is because of your biker bullshit.”

 

“Fair enough,” said Xander, taking a seat and setting to work on his sandwich.

 

They ate in silence, though Xander had the distinct impression that this meal wasn’t just about putting food in his stomach. It seemed to him to be a little bit of an olive branch, Daphne’s way of letting him know not to take her standoffishness too seriously.

 

Once they were done and the food cleared away, Daphne let out a yawn and a stretch; Xander couldn’t help but let his eyes track along her slim, bare arms.

 

“I’m going to bed,” she said. “Opening shift in the morning. Blankets and pillows are in the closet in the hallway.”

 

And just like that, she was gone.

 

Xander got his bedding out of the closet, slipped out of his clothes until he was in nothing but his boxer briefs, and prepared to settle in.

 

What a weird fucking girl, were his last thoughts before drifting to sleep.