Soul Protector (13 page)

We made our way over to a quiet
area at one end. There was a solitary stool vacant. Dan offered it
to me and I tried to climb aboard elegantly, before gratefully
plonking myself down on it. Dan stood next to me, placing our
drinks order.

As he spoke to the barman, I
stole sideways glances at him. It gave me butterflies to watch him,
and I wasn’t the only person who found him charming. The barman was
laughing at whatever Dan had just said, and I could tell he’d won
him over too. I bet when Dan was at school, he was the cool guy
that everyone wanted to be friends with, I thought. That was until
they heard him sing of course.

I thought back to my own school
days and the coolest boy in our year, Chris Wiseman. He was tall,
sporty and good-looking, but unfortunately he knew it. And knowing
it ruined him because it made him cocky and arrogant. Lydia went
out with Chris on and off in the past, but I think deep down they
were too much alike for it to ever really work.

I picked up the glass of wine
Dan passed me and took a small sip. At the same time the girl next
to me lost her footing and her elbow came into contact with me,
nudging my arm and making me spill some of it. She spun round to
face me, a look of horror on her face. She was similar in height to
me, with short blonde hair.

“I-I-m so sorry... It was an
accident. Are you alright?” she stuttered, frightened blue eyes
darting between me and the guy she was standing next to.

“Hey, it’s no problem. Don’t
worry about it,” I said, smiling to put her at ease. I turned back
to Dan eager to give him my undivided attention, but we were
interrupted by a booming voice.

“For God’s sake Emily, you are
such an embarrassment! This is why I don’t bring you out much.”

I turned to see if the man
behind the voice was joking. He was about five foot six, with short
dark hair and a goatee beard. His face was red and he’d narrowed
his eyes. He caught my eye and his face softened.

“She’s spilt your drink all
over you, hasn’t she? I’m so sorry. Here, let me buy you another
one.”

“No, honestly, it’s no problem.
It was the tiniest bit.”

“I’m going to have to insist,”
he said, shooting Emily a filthy look. “It’s the least we can do.”
He placed one pudgy hand on the bar and raised his other hand,
clicking his fingers to get the attention of the bar staff. The guy
Dan had been talking to earlier looked up with a bemused
expression; put down the glass he’d been drying, and wandered
towards us.

“Excuse me good sir, would you
get this lady another glass of what she’s just had.”

The barman nodded, and Emily’s
boyfriend looked back at me with a satisfied smile. What he didn’t
see was the bar man roll his eyes behind him.

Graham paid and then pointed to
the glass on the bar.

“All ready and waiting for you
m’lady, when you’ve finished the drop Emily let you keep.”

“Thank you. But you really
didn’t have to.” I said, giving Emily an apologetic look. She
didn’t notice, she was too busy staring at her feet.

“Oh yes I did,” he said
dramatically. “I’m Graham by the way.” He stuck out his hand for
Dan and me to shake.

“And this accident-prone
liability is my fiancée, Emily.”

Emily glanced briefly in our
direction, before looking down and speaking to the floor. “I’m an
idiot. I tripped over my handbag strap. I really am sorry.” I
noticed all her movements were small and jerky, like a frightened
animal.

“Well it was good to meet you
both,” said Dan. “And Emily, please don’t worry about it, it’s no
big deal.” As he said this, he put his hand on her arm, but she
flinched and moved out of his reach, standing closer to Graham. Dan
looked taken aback. “Well, enjoy your evening,” he said, moving his
hand back by his side.

“Oh yes, we will. And you,”
said Graham.

Dan looked at me and tipped his
head to one side, indicating we were moving. I hopped off my stool
and we made our way further along the bar, nearer to the hustle and
bustle of the other customers.

“Something’s really wrong
there,” Dan said.

“I know. She’s really scared of
him. Did you notice how, after she did or said anything; she had to
look at him for approval.”

Dan nodded, deep in
thought.

I carried on. “You know, it
wouldn’t surprise me if he hits her or something, you know,
physical abuse…” I shuddered as I thought about Mum. “But even if
he doesn’t use his fists, he’s definitely got some kind of hold
over her… like emotional abuse?”

“Could be both,” Dan said,
glancing in their direction.

“Poor girl… She needs to get
away from him.”

Dan looked back towards me.
“Trouble is we don’t really know what’s going on. We can’t just
make assumptions, we could be totally wrong.”

“I doubt it. I guess the only
way to find out would be to get to know her better.”

I noticed Dan’s expression
change. He’d raised his eyebrows and was smiling at me.

“Why are you looking at me like
that?”

“Think about it, Gracie. What’s
the best way to get to know her better, for someone like you or
me?”

He began nodding as recognition
dawned on my face.

“Oh no, Dan, I told you, I’m
never doing that again.”

~

As we were driving to my flat,
Dan rubbed his hand over his chin again, deep in thought.

“Gracie, you know how bad you
felt after you switched into Lydia last time?”

“Uh huh, like I was dying…”

“You realise that was only
because you’d gone to the dark orange stage, don’t you? That
doesn’t normally happen.”

“Well that’s a relief,” I said,
throwing a sarcastic look at him.

He gave me a half-smile.

I dropped the act and sighed.
“It doesn’t really matter Dan, I told you, I’m never doing that
crazy stuff again.”

I looked out the window at the
people on the street, and wondered how many of them might be in on
the SP secret.

“Well I think it’s a
shame.”

“Err, why?”

“Because I think you’d make a
really good PSP.”

“What? Dan, you have to stop
talking to me in code.”

“Sorry,” he said, lowering the
radio volume further. “A PSP is a Professional Soul Protector. I
think you should consider it.”

That grabbed my attention. I
turned my head from the window and faced him full on.

“What’s the difference between
a Professional Soul Protector and a normal Soul Protector?”
If
they can ever be considered normal, that is.

“You get paid.”

“Really? Like a proper
job?”

“Yes, a proper job. The money’s
not bad, and the job satisfaction’s great.”

“You never told me that before.
Do all Soul Protectors get paid for helping people?”

He shook his head. “There’s not
enough funding for everyone. The Soulfellows set up an internal
charity which pays for stuff like the running of the Office, all
the staff and the monitors. The rest funds a group of Soul
Protectors who are particularly good at identifying vulnerable
people. They get a decent salary. I really think you should
consider it, Gracie.”

“Well, it does sound tempting,
but I don’t know, Dan. Even after the first switch which was what…
all of fifteen minutes? I felt rough afterwards.

“Don’t worry about that. You’d
gradually build up resistance. It’ll get easier, and I’d help to
train you”

Now that was encouraging.
Guaranteeing more time with Dan almost made up my mind for me. But
I’d been working so hard at the magazine lately, I didn’t want all
the effort I’d put in wasted. I was virtually guaranteed the writer
position.

“In fact,” Dan carried on,
“Emily would be a good practice run for you. She needs some
intervention, and I think you could really help her.”

“It’s not only me that can help
though, is it? Why don’t you have a go? You’re a Soul Protector
too, right?”

Dan laughed, and shook his
head. “
Nooo
, that wouldn’t be right would it? Apart from the
fact it’s actually impossible to switch into the opposite sex; can
you imagine how weird that would be?”

I thought about it and giggled
as I imagined the implications.

Dan pulled up outside my
building, and looked across at me.

“So what do you think?” he
asked eagerly.

My gut instinct was strong on
this one.

“No, I can’t. I was really
scared last time, Dan. I’m sorry. I just don’t think it’s for
me.”

He nodded. “Okay I’ll stop
pressuring you. But, never say never, okay?”

I smiled, shaking my head as he
raised his hand to stroke a stray hair away from my face. His
expression grew serious and I noticed his jaw muscle twitching
under his skin. His fingers grazed my cheekbone and I instantly
forgot how to breathe. Either he moved closer to me, or I moved
closer to him, I couldn’t be sure, but his face was only inches
from mine and I was staring into his eyes again. The intensity
between us was intoxicating and I sensed he was about to kiss me.
Instinctively, I tilted my face up to his and closed my eyes.

Instead of feeling his lips on
mine, I was aware of a change in the air around me. I opened my
eyes and was horrified to see he’d moved away from me, his arm
poised as if ready to push me away should I try again. I quickly
closed my parted lips, my stomach muscles clenching hard as I
cringed inside.

I moved back from him,
shrinking into my seat as I flicked hair forward over my ears.
I
knew it. Why had I been so forward
? He was way out of my league
and I was a complete idiot to think he could ever fancy me.

“I’m sorry, I can’t,” he said.
His voice sounded strained.

I couldn’t bear to meet his
gaze and just looked down at my hands. “I’m sorry...it was
stupid...I thought...” I struggled to regain my composure as I felt
heat creeping across my face.

“It’s not that, Gracie. It’s
not
you
.”

I carried on looking downwards,
willing the ground to swallow me up.

“Gracie, would you please look
at me?”

I swallowed hard and lifted my
head in his direction, fully expecting him to tell me what a lovely
girl I was and how I would find the right guy someday.

“We can’t do this now, because
it wouldn’t be
right
.”

“Huh?” That wasn’t what I was
expecting to hear. “What do you mean?”

“Because of this,” he said,
sweeping his hands down his sides. “This isn’t really me. I’m not
in my primary body.”

My stomach did an involuntary
twist. Back in my own body, his aura had disappeared from view. So
much had happened lately, I’d completely forgotten he was switched
when he bundled me into that car.

“Oh, right. Of course you’re
not.” I said, swallowing hard.

He reached out to touch my face
and it made me flinch.

“Please don’t take this
personally. I do like you, Gracie. But before I can even think
about getting close to you, I need to be in my own body.”

I should have felt relieved at
not being rejected, but instead a horrible thought struck me. What
if I didn’t fancy Dan in his own body? I knew I was incredibly fond
of him as a person. He was kind, strong and full of integrity. But
what if that wasn’t enough? What if I didn’t fancy him in a
different package?

I tried to mask my doubt and
took a deep breath.

“When do I get to see the real
Dan Sullivan then?”

“I’ve got to work this weekend,
but I’m free on Monday. I can come over after you get in from work,
if that’s any good for you?”

“Erm, yes, okay. That sounds
great,” I answered, forcing my voice to remain light.

“You’ll get to meet me properly
for the first time.”

I smiled at him, but deep down
I was in turmoil. I felt like I’d won a million pounds in the
lottery, only to be told there’d been a mistake, and it was a fiver
instead. I didn’t know if I was shallow or not, but I realised I
was going to find out.

~~~

CHAPTER 10

.

Michelle

.

It was Saturday afternoon and
I’d been stretched out on the sofa at home, proof-reading one of
the freelancer’s articles when the intercom buzzed. I plopped the
paperwork on the floor, and heaved myself up to answer it.

When I heard Michelle’s voice,
my finger hovered over the door-release button. I closed my eyes as
I battled with my decision whether to let her in or not. Curiosity
won, but when I opened the door and saw the wide brown eyes and
familiar bob, I couldn’t find the words to say hello. She didn’t
say anything either. She just stood there, looking small and
timid.

If you didn’t know her you’d
think she was far younger than her seventeen years. Like me, she’d
inherited the short gene from Mum, and in an effort to look her age
she plastered on way too much make-up. It didn’t hide the fact she
still looked twelve. Or maybe I just thought that because she was
my little sister.

After I got over the initial
shock, I opened the door wider and gestured for her to enter. She
followed me through to the living room and then stood watching in
silence as I cleared a space on the sofa. I could never have
believed Michelle and I would get to the point where we’d feel so
awkward in each other’s company.

When the silence became
unbearable, I straightened up to face her and sighed. “Michelle,
what are you doing here?”

Her hands trembled as she
twisted them in front of her and I noticed the skin on her neck and
chest had gone all blotchy. It must have taken quite an effort to
pull off the challenging tone to her voice.

“I came because I miss my
sister.”

“Well maybe you should have
thought about that before you pinched my boyfriend.” The words had
spilled out more aggressively than I intended.