She was going to need a new lock.

The door was hanging wide open, moving gently in the breeze, and Norah sat in the middle of the floor, knife resting on her lap. She hadn’t slept. Her body had shut down and for most of the night she had sat and stared at the broken door. It was an old door, made of dark brown wood and it had a single deadbolt lock. The connection on the frame was hanging by one screw, but the hole for the lock was practically intact. The guy had to be crazy strong to be able to be able to tear the lock out.

For the fifth time, Norah wondered if maybe she hadn’t locked the door. She ran through her bed routine again from the evening before, hoping to remember everything but she couldn’t remember for sure if she had locked the door. The sun was beginning to rise, the dark slowly turning grey and rather than calling the police, she was simply thinking of how to change the lock.

To be honest, Norah had had enough of the police. They had torn her home apart after Adam turned himself in and what could they do about a break in when the suspect had vanished? They could keep an eye on her, but she didn’t want that. She hadn’t got a good look at the intruder and she had no details to give them, so it was hopeless trying to catch him.

Her other option was to pack her bags and run, a thought which had crossed her mind more than once through the night, but a large part of her didn’t want to run. After being terrorised by Daniel, this intruder’s threat just didn’t leave the same residual fear that Daniel’s had. The initial fear had faded and she was simply left feeling tired, and over all the bullshit life kept throwing her way.

Looking at the ocean, she decided she would stay; she wanted to prove to herself that she was no coward. Bellvale was all about turning over a new leaf and that included not running from her fears. Standing up, she placed the knife on the table and got dressed in blue jeans and an old band shirt from her teen years. Grabbing her wallet, she headed out the door and wedged a piece of wood under the base to stop it moving.

Rather than drive, she chose to walk, hoping the fresh air would wake her up and bring her back to reality. She still felt a little numb but the crisp morning air was slowly taking effect and with it, her brain started pounding her with questions – why would someone consider her a threat? Why would someone tell her to stay away from Olivia? What had Olivia and her family done to be considered dangerous?

 Norah hit the main road and walked on the bitumen, since the road was quiet. Norah had only ever met Olivia, she hadn’t seen any of her other family, so it wasn’t as if she had any ties to them. And she had only been in Bellvale just on a week now, so she barely knew anyone. Questions of Rylan still lingered, and she wondered if he had something to do with it but she put them aside. She wasn’t sure if they were connected but right now she could only focus on so much crazy at a time.

The ten minute walk into town took longer as she tread a snail’s pace. The morning fisherman were heading out onto the wharf and she waved blindly to them. She passed a few children running to the bus stop behind her. She hadn’t seen many children in the town, and she wondered where the school was. Surely such a small town didn’t need a school bus?

Instinctively, Norah found herself walking towards the café and she stopped in her tracks. The sign for the Twilight Café swung in the breeze, creaking on the old hinges and cursing her cowardly ways, she stepped away and crossed the road. Maybe it would be best if she stayed away today. She was getting braver but she wasn’t that courageous yet.

Baby steps.

Continuing on, she headed for the hardware shop a block up from the café. There were no other customers at this time of morning and she looked for a sign which would point her towards door locks when she walked in.

“Can I help you, dear?” The owner and namesake - who Norah had met once - Paul Roker, greeted her from behind the counter.

“Good morning, Mr Roker, I hope I’m not too early.”

“Don’t be silly dear,” he smiled. “What can I help you with?”

His voice was quiet and she saw a slight tremor in his hands as he reached for a pencil. “Um, I need a new lock for my front door.”

“Oh my,” he smiled. “Was Jack out there last night?”

It seemed Mr Roker knew who she was as well. He mentioned Jack, and she wondered if she should have told him. She didn’t want him to know the door had been broken, afraid he would be angry. She’d rather pay for it herself.

“No,” her voice sounded dead in her ears and she spit out the truth before she could stop herself. “Someone kicked in my front door last night and broke the lock thing.”

“That’s terrible, did they hurt you?” He put his glasses on to try and get a closer look.

“No, sir, he left pretty quickly when he realised I was there,” she lied. “So, um, can you help me find a new lock?”

Paul looked at her for a long moment, not believing her lie before he nodded. “You wait here, I’ll be right back.” He ambled behind a few shelves and Norah waited patiently.

She stared at a small bell on the counter, deep in thought. The shock was still lingering and in a way, she was glad it was. Without it, she was sure she never would have made it out of the house. She wasn’t sure if Paul would try to report her break-in to the police. Maybe she should talk to him about keeping it to himself. She didn’t want everyone knowing what happened.

“Norah?” A voice broke through the haze and she saw Brad standing beside her. “Are you okay?” He asked, concern in his eyes. “I’ve been calling your name.”

“I’m fine,” came the automatic reply. “Just tired, I guess.”

“Ah, here we go.” Paul returned with a few fittings in his hands. “Hello, Brad, I’ll be with you in a moment.” He handed Norah the lock pieces, so she could see them. “These will fit your door perfectly. I remember putting that door in back in sixty-three. Never forget my locks.”

“Thank you, Mr Roker.”

“You can call me Paul, dear.”

“What happened, Norah?” Brad interrupted as she paid Paul. “Why do you need new locks?”

“Nothing happened, I just broke the lock last night by accident and need a new one.” She glanced at Paul, hoping he wouldn’t call her out on her lie and he gave her a small nod of understanding.

“How on earth did you do that?” he teased.

“Don’t know, just did.”

Thanking Mr Roker again, she walked out with Brad on her tail. She tripped as she walked out the front door and Brad caught her. “You don’t seem alright, Norah. Let me drive you home.”

“It’s okay. It’s not that far –“

“Not taking no for an answer this time, Norah.”

Sighing, she let him lead her to his blue pick-up and climbed inside. Brad jumped in and started the engine, it was loud and rattly but she figured it had to be in good condition since he was a mechanic. They started down the main road and Norah was relieved when he opened his window. The cabin smelt of oil, sweat and dust; a typical man’s truck but it was too stifling for Norah.

“So,” Brad said over the engine. “How are you liking Bellvale so far?”

“It’s good.” Apart from crazy healing men and random death threats.

“That’s good. You know,” he said casually, “you should come into town and hang out with the locals more. Wednesday night at the Vale is more of a local’s night and I’m sure you’d make some more friends.”

“I have friends.” One that I’ve been told to stay away from.

“I know, Wendy and Madison are good people, but you can meet –“

“You forgot Olivia.” He hesitated and her eyes narrowed as her mind went into overdrive. “What’s wrong with Olivia?” she snapped.

“Nothing,” he said too quickly and she glared at him.

“Cut the crap, Brad. What are you dancing around?”

His shoulders slumped. “Well, around here, the Montoya’s are known for being a bit…strange.”

“Strange, how?”

“They live up in the forest and keep to themselves. It’s known they keep wolves as pets, too.”

“So what?”

He glanced at her. “And some people have heard that they perform strange gatherings at night in the forest.”

Norah raised an eyebrow. “How does a gathering make them strange?”

“I don’t know, it’s like they think they have magic or something, it’s just creepy.” He shuddered. “I went to school with some of them, and Liam Montoya was a freak. He had the worst temper, you only had to look at him wrong and he would growl at you. I mean, literally growl at you like a dog.”

Norah had to admit that was a bit strange. “But were they all like him?”

“No, his brother, Luke was almost normal.” They turned into her driveway.

“So basically, you’ve condemned the entire family as freaks because one of them was a bit kooky in high school?” she accused.

He sighed exasperatedly. “Look, Norah, I know it sounds – what is he doing here?”

Norah followed his gaze, eyes widening. Rylan was sitting on his bike near her veranda. He was wearing a grey shirt today with the same faded black jeans. Hints of a smirk played across his features and Norah’s defences went up.

“Who knows?” she muttered. “Thanks for the ride.”

She started climbing out and Brad grabbed her arm. “Maybe I should stay and help – “

“It’s fine, I’ve got it, Brad. Go to work.” Shaking free of his grip, she climbed out and shut the door, heading towards Rylan. The truck idled for a moment before turning and trundling back up her drive.

Rylan and Norah stood facing each other in silence. Norah wasn’t sure what to do. On the one hand, she wanted answers; on the other, she wanted to tell him to beat it.

“Is something wrong?” She finally asked.

“I came to fix the door.” His voice had a soft edge and sounded different from the pain filled one she had heard two nights before.

“How did you know about my –“ the light bulb clicked. “Why would Paul tell you?”

He stared at her, lips curving up. “Just because.”

“Just because,” she repeated, slightly annoyed. “Right, well you can go now then. I won’t be requiring your assistance.”

She went to walk past him and he grabbed her arm. “You know how to change locks then? Got all the tools?”

Damn.

He knew he’d guessed right and laughed softly under his breath. “Let me help, Norah.”

She looked up at him his blue eyes shining with a quiet determination. “You’re not going to leave if I say no, are you?”

“Nope,” he grinned.

“Fine,” she sighed, shoving the fittings at his chest. “Fix the door and then leave, please.”

Her skin tingled as his fingers moved, lifting up the sleeve of her shirt and brushed against the bruises still covering her upper arm. His eyes flashed with regret. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

His eyes rose back to hers and there it was; a chance to ask him about the other night. His gaze told her he was expecting her to ask, he was giving her this chance to step into his crazy world. The questions leapt forth, sitting on the tip of her tongue and she bit them back down. I’ve got enough crazy to deal with right now.

“Fix the lock and we’ll be even.” She eventually spat out.

“Even,” he said the word as if it was funny. “We are far from even.” He took the bag and grabbed a bag of tools sitting near his bike on the ground.

She followed him inside and saw his eyes move over the knife still sitting on the kitchen table. “Did he attack you?” The gentle tone was gone, replaced with a sharp edge.

“What? No, he didn’t touch me.”

Rylan looked at her, his smirk slowly returning and he moved back to the door, crouching down and pulling out a screw driver. “You need to work on your lying. No one will believe that bullshit.”

Her temper flared. “I’m sorry, but I’m pretty sure door fixing doesn’t require talking.”

“Consider it an extra.” He started taking off the old lock. “So, how long are you planning on staying here?”

“None of your business.”

“Got family nearby?”

“None of your business.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Definitely none of your business.”

He finished removing the broken pieces and started sorting through the new screws. “You don’t seem to like me much, do you?”

She leaned against the table, arms crossed. “Haven’t given me a reason to yet.”

“Yet,” he said softly and smiled. “I’m fixing your door, aren’t I?”

“Doesn’t count. You forced my hand with that.” It infuriated Norah more that he seemed to be enjoying this conversation.

“Well, that’s disappointing. Guess I’ll have to try harder next time.” He turned his back to her as he started attaching the new locks and she couldn’t stop herself from glancing at him. His back seemed big from this angle, the muscles in his upper back shifting beneath the grey shirt as he worked. She watched them move, feeling hypnotised. He turned and she quickly looked away, naming the books she could see on the coffee table to try and distract herself. He looked away again and her eyes went to the couch, memories of him lying in pain creeping back in.

How?

Don’t go there, she chided herself. Just focus on something else.

Her traitor eyes chose what to focus on and she found herself staring at his back again. Dammit.

He worked quickly and it felt like too soon he was standing up and dusting off his pants. “All done.” He shut the door, twisting the lock to check it before opening it again. “Make sure it’s bolted tight next time.”

“Thank you,” she said awkwardly. “You can go now.”

He collected his tools and smiled. “See you next time, Norah.”

“There won’t be a next time,” she muttered, following him out the door.

“Of course there will be, I still owe you.”

“You don’t owe me for anything.”

He spun fast and she backed up, tilting her head up to meet his gaze. “Don’t act stupid, Norah,” he said, his voice serious. “You know exactly why I owe you.”

She chose silence as her response and he turned, walking out. She watched him put the tools away and get onto his bike, starting the engine. It roared loudly and the bike drove slowly down the drive. Norah stared at the small trail of dust he left in his wake.

“You still didn’t say thank you,” she said to the wind.

*                             *                             *                             *                    

That night, she triple checked every lock in the house before going to bed. She was exhausted after spending the afternoon cleaning the walls. She hadn’t been able to write with everything on her mind and she had needed an outlet to stop thinking about the break in, about Rylan, Daniel…

Men were just screwing up her life.

It worried her that Rylan seemed determined to make it up to her. She had decided by the end of the day that she just wanted to pretend it had never happened. She wanted her life to get back to normal and the only way she saw that happening, was to put blinders on about the whole situation and forget about it.

She climbed into bed, hoping she didn’t get another frantic phone call. News of the break in had spread against her wishes and she had received calls from Olivia, and Wendy who was with Madison. They had all offered to come and stay the night, after much screaming and dramatics, but she managed to dissuade them. She needed to deal with everything on her own. It was the only way she knew how to handle these situations; she was used to doing everything on her own.

The call with Olivia had felt awkward, Olivia hadn’t noticed Norah’s hesitation and rattled away about everything that happened that day. Norah had wanted to ask her about why the town didn’t like her family. Instead she told her she had another call and hung up. Wendy had told her that Brad was annoyed she had lied to him. Norah felt a little guilty but she had her reasons for not spreading the truth of what happened and if he was going to pissy about it, then that was his problem.

She placed the knife on her bedside table, the blade felt silly now, after her failed attempt to defend herself, but she still felt safer knowing it was there. Laying down, she wasn’t sure if she would sleep, but she needn’t have worried; she drifted off as soon as her head hit the pillow, unaware of the creature watching her home from the cliffs above.