Tap. Tap. Goes Angel's nails on the car window. They tap in time with her mother's humming. Dalia Jones always hummed songs when she was nervous. She and her 17-year-old daughter were on their way to Crestfall Valley. To her daughter moving was a spontaneous decision. To Dalia it was a matter of life and death. She knew full and well she may be driving to her death. Her lips began to tremble. She could only hope Angel would forgive her someday. For this was the last resort. After years of running, they had finally found them. Down to her last breath Dalia would protect her daughter at all costs. 2 months ago, she came to the realization that her protection was not enough. That Angel would have to learn how to protect herself. She could only learn in Crestfall.
Looking through her rearview mirror, she watched as her daughter drew a bunny on the window. She's still so young, Dalia thought to herself. She shook the thought from her head. It was that kind of thinking that made her put this off for so long. That left her daughter defenseless and unprepared. For years Dalia told herself that the most important thing was for Angel to have a normal life. A normal childhood. She still believed that, but now she wished she had told Angel the truth sooner. When her Sweet Sixteen came along she had been ready to tell her, but the timing was off. Angel had just lost her best friend Lex, in a car crash a month prior. The poor girl was broken inside but insisted on putting on a brave smile. She said Lex would have wanted her to enjoy her big day. Dalia didn't have the heart to dampen her mood when she was being so brave. Thinking back on it now perhaps she should have. Maybe it would have provided a distraction to the pain the girl hid behind a smile.
That was almost 2 years ago. Angel will be turning 18 soon. These days she didn't even bother to smile. She covered her cracks with the dry humor she got from Dalia's late husband. He died just 8 months ago. It was his death that made Dalia see reason and his death that robbed their daughter of her remaining joy. Brian always made his girls feel safe. With him gone Dalia could hear the whispers of the night. They threatened to take the very last person she held dear to her. Angel. The same people that killed her husband were coming for her daughter next.