Chapter Four
The Grocery store is like 5 blocks behind me. The coffee beans sat on the passenger's seat. The smell was nice. It made me feel safe.
But as I drove home, a big black Sub suddenly sped up and blocked the road in front of me. I had to hit my brakes hard. My heart started racing. The bag of coffee fell on the floor, and beans spilled everywhere.
A man stepped out of the SUV. I didn't know him, but I had heard of him. He moved to our town about six months ago. People called him Raph. He was like a virus once he arrived, everything started to feel sick. There were stories about him. People said he picked up random girls and forced them to be his.
He walked up to my car door, He looks at me with a mean smile
"Hello", He said
I stayed in my car. I was scared, but I tried to act brave. "Hi. What do you want?"
Raph learned against my window. "I've seen you around for a few days. I like what I see. I want you to be my call girl".
I felt sick to my stomach. He was talking about me like it was something he could just buy at the store. I thought about Noah, how sweet he is, and how he spent all day making me feel loved and safe.
"I have a boyfriend", I said. My voice was shaky "and I can't be your call girl. Leave me alone."
Raph didn't look mad. He just laughed. It was a cold, dry sound. "A boyfriend? You mean that guy that plays with wood every day. He's a nobody Gwen. I'm a King. You're wasting your time with a man that carves chairs."
"Go away!" I yelled. I put my car in reverse.
Raph learned in closer. "I'll let you go for now because I like your spirit. But I always get what I want. I'm going to break you apart and I'm going to watch you crawl to me .
He stepped back and let me drive away. I floored it. I didn't stop until I got to our driveway. My hands were so hard I could barely hold the steering wheel.
I drove the rest of the way home with my heart in my throat. Every time I looked in the rearview mirror, I expected to see those black SUV headlights following me like the eyes of a wolf.
I pulled into our gravel driveway and sat there for a long minute, just breathing. The house looked so peaceful. The porch light was on, casting a warm, golden glow over the front door. It was the "SafeSpace" Noah had built for me.
I took a deep breath, wiped my face, and grabbed the bag of coffee. I looked at the house, had to go in there and pretend everything was okay.
I had to hide the fact that a monster had just threatened our life. I reached down and picked up the spilled coffee beans. I was crying a little, but I wiped my eyes. I had to be strong. Noah is a man who noticed everything. If he saw I was upset, he would ask questions. And I can't tell him the truth.
The house smelled like roasted chicken and expensive wood. Noah was in the kitchen. He had his back to me, stirring something on the stove. He looked so normal, just a man in a soft t-shirt making dinner for the woman he loved.
"You're late, Gwen," he said. He didn't turn around, but I could hear the smile in his voice. "I was starting to think the grocery store swallowed you whole."
"The line was just long," I said. I hated how high and thin my voice sounded.
I set the coffee on the counter. My hands were still shaking, so I hid them behind my back. I walked over to him and pressed my face against his shoulder. He felt so solid. So safe. I closed my eyes and tried to forget the way Raph had looked at me.
"Are you okay?" Noah asked. He stopped stirring and turned around.
His eyes scanned my face. I knew he was doing it, he was looking for cracks in the body. He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. His fingers were warm and smelled like cedar.
"You're pale," he whispered. His thumb brushed my cheek, and I flinched just a tiny bit.
Noah froze. The warmth in his eyes didn't disappear, but it changed. It became sharp. "Gwen. What happened?"
"Nothing," I lied, forcing a small laugh. "Just a close call on the road. Someone cut me off. It just rattled me a bit."
Noah didn't say anything for a second. He just looked at me. It felt like he was looking right through my skin, seeing the spilled coffee beans and the black SUV and the monster with his face.
"A close call," he repeated. He leaned down and kissed my forehead. It was a sweet kiss, but his hands on my waist were tight.
"I don't like it when the world scares you, Gwen. You're supposed to be safe here."
"I am safe," I said, hugging him tight. "I'm home now."
But as I held him, I looked past his shoulder at the window. The sun was gone, and the woods behind our house were pitch black.
Somewhere out there, the Virus was waiting. And I knew that no matter how many locks Noah put on the doors, the world was coming for us.
And what scares me most was the fact that I couldn't tell if it was Raph or someone else . I remembered standing in the coffee section, looking for the dark roast Noah loved. I had felt a heavy weight on the back of my neck, that prickling sensation of eyes watching you. I had turned around quickly, but I only saw a man in the dark looking at a loaf of bread.
Every time I turned a corner, he was there. If I went to the fruit, he was at the scales. If I went to the dairy, he was leaning against a cooler.