Chapter Three: Shadows in the Walkway
921 Words
POV: Juliana Alejandro
The night had turned sharp, like winter had crept in ahead of schedule. Her shift at the cafe dragged late, and she walked slowly, head down, shoulders pulled tight. Brighton’s empty street murmured around her, quiet and strange, like the city was holding its breath.
Her hands were red with cold. She hadn’t eaten since morning. A pack of discounted pasta sat in her bag like a trophy. It had cost her the last £2.15 on her prepaid card, but it meant she wouldn’t go to bed hungry.
She turned onto a shortcut a narrow alley between the library and the engineering block. She took it often when late. Fewer eyes. Quicker route. Less noise.
But tonight, someone was waiting.
Two men stepped from the shadows.
She barely had time to register the movement before the first voice reached her, slick and low. “Hey, sweetheart. You lost?”
Juliana’s stomach dropped. She pulled her bag in tight and quickened her pace.
“Where are you heading so fast ?” one of them called out, laughing like it was all a joke. The kind of laugh that didn’t match the air. “Cold night, ain’t it? We could warm you up.”
She didn’t answer.
They moved closer. One stepped in front of her, cutting off the sidewalk. The other drifted to her side, too close.
She took a step back.
Her bag was yanked from her shoulder.
“No!” she shouted, grabbing it.
Rough fingers gripped her wrist. “Come on, chica, don’t be rude.”
And then
A sharp voice cut through the alley.
“Let. Her. Go.”
Everything stopped.
One of the men turned, confused. The other loosened his grip for half a second. Juliana pulled free and stumbled back toward the sound.
Out of the darkness stepped a tall figure in a dark coat. The collar was turned up. His voice had that clipped British sharpness, precise and ice-cold.
Professor Hargreaves.
The thugs sized him up. “Back off, dude. This ain’t your business.”
Leonardo didn’t flinch. His eyes stayed fixed on them. Calm. Calculated. Dangerous.
“You have ten seconds,” he said quietly. “If you’re still here after that, I will not be responsible for what happens to your teeth.”
The men laughed at first.
Until he pulled a phone from his coat pocket.
“Smile for the CCTV,” he added. “Every meter of this alley is covered.”
That was a lie. Juliana knew it. But the men hesitated.
Leonardo stepped forward once.
That was enough.
They threw a few sharp words her way, shouldered past, and disappeared around the corner.
She did not move. Her breath stuttered, hands unsteady, every part of her strung tight.
He turned to her. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head, unable to speak.
“Juliana, right?”
She blinked, startled. “How do you know my name?”
He arched a brow. “You sit in the second row, third seat from the left. Your essays are too clean to be rushed. And your margins are always precisely folded.”
She let out something between a laugh and a sob. “I didn’t think you noticed anyone.”
“I didn’t,” he said. “Until now.”
They walked back in silence.
Brighton felt still now. Even the air seemed thinner, like the danger had lifted a layer of noise they had not noticed until it was gone.
She glanced at him. “Why were you in that alley?”
“I live nearby. I take the long way home.” He paused. “My neighbors are loud.”
She smiled faintly. “I know. I can hear Mrs. Adele’s TV from my window.”
That surprised him. “You live in Carlton Square?”
“Above the chip shop.”
“Ah.”
Another pause.
“You saved me,” she said.
He didn’t answer immediately. “No. I just happened to be in the way.”
“Well, thank you anyway.”
His voice softened slightly. “Why were you walking alone? That late. No coat. No scarf.”
“I had a shift. I work evenings.”
“Every night?”
“Most nights.”
He studied her for a moment, then looked away. “That explains the tired eyes.”
She hugged herself. “I’m used to it.”
He said nothing for a while.
Then quietly: “That’s not something to be proud of.”
Outside her building, she turned to face him.
“Can I ask you something?” she said.
He waited.
“Why did you step in tonight?”
Leonardo gazed at her for a moment, and she saw the grief he usually kept clandestine. His voice dropped, quieter than ever.
“Because I once watched someone I so much have an ardent penchant walk into the dark… and I couldn't do anything to stop her.”
Juliana’s chest pulled tight. She was speechless.
He nodded toward her door. “Go on. Get some sleep.”
She hesitated. “Will I see you in class tomorrow?”
His tone returned to its usual sharpness. “Only if you arrive on time.”
She smiled despite herself. “Noted.”
As she climbed the stairs, she looked back.
He was still standing there, watching not in judgment, but something else. Something unreadable.
And for the first time since the call, the fear in her chest eased.
- Writer
