Chapter 4- Run
1242 Words
Judith’s Pov
“Run.”
The word hit me like a slap.
For a second, I simply stared at Joshua.
Maybe I expected him to explain.
Maybe I expected him to finally answer one of my questions.
Instead, he grabbed my wrist.
“Joshua”
“Move.”
The sharpness in his voice erased any argument.
Something was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
Outside the bookstore window, the street looked normal.
People walked past.
Cars moved through intersections.
Life continued as if nothing had changed.
But Joshua’s expression told a different story.
The woman was gone.
And somehow that was worse.
My heart hammered as he pulled me away from the front windows.
“What is happening?” I whispered.
Joshua didn’t answer immediately.
His gaze swept across the bookstore.
Watching.
Listening.
Calculating.
Like a soldier preparing for battle.
Fear tightened in my chest.
Not mine.
His.
I felt it for only a second before he buried it beneath layers of control.
But it was enough.
Joshua was scared.
And that terrified me.
“Joshua.”
His eyes met mine.
“Is she a vampire?”
The question slipped out before I could stop it.
His expression froze.
For a moment, silence stretched between us.
Then he said quietly,
“You need to stop asking questions you aren’t ready to hear the answers to.”
My stomach dropped.
That wasn’t a denial.
Before I could press further, the bell above the bookstore door chimed.
Joshua’s head snapped toward the entrance.
Every muscle in his body tensed.
A young couple entered laughing.
Nothing unusual.
Yet Joshua remained rigid.
Watching.
Waiting.
Only after they disappeared between shelves did he relax slightly.
“What are you looking for?” I asked.
His jaw tightened.
“The moment she attacks.”
The words sent ice through my veins.
Attacks.
Not if.
When.
I swallowed hard.
“Why me?”
Joshua looked away.
And that was answer enough.
Because he knew.
He knew exactly why.
And he still wasn’t telling me.
Frustration surged through me.
“I am so tired of this.”
His gaze returned to mine.
“Tired of what?”
“Everyone acting like my life belongs to some secret I don’t understand.”
For the first time, genuine sympathy appeared in his eyes.
The sight surprised me.
Because beneath all the mystery and danger…
Joshua seemed sad.
Lonely.
Like he’d been carrying something heavy for a very long time.
The realization caught me off guard.
Then a loud crash echoed from the back of the bookstore.
Everyone jumped.
Including me.
Joshua moved instantly.
One second he stood beside me.
The next he was halfway across the room.
Fast.
Too fast.
Impossible fast.
I stared.
My mouth fell open.
No human could move like that.
No human.
Joshua stopped beside a fallen bookshelf.
Books littered the floor.
A teenage boy stood nearby looking horrified.
“I-I’m sorry,” he stammered.
The shelf had apparently tipped when he tried climbing it.
Joshua exhaled slowly.
The tension left his shoulders.
False alarm.
The customers laughed nervously.
Life resumed.
But my attention remained fixed on Joshua.
Because I’d seen it.
Really seen it.
There was no explaining away what I’d witnessed.
No pretending.
No rationalizing.
Joshua wasn’t human.
The realization settled heavily inside me.
Strangely, I wasn’t afraid.
At least not of him.
I probably should have been.
But every instinct I had insisted on the same thing.
Joshua wasn’t the danger.
He was protecting me from it.
The question was why.
⸻
An hour later, Joshua insisted on walking me home.
Actually, insisted wasn’t the right word.
He informed me.
And somehow expected me to agree.
Which I absolutely did not.
“I can walk home alone.”
“No.”
“I’ve been doing it for years.”
“Not tonight.”
I folded my arms.
Joshua looked unimpressed.
“Do you ever compromise?”
“No.”
“That’s incredibly annoying.”
“So I’ve been told.”
I rolled my eyes.
To my surprise, a faint smile appeared on his face.
The sight stole my breath for a second.
It changed him completely.
Made him seem younger somehow.
Less haunted.
Then it vanished.
As quickly as it appeared.
The silence between us stretched as we walked through Raven’s Hollow.
Streetlights illuminated the sidewalks.
Shadows pooled between buildings.
The town felt different now.
Like I’d been looking at it through the wrong lens my entire life.
“What happens if I refuse?” I asked.
Joshua glanced at me.
“Refuse what?”
“Your protection.”
The answer came immediately.
“You don’t.”
I laughed despite myself.
“That’s not protection. That’s kidnapping.”
“Close enough.”
I stared at him.
Joshua looked completely serious.
For some reason, that made me laugh harder.
A look of confusion crossed his face.
“What?”
“You made a joke.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“You absolutely did.”
“I assure you, I did not.”
The conversation was so normal that I almost forgot about the danger.
Almost.
Then I felt it.
A chill.
The same icy sensation from the bookstore.
I stopped walking.
Joshua noticed immediately.
“What is it?”
I looked around.
The street was empty.
Silent.
Yet every instinct screamed at me.
Someone was watching.
Again.
My pulse quickened.
“Joshua.”
His expression hardened.
“You feel it too.”
It wasn’t a question.
The realization shocked me.
“How did you know?”
Joshua didn’t answer.
His attention focused on the darkness ahead.
Then I saw it.
A figure standing beneath a streetlight.
A woman.
The same woman from the bookstore.
Yellow eyes glowed in the darkness.
A smile curved across her lips.
My stomach dropped.
She had found us.
Joshua stepped in front of me instantly.
Shielding me.
Protecting me.
The gesture should have made me feel safer.
Instead, it made me realize how dangerous this situation truly was.
Because Joshua looked ready to fight.
And the woman looked excited about it.
“Well,” she called softly.
Her voice drifted through the night air.
“I finally found you.”
Joshua’s expression turned cold.
“Leave.”
The woman laughed.
A beautiful sound.
And somehow horrifying.
“You know I can’t do that.”
My heart hammered.
Joshua didn’t move.
Neither did she.
For several seconds, they simply stared at each other.
Like enemies who had met before.
Many times.
Then the woman’s gaze shifted.
To me.
The smile disappeared.
And hatred replaced it.
Pure hatred.
The intensity of it stole my breath.
I’d never met this woman.
So why did she look at me like she wanted me dead?
“Interesting,” she murmured.
Joshua stepped further in front of me.
Blocking her view.
The woman laughed again.
“You really don’t know, do you?”
Fear crawled up my spine.
Know what?
Before I could ask, the woman tilted her head.
Almost sympathetically.
Then she spoke directly to me.
“Your parents should have told you the truth before they died.”
My world stopped.
The air vanished from my lungs.
Behind me, Joshua went perfectly still.
And suddenly I knew.
Whatever secret everyone was hiding…
It had something to do with my parents.
The woman smiled one last time.
Then she disappeared into the darkness.
Leaving only one terrifying question behind.
What truth had my parents died trying to protect?
- Writer
