Fated Fangs

Chapter 4: Nervous Again

Eleni wiped her bangs out of her face for the millionth time. She was exhausted, and she still had an hour left of her shift, not to mention however long clean up took tonight, before she could rest. The cafe was popular, so every day seemed busy, but tonight had been especially busy. The regulars were all there throughout the afternoon and evening, but there had been a lot of extras today.

Eleni caught herself looking out the window again. She cursed under her breath as the last rays of sun disappeared between the skyscrapers. She wasn't looking forward to the walk home. Her friend, Asher, had said she could call her for the walk home, but Eleni felt silly actually calling someone to walk home with.

She finished cleaning the table she had been clearing. She picked up the plates and turned around, nearly dropping them as her face bumped directly into someone's chest. Eleni winced before looking up to apologize to whoever she had run into.

"Ah, uh, Athan. I'm so sorry." Eleni stuttered, her eyes fixed on Athans' reddish brown eyes. His brows were furrowed, but they softened as he gazed at her. He had grabbed her arm to steady her, but he hadn't let go yet.

"It's alright, really, Eleni. You have been spacier than usual today. Is everything alright?" Athan asked, concern lacing his voice.

He was so close that she could smell his cologne. Athan was so much taller that she had to crane her neck to meet his gaze. His very intense gaze. Eleni forgot to respond, her words caught in her throat as her heart started to pick up speed.

"Ellie?" Athan prompted.

"Oh, uh, yeah. I had a rough night." Eleni began. She didn't know how she was supposed to explain what had happened to her, and she couldn't think of a good excuse when the heat of Athans breath was so close to her lips. "The walk home..." She trailed off, lamely.

"You walk home too?" Athan asked curiously. He finally noticed his hand was still holding Eleni's arm. He let go, but his fingers trailed down her arm as he withdrew it.

"Uh, yeah. It's fine, but it can be scary sometimes." Eleni said, stepping back from Athan a little. Her cheeks were flushed pink from such a brief exchange. It was so embarrassing. She turned to get back to work, but Athan grabbed her sleeve, causing her to turn back.

"It must be scary, especially for a woman to be walking home alone at night, not to mention through the park. " Athan continued.

"Yeah.There are a lot of homeless people. They aren't generally a threat, but I guess I am just being a scaredy cat." Eleni tried to laugh off her own fear, but Athans frown deepend.

"I live close by. Let me walk you home, at least." Athan suggested.

"Uh, yeah. That would be -" Eleni started. Her face felt like it was on fire. Athan wanted to walk her home! She had had a crush on him for months. It would sure make her feel safer as well. "That would be great. Thanks." She said, a huge grin brightening her face.

"Perfect. I'll stay and help you close." Athan offered. He turned around and went back towards another table in need of bussing.

Eleni walked back to the counter and took the dishes in to be washed. She was on cloud nine. How lucky could she get? Everyone who came into the cafe was charmed by his good looks and kind demeanor. He was always so bright and cheery.

It surprised Eleni that Athan paid enough attention to her to have even noticed she was acting off today. She had thought she was doing a good job acting normally, but she had been busy all day thinking up logical explanations for what had happened to her. She must have been spacing out more than usual.

Eleni felt a little more cheerful as the rest of her shift finished up. Josh left at close, as usual, after the tills were counted up. Athan was as good as his word, and the two joked and laughed as they cleaned up. It took less than half of the time to close up than it usually did.

Eleni was beeming as they grabbed their jackets and bags. It was fall, so it was getting colder all of the time. Eleni would soon have to bust out the winter jacket, and she wasn't looking forward to it. Athan used his key to lock up the cafe and then began walking in the direction of Eleni's usual route home.

"This is my route home. How did you know?" Eleni asked, catching up to match Athans' long stride.

"I said we live in the same neighborhood earlier, didn't I?" Athan asked innocently enough.

"Oh, yeah." Eleni answered. They never got off of work at the same time, so how did Athan know that? Eleni shook her head, trying to rid it of dumb thoughts. He must have seen her outside of work before in the area.

Athan was great. He kept Eleni's mind busy as they walked so she wouldn't be nervous. At least, she wasn't as nervous. She still had a small pit of fear inside of her that she just couldn't shake. She assumed it was because they were getting closer and closer to the underpass in the park.

It was dark, as usual, but Eleni found herself looking all around them as they walked deeper into the park. She drew closer to Athan as they walked. Athan must have noticed her nervousness because he drew closer to her. He talked less, as he also began looking around.

Their steps brought them closer and closer to the underpass. Eleni wanted to scream and bolt back the way they had come, but Athan was there with her. He reached over to her and took her hand firmly in his. Eleni would have been ecstatic about this development earlier, but her mind was suddenly full of flashbacks from the night before.

Athan led them forward until the overhang had passed overhead. Eleni barely wanted to open her eyes. Athan held on to her hand and led her through. He seemed to stiffen right before they left the underpass. Eleni opened her eyes, curiousity overtaking her fear momentarily.

She stifled a scream as she saw reminants of the clothes from her attacker still on the ground. Athans grip on her hand tightened to the point it almost hurt. Eleni looked up at hs face, which was screwed up in what looked like rage. It was only for a split second, though. He smiled as he turned to Eleni.

"Is everything okay?" Athan asked, his voice sweet and concerned.

"Yeah.....it's just my nerves." Eleni quickly excused herself. She began to think, though. Athan hadn't been working at the cafe very long. They always came in at different times, so they never crossed paths on their way to work. How did he know where she lived?

She was always nervous walking back to her place after work. Why did he pick now to walk her home? Athan held her hand firmly until they were out of the park. He tried to keep conversation going, but Eleni barely answered or engaged. She was becoming more worried every step.

Athan led the way all of the way to her apartment building. She knew she had never told him where she lived. He stood with her outside of the doors awkwardly.

"Thanks for walking me home, Athan." Eleni said, trying to keep him from seeing how badly she wanted to turn and run into the building.

"It was no problem. I live just around the block anyway." Athan said, running his hand through his sandy blond hair.

Eleni looked Athan up and down. He seemed relaxed enough. Maybe she was overreacting. Still, something definitely felt off. She tried to get her breathing to calm down along with her heart. She put on her best fake smile and tried to remain in control of her runaway mind.

"H-have a good night." Eleni stammered.

"Yeah, you too." Athan said. He squinted at her for a moment in confusion before turning around and walking off down the street.

Eleni hurried into her building. She tried not to, but she ended up basically running up the several flights of stairs that led to her apartment. Her hands were shaking pathetically as she tried to unlock her door. She finally managed to get the key in the lock, turned it, and let out a sigh of relief as the door swing open.

She was roughly shoved inside the apartment the next moment. It was dark, so she tried to run away further into her apartment, but she was held in an iron like grip. The light was flicked on, and she groaned out loud when she saw who had shoved her inside.

"I messed up, didn't I? You've never told me where you lived." Athan said, his angry eyes flashing red as he pushed her further into her apartment.