4

Chapter 4: Savior

"... And if you ever feel lonely, just look at the moon. Someone, somewhere, is looking at it too."

**************

|Verena|

I stepped into the lobby and made my way to the reception. I scrunched up my face in confusion when I saw an unfamiliar woman sitting behind the desk. As if she had sensed my skepticism the woman gave me a reassuring smile, her green eyes crinkling at the corners.

"I'm Belinda, you must be Verena. You just moved here right?" She asked kindly.

"Yes." I responded a little uncertainly.

Belinda's smile didn't falter. "I'm the receptionist. I was away for a few days because I wasn't feeling too well so my friend Hannah was filling in for me. That's the reason you haven't seen me here before."

"I see. Hope you feel better now." I said, giving the lady a warm smile.

"I'm absolutely fine now darling. How do you like the complex so far?"

"It's beautiful." I told her truthfully.

"What about your apartment? Is it to your liking?" Belinda inquired.

"Yes everything's great. I actually came down here because I needed a favor." I said, a little embarrassed.

Belinda gave me an encouraging nod.

"Er- I can't seem to find my apartment key anywhere, I probably misplaced it. I was told that I could get a spare from the reception."

"You most certainly can. What's your apartment number?" She asked kindly.

"188." I responded.

I gave the receptionist a grateful smile as I finally took the key from her.

The truth was that I hadn't been able to locate my key ever since that man had broken into my apartment yesterday. Just thinking about him made me shudder. I had never felt so helpless in front of a person before.

I'd always prided myself on being strong and lithe, but he had managed to make me feel like a worthless bag of mush. I'd never seen anyone move that fast. He'd disarmed and restrained me before I could even catch a breath. I had no doubt in my mind that if he wanted to he could have snapped my neck in the blink of an eye.

I let out a shaky breath as I made my way outside. The last thing I wanted was to be late for college. The cold air bit into my skin as I walked out the gates of the apartment complex. I let out an agitated sigh. I hadn't been able to sleep a wink since the past few days, ever since I'd found Allison's bloodied, lifeless body that day. I shuddered when I recalled the awful memory.

I quickened my pace, taking longer strides. Although I owned a car I preferred to walk. It felt good to exercise my limbs in the morning and the fresh air always helped me clear my head.

**************

The college was buzzing with life as usual as I made my way through the crowded hallway towards my first class.

The class room was already crowded when I got there, I made my way to the very end of the class and put my bag down, choosing to take the seat in the far corner of the class.

I was determined to stay out of the spotlight. Before moving here I had promised myself that I'd draw as little attention towards myself as possible. I needed to focus on the real reason why I'd come here.

"Hey cutie. Haven't seen you around." A masculine voice quipped pulling me out of my thoughts.

I just rolled my eyes and chose to ignore whoever it was.

"I'm Aiden and you're in my seat by the way."

I rolled my eyes. "Well Aiden, I got here first and now this is my seat." I retorted haughtily.

I heard his hearty chuckle. Finally, I looked up and my eyes met with a pair of green ones. I took in his appearance. He was definitely attractive, with his blonde hair and jade eyes. His tall and lean frame practically towered over mine.

"You're right I surrender. This seat is all yours Madame." He responded playfully, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

For some reason I couldn't help but think that he reminded me of someone but I couldn't seem to figure out who.

"So, I didn't catch your name." Aiden asked casually.

"That's because I didn't give it to you." I countered.

He clutched his chest dramatically, feigning hurt. "You wound me."

I couldn't stop my face from breaking into a smile. I was about to give him a response when another voice broke in,

"Don't let him get to you, he likes to annoy everyone."

I turned around to see that it was a pretty girl with shoulder length brown hair who had spoken. She smiled at me sweetly showing off her dimples.

"Correction, I like to annoy pretty girls." Aiden added with a wink.

The girl just rolled her eyes at him. I could tell that they'd been friends for a long time.

"I'm Skylar." She introduced herself.

"Verena." I responded with a grin.

I knew that I wasn't supposed to get involved with anyone over here but I couldn't help but like the two of them.

The teacher walked in and everyone suddenly started rushing to their seats. Aiden took the seat in front of me while Skylar took the one beside me.

"You're having lunch with us today." Aiden turned to look at me with a playful smile.

I was about to respond when I noticed the huge bruise on the side of his face.

"What happened to your face?" I blurted out the question.

I noticed that his smile faltered.

"Ethan Grant." He responded grimly before he turned away to look in front.

"Ethan is the biggest douchebag in this college. He thinks he owns the place because his dad's the Dean. He likes to beat people up for fun." Skylar put in bitterly.

I could feel my face contorting in disgust.

What kind of a creep beat people up for fun?

Maybe I could teach him a lesson or two.

*************

"Hey Verena, wait up!" I heard Skylar's breathless voice call out from behind.

I paused, waiting for her to catch up.

"Did you hear about Allison Wyatt?" Skylar practically screamed when she reached me.

I winced when I noticed that a few people turned around to look at us.

"Yeah, she lived in the same apartment complex as me." I chose not to mention that she had actually lived in the apartment just across mine.

"Oh my God! Really? Is it true then? Did she get murdered in her apartment two days ago?"

"I'm afraid so." I shuddered as I was once again forced to recall the gory memory.

"I heard that the suspected murderer is Nate Cohen. No surprise there." Skylar added solemnly.

My interest spiked up.

Nate Cohen?

Could she be talking about the same man who I'd seen with Allison's unconscious body that night and the one who'd broken into my apartment earlier?

"So, who is this Nate Cohen?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

"No one knows much about him, just that he used to go to college here a few years back and he got kicked out because he put some dude in a coma. He got out of jail a while later and he's been pretty low-key ever since. All I know is that he lives with a friend of his here somewhere."

"Do you know what he looks like, I might have seen him, it's a pretty small town." I asked, not bothering to keep the curiosity from my voice.

"I've only just seen him once myself, at a department store if I recall correctly, a few months ago. He's tall, chiseled, really well built. He's pretty hot if you come to think about it. Scary but hot. Then again Ted Bundy was hot and he was a serial killer." Skylar rambled.

"She's definitely talking about the same guy." I thought to myself.

"Do you want me to give you a drive home?" Skylar asked, when she noticed me walking away from the direction of the parking lot.

"No thanks. A walk will do me good anyway." I reassured.

"Isn't it scary though? Like someone got murdered in your apartment complex. Aren't you afraid the killer might come back?" She asked after a while.

"I know how to protect myself and besides I paid a lot of money to get this apartment, no turning back now." I responded smoothly.

So, maybe I was a little nervous, but I didn't have to tell her that.

"Well, in case you ever change your mind, you could always crash at my place. My folks live abroad and I have the whole place to myself. I could really use a roommate."

"I'll keep that in mind." I said giving Skylar a smile before finally heading out the gates.

I tightened my blazer around myself as I made my way towards the apartment complex. The air had an eerie sting to it. Although it was just mid-afternoon the temperature seemed to be exceptionally low.

My thoughts were a scattered mess. I didn't know what to think of all the information Skylar had given me. For some reason I couldn't stop thinking about that man.

There was something about him. Something that drew me in.

The day I'd found Allison's body, the first thing I'd done was call the police and tell them that I suspected that Nate was the murderer. At that time it had made perfect sense, I'd seen him carry Allison's limp body inside the apartment, he had the key. Even Skylar had told me today that he had a history of violence. All the evidence seemed to point towards him.

Yet, there was something that bothered me. I had a hard time grasping that he was a murderer.

 Yesterday when he'd broken into my apartment, he could easily have killed me or hurt me, yet, he didn't. He seemed to be dead set on clearing his name.

I was still absorbed in my thoughts when suddenly I felt myself being knocked to the ground harshly. Before I could contemplate what had happened I felt a gloved hand clamp down over my mouth.

Finally, regaining my senses I began to struggle wildly. The man yanked at my hair pulling my head back painfully.

"Where's Trevor?" His raspy voice demanded.

My eyes widened in realization. 

Somehow I managed to twist free of his strong grasp. I quickly got to my feet and took up a fighting stance. I eyed that man standing in front of me. He was huge, with bulging muscles. The hood of his jacket was drawn over his head making it impossible to make out his face.

"How do you know Trevor?" I demanded.

The man chuckled coldly.

I aimed a kick towards his groin but he was too quick for me. Before my foot could even make contact with his body his arm lashed out, his hand wrapped around my ankle, he yanked my foot forward making me lose my balance and causing me to topple to the ground again. 

He kicked me in the stomach making me double over in pain.

My eyes scanned my surroundings desperately. Hoping to find someone, anyone who could help me but the street was completely deserted.

He kicked me again, making me cry out in pain. My vision was starting to get blurry. I was running out of time and I knew it. I made a weak attempt to get up again but the man only snorted. He pushed me to the ground roughly and pinned me down. I still couldn't make out what he looked like, the hood was drawn too far over his face.

I felt the cold metal of his gun press against my forehead.

"You're going to die now, just like your little friend Allison." He spoke coldly.

I felt dread consume me.

This man here was the real murderer.

He had killed Allison not Nate.

I could feel the desperate thumping of my heart against my chest as he placed his finger on the trigger.

This was it.

I was going to die.

I closed my eyes waiting for it to happen; to hear the gun fire, to smell the gun powder. I waited to feel the searing pain. But the pain would last only for a second. Then I'd feel nothing. Forever.

Tears started to stream down my cheeks as realization hit me.

I was going to die.

But suddenly I felt his weight being lifted off my body. 

My eyes flew open in surprise. 

I saw my attacker sprawled a few feet away from me. My eyes took in the familiar form of the man who'd saved me. An involuntary gasp left my lips.

Nate.

My attacker aimed his gun at him but Nate was more than prepared. I exhaled in relief when he ducked just as the man fired, missing the bullet by inches. He expertly aimed a kick to the man's side taking him off-guard. The man stumbled to the ground, groaning in pain.

Nate was just about to aim another kick when suddenly a black SUV coming at full speed towards them caught my eye.

"Nate watch out!" I screamed out the warning.

He jumped out of the way just in time. The SUV skidded to a halt right in front of the attacker, the door opened abruptly and the he quickly leaped inside. Before either of us could do anything about it the SUV was speeding away.

Once he had made sure that they were not coming back he turned around and slowly made his way towards me.

I was lying on the ground, still in shock.

"Are you alright?" He asked gruffly, his voice was laced with concern.

"Y-you saved me." I managed to stutter a whisper.

"I guess I did." He responded.

He got down to his knees beside me as he inspected me for any serious injuries.

"Why?" I asked, my voice wavering.

"I think you should be more worried about the fact that someone just tried to kill you." He said seriously as he looked into my eyes.