The Waitress and the Wolf (Book 1 of The Guardian series)

Chapter 4. Letters

"Every time you seem to go off by yourself you either, A. Get trapped in an alley with two thugs on your tail, B. Fall in a pile of garbage, and now C. Almost get run over," He said pointedly. I scowled at him as he got up and grabbed my plate from me.

"I'd hate to see what the letter D would bring," He murmured as he walked to the kitchen. I stuck my tongue out at him when he turned his back and crossed my arms. I was always making myself look like a petty damsel in distress whenever he was around. Why was he always around?

"I promise I'll stray from alleys, garbage bags and I'll even keep my eyes peeled on the road from now on. You have a business thing like you said, so just go on ahead."

Demetri's dark eyes watched my every movement and I felt like I was under inspection. I held my stare, and my pride.

"Are you sure?" He grit out the words. I nodded eagerly. I had been doing things on my own for quite some time now, so luckily I was already ahead of the game. I didn't need to be coddled.

He hesitated for a moment, crossing his arms and leaning against the door. After giving me one last stare, he dropped his head. "Fine."

I smiled happily as though I'd won the lottery and stood up, ready to get going.

"Wait a sec," He commanded. I frowned at him. Yep, cranky and demanding seemed to fit him to tee.

I sighed and stood near the door as he disappeared behind the kitchen. He quickly returned with a small post it in his hand. "Here, if you ever run into Letter D." And with that, he handed me a small yellow paper with a number on it.

I examined it and then him. Once again, his eyes were frozen on me. I took the paper, my digits tingling. "Thanks."

And with that, he opened the door for me, and I let myself out.

I turned around to thank him once I had gone down the steps, but he'd already closed the door. I shrugged my shoulders, held the paper tight, and began to walk down the street. I noticed it was already 3 in the afternoon. Gosh, how long had I stayed there?

At least it had killed time. Now what was I going to do? I made my bet with the library and started to walk there. A slow breeze had begun to waft around me, carrying my hair with it. As I turned the corner onto a side walk, I felt holes begin to burn into my head. I turned, seeing random people walking around with their friends or family after just shopping or eating out.

It had to have been my paranoia, so I shook it off and walked just a little faster to the local library. I kept my head down, and my senses on high alert. I settled down after reaching a more populated corner and waited for the light to turn green. Suddenly, there it was; the burning of holes into my skull. I turned around, searching for someone. I looked passed the random faces behind me waiting for the light, but to my dismay, saw no one out of character.

The light turned for us to walk, so we did, and I made sure to keep with the crowd. Only a little further to the library..

I hastened my pace as the crowd parted and went into different directions. Maybe I was going crazy - but I couldn't shake the feeling the someone was either following me or watching me. I shook it off, reaching a rustic brown door, feeling relief. Opening it, the scent of dust and leather filled my lungs. I let myself in, the door setting off a ding from the golden bell at the top.

"Welcome!"

I smiled at the old librarian. His name was Richard and he was a sweetest old man with a cane and a dog I'd ever met. He straightened his usual bowtie and lifted his hat in greeting.

"Well howdy Venus, back for some more books?" He asked, smiling. His wrinkles became prominently more noticeable as he did so. His golden retriever, Henry, sat up and let his tongue loll out of his mouth, along with a few spit drops.

I walked over to them both, lightly pet the dog, and smiled at Richard.

"Just for a today, I got a day off of work."

"Oh! I rarely see you in here, best take your time since this is your day off. Can I help you find anything in specific?" He asked. I smiled.

"No thanks, I know where to go."

"Of course." And with that, I walked away as he began to mutter to his dog. I didn't hesitate to walk into the historical fiction section of the small sanctuary. I studied the shelves that were filled with books. Dust lined almost each one seeing as no one really read much these days. I found a certain rustic peace in this place. Most times, everyone, and sometimes including myself, would rather use their phone for information, but this library held an ancient beauty.

I reached out and grasped a black book. "Time at it's Finest." Reading the back, I noted it was about time travel, and how when a girl travels into the future the residents place the weight of the world on her shoulders by telling her she was the key to saving the planet.

I liked it, so I plopped down against the shelf, and allowed myself to get sucked into a new world with new perspectives.

An hour into reading, I heard the doorbell ring from the front. I paid it no mind as I flipped through another chapter.

Immediately, I began to hear Henry bark and whine. Confused, I looked over my shoulder through some book shelves to see a man standing next to Richard.

I was too far to hear what they were saying but to deny the sound of Henry's rampage was nearly impossible. That dog was so calm and would never bark at a stranger. So what would compel him to now? Perhaps the man smelt like a cat? I frowned and went back to reading.

"I said open it now!" A man's heavy voice vibrated off the walls. I closed my book, tossed it to the side and peeked through rows of books. Richard was standing firm against his desk while the strange man hunched over on the desk, palms placed flat on the wood. Getting up, I walked to Richards side in a hurry.

"Is there a problem?" I asked, eyeing him. He had a pointed nose, short black hair and dark eyes to match. His suit reeked of money and power. He glared at me, but I didn't move. Though I felt a bit scared of him, I felt strange confidence. I'd survived "sort of" gang members, and a truck, so why not this too?

"He was just leaving," Richard said, pointing at the door with slanted eyes. "I will come back, and you will let me through," The man growled before giving me a death glare, and stalking towards the door.

"Who was that? What did he want?"

"Trouble. I'm going to close up early Venus, why don't you just go ahead and take the book you're reading and return it when you can, alright?" He smiled, but it was forced and I could tell he really wanted me to leave for reasons I couldn't fathom. That run in was strange, but so was this.

"I . . . suppose so."

And with that, I went back to the spot I was at, picked up the book, and left without another word.