Chapter Five
A few days passed, but the air in our house stayed heavy. Every time a car slowed down near our driveway, my heart stopped. I tried to be the perfect version of myself, but I could feel Noah watching me. He was like a master builder looking at a wall that was a fraction of an inch off. He knew something was wrong.
It was Saturday afternoon. Noah had convinced me to sit outside on the porch while he worked on a small cedar planter. The sun was warm, and for a second, I almost forgot about the virus. I almost forgot about the man in the black SUV.
"You're overthinking again, Gwen," Noah said softly. He didn't look up from the wood, but his chisel moved with perfect, rhythmic strokes.
"I can hear your brain whirring from here."
"I'm just enjoying the sun, Noah," I lied.
"The sun is behind you," he noted, a small, knowing smile on his lips. "Try again."
Before I could answer, the sound of a heavy engine drifted up the road. My stomach dropped. I knew that sound. It wasn't the rattling truck of a neighbor or the hum of a mail van. It was the low, expensive growl of the black SUV.
The car didn't speed past. It slowed down and pulled right up to the edge of our gravel driveway.
Noah's hand stopped. The chisel stayed perfectly still against the cedar. He didn't look scared; he looked focused, like he was calculating the exact weight of the threat.
The door opened, and Raph stepped out.
He looked even more like Noah in the daylight. It was terrifying. He wore a dark suit that cost more than our house, and he walked toward us with a smile that felt like a knife.
"Lovely place you have here, Noah," Raph called out. His voice was loud, intended to shatter the quiet of our yard. "A bit small for a man of your talents, don't you think?"
I stood up, my legs feeling like jelly. "Noah, let's go inside," I whispered, grabbing his arm.
Noah didn't move. He stood up slowly, tall and solid. He stepped in front of me, shielding me with his body.
The "Sweet Man" I knew seemed to grow colder, his shoulders squaring until he looked like a wall of reinforced steel.
"You've lost your way," Noah said. His voice was low, a vibration that felt like it was coming from deep underground.
"The road ends here. Turn around."
Raph stopped at the bottom of the porch steps. He looked at me, his eyes roaming over my face with that same disgusting
"fancy" he had shown at the car window. "I told you I'd come for her, didn't I, Gwen? I told you your boyfriend was a nobody."
"Gwen, go inside," Noah commanded. He didn't turn around.
"Noah, please—"
"Inside. Now."
It wasn't a request. It was a command from a man I didn't recognize.
I backed away, my hand over my mouth, and retreated behind the screen door. Through the mesh, I watched the two men.
They looked like twins born from different heavens.
Raph reached into his pocket, but Noah moved faster. He didn't strike; he simply stepped down the stairs and got into Raph's personal space. He was taller, broader, and more imposing than I had ever realized.
"I gave you a warning, Raph," Noah whispered, loud enough for me to hear through the door.
"You used my face to scare her. You used your words to threaten her. If you don't leave this property in five seconds,
Raph's smile flickered. For a heartbeat, the "King" looked small. He saw something in Noah's eyes, a darkness that was deeper and more controlled than his own.
"This isn't over," Raph spat, backing toward his car. "You can't build a wall high enough to keep us out. She's going to be mine And when she realizes you're nothing, she'll come running to me."
Raph slammed his car door and floored it, the tires kicking up gravel that sprayed against our fence.
Noah stood in the driveway for a long time, watching the dust settle. His hands were twitching, that frantic, restless rhythm I hadn't seen in days.
When he finally turned back toward the house, his face was a mask of perfect, terrifying calm.
He looked at me through the screen door.
"I'm sorry you had to see that, Gwen. He's just a man who doesn't understand boundaries."
I didn't move. I looked at the man I loved, and for the first time, I wondered if Raph was right. I wondered if the "SafeSpace" wasn't a home, but a cage built to hide the truth.
"Don't worry about him. I'm making dinner. Go sit down."
I followed him inside, but I couldn't stop shaking. The Virus hadn't just arrived. It was already in the house.
I was in the workshop after dinner when I heard the floorboards on the back porch creak. It wasn't Gwen's light step.
It was Bill Henderson.
I stepped out into the shadows. Bill was huddled near the fence, looking like a man waiting for a firing squad.
"Noah," he hissed. "You there?"
"I'm here, Bill." I stepped into the thin sliver of moonlight.
"I saw that black SUV again," he whispered, his voice cracking.
"It's Raph. He's been circling. You need to take the girl and run, son. People don't survive Raph. Remember Sarah? The girl from the diner? He decided he wanted her, and now she's just a memory and a bleached car seat. He's a virus. He'll eat this house whole."
I looked at Bill. He saw a woodworker. He saw a neighbor. He didn't see the man who had designed the very shadows he was standing in.
"Thanks for the warning, Bill," I said. My voice was flat, devoid of the "Sweet Noah" warmth.
"But I don't run. I build. And I've built this place to last and Raph is just a small bug I can take care of".
Bill shook his head and retreated into the dark. I didn't go back to the Wood. I stood on the porch and looked at the road, calculating the angles of arrival. Raph is just a local thug and he shouldn't scare me