What could calm her after that? She considered calling the police, but she suspected that the creature was long gone after that dark figure attacked it.

She was grateful that she was saved, but why was the dark figure there in the first place?

All of the questions piling up in her mind made her head hurt. She didn't have any answers for any of them.

Frustration soon struck her. Things were going so well for her, and then that happened. She didn't even know if this was an isolated incident. What if this happened again?

She didn't even want to begin to think about what could happen if she was attacked again, but the dark figure wasn't around to help her.

She didn't know if the creature's intent was to kill her, but it certainly wasn't friendly.

It was safe to say that she didn't get much sleep that night, and she suspected that wouldn't change for the rest of the week..

**********

One step in front of the other. That was what Alyssa kept telling herself as she edged closer and closer to the entrance of the hospital the next morning.

When she woke up an hour earlier after a night of restfulness and minimal sleep, she considered calling in because she was so wary about stepping foot on the hospital's property again after what happened to her last night.

She had a long shift ahead of her, but what would happen when she eventually left to go home?

Would that creature be waiting for her again? She tensed up at the thought of that as she glanced around every which way, searching the area as the morning sun glowed from up above.

There were hardly any shadows for her to peer at warily, but that didn't lessen her concern.

Once she finally made it inside of the hospital, she let out the breath that she had been holding.

She felt somewhat at ease now, but she knew that worried feeling would come back around soon.

She could only hope that her guardian angel popped up if danger struck again.

Speaking of her guardian angel, she was halfway convinced that it was Elias. The hair and the body looked like his, and she would be lying if she hadn't always found him a bit mysterious.

Coming out of the shadows like that didn't seem too far out of his element. However, caring for her didn't seem like his nature after what he did to her all those years ago.

It didn't make sense for him to abandon her like that if he wanted to look out for her too.

He left her out in the open for anyone to approach her, even monsters. Did he know about those monsters? She felt her heart start to race.

It was all too much. If she came face to face with Elias again, she wouldn't know what she would do. She didn't want to be near him.

Just the thought of seeing him again made her stomach twist into tight knots. She would be looking into the face of a man who lied to her and tossed her aside like she was nothing to him.

She spent years working to get over him and leave even the thought of him in the past, and he was messing all of that hard work up!

She couldn't have an off day because of him. She had the lives of precious children to save. She wouldn't let him drag her down once more.

"Get that sleep you needed?

"

Alyssa looked up from her daze, not even realizing how far into the hospital she had walked. She saw Micah grinning at her with a fresh cup of coffee in his hand.

"Yeah. Kind of,

" she murmured, letting the lie easily slip from her lips. She hardly slept last night. She kept thinking about the incident… the fangs… Elias.

It was a constant loop in her mind that she couldn't escape from until the early hours of the morning when she finally passed out for an hour or two from exhaustion.

"Here. You need this more than I do,

" Micah said as he handed her his cup of coffee.

Alyssa tried to shake her head to deny him, but the cup ended up in her hands anyway. Micah could be a bit stubborn like that, but at least he was kind.

"Thanks,

" she replied. She wanted to say more, not wanting to come off as acting strange, but she couldn't even think about what to say. Her brain was scrambled at that point.

Micah smiled and nodded. He stepped closer to her.

"I promise getting a drink with me would be way more interesting,

" he chuckled.

Micah's words sounded muffled in Alyssa's head. She just couldn't focus right now. She gave him a confused look when he peered at her hopefully.

"Sorry. What was that?

" she asked him, giving him a sheepish look.

Micah's expression wavered slightly, but he cleared his throat and grinned regardless.

"We should grab a drink one night. I know you're busy and stuff, but I think it would be fun,

" he suggested to her.

Alyssa felt her face burn slightly as she shifted awkwardly on the spot. She liked Micah, but she liked him as a friend. She desperately wanted to like him more than that.

He would be the perfect boyfriend. He was sweet, cute, funny, and attentive. He would put her first and romance her in all the right ways.

But he wasn't the guy that she held in the depths of her heart. Despite everything she had gone through during these past eight years, there was still an inkling of love left for the man who shattered her heart into pieces. She hated herself for still loving Elias, but those feelings wouldn't go away.

The memories of their happy times, of his lips on hers, of his arms around her, wouldn't leave her mind.

Sometimes, she even dreamed about him, but she tried to ignore any traces of him as much as she could.