Free Enchanter by Kristy Centeno Page A

hurried to the kitchen.
    “Tell me what happened.” Matt took the pepper spray out of
my hand and placed it on top of the coffee table. “You used it, didn’t you?”
    “Yeah, I did.”
    “And?”
    “He took off running.”
    Matt nodded, relief showing on his face.
    “Here.” Xavier came back with a bottle of water and handed
it to me. “I told you the pepper spray would come in handy,” he said.
    “You were right, thanks,” I muttered, unable to keep the
shakiness out of my voice.
    “Details, Leah,” Matt demanded, although his tone was more
out of concern than anything else.
    I went on to describe the incident down to the last detail,
which forced Matt into a highly graphic cursing session. He was understandably
pissed about what happened. Had I not been so terrified, I probably would have been,
too.
    After I agreed to call the police, Matt calmed down some,
but Xavier kept close watch on him just to make sure he would not run off to
look for my attacker while we were distracted. Having to go to the police
station to file a report was not exactly a picnic for any of us, but the police
officer insisted I go. Fortunately, Matt and Xavier stayed with me the entire
time.
    After everything was said and done, we headed back home.
Once I had showered and changed into my pajamas, I found myself lying in bed
with Matt and Xavier keeping me company.
    “Guys, I appreciate the help, but I think I’m okay now.”
    “We’re not going anywhere.” I knew Matt well enough not to
argue.
    Xavier, who up to that moment had been tossing popcorn up in
the air and catching them in his mouth, stopped his activities long enough to
look at me and say, “The Blood Raven nightclub will be there tomorrow. We can
always make plans to go another night.”
    “I just feel bad that I ruined your plans for tonight.”
    “You didn’t ruin anything. What happened to you was serious.
Besides, what kind of friends would we be if we picked up and left?”
    “Well,” I patted Matt’s hand, “thanks for staying.”
    “No problem, but just so you know, I’ll be picking you up
from work from now on.”
    “That’s not—”
    “Necessary?” Matt frowned. “Do you intend to go through this
again?”
    “No, but—”
    “But nothing. I get out of school in time to pick you up, so
that’ll be our routine from now on.”
    “Whenever you can’t make it, I’ll pick her up,” Xavier
offered.
    “Sounds good to me.”
    “Now I’m just getting spoiled.”
    Matt chuckled. “Damn right.”
    “What do you guys want to watch?” Xavier asked as he took
out another DVD from the cabinet next to my TV and eyed it for a few seconds
before putting it back to take out another one out.
    “Anything that doesn’t have any type of violence in it.”
    Xavier grinned. “Gotcha.”
     
    ****
     
    A few hours later, I lay in bed, wide awake, while a
sleeping Matt lay next to me. Xavier camped on the floor in front of the bed
and both guys had been asleep for at least an hour or two. I, on the other hand,
could not seem to find slumber land no matter how much I tried.
    The weird man from the alley came to mind each time I shut
my eyes and I knew I was going to end up having nightmares for the rest of the
night if sleep finally decided to pay me a visit. The attack itself was
terrifying, but the fact that the man was so strange-looking, somehow made it
worse. Something about him was not right. He appeared almost inhuman and the
thought terrified me.
    Come on, Leah, he was probably a crack-head hoping to get
a few bucks from you so that he could go get his next fix.
    Unfortunately, that thought did not make me feel any better
at all. Despite the guys’ presence next to me, I was still mildly freaked out,
jumping at every little sound that emanated either from outside or the
neighbor’s apartment. Every time the mild wind from outside made my window
shutter, I had to fight to keep myself glued to the bed.
    My fear went as far as leaving the TV on, and