A Promise

*Jenny*

This dream again...

It was him, it was Noel. He was waiting for me by the other side of the lake. He then started walking towards me. Faster and faster he moved, then eventually started running to me. But then he started growing fangs and that fur was spreading all over his body. He also started running in all-fours, like an animal running in the woods. His transformation was terrifying but I felt no fear. Under this bright moonlight, I felt rather enchanted. I reached out to him as he was only meters away, but a very bright light hindered my vision. I closed my eyes and then tried to open them slowly. Rays of light were reflecting in my sight and as it clears out, the light was coming from an opened window. There, I realized, I was woken up from my dream.

I sat up and scanned my surroundings. Why is everything white? Am I dead? Am I in heaven? And then I noticed an IV line attached to my left hand. It is from there that I just felt the sting of the needle that was pushed onto my skin. I wasn't dead nor I am in heaven, I was just laying in a hospital bed.

After a while, I recalled helping two children from the other day. They were siblings; a boy and a girl. Their names were Clay and Chloe. We had dinner and I invited them to our place to spend the night and then... and then something horrible happened. But what was it again?

I was trying to recall when the door opened and Ebony walked in. She was so happy to see me that she immediately ran up to me and hug me. "Oh my gosh, you're finally awake!", she exclaimed. Her hug was warm but my body felt pain, I had to grunt to let her know that I'm hurting. "Oh! Sorry, sorry. I'm just glad to see you." She let go and distance herself a bit away from me, "I was so shocked when Mr. Walter called me and told me you were rushed to the hospital! How are you feeling?".

"I'm fine... and the kids?".

"They're fine. They're with Mr. Locke.". Noel? Why is he here? Ebony might have noticed my confused look so she asked, "Don't you remember what happened?". I tried to remember but after a moment, I just stared at her. She sighed then sat next to my bed, "A man broke into our apartment, Jenny and you tried to resist him. You were stabbed multiple times, they were so deep that you almost died in blood lost!". As she was narrating, flashes of the incident are flooding my mind but what I'm recalling is not a knife, or anything like it, but a... clawed gauntlet? It doesn't make any sense and it's giving me a headache. "Luckily, Mr. Locke came and managed to fight him off. He called the police and found the kids hiding in the closet. He also called Mr. Walter who called me.". Flashes of my memory shows that Noel did come and fought the burglar but the way I recall the burglar and how they fought was... unnatural. Why am I recalling Noel growing out fangs and claws? And his face, it turned monstrous. How much blood did I lose that I am recalling things like this?

"Well, isn't he brave?" Ebony commented which made me look at her. "You know, there aren't a lot of guys out there who would risk their lives like that. And considering his features, you're one lucky gal." She then winks at me. I can't help to let out a chuckle at my friend.

"I see you have woken up.". We heard a male voice say. We turned to see who it was and saw the very man who had saved me. It was Noel. He walked closer to my bed as Ebony slowly backed away and told me, "I, um, going out for a moment.". She even discreetly winked at me before going out and said, "See you in a bit!".

"Ebony!" I unconsciously called her. Then recalling that Noel was in the room kind of embarrassed me. "Sorry about that, it's just the way Ebony is. Ho-how long have you been standing there?". I forced out a chuckle as he looked smiling at me.

"Not long. How are you feeling?"

"I'm good... still a bit weak but I'm good."

"That's great then...". His stare was too intense for me that I had to look away so he couldn't see the blush that was forming in my cheeks. I then asked suddenly, "W-why were you there? I mean, why did you come to our apartment?", after calming myself, I was able to look back at him.

"It was totally a coincidence. I was driving around the area when I recognized your apartment. And a door was open by the fifth floor. I then remembered that you reside on that floor. I got worried so I checked it out. And there I found you laying on the ground after he stabbed you.". I then noticed a change in his tone, he sat beside my bed and continued. "I fought him. After that, I called the police. I heard the children crying, I searched and found them in the closet. I knew you had a roommate but she wasn't there and I don't exactly know her number so I called your manager. Luckily, she was in a near hospital, just a few blocks away.".

After his story, his tone went back to normal. Though I am curious, I didn't ask him about it, I was just glad that he was there and we were saved. I smiled at that thought. But the flashes of memory in my mind were bugging me, I just had to ask him, "Say, did you, um, did you see any gauntlet or a sharped glove or something used by the burglar?". He looked at me like I grew two heads. It sounded weird, it IS weird so I took my question back, "No, no, it's okay, please ignore what I asked, I don't know, I kept recalling things differently. Maybe I just lost a lot of blood so my memory-".

His next action surprised me. He took my hands and told me sincerely, "I'm so sorry, I wasn't there to protect you. I wasn't fast enough to prevent the pain that you suffered.". He then looked straight into my eyes and continued, "I won't let it happen again. I will not let anyone or anything hurt you again. I promise."