"Lucy.." the voice whispered so soft she hardly heard anything at all, not to mention it was so dark in the corridor that she couldn't even recognize the silhouette of whoever was calling her.
"Hello? Who's there?" Lucy trembled as footsteps began swiftly approaching her. She looked around as if she was half expecting a monster, but instead saw the shadow of a small child run by. She reached out to grab the child's shoulder as it passed her, but she didn't feel anything at all.
"Lucy, come here." the voice whispered again, beckoning her to draw closer. "Where's Alex?"
"Josh?" she got closer to the shadow and finally felt a small hand grasp onto hers. "What are you doing in a place like this?"
"I want to see Alex. I miss my brother." the child looked up at the older girl, searching her face for clues about where his brother might be.
Lucy chewed on her bottom lip as she though of where to start. "Josh, Alex is here somewhere. Don't worry, we'll find him." She gave him a small grin, trying to hide her fear and worries.
"You're sad. Did he run away because you got in a fight?" his eyes looked as if they were about to overflow with tears.
"No, he's alright. I'm really not sure why he came here..." Lucy looked around at the darkness surrounding them as she spoke. She really didn't have any idea why her fiancee had come to this place. All she knew is that he did, and she needed to find him. "Josh, why don't you go back home and wait for us there. I promise as soon as I find Alex, we'll come straight to you and tuck you in for bed, alright?"
"Okay.. Please be careful, and bring my brother home." Josh gave Lucy a tight squeeze before running back to his small home. As for Lucy, she had to find Alex. She didn't know why, but she had a bad feeling about his disappearance. She had to find him. Soon. She took one more glance around the playground to be sure he wasn't there before heading to the Town Hall. Shepherd's Glen was a small town. Alex had to be somewhere.
"ALEX!" Lucy called for him as soon as she burst through the front doors. She searched the entire entrance for any sign that he had been there, but found nothing. "Oh Alex.. where are you?.."
"Lucy?" an older woman's voice came from the hall to the right. "What are you doing here so late?"
"Oh.. Judge Holloway.. I'm just looking for Alex. He's been gone all day." Lucy bit her lip to keep from showing too much concern.
"Alex? Oh that boy.. he's with Elle. They were planning for the wedding. He was supposed to be home by now though. You are more than welcome to go over to my house and get him if you want." Margaret smiled brightly and patted Lucy's back.
"Thank you." Lucy returned the smile and headed to the Holloway's house. She walked slowly along the cold, dark streets. It was so empty this late. The town usually wasn't that crowded anyways, considering it only had a few families residing within it.
As she came up to the house, Lucy heard a noise that made her shiver. It sounded monstrous and creepy beyond her wildest nightmare, but she figured it was nothing more than the strong wind that had just brushed her cheeks. Until she felt something tap her shoulder.
She turned suddenly on her heel, prepared to see something terrifying staring back at her. "Alex! You scared me!" Lucy giggled at herself for thinking about such things as monsters. She was twenty, she had no time for childish games anymore.
"Sorry my love." Alex kissed her cheek sweetly and put his arm around her. "Ready to go home? Or do you want to talk to Elle first?"
"It's late, I promised Josh we would tuck him in. I'll talk to Elle tomorrow." Lucy smiled as Alex took her hand and they began walking home.
"Alex! Lucy!" Josh practically jumped into their arms as they walked through the door. "You're back!"
"I told you I'd find him." Lucy ruffled Alex's hair and kissed his cheek.
"Alright Josh, let's get you into bed." Alex pulled his blanket over him and patted his small head. "Sleep well, and remember we're just down the hall if you need anything, okay?"
Josh started snoring right away. Lucy tried not to laugh, and followed Alex down to the old room his mom used for tailoring. She always had loved to sew, but since Lucy had nowhere else to stay, Lillian let them turn her sewing room into a temporary bedroom for the couple.
"Hey Lucy?" Alex looked into her eyes lovingly.
"Yeah?"
"I love you." Lucy smiled at these words and gave him a sweet kiss on his soft lips. She knew they were the perfect couple.
"I love you too Alex." she let the words slip gently as they drifted to sleep.
