The Chosen Ones

CHAPTER FOUR

Their guns were still pointed at each other. They stood only five feet apart. As tough and calm as Matt normally was, he was scared shitless at the moment. He had never had a gun pointed at him in his life, let alone at his face and at this distance, and on top of that he never had to point his gun at another person before. His hand shook a little, Casey's however, was steady as a rock.

"I'm not putting my gun down." She said.
"Neither am I." Matt replied. "My son is upstairs."
"I know. That's why I'm here." Casey said.
He inched closer in anger at her comment, his hand shaking harder now. The fact that she stated she was here for his son actually put the thought in his mind that he should pull the trigger. But, he wasn't a murderer. Not yet.
"What are you talking about?" He asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Still, Casey didn't move. She actually took a step towards him, showing no fear. Her gun still aimed.
"Did you kill your family?" Matt blurted out, almost in desperation. He was irritated, scared. This standoff was taking longer than he wanted it to.
Casey's body language suddenly changed upon hearing his question, it had struck a nerve. She lowered her arm, and held her gun at her side.

"Is that what people think?" She asked, quietly.
Matt hesitated, he found himself caught between feeling bad for what he had asked her and still angry about her breaking into his house and threatening his son. Was this a ploy to get him to drop HIS guard? He took a chance. She did seem genuinely upset and he even noticed tears forming in her eyes. Her tough girl act was gone with that one question he asked. He decided to lower his gun as well.

"Some people think that, yeah." Matt replied. "Other people think you're dead."
She looked up at him. "Do you think I killed them?"
He didn't know why, but he knew she didn't. Since seeing the story on the news, he had never wavered.
"No." Matt told her.

Casey placed her gun on the table. A slight sigh of relief washed over her face, as if saying she never wanted to point a gun at him in the first place. Matt was just as relieved. He saw her so clearly just then. Her long wavy blonde hair was hanging down in her eyes, which were no longer glowing blue, but he could still see them. They were the bluest eyes he had ever seen.

Her face showed signs of tiredness, of what she must have been through the last couple days, but he could still see her beauty. He found himself drawn to her. All it took was for her to put her gun down. The anger and fear he had felt was gone. She had shown vulnerability, and he was overwhelmed with the feeling that he wanted, no he needed, to help her.

His answer almost had Casey in tears. The fact that he didn't think she harmed her family was exactly what she needed to hear. She needed someone on her side. However, she quickly composed herself. Casey was here for a reason, and she had to make him understand that.
"Thank you for believing me." She said.
"So why are you in my kitchen?" Matt asked.

Little did he know, what she was about to tell him would change his life forever. It would send Matt down a path he never saw coming. Not just him, but his friends as well. Not even Casey knew the extent of how far this story would take them.

"I'm going to tell you a story." She started. "Before I do, I need you to clear your mind, and be open to everything I'm going to say."
Matt was skeptical, but he nodded. Something had brought her here, this girl that was on the run from police, who's family was just brutally murdered. He needed to find out why.

There was no way Casey Carson happened to break into HIS house, two towns away from her own, out of chance.
Matt went to the cabinet and got out a glass, then poured her chocolate milk. He handed it to her with a grin. She accepted it, a little embarrassed, as she thought how it must have looked seeing her chug from the carton moments ago.