My Star

Chapter 15

As Chance hesitated in pulling out of the driveway, his gaze lingered on Tino, staring as if he wished Tino would move or debating if he should finish what he started.

"Baby, we're running late for Friday game night at A'Rio," I gently reminded him, intertwining our fingers and soothingly tracing circles on the back of his hand.

"Chance?" I called his name desperately, my voice tinged with urgency. He didn't look at me; his eyes still focused on his target. I tried again, my tone more desperate.

"Baby, we have to get home to get ready. We are going to be late." I knew it was a poor excuse, but it's all I had. Gradually, he began to reverse the car.

Even as he was leaving, it seemed like it was draining him to go. I couldn't shake the feeling that if I wasn't with him, things would have turned out differently. Perhaps without me, Tino wouldn't have had a reason to provoke Chance, and they wouldn't have fought in the first place.

Chance was silent. His silence was becoming unnerving, and I felt a growing sense of fear. I needed to know what he was thinking, what he was planning.

"Chance? Will you talk to me?" I inquired, my heart pounding fiercely in my chest. As I implored him to open up, I realized I might be seeking more than I could bear.

"Star, please understand, I'm not angry with you. You've done nothing wrong. This is about me. Under different circumstances, I wouldn't want you to witness me like this. I need you to truly hear me when I say I will protect you at any cost, whether it's from known threats or potential dangers. Right now, I can't read him. And when I can't decipher a person or a situation, I take decisive action to eliminate the uncertainty."he said calmly.

"It's okay, love," I whispered softly, unsure of what else to say. "You don't need to do anything; everything will be fine. It won't happen again." I fell silent, unable to find the right words. I longed to meet his gaze, yet feared the unknown reflection staring back at me. It wouldn't be Chance, my beloved; it would be the monster I had heard whispers of. My presence may have prevented him from harming Tino tonight, but what about the twins? Would he? Some questions are best left unanswered.

The car ride home was cloaked in an eerie silence, heavy with unspoken tension. As we pulled up to our house, I battled against the unsettling notion that Chance could ever harm children. Despite his nurturing demeanor at the youth center, a persistent voice in my mind taunted me with the chilling refrain, "In a heartbeat!"

What troubles me the most is the realization that I might be the sole reason he would.

I attempted to banish those thoughts from my mind, but my brother's caution resurfaced like bitter medicine: "Don't put us in this situation!" His words lingered, haunting me. Standing before the mirror, I watched Chance getting dressed. In a hushed tone, I posed the question I dreaded hearing the answer to, "Would you kill for me?"

Without a moment's pause, without a hint of hesitation or inquiry about the circumstances, he responded, "In a heartbeat."

I drew in a deep breath before cautiously asking, "Anybody?" Sensing his presence behind me, I marveled at how swiftly he had moved. How did he manage to move so quickly? I pondered.

"Star," he uttered my name as if it pained him to remain composed. "I was raised on what I believed was love, only to realize it was a lie. A part of me was kept hidden, irretrievable. Meeting A'Rio restored a fragment of that lost part, but with my brother gone, not just gone but dead; that familial connection is severed. You entered my life and began to mend those broken pieces in my heart, bringing healing." He turned me to face him, guiding my hand to his chest. "If I were to lose you, if someone were to take you from me..." he trailed off, unable to voice the unbearable thought. "I would be left heartless. So yes, anyone could get it!"