Must Be Fate's Design

Chapter 21

Opera POV:

"Erik! Let him go!" I shouted, but of course he wasn't listening. Erik never listens to me, why would now be any different. He currently had his hands wrapped around his throat, any second longer and he could end Danny's life. Which of course, wouldn't be the worst thing in the world...but still.

I'd love Danny to be out of my life, but I would also love him to be in prison giving me checks every month for child support. But sometimes, like this time, I take note that he doesn't deserve to live with all the horrible things he's done. Though I'm not the one who should be playing judge, jury, and executioner. Quickly putting Andrew on the living room floor, I made my way over to Erik and jumped on his back, pulling at him and hitting him. I wasn't very skilled at fighting or breaking up fights.

Erik must have been confused by my strange tactics and released Danny, then was careful to let me off of him gently. Breathing heavily, he looked at me with narrowed and confused eyes, "Opera?"

"You can't kill him." I said quickly. I looked over at Danny. He was sitting on the ground rubbing his throat and jaw, eyeing me carefully, "He's my problem. Not yours."

"I wasn't going to kill him." Erik said, surprising me. We've come to the conclusion that he wasn't the one to kill Caroline, after Danny had just admitted to doing the deed himself, but that doesn't mean that Erik wasn't a killer. He's killed before in the past, and after all Danny has done, I'm surprised that Erik stopped just now and didn't continue with his attempt to end his life.

I took a step back, "So attacking him was just for fun?"

"I will admit to releasing a bit of my anger, but you and I both know what should be done. You need to alert the authorities. Let them handle him."

I sighed, "That's probably the first idea you've had that wasn't absolutely stupid," I looked over at Danny who was still on the floor, "But sending him to prison won't make him pay for his crimes-"

"That's what the law is about, Opera. Allow them to make that choice, you shouldn't be the one to decide his fate." He took my hand and lowered his voice, "I know that the two of you had history and you must still have conflicting romantic feelings for him but what he did was inexcusable and unforgivable-"

"I do have an excuse-" Danny interrupted, "-my little Songbird wasn't getting the credit she needed." He winked at me, "I'm sure your new booty call here wouldn't do something this gallant-"

"Oh, shut up, Danny!" I snapped before Erik could.

"Songbird, before you shut me up for good, I really came over here so we could talk. Have a little, you know, heart to heart."

My narrowed eyes softened as I looked at him. Erik must have noticed my moment of weakness because he took a threatening and protective step forward, "No."

I looked between Danny and Erik, then sighed again, "Just a minute, Erik."

"Out of the question."

I lowered my voice, "Okay, one, it's not your decision and it's not for you to stop me. Second, it's just a talk. Then I can go and do the 'right' thing," I said as I made quotation marks, "and go and tell the police."

Erik shook his head, "You're being ridiculous-"

"No." I shook my head, "For the first time ever, I'm not."

His fists clenched, "I'm not letting you handle this alone-"

"Yes, he hurt Caroline...but this is about me. This is about Danny, and myself. Not about you." I came closer to him, lowering my voice so that it was just us two to hear, "I'll take a knife. Just as a precaution. We're only going to talk."