Chance Taken

I promise him I will and hang up.

Veronica is standing at the doorway of her bedroom, back-lit, her long wet hair glimmering in the light shining behind her. She’s wearing her usual—yoga pants and an oversized crop top sweatshirt, all black—her wet hair is pulled back into a bun at the top of her head and she looks like she’s ready to tackle anything. Except her eyes. Her eyes are always so sad and lost when she’s not angry. She’s not angry right now.

“Let’s go,” I tell her.

“Where?” she asks, and takes a few steps towards me, the rubber soles of her sneakers squeaking against the floor. I meet her at the end of the short hallway that leads from her bedroom to the living room and kitchen.

“I’m taking you to spend the night with your sister and I’ll keep watch and make sure no one comes for her,” I say. “Or you.”

“And after?” she asks. “One night of keeping watch won’t be enough.”

She’s not wrong. But I don’t have an answer I can give her right now.

“You won’t have to worry much longer,” I say anyway, despite the fact that I shouldn’t.

She stalks the rest of the way towards me and points her finger at my chest, but thankfully stops short of actually poking me with it. “How do you know? What does that even mean?”

At least her eyes aren’t sad anymore. They’re like the night sky over the ocean with a storm approaching. One of my favorite sights in the world.

“No more questions, Veronica,” I say and step aside so she can walk past me to the door. “We gotta go.”

Surprisingly enough, she caves right away, her eyes sad again as she walks to the front door.

But I’ll worry about that saddens in her eyes later. First, I have to make sure we’ll get the time for me to do that.