Chapter 13
"So, after introducing ourselves to our newest member, I only hope that we become good friends," Chase spoke in his small dinner speech. My eyes adverted away from him and look down on my untouched food. Usually, I would be impatient to touch this, but I lost my appetite.
Thank you, Red and Niall.
I took a glimpse at the red-haired girl that was paying full attention to Niall. She hasn't spoken a word to me unless you count death glares and click of tongues as conversation starters. I knew from just all those gestures that I was stepping into an unwanted battle with her. It was like high school all over again when I was dating my ex-boyfriend, Hunter, the quarterback of the football team. Girls were envious of me...if only they knew how much of a dickhead, he was after all.
"Is there a reason why Red is glaring at you?" Harry whispers to my ear. He then looks down at my plate and raises an eyebrow. "Don't tell me that she's the reason why you're not eating your food."
"Those two were making out in front of my door," I mumble. My hand clenches into a fist at the image that runs through my mind again. Harry's nose scrunches in disgust and leans back to his seat.
"Those two. They're known to cause trouble in the organization," a small voice spoke beside me. I look at my side and connected eyes with bright blue eyes. They belonged to Katherine's, a girl that belonged to Chase's team. She then smiles at me with a soft expression. "So please excuse Red for any damage that she might cause in the future for you."
"Is that so..."
I don't know how to feel about the situation. If I do something that Red doesn't like, then it can be a possibility that she can kill me. Dam, I can barely throw a punch. I sigh at my sudden despair and lean back on my chair.
An hour later passed, dinner was now over, and everyone engages in their conversations. Harry and Louis stood by my side with whiskey in their glass. Sadly, I was still eighteen and couldn't participate in their drinking party. They offered, but I refused since other members were present, and I didn't want to look bad in front of them.
"You look so beautiful, Bridget," Louis compliments me. "But that necklace, where did you get it?"
"As I recall, we didn't pack any jewelry," Harry joins. His warm fingers touch my necklace, and I felt my cheeks turning pinker than my blush. He notices my expression and drops the necklace back down. "Sorry."
"The pendant, what is it?" Louis asks.
"The North Star," a voice speaks behind me. By instinct, I moved away from the speaker and leaned close to Harry. The green-eyes boy eyes me carefully with pink cheeks appearing on his face. A chuckle then escapes from Chase, and he smiles. "Sorry, did I scare you?"
"I didn't felt your presence," I mumbled. My guard around him was still high up, and I didn't felt like it would go away smoothly. Chase senses this and looks at my necklace.
"It's pretty. Do you know what the North Star symbolizes?"
"Freedom and guidance," I answered. Chase's eyes glisten at my answer and nod.
"You're quite educated then," he responds. Was he assuming that I was dumb before? No, I'm probably overthinking it again. "Bridget, do you want to go for a walk outside?"
"A walk? Don't you think that it's a bit too dark outside for that?"
"Bridget, don't be so hard on Chase. He's just trying to be nice," Louis butts into over conversation. He pats lightly on my bare back and smiles. "Go ahead and take a walk with our division leader."
"Thank you, Louis."
Yes, thank you, Louis.
Because of this intervention, I had no other choice but walked with Chase outside. We were in the garden a few meters away from the mansion and walking in complete silence. I look up at the moon but was disappointed to see that it was hidden behind the clouds. Chase follows my gaze and smiles.
"You're a fan of the moon?"
"Somewhat. My mother and I would always be looking out for it back then," I responded. Memories of my camping trips outside of my yard with my mother resurfaced. They were always held during the full moon too. I smiled at the old memory and walked a bit further. "But maybe it's a bit childish to hold memories within the moon."
"No, I think it's beautiful that you still cherish such memories of your mother," Chase responds. "Besides, she was an amazing woman when she was alive."
"Yeah," I nodded. But lately, I found myself wondering what kind of person was my mother. She held so many secrets up to now.
"Bridget, I'm indebted to your mother."
"Huh?" I stopped in my tracks and turned around to face Chase. He folds up his sleeves and shows his burnt mark from earlier. "Ten years ago, your mother saved me from Mr. X."
"Wait what?"
"I was seventeen and barely joined National Crime Fighters. At that time, I was trusted for a mission to find out some robberies that happened around the city, but a group quickly caught me. They torture me as a way to get information out of my team, and I wouldn't budge. So they were going to kill me, but oddly enough, I met a woman that was undercover at the time," Chase explains. He held a bittersweet smile. "That woman was your mother, and she saved me from being killed. After that, I never had the chance to thank her for doing so."
I stood silent, trying to take in all the information. Chase pulls down his sleeve and looks at my pale expression. I tried to smile it off and proceed to walk, but my knees turned weak, and I stumbled forward. Two strong arms wrapped themselves on my waist and held me up against their chest.
"I'm sorry. Maybe I said too much."
"It's okay," I mumbled. My hands unknowingly gripped on Chase's dress shirt as I felt uneasy. My mother... did she knew Mr. X's identity before passing away? But why didn't she share it with anyone else? It would be easier to catch him if we knew.
"I have one more thing to say," Chase spoke. He slightly pulls me away and looks directly into my eyes. "I want you to join my team."
"Your team?"
"I can protect you," Chase explains. His grip on my shoulder tightens, and I was taken back. "It'll be my way to pay back your mother."
"No," I replied immediately. I pulled away from him and smiled. "I have a promise to keep."
"A promise?" Chase questions. My thought goes back to a certain blue-eyed boy and a promise that I must hold. I'm determined to keep it, no matter what happens in the future.
"Yeah. And I need to stay here."
"You sure are interesting," Chase sighs. He then grabs my hand and leans down towards my face. My eyes widen when I felt a soft pair of lips on my cheek. Chase quickly pulls away and smiles. "But I want to know more about you now."
I didn't say anything and nodded at his declaration. The uneasy feeling about him still hasn't faded away. So did the feeling that someone was watching us.