With Hiro still echoing in her mind and her thoughts racing, Angela struggled to calm herself. Her chest tightened, her fingers trembled but then she felt a warm hand slide over hers.
Taros.
His touch was gentle, grounding her in the chaos. "Hiro won't hurt you. I'm here," he whispered, his voice calm and steady like the eye of a storm.
Angela tried to stay calm, but her body didn't listen. Her head was full of the memory of yesterday's game, the way Hiro cornered her this morning, how he spoke with that quiet warning. He was digging, threatening to uncover something she wasn't ready to face. Her connection to Kaito. Her secret. Her fear.
And it felt like he wasn't going to stop until he tore her apart.
"Hiro, man—stop it! You're scaring the boy," Taros suddenly snapped, rising to his feet with tension in his voice.
Hiro only gave a lazy wave and that sly smile before walking away, leaving behind a silence that seemed to breathe relief into the air.
