Two Worlds Collide

Chapter 3: The new girl

Chris POV

Present Day, Chicago

I was already hearing the yelling before I got down the stairs. It was my mom again. Always the same issue. She doesn’t get it. None of them do.

“I said I’m going to Liam’s. Don’t wait up.” I said to her in a rush, I wasn’t having it today. Needed to be out of here or I would go mad.

My mom stepped in front of the door, arms folded across her white coat. Her scrubs peeked out from beneath it, she had another shift… again, but she still had the energy to give me the lecture.

“Christopher, you’re not sixteen anymore,” she snapped. “This gang phase? It should’ve ended with high school, you’re a grown man now with responsibilities and future to think about. Think about your future honey.” She said, almost pleading with her eyes.

“It’s not a phase,” I muttered, grabbing my hoodie from the hook.

My dad appeared behind her, tie already knotted, looking like he was ready to walk into a shareholders’ meeting instead of a family fight.

“You have a future outside of that life,” he said coolly. “You’re smart. You are to take over the business, make something of yourself. What are you doing playing mafia prince with the Hunts?” He said with a tone of disgust and disappointment, like he always does when referring to the hunt as though they were beneath him . It always go to me. I didn’t want to hear any of it.

I clenched my jaw. “Liam’s my best friend.”

“You were neighbors. Childhood friends but that is it,” my mom hissed. “That doesn’t mean you follow him into hell.” Her tone carried more precision now.

She wasn’t wrong. We’d grown up next door, we were neighbors for the longest time. That’s how we met and became friends.

Our families were close up until the night they found out the hunts were a mafia family.

Me with my perfect backyard and golden retriever, Liam with bulletproof windows and bodyguards. I didn’t care. He was the only kid who didn’t treat me like I was made of glass. He threw punches, climbed rooftops, dared me to break rules. And I liked it.

I still do.

There was a gang clash. And liam and his mom got caught in the crossfire. He survived, she didn’t. I haven’t gotten over that night when it happened. The trauma still haunts me and my mom too, even thought she doesn’t speak of that nightmare. No one does. They were best of friends.

That night we were over at Liam’s place for dinner when the gunshots came rushing in. The sound was so loud, the shattering of glasses, the screaming , the c*****g of guns, the bullets. It was total chaos. I got seperated from Liam that night. I was so scared, I couldn’t protect him. That night meant a lot of things to the lot of us.

But to me it was to always protect my brother Liam, and stand by his side always. I am an only child and Liam is a brother to me. That’s why I joined the gang, to protect my brother, and I haven’t looked back since…

“I’m leaving, I’ll see you guys later.” I muttered and pushed past them.

Their silence behind me said everything.

By the time I got to the Hunts’ estate, I’d shoved the fight out of my mind.

The mansion sat at the edge of the city like a castle carved from shadow; sleek black gates, long stone driveway, high towers. Guards stood like statues, guns at their hips. Liam was already waiting in the foyer, hoodie half-zipped, coffee in hand.

His dad, Chase Hunt, paced near the office doors. His presence was like smoke; thick, slow, deadly. His hair was graying at the sides now, but nothing about him had softened.

Liam was walking towards me and he looked in a bit of a mood, looked like family drama.

We didn’t linger. We had a school to attend and a man to chase later.

In the car, Liam lit a cigarette. He only smoked on days when the weight got too heavy.

“You good?” I asked.

“No,” he said. “But let’s roll.”

At school, we linked up with the guys at the parking lot, Nic, Greg and Terrance . They looked half-asleep but perked up when Liam started talking.

“Rico’s in South Loop,” he said. “We move after class. Quiet in, quiet out. We can’t afford another mess-up.”

Everyone nodded. The message was clear: Chase doesn’t forgive twice.

They scattered. I headed toward the English Lit building.

But not before I caught Anna slamming Liam into a locker and dragging him into a corner. Her black hair spilled like ink down her back, her legs wrapped around him like wildfire. She kissed like she was trying to burn him alive.

I shook my head.

That girl was chaos in high heels.

Despite everything, English Lit was my favorite class.

Not that anyone knew.

It was the only place where I didn’t have to be a soldier or a son. Just a guy who liked words.

Today, the professor started with something light. A debate.

“Love versus logic,” he said, scribbling Othello on the whiteboard. “Which one rules the heart?”

I raised my hand. “Desdemona was naïve. She was in love with the idea of Othello, not the man himself.”

The professor nodded. “A fair point. Counter-arguments?”

And then… her voice.

Soft but confident. Smooth like whiskey.

“Or maybe she just loved him,period. Love doesn’t need a logic”. A female voice sneered back

I turned. And damn.

There she was.

Hair pulled back in loose waves, a silk dress clinging to curves she wasn’t hiding, legs crossed like a secret waiting to be unwrapped. Her eyes met mine, they were challenging. But there was heat there too.

I pushed back. “And that’s exactly how people die,” I said mockingly.

I Really didn’t believe in love. In my line of work my head needed to be straight. If I loved someone they would be weaponsized by my enemies, never safe, just used an instrument to hurt me. That’s no life to subject a family to.

She raised an eyebrow. “Or how they live. Desdemona was the only one in the story who actually stayed true to her heart. That’s not naïve,it’s brave.”

The air between us thickened. I could tell she was reading me, just like I was reading her.

I leaned forward slightly, I knew what I was doing, I wanted to tease her.

“Brave? Or simply stupid”. I says with a smirk. I had got her now.

Confidence was her shield. But I cracked it. A little.

She left in a rush right after, like I’d rattled something inside her. I wanted to follow, to ask her name, but the professor pulled me into a new quote analysis before I could move.

By the time class ended, I was itching to see her again.

But the mission came first.

I met Liam by the east entrance. His jaw was tight, fists clenched.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Terrance and Greg went early,” he growled. “Didn’t wait for us. Rico got away.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. And now we’ve got a mess to clean, and I have to explain it to my father.”

His eyes burned. I knew that look. Shame. Rage. Pressure.

“Let’s go fix it,” I said.

Because that’s what we did.

Fixed things.

Even if it killed us.