"So, what do you want to watch?"  Veronica's silvery voice spoke in my ear.

"I dunno. You pick." I admitted.

Out of all the things she could have chosen on Netflix, she chose 13 Reasons Why. We watched the second to last episode and (Spoiler Alert) when Clay punched Bryce, Veronica gasped and then looked at me.

"You remember when you did that for me?" She asked me, gazing into my eyes.

----------------------------

It was a cold December night after my father died.

I saw a blonde haired girl walking alone near shattered glass bottles- with people behind her, chanting for her to do it. 

"Do it, or we'll make you do things that people like you shouldn't do-"

"LEAVE HER ALONE!"

The voice rang from deep within my soul. I couldn't just sit there and watch another person being forced to do the impossible. They wanted her to walk barefoot down an alley of shattered glass. She had a torn dress, make up stains on her eyes, and  everything about her screamed, "Help me!"

"What will you do to us if we don't?"

That question took me time to process, but I responded.

"If you don't stop trying to make her walk across this glass barefoot, then I'll kill you!"  I shouted.

The guys behind her laughed. "I'll tell you what. If you take her place, we'll leave her alone. Besides," he smugly stated, "you wouldn't want to mess with a Congressman's son."

"I don't give a care what you are. I'll take that chance. Hold on, miss, I'm coming!"

My combat boots were off, and I painstakingly walked all the way to them. My feet were baptized in the blood, and I felt like I was losing a lot of it. I counted the steps, and step by step I made it to her.

"Well, the weakling finally made it to us." The Congressman's son stated, and then punched me square in the face. 

I staggered back on my bloody feet and then readied myself again. I roundhouse kicked him with my foot in the nose, smearing a mixture of mine and his all over his face. He fell over and didn't get up.

"I advise you others to get out of here before I come after you next." I mumbled, and gave them a deadeye.

They shook and then got in a stance.

"We can take you!"

"Yeah, let's get him!" 

The two arrogantly charged in, and with my adrenaline rushing, I dodged one guy and grabbed the back of his head and drove it into the ground. The other guy, I threw him into a wall. They all lay there.

The girl with the blonde hair stared at me. "Why did you do all of this for me?"

I sighed and then the pain in my feet hit me. "Take my boots, and my coat" I gasped, and sat on the ground, tearing my shirt and bandaging my feet.

"No way. You're going to bleed to death at this rate." She expressed.

"What's your name? Where's your car?" I asked, struggling to fold the bandages tightly around my feet.

"I'm Veronica Maximus, and my car AND my chauffer are waiting for me at the end of the street. They didn't know this was going on. I'll run and get them for you."

I half-expected her to leave me there to die. I deserved it. Three men hurt because I wanted to be a hero? 

As I sat there deadlocked in my regret, she and a man came and got me. The man carried me to a  car, where she cradled my head in her arms until we got to the hospital.

"Gray. Inform my father that I'm staying with this man until he gets better."

"But, Miss Maximus! He can't be more than 16!"

"I don't care how old he is, he saved my life and my innocence. I want to help take care of him, as any lady of the Maximus household should do to their lovers."

I blacked out shortly after Veronica finished that sentence.

----------------------

"You said that we were lovers that night, right?"

"Yes, but after that, I became your boss because of your training. Gray taught you how to shoot, and shoot good. My father, before the Weston family murdered him, got you a driver's license. I've been taking care of you all these years because of that night in the alleyway."

She inched closer to my face, gridlocking my eyes in her deep blue oceans.

"I wanted out of the game because I was sick of killing people, even if they deserved it. Yes, they raped, murdered, stole, lied, did bad things to children, but couldn't have the law enforcement branches done-"

She ended my sentence by kissing me deep on the lips. It coursed fire through my veins, and she backed away for a second.

"I didn't just come here to make sure you were okay, alright? Congressman Weston has put a bounty out on your head, and his family runs New York City. He has a hand in every pot of this food market. I heard from a contact that an assassin well known for blending into crowds has taken your contract. I wanted to stay with you so that if you die, I would have this as a memory to cherish you."

As she ended that sentence, she started to cry. I wrapped my arms around her and held her as tight as I could,  minding the stitches I had. In the background, Clay and Bryce had shared a drink and Bryce admitted to doing what Clay had accused him of doing.

"Who draws the line between good and evil?" Veronica whispered softly in my ear. "Is it corrupt politicians? Is it the Bible? Or is it the judgement of the only good people in this world?"

Having been rooted in the faith, I responded. "The Bible has a saying: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. I stopped killing people because I made a promise to my dad that I would find God. But, right now... Right now I am lost. I am torn. I want revenge on the men who killed my family. Who killed your father. Who have terrorized this city for far too long."

"If you have had enough, then come out of hiding. Start making things right. Draw the line in the sand. The Bible, if I'm not mistaken, says to do unto others as they have done to you, so start righting the wrongs that evil men have put in your life. Become Gideon, the warrior, not Gideon the afraid." She stated, determined.

I weighed my options. On one hand, I could be the judgement of God, and on the other, I could sit and watch the world burn and stay indifferent.

"Fine. I'll do it." I stated after a long period of silence.

Veronica's face still leaked tears.

"I love you, Gideon, my Glasswalker. I'm so sorry you did that for me long ago, and scarred up your feet. "

I cupped her face and kissed her forehead. 

"Y'know, I'm fine with being lovers now. Just let's-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know what you're saying. I'm letting you know, after the first semester of college is over, I'm marrying you, so yeah. You're proposing to me at the Bronx Coffeehouse after we go and get your stitches removed."

"You know, you move fast, and it's kind of fun." I said, really surprised by the straight-forwardness of the conversation.

"When I love someone, I am all in. I want you to start seeing that way-"

"I already have. After I accepted Christ, and got into the Bible, I started to see how love was important. That's why I really haven't dated anyone until now. You checking up on me and making sure I was okay was what really drove me home." I admitted.

"Not only do I care about you," she said, "but my estate is so big, and it gets lonely without a family. I want you in as soon as possible, because the loneliness eats me alive."

I gazed at her, feeling the same way. "Veronica, you will never have to be alone again."

She held me tight, and we both cradled each other as we fell asleep.