UNTIL THE STARS ALIGN
Chapter 14 — CONSELATION IN SHADOWS
The Fenton house had grown quieter in the days since the funeral.
Not peaceful — never that — but quiet in the way heavy grief often was, pressing down on every corner of the home until even the air felt still.
Luka had made himself a constant in that silence.
He helped wherever he could — cleaning dishes, carrying groceries in for Mrs. Fenton, repairing the loose fence panel in the backyard. It wasn't out of obligation. It wasn't because anyone asked. It was simply because he couldn't imagine not being there.
For Aria. For her mother.
Even now, a week after the funeral, Luka sat on the edge of the living room couch, a mug of untouched tea cooling in his hands. Across the room, Aria stood by the window, her silhouette bathed in the pale glow of a fading sunset. She hadn't spoken in hours, not really — not since they came back from the cemetery earlier that morning.
He wanted to say something, anything, but the words felt too small for the moment. So instead, Luka simply said, softly, "I'm here, Aria."
That got her to turn, just slightly, her eyes tired and red-rimmed but filled with a gratitude so deep it almost hurt to see.
"You don't have to keep doing this," she whispered, her voice hoarse from days of crying.
"I know," Luka replied, his tone steady despite the heaviness pressing on his chest. "But I want to."
For a long moment, silence filled the room again. Then Aria crossed the space between them, hesitating for just a fraction of a second before sitting beside him. Their shoulders brushed lightly, and Luka felt the faint tremor of her hand against her thigh — a small, almost imperceptible quake.
"You've been incredible," she murmured, barely louder than a breath. "For my mom. For me."
Luka swallowed hard, meeting her gaze without flinching. "I don't want thanks. I just want you to know that you're not alone in this. That you'll never be alone in this. Not as long as I'm here."
Her lips trembled as she looked at him, and for a brief, fleeting moment, Luka wished — selfishly — that he could take every ounce of her pain and bear it himself.
---
A week later, Luka suggested they take a break.
"Just you and me," he said gently. "Even if it's just for a few hours. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere that isn't… here."
At first, Aria hesitated, her grief heavy and unmoving. But when she saw the quiet earnestness in his gaze — the silent plea for her to breathe, even just a little — she finally nodded.
---
The outing wasn't grand. Luka didn't want grand.
They went to the small hill overlooking the city, the same one they'd discovered weeks before everything had changed. The air smelled of wildflowers and summer grass, the city below alive but distant.
For the first time in days, Aria smiled — a real, fragile thing — as she sat on the grass beside him.
"This place…" she said softly, hugging her knees to her chest. "It feels different now."
"Different good or different bad?" Luka asked gently.
Her smile faltered, but only a little. "Both. It reminds me that even when everything feels like it's falling apart… there are still places that feel safe. That you feel safe."
Luka's chest tightened. He leaned back on his elbows, watching a cloud drift lazily across the sky.
"You are safe with me, Aria," he said finally, his voice quiet but steady. "I don't care what happens, or who tries to hurt you. As long as I'm breathing, you'll have me by your side. Always."
She turned her gaze toward him, her expression softening, eyes glistening in the amber light of sunset.
And in that moment, Luka wanted to say it. All of it. That he loved her. That he wanted to spend every lifetime protecting her. That he wanted to marry her someday and grow old with her, if the world allowed it.
But before the words could leave his lips, his phone buzzed.
He frowned, fishing it from his pocket. One new message. No contact name. Just an unknown number.
> Unknown: She deserves to know. Her father didn't just die. He was taken. And you're next if you don't back off.
Luka froze, the words searing into his mind.
Slowly, almost mechanically, he turned his gaze toward Aria, her smile still soft, still unguarded, her attention fixed on the horizon.
And in that quiet, golden moment, a sharp, unrelenting fear took root in Luka's chest.
TO BE CONTINUED...