My Saving Grace

"Damn, one minute into the movie and you're already feasting your eyes on the main actor," Antonio remarked in a teasing tone.


"Huh?"

His voice brought me out of the dazed state I was in as I turned to look at him.

"What are you talking about?", I asked.

He chuckled, ruffling my hair.

"I'm just messing with you."

To his surprise, I grabbed the remote and paused the movie...right on Chase's grim face. Or at least, I assumed it was Chase.

The resemblance was so striking...

"What'd you do that for?" Antonio raised a brow.

"I-I have to get a drink of water real quick. My throat feels dry all of a sudden. You want any?"

"I'm good..." His voice was laced with skepticism, and I felt his wary gaze boring into my back as I stood up to go to the kitchen.

Pouring myself a glass of water, I casually asked, "Who's the actor? I don't think I've ever seen him in a movie before."

"That's because this movie is his Hollywood debut," I heard Antonio reply.

"And his name?", I prompted.

"Chase Lincoln."

I drew a sharp breath as my hands began to tremble, and the glass I was holding slipped right through my fingers, shattering into pieces on the floor. My mind was in a different world, so the sound was practically muted to me.

"Jesus!", I heard Antonio exclaim from the living room. Next thing I knew, he was standing in front of me with a bewildered expression on his face.

"Shit, Sophia, you look like you just saw a ghost," he spoke, firmly grabbing my shoulders.

"What the hell is going on?"

"I-I know the guy in the movie. Chase. Oh my god..."

I held on to Antonio's broad shoulders for support as my mind raced to figure out how on earth the Chase I just saw on TV was one and the same with the homeless Chase I'd met over five years ago.

"You know Chase Lincoln?"

I nodded emphatically.

"It was back in college. He was homeless at the time. God, he almost died that one morning after we...he's a movie star now?" I was smiling incredulously, which earned a weird, puzzled look from Antonio.

"Chase Lincoln was homeless?"

"I even told him his name sounded like a movie star's," I muttered to myself. "God, I can't believe this."

"Are you sure your Chase and this Chase are the same guy? How can a guy possibly go from homeless to Hollywood in five years?"

"Yes, they're the same!"

Antonio winced at my outburst, and I laughed quietly, giving his arm a squeeze.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to yell. I'm just so stunned by this revelation."

"Clearly."

"You see, when I first met Chase—"

"How about I clean up this mess for you first?", Antonio interrupted, gesturing to the pile of broken glass at our feet.

"Let me help you," I offered.

"I got it. Now, tell me about this Chase fellow."

I smiled.

"Ok. So, when I first met Chase, he was living in this abandoned building on the edge of campus near my residence hall. I never knew an actual human being inhabited it until he looked at me through the window one night while I was out with friends."

"Sounds like something out of a horror movie."

"It does, doesn't it? Anyway, I visited him throughout the week, and we became good friends.

He went through such awful things in his life, Antonio."

"Like what?", he asked as he bent to sweep the shards of glass into a dustpan.

"First of all, his father died when he was young then his mom got married to a terrible, abusive man named, Joseph. When he turned eighteen, he tried to leave home but didn't have a penny to his name because his mom gave all the money his dad had left for him to Joseph."

Unaware of the tear that had managed to escape and trickle down my cheek, I continued, remembering the words Chase had spoken to me as if it were yesterday.

"It was a low point in his life, and he even turned to drugs. But eventually, he put himself into rehab and got the treatment he needed."

By then, Antonio had finished cleaning up the glass and was leaning back against the counter next to me with his arms crossed in front of his chest. His features were tense as he got lost in his own thoughts.

"Why didn't he get a job or something to support himself after he left home? I'm not judging the guy, but there's always other options," he remarked moments later.

I sighed.

"I always thought that, too. But it's hard to make rational choices when your mental and emotional states are a wreck the way Chase's was. God, Antonio the things he endured in that household with his mother and Joseph..."

"I can somewhat relate," Antonio murmured.

"Your parents..."

I wrapped an arm around his waist, and he pulled me into his chest, holding me close to him.

"What else happened between you and Chase?", he asked.

"He got pneumonia one morning, and I brought him to the hospital. The doctor made him stay there overnight, but when I came to visit him the next day, he'd already left. It was as if our week together had been a mere hallucination," I whispered brokenly.

I wasn't going to tell Antonio about how I'd slept with Chase or the heartbreaking letter he'd written me. They were personal memories that I'd forever cherish and didn't want anyone else besides Alexa knowing.

I felt Antonio grow as still as a statue next to me, and slowly, I dragged my gaze upwards to look at his face. His mouth was pressed in a thin line as his eyes roamed over my features before settling on the wall behind me.

"You must've cared for the guy, I assume?"

I focused on a piece of lint on his T-shirt as I opened my mouth to reply.

"I did. He was different from other guys I'd met in college."

"I see."

"It's crazy, huh?"

"What is?" His gaze was back on mine.

"You hearing all of this from me."

"It's definitely unexpected, yes, but I wouldn't say crazy. I'm just more in awe of you than I already was before."

He brushed back a strand of hair covering my face with an adoring smile on his face then took my hand and led me back to the living room.

"If politicians could be as open-minded as you are, the world would be a much better place," Antonio quipped as we made ourselves comfortable on the couch.

"I just hate how most people are quick to judge, you know?"

He nodded his head.

I grabbed the remote to resume playing the movie and snuggled back into Antonio's chest as his arms wrapped around me from behind like a cocoon.

"Now that I think about it, I'm actually not too surprised that Chase became an actor," I voiced my inner thoughts out loud.

"Elaborate please."

"He told me he used to have several starring roles in school musicals."

"Well, there you have it."

With my eyes glued to the television, I noted everything I could about the Chase Lincoln I knew on the screen. He'd definitely gained weight over the years, and the fitted black suit he wore emphasized his muscular frame. His eyes were as blue as I remembered and still his most captivating feature.

Although I had a million questions racing through my head, like how on earth he'd landed a career in acting and where he'd gone after leaving the hospital, for the time being, I was simply grateful that he'd managed to turn his life around.

In just five years, he'd gone from being "some nobody," which I never approved of him calling himself, to a Hollywood star. I couldn't think of anyone else who deserved it more than Chase Lincoln did. If his father were still alive, he'd be so proud of him, just like I was.

I said a silent prayer of thanks to the Gods above for looking out for Chase all these years then turned my attention back to "Live or Die" as tears of joy and relief streamed down my face.

Notes