Chapter 4 : Fear Changes Sides
The police arrived because the street called them first, not Marcus.
Too many voices at once. Too many calls claiming a child was “attacking” a disabled man. Too many videos already uploading.
Two officers pushed through the crowd, hands hovering near their belts. Not aggressive — cautious. The way you are when you don’t know who the danger is.
Marcus was still in his chair, breathing hard, face pale.
The boy stood a step away, calm in the storm he’d triggered.
One officer crouched slightly to meet the boy at eye level.
“Hey,” he said carefully. “What’s your name?”
The boy hesitated.
Names leave trails.
“No,” Marcus said suddenly.
The single word snapped the patio into another kind of silence.
The officer turned. “Sir?”
“He stays with me,” Marcus repeated, hoarse.
“You’re protecting him?” the officer asked, skeptical now.
Marcus swallowed. His gaze flicked around the crowd.
Everyone looked different when you realized they’d been laughing at the wrong person.
“No,” Marcus said, and something in his face tightened. “I’m afraid of losing him.”
“Losing him?” the second officer echoed.
Marcus nodded once, barely.
“Because if he leaves,” Marcus said, voice low, “the people who made this happen will make sure he disappears again.”
The officer’s jaw set.
“You’re saying someone’s after this kid?”
May you like
Marcus looked at the boy, then away.
“I’m saying,” he whispered, “I just stood up in front of fifty cameras… and it felt like stepping on someone’s neck.”
