by Judy Corry
“I just—” But there was nothing I could say to take away her pain, so I simply said, “I’m sorry,” and let my hand drop from her arm, trying not to feel the sting of rejection.
Rejection coursed through me anyway.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
EMMA
THE NEXT FEW weeks inched by as I acclimated to a new life and a new home, and figured out my new online school. Philadelphia was much bigger than Maplebridge, so that was something I had to adjust to.
We moved into a three-bedroom condo in the center of the city. The master bedroom was on the main floor, which Jason and Sophie used. My bedroom was upstairs, across the hall from Arie’s room. There was only one bathroom upstairs, so I had to share that with Arie. It was awkward sharing the bathroom with a guy, especially one I’d had a crush on, but I had to make do. I didn’t know Jason and Sophie very well, so living with strangers was uncomfortable the whole way around.
I learned that Sophie was in charge of everything regarding my protection, and that Jason was like a supervisor for Arie. Apparently, Sophie had hired Jason shortly after my parents adopted me, and it had only taken a few months for them to fall in love and get married. They’d been watching me together ever since.
When we first arrived in Philadelphia, I’d found out the bracelet Arie had given me with my corsage doubled as a tracking device. So even though that night might not be one I wanted to remember for forever, I was stuck wearing a memento from it.
Along with the bracelet, Sophie insisted on some other precautions to change my appearance somewhat. I got my hair cut to where it sat just below my shoulders, and I added a lot of blonde highlights. I supposed I looked quite different from behind, but if anyone got a good look at my face, I would still be recognizable; it’s not like I could tack on a mustache or beard without drawing even more attention to myself.
As the weeks passed, I went through the motions of completing my schoolwork and keeping up with the basics, but I didn’t have the energy to do anything else. I missed my family and friends so much it hurt. My appetite was gone, and anything I did eat didn’t always stay down, thanks to my nerves. I usually studied all morning, took a nap in the afternoon, and then helped Sophie cook dinner before holing myself up in my room for the rest of the evening. Christmas was especially hard. Sophie tried to make it special, but without my family it almost didn’t even seem worth celebrating.
One thing I anticipated was having my cast taken off in a few weeks. I’d had a fiberglass cast put on a few days after arriving in our new town, and it was driving me nuts! They said it would be better than the old plaster casts, more waterproof and less itchy. But it was still super annoying and made normal things so much more difficult than they used to be. I guess it was good I went to online school now, because at least I could get away with wearing a ponytail every day and not worry about looking cute.
“You look like them, you know,” Sophie said to me as we made dinner one evening.
“Like who?” I asked as I chopped carrots for the salad.
“Adelle and Grayson.” Sophie covered a casserole dish with aluminum foil and placed it in the oven to bake. “You have Adelle’s dark hair and blue eyes, but your beautiful complexion and cheekbones come from Grayson.” Sophie smiled, her eyes looking off, lost in a memory. “Adelle would be so jealous.”
“What were they like?” I still missed my parents like crazy, but I couldn’t help wondering what it would have been like to grow up in another country with different parents.
“They were wonderful. Adelle and I had been friends since we were children. She was spunky and outgoing—always getting into some sort of mischief. And Grayson was the more serious type who liked order and for everything to be in its place—which I’ve noticed he seemed to have passed on to you.”
“Sounds like they were very different. Were they happy?”
“They balanced each other out well. They were so in love.” Sophie sighed and looked to the side. “I only wish you could have met them. Adelle would have been a great mother.”
I nodded. I’d finished making the salad, so I washed my hands and pulled some glasses out of the cupboard.
“Would you like to see a picture of them?” Sophie asked. “I have one if you’d like to see.”
My heart skipped a beat at the thought of actually seeing the people I’d come from. “Yes.”
Sophie disappeared down the hall and was back in less than a minute, holding out an old photograph.
I saw the mother and the father I would never know, captured in the photo as a young couple on the beach at sunset. They were so young and vibrant looking, only a few years older than I was now. Grayson, who seemed to be quite tall next to his short wife, had his arm around Adelle, his hand resting on her slightly rounded belly. All my life I’d wished I resembled my parents more, and I could finally see that I did. I looked like Grayson and Adelle.
“They looked so happy,” I said.
Sophie nodded. “This was taken about a month before Grayson died. They were so excited to be parents.” Her eyes glistened with moisture. “They were my best friends, such great people. I wish you could have met them.”
I felt a pang in my chest. “Me too.” Even though I loved my parents, I still somehow felt a loss at never meeting these people Sophie spoke so highly of. It was a strange sensation, missing someone you never met.
I wiped at my eye and held the photo out for Sophie to take back. But she shook her head and said, “No, you keep it. I have other copies of that at home.”
I pressed the picture to my chest. “Thank you.”
I looked at the photo a little longer before taking it upstairs and putting it in my journal for safekeeping.
Sophie was placing plates around the table when I returned. “Are you liking your online classes?” she asked.
I was happy for the subject change. School was a safe topic.
“They’re fine, but I miss being with my friends.” It was sad that we wouldn’t be graduating together. We’d been looking forward to that moment for years, and now that it was so close, it was heartbreaking that we wouldn’t be able to pass that milestone together.
She glanced at me. “I get that. But what about that nice girl next door? We checked everything out on her; she should be safe to hang out with.”
I shrugged. “Tenley is nice, but it’s not the same. Plus, it kind of seems pointless to make new friends since we could pick up and move at any time.” Tenley had invited Arie and me to hang out with her and her friends a few times. But we still hadn’t done anything with her yet, because I was an antisocial bum these days. Plus, it seemed like she only really wanted to hang out with Arie.
Sophie put a hand on my shoulder. “I know it’s hard adjusting to a new place, but things will get better. My men will find him soon.”
“I hope so.”
After dinner, I decided to stay at the table to do my homework instead of hiding in my room. Because of my hermitlike tendencies, I was an even better student than I’d been before. Thank you, Fenris, for getting me a better scholarship . . . Oh yeah, wait. I couldn’t go to Maplebridge University, now that I was in hiding.
I was in the middle of my chemistry assignment when Arie sat across the table from me with his laptop. I darted my eyes around the room to see whether Sophie or Jason were in clear view. I couldn’t see them, but I did hear the faint sound of the TV coming from the other room. Dang it. We were on our own. This hadn’t really happened since we’d moved here. Whenever we’d been left alone in the same room before, I’d quickly made an exit to my bedroom. But I couldn’t stand the idea of spending the rest of the night in my room again. I’d already been in there most of the day and was starting to go stir-crazy.
I peeked at him when his gaze was focused on his computer. What was he doing? Was he trying to intimidate me and send me back to my room?
I wasn’t about to let him win. I’d stay here all night if I had to. I wouldn’t even leave to take a bath
room break.
We worked silently across from each other for a while. His fingers clicked away on the keys, so he must have been working on something, not scrolling aimlessly through social media. I noticed him glance up at me a few times. Was he typing up something about me? For all I knew he could be typing up an exposé about his days following around a secretly rich girl and how she was so clueless that she had no idea she was being stalked at all. He probably had all sorts of juicy gossip. I’d spent the last few weeks wondering what all he’d seen when I hadn’t thought anyone was watching me.
I tried to ignore him, but the thought had already been planted, and I had to know.
“What are you working on?” I asked, hoping it came out casually disinterested.
He looked at me carefully, probably surprised I was speaking to him. When he did speak, his eyes were cautious. “I’m applying for a law-enforcement training program.”
What? “Why are you doing that?” I blurted out.
“My internship will be over next fall, and this is the next step,” he said, sounding matter of fact, like it was old news.
“Internship?” His job was only a year-long thing?
“You didn’t know my position was temporary?” He lowered the screen on his computer. “I’m trying to get into the law-enforcement program so I can eventually get into the Special Agent training program near Washington, DC. My end goal is to get into the Secret Service.”
My mouth fell open as the reality of him not following me around forever hit. I’d figured it would be me, Sophie, Jason, and Arie until the end of time. And for some reason, this new information bothered me. I might have been mad at him for lying to me for months, but that didn’t mean I wanted him to totally disappear from my life. The thought of never seeing him again in a few months made my throat close up.
“Isn’t being in the Secret Service dangerous?”
“Yes, of course, but then, so is protecting an heiress.”
He had a point there.
“Does your mom know what kind of dangerous career path you’ve chosen?”
He shook his head once. “Nope. She still thinks I’m doing an internship for a senator.”
I’d assumed as much after accidentally eavesdropping on his phone conversations with his mom. It’s not my fault that our shared bedroom wall was paper-thin. It sounded like she thought he was still in Utah right now. Which was probably hard for him, since Philadelphia wasn’t that far from New York. He could take a couple of days off and easily go home for a visit if he wanted, but I guess he was grown-up enough that he didn’t miss his family as much as I missed mine.
My heart ached for my family. A couple of days after we left, my mom had a scare. She was getting into her car after grocery shopping in their new town when a man tried to grab her. Luckily, she was carrying her pepper spray and was able to get away. While he was disabled, she jumped in her car, slamming her attacker’s hand in the car door when he tried to grab at her again.
When my parents talked to the police, they realized they were not as safe in Louisiana as they’d thought. It was obvious that Fenris had found them somehow, so my parents and siblings had all had to go to another safe house in Montana. I felt so guilty that their lives were so messed up now, all because of me.
“What are you thinking about?” Arie asked in a soft voice.
“I’m thinking about my family,” I answered, picking my pencil up from the table and doodling a flower in the margin of my notebook paper. “It’s hard being away from everyone.”
“I’m sure it is. Please remember you’re not alone in this.” He looked down, then back at me again. “I hope you know you’ll always have me for a friend.”
Yep. Sure. “Haven’t you just been doing your job all along?”
He flinched. “Yes, I have been doing my job, but our friendship was real. At least it was for me.”
“You honestly enjoyed hanging out with a bunch of high school kids who were so much younger than you?” I asked.
“I never thought I’d enjoy hanging out with you guys so much, but I did.”
“I’m glad. I’d hate to think you’d been miserable the whole time.”
“Far from it. If I had done my job better, instead of enjoying myself at that dance, I never would’ve been so careless, and you wouldn’t have this broken arm today.” He reached out and touched my arm.
Though I knew it was stupid and weak of me, I wished I could feel his hand through my cast. I missed having physical contact with anyone. My child development teacher had told us last fall about an article she’d read that said humans needed ten touches a day. Hugs, pats on back, handshakes, whatever—we thrive better when we feel connected to others.
And I was feeling starved for those ten touches these days. I didn’t have my mom or dad around to hug me, or Maya nudging me when she said something embarrassing, and I definitely didn’t have Arie cuddling with me anymore.
“Don’t blame yourself.” I stared at his hand that I couldn’t feel. “If it hadn’t been for you, I could’ve been dead.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
ARIE
“ARE you looking forward to Matt’s party tonight?” I asked Emma after breakfast one morning. The neighbor girl, Tenley, had come over yesterday to invite us to her friend Matt’s party. I was shocked when Emma said she wanted to go since she hadn’t been in the partying mood before.
The first few weeks after moving here, I’d sat with my back against the wall separating our bedrooms, listening to her cry for hours when she thought no one could hear. My heart broke each night for her, but I felt helpless. I wasn’t sure what she was comfortable doing with me now that she knew I was her bodyguard. I wanted to take her out and away from the condo but hadn’t been allowed to until Jason and Sophie trusted that things were safe here in Philadelphia. Finally they decided we were safe. It didn’t seem like Fenris had any clues to where we were hiding, so Emma was free to leave the condo as long as she had one of us with her.
Emma’s face lit up a little at my mention of the party. “It’ll be nice to act normal again and get out for a change.”
“It will. I know moving away from everything you’ve ever known with a bunch of strangers had to be tough.” I turned to finish loading the dishwasher with the breakfast dishes.
“I’d hardly call you a stranger, Arie.” She handed me her cereal bowl and then leaned against the counter beside me. She was cute in the mornings, wearing a fluffy pink bathrobe over her pajamas, her hair falling out of a braid. “But yes, I’ll be the first to admit that it wasn’t the way I’d planned for my life to pan out.”
“I wish things didn’t have to be this way for you.” I wiped my hands on a dishtowel. “I miss the days when you were this carefree girl I got to hang out with.”
She shrugged. “We still hang out all the time, but now I know you’re my bodyguard.”
I hated how she saw me as her bodyguard now, not her friend. Of course, I knew she thought of me as a friend as well, but our relationship wasn’t as effortless as it had been in Maplebridge. There was a strain that hadn’t been there before. The fact that I was sent to watch over her hung in the back of her mind. “Yes, but it isn’t the same. Now it’s as if you have the weight of the world on your shoulders.”
“Maybe not the whole world. It’s not like I’m carrying around a ton of bricks or anything.” Her shoulders hunched.
Did she feel that weighed down?
“I know I can’t take your circumstances away from you.” I cautiously placed my hands on her shoulders, touching her for the first time since moving. She startled. “But I’m here to help you out in any way I can.”
“Thanks.” She stepped to the side as if to leave, forcing me to drop my hands. A surge of rejection pulsed through me. She still couldn’t stand my touch.
Instead of leaving, she looked at me thoughtfully. “Do you think you could teach me some self-defense skills? I mean, if I have people trying to kill me, I should probably be m
ore prepared to protect myself.”
“Of course. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before. When should we start?”
“How about today? I need to shower first, but after that, I’m free until the party.”
“Sounds good. I’ll be ready whenever.”
CHAPTER FORTY
EMMA
I WENT downstairs to meet Arie in the living room. He had pushed the furniture to the sides of the room, making space for us to move around on the plush carpet.
“Are you ready to go?” He stood and walked over to me, all professional. This was Arie in work mode.
“I guess so.” I pulled my hair up in a ponytail.
“Great. First, I want to teach you about the target areas you should go for if someone were to attack you.” He clasped his hands in front of him. “It’s normal to assume a smaller person couldn’t get away from a bigger attacker, but that’s not always true. There are soft targets on everyone’s bodies, and if you were to attack those targets, you could cause enough pain to get away.”
I nodded, listening.
“Those places are eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.” Arie gestured to each spot as he spoke. “Neck, groin, fingers, and toes.” He rested his hands on his hips. “Can you repeat that?”
I nodded and repeated what he’d said.
“Very good,” he said. “To attack the eyes, you can use the thumb gouge.” He placed his hands on the sides of my head, his thumbs in front of my eyes. “Like this, except you’d dig in with your thumbs. You could also use the spear-hand.” He straightened his hand and pointed the tips of his fingers straight at my eyes. “Or the leopard’s fist punch.” He pointed the ridge of his knuckles right at my eyes. “Remember, accuracy is critical. You need to get the right spot.” He stepped back from me. “Okay, now you try it on me.”
“Okay.” I straightened up a little. “So first there is the thumb gouge. Is that right?”