TWO MONTHS EARLIER:
ATHENA
"What is wrong with you?!"
I stood across my bedroom, glaring at my no good boyfriend as he turned my phone off and placed it on my dresser. I felt my eyes heating up but blinked back the tears because God knows why I kept crying whenever I was angry.
"Nothing" he said blankly, pulling his shirt on and doing the buttons.
"Nothing? You just went through all my contacts and for what? Why do you always doubt me?" I shouted.
He sat on the bed, dismissing my feelings as he always did. I leaned on the windowsill, staring hopelessly out at the city ahead of me.
I felt him come up behind me, the hairs on my skin rising as he placed a hand on the small of my back.
"Athena, I don't doubt you" he said "I never have, it's just to keep you in line, to make sure your eyes are still on me, daring"
I shook my head, turning to face him. He gave me a small smile but his basic blonde hair and green eyes had never worked on me the way they worked on all the other girls who were in love with him.
"Keep me in line?" I repeated "what kind of relationship is this, Joey?"
"Oh shut up" he yawned, waving a hand at me "you always use that fucking word when we both know there's no love here. This whole 'situation' is for the media, get that in your fucking head"
"So then leave!" I yelled. But within seconds, his hand was wrapped around my throat and had me backed up against the wall. I let my eyes bore into his as a small vein began to show through his skin.
"Don't you ever fucking yell at me like that again"
His voice was low and calm which made him all the more dangerous when his voice was raised like this. I nodded my head slowly, unable to form a normal sentence because of how badly my bottom lip was trembling.
"Good girl" he said, letting go of me and walking out of the room. I let out a heavy sigh when the door closed and rubbed my eyes with the palms of my hands. I hated this life more than anything else.
"Become an actor, they said" I picked up my hairbrush from my dresser "make movies and go to Hollywood, they said. It'll be fun, they said"
I threw the brush at my vanity mirror, letting it smash into pieces and scatter on the ground.
Just like my hopes of having a normal life.
MATTIA
"Mamma, I'm leaving!"
"Wait!"
I heard footsteps running downstairs as I threw my tuxedo jacket over my shoulders. It was strange having a job where a tux was my regular uniform.
"Here, you forgot your chain" she said, placing it in my hand with a small smile.
"Thanks, Ma" I said, giving her a hug and a kiss on the head before leaving the house. I laughed to myself quietly as I started my car, she was standing in the living room window, waving at me as I set off for my first day of work.
It was going to be a new experiment having to work for a celebrity but I knew what I was signing up for.
So did Mom. She'd always been by my side from day one. It was always me & her. My dad had left us when I was just a child, I never needed him and I never would need him. He was dead to me.
-
"You're the new bodyguard?"
I nodded at the valet guy, handing him the keys to my small car. He chucked lightly, taking the keys in his hand and shaking his head. I furrowed my brows at him in confusion.
"Firstly" he tapped the roof of my car "you wont be needing this much longer". I watched him place the keys in a small box before he looked back at me.
"Miss Davidson will give you an introduction, she's on the 4th door on the right"
I nodded slowly, taking in the huge mansion as I made my way inside. I straightened my tie before knocking on the door I was instructed to go to.
"Come in"
I opened the door, taken slightly aback by how large the room was. The marble floors complimented the tall ceilings which had stained glass designs on them. This one room was probably the same size as my house. I was so busy looking around the room that I didn't even notice the lady staring at me.
"Oh shit, I mean hi" I stuttered, feeling my cheeks heat up as she started laughing. I felt butterflies swarm my stomach, her laugh was as pretty as her.
"Hello, Mattia" she said, standing up whilst I walked over to her. I held out my hand for her to shake but she looked at it, raising an eyebrow.
She held my hand, pulling me in for a hug. My body tensed up as she wrapped her arms around my neck. Before it got awkward I placed my arms around her, embracing her back.
If happiness was a scent, she was wearing it.
"You're going to be by my side for the foreseeable future" she explained "so I thought we should get to know each other now"
She took a seat in the white armchair, crossing one leg over the other as she gestured to the chair behind me. A black armchair, same design, different colour.
I took a seat, relaxing my nerves by placing my hands on the arms of the chair, palms down. She smiled at me, it was a reassuring smile, instantly calming my nerves.
"What do you want to know, Ma'am?" I asked. But she cringed, causing me to re evaluate my sentence.
"Don't call me that, it's Athena to you"
"But you're my boss-"
"Wrong" she interrupted "you're my friend now. So be a good one and call me by my name". I loved the way she spoke so confidently, like she knew what she wanted. I nodded, agreeing to her first demand.
"So, what did you want to know?" I asked. She took a deep breath, relaxing back into her seat. She kept her eyes on me, raising her index finger to her lip.
"Take me back to the start"
