She's late.
I have to be somewhere in half an hour, and she's late.
I'm almost 100% she knows exactly what time she needs to be here. Oren said he told her. Well, he never said that but I assumed he did. He's resourceful like that.
His sister, though, clearly is not. How could you possibly be late to your first day? I don't even know this girl, but at least I know she's nothing like me.
I would absolutely never be late, no matter if it's the first day or not. Especially if I was working for the Hawthorne family. So many people would kill to be in her position. 'The bodyguard of the Hawthorne heir apparent'. Even though I don't need a bodyguard.
My grandfather insists on me having one. "You need to stay safe, Grayson, what happens if you get hurt? Who will inherit the fortune?" He said to me. And, of course, he's right. But I can still protect myself. I don't need some girl to protect me. It's humiliating.
'The Hawthorne heir apparent, protected by a girl.' Not a good headline. If she's anything like her brother, though, I won't be complaining too much.
Oren has worked for my grandfather for years now. I've known him since I was a kid. He's serious about his job, doesn't let anyone get hurt on his watch, always makes sure he knows where everyone is, the normal stuff. But if his sister is late to her first day, I shouldn't get my hopes up too much.
I check my watch. 28 minutes. She needs to get here soon. I have to get to the foundation to upload the pictures I took yesterday. I cannot be late. I'm never late. If she's the reason for the first time I'm late, I won't be too happy.
Another reason why I do not need a bodyguard, she'll just slow me down. Xander says I should try and see the 'bright side' of this situation. Like there even is one. This is the worst possible thing that could happen to me. There is no 'bright side'.
Besides, does she even deserve a chance? Should I be optimistic about this, if she's late for her first day? No. I should not be optimistic at all. In fact, I am going to be the most pessimistic person ever. Maybe that will give her a reason to quit. Oren probably wouldn't let her quit, though, but I could try.
Actually, no, that's a stupid idea. Just suck it up and deal with your stupid bodyguard, Grayson.
I check my watch again. 27 minutes. Time is moving awfully slow today. Time never moves this slow. It's always fast, minutes fly by in the blink of an eye.
But it's not like that today. I wonder why.
There's a knock at the door.
Finally.
I stand up from my spot on the stairs and walk towards the front door. Normally, a person would hesitate before opening the door to someone who they haven't met yet, but will have to spend a lot of time with. But I don't hesitate.
I open up the door, and there she is. My bodyguard.
She has dark brown hair, not too long but not too short either. It's a bit curly, as if it was just taken out of a braid or something similar. She's shorter than me, but not by a lot. I'm six foot, she looks about five foot seven, eight maybe. Her eyes are round, but her glare is sharp. Seems like she could cut glass with that look. They're a dark brown, but a little lighter around the edges. Almost like a solar eclipse.
She's wearing black jeans, not straight jeans, they're a little flared at the bottom. She also has a black leather jacket on, with a black t-shirt under.
I don't really know what to say, I mean, I'm gonna have to be with this girl for a long time. What am I supposed to say?
"So you like black?" Is the first thing that comes out of my mouth. Stupid thing to say, Grayson, so stupid.
She smiles, though. "Sorry I was late, my brother forgot to tell me what time I had to show up."
"It's fine, don't worry," I smile too, I never smile. It's almost as if smiling is actually contagious. "I do have to get to the foundation right now, it won't take too long."
"Alright, we can go now if you want?" She gestures to the black SUV parked a few feet away from Hawthorne House. I assume that's the car I'll have to use from now on. I also assume im not gonna be able to drive myself anywhere anymore.
"Yeah, that would be ideal." I nod.
She turns and starts walking towards the car. I follow her, closing the front door behind me. She opens the back door for me, as if I'm some kind of princess. I get in the car, though, she's just doing her job.
Once I'm in the car, she gets in the front seat and starts the car. There's a little window between the back seat and front seat, probably for privacy. So I lean back in my seat and try to relax. Hard to relax when you're in a strangers car, but she's not really a stranger, I guess. I know her brother, but I don't know her. Is she anything like Oren? What even is her name?
Then I remember, I don't relax. I never relax, because I'm a Hawthorne. Not just any Hawthorne. I'm the heir apparent. So I do not, under any circumstance, relax.
I lean forward in my seat and knock on the window. She glances at me and rolls the window down.
"What's your name?" I asked. Stupid question, but I should know her name.
"Taylor." She replies simply. She doesn't say anything else, just her name.
So she's straightforward, from what I can tell. Doesn't like to beat around the bush, just gets straight to the point. Good, I was never one for small talk anyway.
"Grayson." I say in response, unsure of what else to say. Stupid thing to say, she obviously knows my name, it's her whole job.
"I know." She stated. Another example of straightforwardness.
I sit back in my chair, deciding conversation is just useless right now. I'll get to the foundation, upload my pictures and then we can go home. Will she be coming back to Hawthorne House with me? Probably, Oren lives there too.
I'll probably have to talk to her a bit more, I think that's what people do with there bodyguards. Or maybe not. I actually have no idea what people do with there bodyguards. I'll figure it out, I always do.
༻✧༺
We get home an hour later. All I did at the foundation was upload some pictures and leave, so it wasn't gonna take too much time.
Taylor left a few minutes ago. "John said he was gonna show me my room." She said. It's odd that she calls him John, though of course she would. Her last name is also Oren, so why would she call him Oren?
I stand up from my spot on my bed, where I've been for the past twenty minutes. I need to find a way to adjust to this whole bodyguard situation.
I walk over to the bathroom and turn on the shower. I turn the knob to cold. I hate warm showers. It's too comfortable, too relaxing, I need to stay sharp, not relax because of a shower.
When the water is a nice temperature, I take off my jacket, then my pants, then my shirt. My underwear and socks next, and then I walk into the shower.
Should I just try and be normal about this arrangement? My grandfather seems normal, almost at home, with bodyguards around him. Bodyguards, plural. So why can't I be normal about one? I'll get used to it, just need some time to adjust.
I close my eyes, feeling the water hit against me. Feeling it run down my face, down my chest, down my legs. Feeling how my wet hair sticks to the back of my neck. Feeling how fast my heart is beating, even though I have no idea why.
Everything's gonna be fine, Grayson, you'll handle it. You always do.
I open my eyes suddenly. Why am I even worried? This is one of the most normal things for someone with my status. They all have bodyguards, and they're fine about it. Just suck it up, and stop worrying. You don't even need to worry.
Suck it up, there's people out there with much worse problems. Problems more important than not knowing how to talk to your own bodyguard.
I take a sharp inhale of breath. I need to relax. But Grayson Hawthorne doesn't get to relax, so I turn the knob more towards cold. The water immediately turns freezing cold. The kind of temperature that would give someone hypothermia. But I need to suck it up.
I need to stop being soft. Need to stop worrying over stuff that don't need worries. Need to get over myself, and do my job. That job is being the heir apparent. And the heir apparent doesn't freak out over little things. In fact, the heir apparent doesn't freak out at all.
(I told u guys my chapters are short. This one's only like 1.6k words. I'll try and extend the chapter length in the future but I guess it's just the start of the story, so we'll see what happens🫠)