Shhh...I won't hurt you. A voice said into my ear as I trembled. The owner of the voice wasn't present, I was lying down on the ground in the darkness.
"No! Stop!" I yelled into the dark void. My voice carried out in to the distance until it faded away.
I said I won't hurt you, the voice said again. Who's talking to me?
I tried to get up, but I couldn't. It wasn't like I was paralysed, it was more like there was a weight on top of me that was keeping me down.
"Let me go!" I screamed, but again my voice seemed to travel everywhere around me until it faded away. How big was this place?
Then a dark shadow appeared. It was holding me down, straddled on top of me. Of course. I didn't understand how I hadn't seen it before. Now that I saw the shadow, the owner of the voice couldn't possibly be anything else.
I gasped when the shadow pressed its lips on mine, slowly, passionately.
I kicked and thrashed, feeling powerless and vulnerable.
I woke with a start, my entire body drenched in sweat. I looked around to find out that I was still at my house, safe in my room. I took a shaky breath and ran my hands down my face.
I glanced at the clock on my wall. It was 6:50. I had to wake up in ten minutes anyway, so I got out of the bed and walked to my shower.
I took a cold shower because I felt strangely hot and stuffy. The cold water splattered on me as I washed my hair with my coconut-smelling shampoo. I closed my eyes as the water fell onto my face, washing down the soap in my hair to my back, trailing down my legs.
Suddenly, I felt a presence behind me. I opened my eyes and twirled around, only to find nothing but the shower curtains. I hesitantly opened the shower curtains, to reveal my bathroom. I exhaled, shaking my head. I was being strangely wary.
I continued washing my hair and I closed my eyes once again, but then flashes of the dark shadow in my dream filled my mind. My heart beat quickened at the thought of not being able to do anything. I sobbed in fear, and my knees felt weak as I curled up in a ball right there in the shower, the water continuing to splash on me.
* * * * *
I got to school early, so with the extra time, I went to the office to ask to change my locker and replace my notebooks.
The woman at the office seemed understanding as she handed me my new locker number and a notebook I could use for today. I took out what wasn't torn up in my locker, and I put it in my new locker, which was thankfully at the edge of the locker room.
Just then Kyle walked up to the locker next to me and opened it. The locker was really organised, the books standing vertically next to each other, and he had a magnetic box attached to the side where he put in pens and pencils. I had never seen such an organised guy in my life.
He saw me staring into his locker, but didn't make any comment about it. Instead he said, "new locker?"
I nodded. "My previous locker...got..."
"I know. It got ransacked."
I didn't know why, but the thought that my locker getting "ransacked" seemed dramatic and ridiculous, and I found myself laughing softly.
"What's so funny?" Kyle asked, closing his locker.
"I don't know. This...entire situation." I said, waving my arms around me.
Kyle obviously knew about what was happening just as well as everyone else. If I wasn't getting bullied and having nightmares, I would have genuinely thought this was hilarious, because the entire student body being interested in what was happening to one student was completely idiotic. But with everything happening, it wasn't really a laughing matter.
"You're stronger than I thought." Kyle said. I was caught by surprise. I thought he would say something about the idiocy about this school, how the students were brainless morons, but he didn't.
"Does that mean you thought I was weak?" I asked playfully, crossing my arm over my chest.
Kyle surprised me again by grinning. "Maybe."
I watched him walk off. I really didn't understand a single thing about the guy who was Kyle Foust.
The day went much better than the day before. The original outburst of gossip had quieted, and there were no more people coming up to me to run their mouths. I hoped everything would stop soon, even though I was pretty sure it would take at least two weeks for eveyone to get bored of the topic.
When school ended, the students gushed out of the school building to get home or head to their after school activities. I had to wait for my brothers anyway, so I decided I would do something I've been wanting to do for quite a long time.
To talk to Kyle.
In private, to find out exactly what he had been doing on that night.
It didn't take me long to find him. I headed to the park, because I had seen him there multiple times, and sure enough, he was sitting on one of the benches there. It was like he was always around me, and whenever I needed him, he'd be there. It gave me a sort of feeling of protection even though I didn't want to admit it.
I walked over to the bench and sat next to him. He looked up from his phone, the one he constantly uses, and looked back down.
"I have to talk to you," I said to him seriously.
"Talk." He instructed, not looking up from his phone.
"No, I don't want to talk to a brick wall, I need to have an actual conversation with you."
Kyle kept on looking at his phone. "You are having a conversation with me."
I rolled my eyes and reached over to snatch his phone away. He moved quickly, putting it away from my reach as he stood up. He glared down at me, obviously not amused.
I stood up with him, and noticed exactly how tall he was. I always knew he was very tall, but he loomed over me, at least a head taller than me, and it was hard to put up a tough front when he seemed so much stronger than me.
He finally pocketed his phone, and said in a cold tone, "what is it you need to talk to me then?"
"I want to know what you were doing at Zayden's house...on that night. And I want to know why you always seem to be around me. Like that time you were at my house. Somehow I don't think you're stalking me, but I can't put a finger on what it is exactly."
Kyle crossed his arms over his chest. "The world doesn't revolve around you. Are you sure you aren't being a tiny bit self-centered?"
I wanted to scream. Kyle was so damn annoying.
"Are you kidding me? You literally burst through Zayden's door when I was in...danger. And you may have been on a date just before that, but with everything, I just can't explain it with coincidence."
Kyle sighed irritatedly, and he looked around our surrounding thoughtfully. After a moment, Kyle nodded.
"Fine, I'll tell you. But not here."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "What do you mean not here? I want to know, now."
I was getting on his nerves, he didn't try to hide it, but he replied with a cool voice, "I can't tell you here, I don't know who could be listening. But get picked up by your driver, and I'll go find you."
I was getting confused and impatient, "find me?"
"I know where you live, remember?" Kyle replied with a hint of a smirk on his lips.
I huffed, not knowing if I should leave or stay, but I decided I'd go home for the time being. I believed that Kyle was a man of his words.
I waited out by the front gate for ten minutes until Henry finally drove up and picked me and my brothers up. They had wet hair from the showers they most probably just took after their basketball practice and smelled heavily of men's deodorant.
*****
That afternoon I was doing my tedious homework when Melissa knocked at my door.
"Miss? A young man has come to visit you."
I perked up, instantly knowing it was Kyle.
"Bring him to my room, please." I called, and scrambled to the mirror. I instinctively checked if my hair wasn't messed up or my clothes weren't hideous.
I didn't have any feelings for Kyle, hell I didn't even know if we were friends or not, but I still didn't want to look like a complete mess in front of a guy.
After I made sure that I looked normal, I heard a knock at my door and Kyle entered before I could answer.
I scowled at him, "if you don't wait for an answer, there's no point in knocking."
Kyle shrugged nonchalantly and sat down on one of the bean bags in my room. I sat next to him, not knowing what to say.
"So what do you want to know?" Kyle asked, crossing his hands together on his lap.
"Everything, I guess." I mumbled. How much was there to his explanation?
"Well," Kyle started, and for some reason I was getting nervous. "I was sent undercover as your classmate to be your close protection officer."
I didn't know if I should laugh or be confused with his statement. "You're a what?"
Kyle rolled his eyes at me. "A close protection officer. I was acting as your classmate so I can be around you without being suspicious."
I didn't know if he was joking or not. "So what, you're my covert bodyguard?" I asked sarcastically.
Kyle shrugged. "Basically."
Was he nuts?
"I don't think I believe you," I said.
"Believe me or not, it's the truth."
I crossed my arms over my chest. "Okay, suppose you were my undercover bodyguard. Why?"
"Because," Kyle said, sounding like he was annoyed himself, "someone gave us a tip that you were in danger from some sort of group, and that they're planning to kidnap you. We don't know if it's true or not, but I was sent as an extra precaution. Better safe than sorry, can't get the billionaire teenager hurt." Kyle said the last part sarcastically, and I ignored his rude remark.
"Who gave you a tip? And what group is trying to harm me?"
"Top secret information." Kyle said curtly. I wanted to punch him.
"I think I have a right to know."
"Trust me, it's better if you don't know."
"How so?"
"Well, if something actually did happen, and people were interrogating you, you wouldn't have to lie. You really won't know anything."
I felt a shiver run down my back. Was it true? Could this even be possible? It would explain what was happening but....
I frowned. "So you work for the CIA or something?"
Kyle scoffed, "of course not." I felt a weight fall off my shoulders.
"I work for a big spy organization though. It's much less known, but it's almost as big as the CIA."
Oh, well great.
"Why would I be a target though? I'm not anything important."
"Well, you're the daughter of one of the largest banks of America, your family has many rivals everywhere, and you're the weak link."
"The weak link?" I asked, feeling slightly dizzy. Here this boy was, stating that he was my bodyguard and that I was in danger, and telling me that I was a weak link?
"Yeah, you're the only daughter in your family, and your family and people around you treasure you, whether you think so or not. Not to forget the fact that you're somewhat rebellious and stand out at your school. Who knows what you could get mixed up into?"
I groaned, "so that's why you were there at Zayden's house?"
Kyle raised an eyebrow at me. "So you believe me?"
I ran my hands down my face. "I guess, I don't know. I mean, how else to explain... you?"
Kyle nodded, and I stood up and paced around, trying to soak up what he had just told me.
After a few minutes, I turned to Kyle, who was still sitting on the bean bag. "Don't I get a say in any of this? And why did you not tell me this earlier?"
"One question at a time." He said and I rolled my eyes impatiently.
"Well first of all, I don't really think you get to complain. We're not doing anything bad, if anything we're doing you a favor. And second, someone close to you was the one to ask for a bodyguard around you. Not that I can tell you who that is." He said, answering my inquiring look.
"And lastly," he continued, "it's not like I want to waste my time at your lame ass school for snobby rich kids. But this was my first official job, and I couldn't say no, so don't complain to me."
I fought the urge to roll my eyes again, and said, "okay fine. The second question?"
"I didn't tell you earlier because I didn't really care to. I could have told you whenever, it's not like I wasn't allowed to, but it never really came up."
"Sometimes, it won't hurt to be a little less honest."
This guy was seriously irritating. But apparently he was my bodyguard, and he might have to save my ass from now on. He already had, for goodness sake. So I bit back my other snarky comments about how rude he was.
"Well, thank you for telling me." I said, hinting him that it was time for him to leave.
Kyle stood up and made for the door. "Well, I'll see you around Cass."
I nodded, realizing it was the first time he ever actually said my name.