Dedicated to Chrissyvellis
"Haunting memories and an inescapable past can make you a living dead."
___________________________
Hailey
The sky was gray like wet cement. Thunder sang; the clouds roared. The smell of stale blood filled the car. Ace drove silently, glancing at me. I felt as if he wanted to make sure that I was alive. Exhaustion crept inside every muscle and bone of my body.
We had left the inn days ago. The sound of bullets and those dead men flashed in my eyes. Ace had killed them. He had killed those men, and I don't feel bad for them. They deserved to die.
"Ace, Are you alright?" I asked, staring at him.
"Yes. You?" His first words after long hours of silence.
"Yeah, I'm good; couldn't have been better."
"You are a bad liar, your highness. You are still thinking about the men I killed," he said, his eyes fixed on the road.
"You aren't fine, either."
"At least your observation skills are good, your highness," he said, glancing at my face.
He tried to lighten the tension. His face was grim and solemn. He was exhausted and tired.
"How does it feel to kill someone?"
"I killed a person when I was seventeen. It was for self-defense. He would have split my throat if I hadn't killed him. I couldn't sleep after that," he said gravely.
"You never forget the faces?"
He nodded.
"Where are we going?"
"A small riverside town."
"You have another safe house there?" I asked out of curiosity.
"No. I owe a place there. It's a small house beside a river. I used to live there with my mother." Ace let out a long breath.
"Okay."
The rain poured from the ashen clouds. It trailed down the transparent car windows. Lightning and thunder danced. The petrichor filled the air. Droplets of rain looked like tears that shed through the eye of god. I rolled the window, letting the cold wind kiss my face.
My eyelids shut, and I fell into an exhaustion filled sleep.
"Hailey! Hailey!" A strong muscular arm shook me.
"Let me sleep, please." I yawned.
"You can sleep all day; just get out of the car."
I opened my eyes and got out of the car. Ace stood beside me. Rain poured over us. The touch of icy rain tickled my skin. The sky was dark as charcoal.
"Let's go in, or we will catch a cold," Ace said, gesturing to me to follow him.
We halted in front of a small house beside a river. Ace bent down and lifted a stone from the ground.
"What are you doing?"
"Taking the key out of the hidden spot."
I crossed my arms over my chest and watched Ace unlocking the door. He went inside and pressed the light buttons.
"Come in."
I got inside, shutting the door behind.
The place was warm and cozy. I had grown in big mansions where you could easily get lost, but this place looked like home. A warm, inviting place. Pictures were hung on the walls; cobwebs and dust covered the furniture. Flower vases and small decorative items were carefully arranged on the oakwood table.
I walked towards the wall with pictures. A big picture of a boy with gray eyes holding a fishing pole was hung in the center of the wall. A big broad smile adored the boy's face.
"Ace, that's your picture, isn't it?" I asked, tracing the picture with my fingers.
"Yes." He stood beside me, observing the pictures of a woman. She had Ace's hair and eyes, or rather say Ace had her eyes and hair.
"She didn't deserve to die. She was a good woman. And she deserved a better son," he said. Sadness lurked in his eyes. The sadness ripped my soul.
"You saved my life without caring about your own. She would have been proud of you," I said, holding his hand.
He looked at me. "I don't deserve your kind words. Hate me, that's what I deserve."
"Stop hating yourself."
"My father killed her in front of my eyes. She died in my arms. And I couldn't save her." He pulled his hand from my grip.
"How old were you?"
"I was twelve. I still feel her blood on my hands. Her lifeless body haunts me."
"You were a kid. You could have done nothing. Her death was not your fault. That asshole, heartless father of yours is responsible for everything. Stop blaming yourself," I said.
"I couldn't save her, neither Laura. Both of them died because they were good to me." Tears slid down his ruggedly handsome face. He fell on his knees; the crackle of bones echoed in the room.
I sat beside him, engulfing him in a warm hug.
"Past and memories affect you even if you are a living dead like me," he said, his eyes devoid of life.
"Let it out. Don't hold those emotions. Tell me everything." I ruffled his hair gently, trying to calm him down.
He pulled away and stared at his mother's picture.
"She would have never wished to see her son in this state."
"Your opinion will change when you get to know about the blood that flows in my veins," he said, tears spilling from his eyes like tea from an overfilled cup.
"I don't judge people," I said, lifting his chin with my finger.
"Your so-called psycho lover Ralph Hernandez is my half-brother. Dominic Hernandez is my father."
A/N: Hope you enjoyed reading. Don't forget to vote and comment.
Loving the Bodyguard reached 2K reads thank you ♥︎ That motivated me to write this chapter.
How will Hailey react after knowing Ace's relationship with Dominic and Ralph?