Elizabeth Olsen's Bodyguard

Chapter 27

Y/N POV

"Ms. Olsen, could you wait for a minute, I need to discuss something with you.", you ask her for the third time this morning, while you follow her into her room.

"Y/n, I'm sorry, but I'm quite busy at the moment. We have to get my hair and makeup done and we are already ten minutes behind schedule.", she responds and sits down on a chair, while Clay, her hair stylist, starts his work.

Other people rush in, putting out all the utensils they want to use and then begin to apply some makeup.

You scoff. "Sure, I'll wait for you downstairs then."

Since Jamie called you, you tried to have a serious conversation with her. She has no idea that you are about to quit your job. The only thing that is on her mind is the convention that takes place today. You understand that it's something unpleasant for her. She's struggling with social anxiety and hates events that big, where a lot of people are watching her and ask her questions.

But you really have to talk to her. Jamie told you that based on their investigation they suspect to have information about the location of one of the men who were responsible for Casey's death. It happens to be one of the big heads of this terrorist group and their seek for revenge just became very interesting for the American government. So they have full permission to do whatever it takes to track these terrorists down. And you really want to be a part of that.

You go down to the living room where you find Robbie sitting on the couch and doing something on his phone.

"Are you also going to the convention?", you ask him, trying to make some conversation before the situation gets too awkward.

He shakes his head. "No."

When he doesn't say more, you sigh and lean back against a wall, fishing your phone out of your pocket. You stare at the screen. The message, Kara sent you yesterday, still open.

Kara
Hey you! I haven't heard from you in a while and I wanted to ask, if everything's okay. I'm back in LA next weekend and would love to see you. Lena comes with me by the way. She says, she wants to thank you for saving me from those crazy men. Maybe we could have a brunch together? Let me know what you think!
Don't get in trouble and stay safe! See ya soon!

You bite your lip in thought, not knowing how to reply. You plan to already be in Afghanistan by this time and you haven't told Kara yet. You know that she'll be mad. She hated it from the start, that so many of her friends joined the army and when Casey died, it just confirmed all her fears. She was so happy to have you back, that you know, she wouldn't want you to leave. And she probably could convince you to stay. It's Kara. The sun shines brighter when she's around. The flowers smell nicer and the birds chirp louder. She radiates hope. It's almost impossible to say no to her. And therefore you can't reply until you're out of the country. Let's just pray, Jamie doesn't contact her either.

You raise your head for a second when you hear someone coming down the stairs and look back down your phone, but when you realize who it was, your head shoots up again. Lizzie walks slowly down the stairs. Her hair cascades in waves down her shoulders like molten caramel. She wears a green jumpsuit with a deep neckline. But it isn't a bright green. It's more like the colors of your camouflage Army pants and it really emphasizes her green eyes.

Feeling like you stared too much, you quickly clear your throat.

"You are beautiful.", you say and a faint blush appears on her cheeks.

"Thank you.", Lizzie replies with a smile.

As if he has only now realized that Lizzie came down the stairs, Robbie raises his head. His eyes travel over her body.

"You look really pretty.", he says and her smile grows.

"Thanks, darling."

He gets up and gives her a kiss. "Have fun today."

"I will. See you later.", she kisses him goodbye and walks out of the door. You follow her in silence.

"Is now a good time to talk?", you ask her as you both got in the car. Alfred is back for today and drives you to the convention, so you can focus on keeping her safe.

She sighs and turns her head to look at you.

"Y/n, I'm so nervous.", she whispers, like she didn't hear what you said. "I hate stages and I hate crowds of people. Can't we just drive to the beach and have a day off like we used to do?"

You smile sadly at the memory. There was nothing else you wished more to do. But she chose someone else. And both of you have to live with that choice.

"Ms. Olsen, I-", you begin.

"Lizzie.", she cuts you off.

"What?", you ask confused.

"Please just say Lizzie. I hate those formalities and I hate this professionalism."

"You hate a lot of things.", you remark and chuckle dryly.

"I'm sorry. I just- I can't think straight. I'm so scared of those events and I know it's stupid. Because if you look at it rationally, nothing bad will happen to me. But I just can't shake these stupid feelings."

"Hey, hey, your feelings are not stupid. They are valid. And I get it. I really do. I'm not good with crowds of people either."

"You are not? I thought there's nothing that scares you. You're always so brave.", she says and rubs her hands over her clothed thighs, trying to calm her down.

"Well, surprise. There are lot of things I'm scared of. It's natural. And you are not brave, because you're not scared. You are brave, because you're doing something despite the fear. Stop doubting yourself. You're amazing. And I'm there too the whole time, keeping an eye on you.", you offer.

"Thank you, Y/n. You're great friend.", she says quietly and lays her head on your shoulder, seeking comfort in the warmth of your touch.

Friend?

You arrive at the location rather quickly. When you get out of the car, you are immediately greeted by paparazzi taking pictures and fans shouting excitedly. You follow the staff that guides you to the entrance and pass all the security checks. Lizzie sticks close by your side the whole time. She doesn't say word, but you can sense her discomfort.
She lets out a long breath and slumps down on a couch, when you finally arrive in a room where she can prepare herself before she gets up on stage for a q&a.

"Are you okay?", you ask her carefully.

"Yeah, just stressed.", she responds and rubs her temples with her fingers, trying to relieve some of the stress.

"Okay, uhm, I need to check in with the other bodyguards and the security staff to make sure everyone is safe and everybody knows where to be.", you explain. "But I don't want to let you alone, if you don't feel well. You are not about to have a panic attack, are you?"

She chuckles lightly. "No, y/n. I'm good, but thanks for asking. Just make sure, you're back before I have to get up on stage. I don't want to miss your pretty face for too long."

You furrow your brows slightly, not knowing how to respond and why she's so affectionate all of sudden.

"Sure.", you say and leave the room.

You get to the meeting with the other bodyguards and the security staff. You recognize Scarlett's bodyguard and stand next to him. He's a tall guy and he always wears black. Black suit, black shirt, black tie. His brown eyes muster everyone around him. Nothing could be hidden from him.

"Hey, Alec.", you greet him quietly before the meeting starts.

"Y/n.", he nods. His voice deep and almost emotionless, but a hint of joy flashes in his eyes.

He is not the man of many words, but you know he's happy to see a familiar face. You haven't really worked together until now, but you know he's good at what he's doing, which means you can rely on him and that's something rare in your world.

The meeting goes by rather quickly. Everybody gets to know where they are supposed to be at what time and you all get the chance to check everything out, so nobody gets lost.

You walk slowly back to Lizzie's room. Just as you're about to knock on her door, your phone buzzes in your pocket. You pull it out and realize that you have five missed calls from Kara and one text message from Jamie.

Jamie
Y/n, you better come here quick. I might or might not have told Kara about our plan. And she's MAD.

Oh shit.

You knock on the door and get in, once Lizzie tells you to.

"Hey.", she greets you with a warm smile.

"Hi.", you say shortly.

"Uhm, we still have a few minutes to spare, so maybe you can tell me now, what you wanted to talk about.", she asks shyly.

You're surprised by her request. To be honest you thought that she didn't even pay attention to what you were saying to her this morning. But the timing is pretty suitable.

"Oh, uhm sure."

Your nerves suddenly flare up and you take a deep breath to calm yourself down. Your gaze is glued to your shoes. The floor is all of sudden very interesting for you.

"Are you okay?", Lizzie asks concerned.

"Yeah, I am. It's uh – it's just a bit harder to say than I thought."

"You can tell me everything."

"I want to quit.", you say as you look up to meet her eyes. Your voice stern and serious.

"What do you want to quit?", she asks confused.

"This job. I want to quit this job. I don't want to be your bodyguard anymore.", you clench your jaw trying to suppress the emotions that swell under the surface.

"What?", Lizzie breathes out. "You can't. You can't do that. I don't want you to leave. Do you have a better offer? I can pay you more, if that's the problem."

"No.", you shake your head. "That is not the problem. I go back to Afghanistan. Jamie has some new leads on Casey's murderers and I need to be there to find them."

"What? I didn't know, you... Why didn't you tell me that you started to investigate her death?"

"We didn't really talk much these last weeks."

You watch as the gears and wheels turned in her head.

"No, y/n you can't leave. You're going to get yourself killed! Do you have a fucking death wish? What is up with you?", she gets up from the couch and starts pacing in the room.

"Ms. Olsen-", you begin trying to calm her down.

"Stop with this fucking Ms. Olsen bullshit! Stop pretending like we weren't friends! Stop pretending that this job, that I, mean nothing to you!", she yells.

"I shall stop? Really? You were the one that cut off this friendship like it was the easiest thing to do! You were the one who kissed me and then pretended like it never happened and fucked another guy!", you scream back.

"Oh it's about Robbie now? What is your problem? I mean you obviously have one, otherwise you wouldn't sign up for a suicide trip.", her voice drips with anger.

"I love you! That is my fucking problem. And I am already dying. Every single time I see you with him or you tell me about him. It kills me that you are so close to me every day, but still out of reach. And I hate you. I hate you for making me love you! For trying so hard to be my friend, for making me feel better when I was at my lowest, because that was when I began to fall for you. And I fell in love with every single thing about you. I fell in love with your heart, your happiness, your sadness, your joy, your anger. With your whole soul. There's not a part of you, I don't love. But I can't stay in this situation. I can't watch how you love someone else. I thought I already knew what it's like to lose someone you love, to never get them back. But to lose someone you have right in front of you, that's something else. It's like some cruel joke."

She takes a step back. Shock written all across her face. You just look at her with pleading eyes, wishing for her to say something.

Suddenly someone opens the door.

"Y/n, we need you for another security meeting. There's something strange in a security footage. It's probably nothing, but we should check it out.", Alec says.

You blink a few times and shake your head slightly to get rid of all these thoughts swirling inside your head. You look over to Lizzie, but she doesn't say a word.

With a sigh you answer: "Sure, Alec. Lead the way."

You follow him to a small dark room which doesn't have any windows. Many screens hang upon a wall, where you can watch the security footage of the cameras live.

"Hey Jerry.", Alec greets the man who sits in front of a desk, on which is a computer that is linked to all the screens.

You offer a tight-lip smile and a short nod, which he returns.

"Can you show us again, what you showed to me?", Alec requests.

"Of course. Here, have a look."

You step closer and look at the screen that shows the footage of the front entrance. A man passes the security check. He wears a baseball cap, so his face is barely seeable on camera. Over his right shoulder he wears a violin case.

"A violin case?", you ask. "Is somebody supposed to play today?"

"No.", Alec answers. "At least there's no one we know of. And we haven't seen him since he passed the security check."

"But he passed it? So there shouldn't be a problem, right?", Jerry wants to know.

Alec takes your arm and pulls you aside.

"There was a power failure for approximately seven minutes at the time. Not every single thing is connected to the same power source, therefore the cameras still worked. But what if.."

"What if the metal detector didn't work at this time?", you finish his sentence.

He nods.

"I mean it could just be a violin in this case. Maybe someone of the cast is a great fan of the sound of classic music and therefore he brought it with him.", you say unconvinced.

"Yeah, or maybe we let someone with a sniper rifle in.", Alec says quietly.