The Protector

FIFTY-THREE

Sunday morning came quickly. Every light in my room was turned on as Healer West expertly pulled the metallic wires from my mouth with a pair of pliers. After she pulled the last one, I stretched my mouth open as wide as I could and rubbed the side of my jaw.

"Everything looks great, Perry. You're good to be discharged. I'll let your father know," she said and I looked around the room for my clothes. The realization swept over me that the only thing I had to wear was my clubbing outfit. I cursed Julian, Avery, and my father for not bringing me anything else to wear during one of their many visits. My hair was still in two pointy buns on the top of my head and my once flawless makeup was smeared all over my face. As I emerged from my room, faltering a little in the boots, Barbie Warren smirked at me.

"I'm sure we could find you something else to wear to your room," she said with a snicker.

"I'll be fine. It's not far," was all I could muster. Of course, my shame spiral didn't end there. I was relieved when I found the elevator empty, but that situation quickly changed as the doors opened on the next floor and a couple dressed for church entered. I smiled, but quickly looked away to avoid their shocked stares. I finally exhaled when the elevator doors opened on my floor and kept my eyes glued to the floor as I walked down the hallway, trying not to fall over. It was amazing how quickly one's muscles atrophy over a few days with no use and little to no food.

I entered my room and stripped off my clothes as quickly as I could, ignoring my cell phone buzzing on the entry table. Avery must have retrieved it from the back of the town car and dropped it off. I jumped in the shower as quickly as I could and closed my eyes as the hot water washed over my face. It felt absolutely orgasmic to pull the buns from the top of my head, and I thoroughly enjoyed massaging my head with my hands, all the pain flowing away and down the drain. My thoughts and vision cleared, like I was waking from a hazy dream. West had called me nothing short of a miracle. Maybe she could hunt down the judgy couple from the elevator and let them in on my amazing recovery.

My hands trailed down my arms, rubbing the moisturizing body wash while systematically plucking the black jewels from my skin. As my hands touched my left wrist, I noticed something else. I narrowed my eyes and carefully untied a dainty gold metallic ribbon fixed on my wrist. My mind flashed painfully and I fell sideways into the black tile shower wall.

"Perry," the redhead whispered in my mind and I'm back in the club again, in a cage. "Beth says hello," she purred with a smile and tied the ribbon around my wrist.

I screamed and tossed the ribbon out of the shower and onto the bathroom floor as if it were on fire and burning into my flesh. I cut the water off and scrubbed the black makeup off my face with my towel. Beth poisoned me and killed someone else trying to get to me. Again.

I heard the door to my room creak open slowly and my heart hammered in my chest. Beth was here and this was the end.

"Perry?" Julian's voice called through the room and the fear slowly melted away, replaced with relief.

"In here," I croaked, quickly wrapping the towel around me even though I know it's a silly notion. Julian had seen my body plenty of times, exposed beneath him, but I felt shy for some odd reason. He opened his arms to me and pulled me into the warmest of hugs and I rested my head against his chest. He wore a black dress shirt, unbuttoned at the collar, and black jeans, and he smelled like mint.

"I remembered something," I blurted into his chest and held him tighter as he tried to pull away. "The dead girl tied a gold ribbon around my wrist and told me 'Beth says hello' right before she died." Julian's grip on me tightened. "I don't think it was her fault though. Her eyes were dark, like she was... possessed." I shiver ran the length of my spine as I vocalized my thoughts. "Is that even possible?" I pulled back to look in his eyes. I could tell he was processing the information rapidly, his lips pressed tight.

"I don't think so, but honestly, anything is possible at this point," he admitted. I pushed past him into my bedroom and pulled a simple short sleeved black dress from the white glossy dresser. "I'm so tired of being beat up, stalked, and afraid all the time. Is it too much to ask for one peaceful, normal day?" Defeated, I slumped down on the side of my bed and slipped my feet into my white Vans. Julian sat next to me and linked his fingers through mine.

"No, mi amour, it's not too much to ask." He ran my knuckles along his lips. "It's like you read my mind." I glanced at him. "That's why I'm here. Let's go." He picked me up so I was wrapped around his back, and I shrieked, squeezing my legs tightly around his muscular waist. "I want us to go and have a normal day, as a normal couple and do normal things." He stood up as I wrapped my arms around his neck, riding his back to the door. I leaned sideways and grabbed my phone and wallet from the entry table as we walked by.

I climbed off Julian as we entered the elevator and noticed I had multiple text messages and missed calls over the past week. I clicked on the panicked messages from my mother and responded quickly, "I'm so sorry for being MIA, just so many tests and so little time." I had never felt more detached from her and worried the longer and deeper I involved myself in The Protection the more I would lose her.

"Can you please stop frowning?! Today is going to be a good normal day," Julian promised as he hopped on his motorcycle. I smiled and shoved my phone into the storage component in the back and jumped on behind him, grabbing his waist.

"Whatever you say," I said as he revved the motorcycle and peeled out of the garage.