THE BODYGUARD (Michael Jackson)

Tall, Dark And Handsome

1987
1:34 PM

"Oh, Salma!" A loud and shrill voice called out in the distance. The voice was so faint she figured it was a part of her dream.

"Salma," the voice pried at her sleeping mind once more. This time the voice was clear and nowhere near as faint as before.

'Why today,' she thought to herself. Slowly slipping out of sleep. The quick and pepped-up footsteps already hitting her ears.

She shifted over on her back. Her body still yearned for a few more hours of sleep. Laying still in hopes of falling back into a deep sleep until the click and creak of the bedroom door awoken her fully.

"We need to open these blinds. Some sun will do you some good!"
He grasped the fabric of the drapes and with one swift pull and allowed all the sun to fill the room.

She groaned and squinted her eyes; Teddy's tall frame casted a shadow over her but even then the light was still overbearing.

Using her arms to sit herself up, the heaviness of her head already settling in. She brought her palm to her forehead, pressing firmly on it.

A sudden gasp came from Teddy's mouth, he furrowed his brows and widened his eyes.
Clasping his hand over his mouth, his deep complected face tensed and creased.

"What happened to your face, Salma?" He questioned with such quickness; his words jumbled together.

Scrambling to her side of the bed, the heels of his sneakers squeaking against the floor. He leaned his husky frame over to meet her height. His hand glided away from his mouth and extended out toward her face.

Teddy reached for her cheek with his large hand, his nails freshly manicured. His eyes scanned her; his hazel orbs darting from one side of her face to the other.

Salma pulled away from his hand and scooted herself to the other side of the bed with her feet.
"I fell down the stairs," she lied, her voice full of a sleepy rasp.

Smacking her mouth open and closed, an unpleasant amount of saliva invaded her tongue.
The overproduction of spit and a slow movement in her stomach caused her to shudder.

Fixing his posture, Teddy clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth. Shaking his head from one side to the other. "You don't have to lie to me anymore."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she rushed out before she could feel the hot bile rising from her throat. She swallowed it down and brought her hand up to cover her mouth.

He raised his brows and stepped aside, gesturing for her to hurry along to the bathroom.

The rims of her eyes watered as the relentless bile insisted on its venture out.
Her bare feet scurried to the bathroom connected to the bedroom.

Digging her knees into the rug as she bowed her head over the seat of the toilet.
Opening her mouth she unleashed the insistent vomit.

The sunlight from the room, long gone once Teddy swung the bathroom door shut.
He kneeled on the ground beside her and gathered her hair away from her face. Her small frame convulsed as she spewed the poison out of her system.