Winchester
Henford Mansion, Hamden, Connecticut
Nothing happened that day—day, no, night, yes. Emma Ryker is like a little child that I'm babysitting; I had to set ground rules, plus she's stubborn, which adds to her little kid personality.
I never thought her stubbornness could lead to me nearly being caught.
It all started that night, when she had stormed off to her room and didn't come out for hours. I didn't care that much—I didn't really expect her to come out and talk, but I definitely expected her to come down and make herself some dinner, which she didn't. Again, I didn't know how long I would be her bodyguard, so if I wanted to keep my job, she should probably be alive and not dead of starvation when this mission ends.
Given the reasoning, I walked up to her closed door to call her down for dinner. "Hey," I said frustratedly, knocking on the door, "Get yourself down here to eat, I'm not going to be responsible for your starvation." There was no answer, so I got even more frustrated. "Did you hear me?" Again, no answer. I tried the door handle. The door was locked, so I got mad. "Open the door before I do it myself," I warned.
After no answer, I called, "I warned you," and I kicked open that door. Down, no, but I did kick near the doorknob to unlock it. One of my special FA skills. When I got in the room, which was definitely her own room, with a canopy on the bed and pink everywhere, she wasn't inside. I looked around and saw an open window before cursing. She snuck out. I pressed a button on my hidden earpiece and said the words; "We've got a problem."
"What did you say?" I asked irritatedly in the car. A CA was helping me find the suspected area that Emma could have run off to. It had to be someone I trust even a bit to not tell NYC that I lost the girl, even though he might find out sooner than later. This was someone I've seen keep a secret before. "Repeat that again, Karma!"
"Alright, alright—if you're already at the West Boulevard, turn right at the next stop light. If you keep going forward, the first neighborhood you reach will bring you to the West Mansion of Hamden. She's probably there. It says here that's where her best friend Adelaide Brixtor lives."
"I don't need any extra information, Karma, just get me to the house."
"Listen here, Winchester, I'm helping you out here. I've got other things to do, you hear me?"
"What's the rush?"
"I have things to do. Are you there yet?" She asked right as I pulled into a neighborhood on the West. I looked around when I entered the street and immediately spotted a mansion. I grinned, probably thinking she's dead, seeing the party lights flashing.
"Copy that. Alright, Karma, you can switch me to the other line."
"Finally."
I closed the car door and walked up to the front door of the house, stopping myself before knocking. I remembered to be seen as least as possible, so I sighed and glanced all around the front of the house. My eyes caught a grass hedge with a gate attached, and, even though it was night, I looked around to see if anyone was watching before hurrying over to the fence and hopping over the gate.
I had to duck behind a window and I shook my head to myself. Going through all this trouble just to get some stubborn rich girl back to safety—a girl who caused me more trouble than I asked for. When I got to the back door, I had to peek inside to make sure nobody saw me, but everyone was partying. I rolled my eyes. Don't people have anything better to do? I closed the door behind me and began to look for Emma, trying not to make any sort of scene of myself so that nobody possibly remembers me. Half these people were drunk, anyway.
There were lots of people here, and I got irritated because of the fact that it made it so much harder to find Emma. I pushed my way into the large kitchen, where a few people were hanging out but not nearly as many as the rest of the house. There was a girl with blonde hair, not dirty blond, like mine, but closer to platinum. She was talking with a boy, who I guessed was her boyfriend, with black hair. Suddenly, she looked back at me, and I looked away—it didn't really matter, though, because she was drunk. She smiled a really goofy smile and hopped off the island, where she was sitting. "You're like, really, really cute," the girl said, and she pushed my shoulder with a laugh. I'd admit, she was half decent herself, but her laugh was obnoxious. I was surprised the whole party didn't turn to look. "Babe, come over here," she called to her boyfriend. "Isn't he really cute?" I tried to not look at either of them, but everyone here probably won't remember anything tomorrow. Her boyfriend didn't look pleased at her comment. The girl shook him suddenly. "Oh my god, we should totally introduce him to Emma!" I looked back at Emma's name. So this girl must be Adelaide. "Emma!" She called to no one. "Emma, get over here!"
I looked around and saw her stumble into the kitchen at the call of her name. My eyes widened. Oh, Jesus; she was really drunk. "Did someone call me?" She asked, straightening her balance on the countertop, nearly laying her head on my arm. When Adelaide nodded towards me, Emma looked up. She had an off smile. "Oh my god, I know you! Wow, you're like, really, really, cute up close." Emma put her arms around my shoulders, smiling up at me. It took me a moment to process, so I blinked and shook my head. I looked over to see if Adelaide and her boyfriend were paying attention, but they were a little too busy...well, eating at each other to hear anything I'd say. I took Emma's arm and moved her farther away from everyone.
"What are you doing here? I told you—" I started, but I realized it probably wasn't a good idea to say anything anyway. I sighed. "Come on, let's go." I was expecting her to pull away, or even to hit me, but she stumbled along with me instead.
"Ooh, where are we going?" She asked, and I almost turned around to see what was up, but then I remembered she was very drunk. And still a year under age, may I add.
"Back home," I snapped, thinking it was easy enough for her to understand. When I opened the passenger door for her, she tried to stumble in, but ended up losing her balance and one foot stepped too close to the other, causing her to stumble a bit too far this time. She fell close to the ground, causing me to gasp and grab her on instinct. My hand was on her back when I caught her. I looked at her for a few seconds before straightening her up and helping her get into the car. "In you go. Come on, hurry up."
I closed the door behind her and stood there for a second thinking about what just happened. Luckily I'd caught her. If she had one scratch on her, I wasn't sure how NYC would react.
When I got in myself, closing the door behind me, I turned in my seat to buckle my seat belt, but something strange happened. Emma leaned towards me quickly. Our faces almost met when I jumped back and gasped. Emma opened her eyes and leaned back. "What's wrong?" she asked and made a pouting face. I was still shocked, but I wouldn't let it show—too much.
"What's wrong?" I repeated, "You're drunk, Emma. We have to get you home." I looked at her seriously. She stammered, then her chin quivered. Oh, God.
Her eyes filled with tears right before her mascara trickled down her cheeks. I sighed and she put her head in her arms. I leaned my head back in frustration and glanced over at her. She began to say something, but I couldn't make out her words. She said something about her fiancé and her and me, but I didn't make anything out of it. I tried to make her calm down, but she wouldn't listen. She said a few clear sentences, and at this point, I gave up. She wasn't on topic anymore.
"And—and the lights were so loud, and the music was bright, but with this whole forced thing and all—" The last sentence caught my attention.
"What do you mean, 'forced thing'?" I felt like it was about the whole bodyguard thing.
She sniffed and wiped her eyes, but the mascara still stayed. "The engagement."
