Protection

Chapter 10

TRIS POV

My head pounding is the thing that stirs me awake.

Moaning, I crack open my eyes to see my dim room with one beam of light peaking out from behind the curtains. Thank God for blackout curtains.

After taking a migraine pill from my bedside drawer, I rack my brain for a memory of what happened last night. The throbbing in my side reminds me of the three attackers that jumped us, and I remember Four stitching me up, and I remember...

Oh. My face turns bright red, even though nobody is in the room with me or can hear my thoughts.

I remember having a nightmare, which led to Four somehow falling asleep next to me. He probably thought I was sleeping when he kissed the top of my head, but little did he know, I was wide awake after that.

That answers my speculations, then. Four does like me.

And those words alone make me smile to myself under my covers.

I find myself climbing out of my bed to go look for him. My side aches with each step, so I do a quick check to make sure that I haven't popped any stitches. Sure enough, the bandage over my midsection is a plain white. No blood.

I look in Four's room, the living room, the kitchen. There is no sign of him, though my mother is standing in the kitchen, making breakfast. She does this on occasion when she feels like it, or when she wants to give the maids a break.

"Good morning, sweetie," she greets me.

The aroma of pancakes coaxes me to my seat. "Mom," I say with a grin as I practically haul myself onto one of the barstools under the counter. I'm too short. Four is able to sit down on them with no trouble. Wait, why am I thinking about him right now? I need to focus. "You're back."

"I am. I would love to take a moment to relax, but your father and I invited some guests over." She chuckles tiredly and fills up the glass in front of me with orange juice.

"Can't you just take a break?" I ask. "I mean...you and Dad work hard all the time. I think the public would be fine if you disappeared for a week or so."

She shakes her head. "It's more than that. We have responsibilities that you will understand one day, Beatrice. When you become a politician."

I frown. She says it so convincingly, like she is positive that I will go into that field.

In truth, I haven't even decided what I want to do with my life, though I know that I will steer clear of politics. My parents are good people and good examples, but I do not want to follow in their footsteps in that way. I do not want to have to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life for speaking my opinion, or work all day and all night and get no time for myself or my family.

If anything, I want to be a stay-at-home mom, at least until my future kids are old enough to go to school. I am quite certain that I want kids, that I want a family, but the problem is that I haven't exactly had the best history with guys. I just want to find someone who will treat me with respect. He doesn't have to be perfect or anything; he just has to see me as an equal instead of someone he can take advantage of, like Peter has done.

It may sound strange that I am hoping for a family this young, but I am confident that this is what I want. I want a sense of belonging that I haven't gotten in my rich family of politicians.