BERYL

CHAPTER TWELVE

As usual, thanks to good old nepotism it came as no surprise to me that Amber was my on my protection detail. I couldn't care less.

I just wanted to go home. I couldn't wait to sleep in my bed again, my room and finally get some decent sleep instead of spending the night half-awake thanks to Molly's awful snore. I spent the next six hours of my journey just coming up with solutions to possible situations that could occur just in case some people still hate me especially  Jade . Ever since she was arrested for Lilly's murder , i kept having nightmares about her escaping from prison to come finish me off.

At some point in time, I even thought of using the fireplace passage as an escape route if I happened to get attacked at home. 'Buzz buzz' vibrated my cellphone.

I sighed heavily, I hoped it wasn't another text from Molly asking me to bring her a souvenir.

J😁~"hey girl, I hope you okay, a little birdie tells me you will be in town very soon! Can't wait to see you!!"

 OMG, it's Johnathan what do I say? Where do I start? How should I respond? My heart was beating so fast!

Calm down Sam, just breathe. Don't overthink it. Just act natural.

"hey, J! Yeah I'll be spending the holiday at home."

J😁"Awesome! How long is your holiday?"

'Only a month'

 J😁~'a month is more than enough for me, make sure you get enough rest, can't wait to see you baby'

Stop! What!? Why can't I stop smiling?

"Sam, are you okay? You look like you are burning up" Amber placed her hand on my forehead.

"I am fine! " I mumbled swatting her hand away.  

Even though Johnathan and I  were not that close it was always refreshing to speak to him. No matter how hard I  tried to resist I  simply couldn't it's like he was born charming but, the idea of possibly being with him one day just didn't feel right.

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" Sam! Come on faster! Don't lose your balance," instructed Amber from the sideline as I ran across a thin beam while dodging the knives she was throwing at me. Yes, sharp and shiny knives. The sweet, soft-spoken Amber that I knew was ruthless when it came to training. " Take a break and prepare for hand to hand combat training."  

  Oh no, having knives thrown at me is far much better than fighting her. Amber may look frail , but she can do a lot of damage to your body in a fight. Her training methods were very unusual and extreme.   " Can't we work on my weaponry instead?"

"No, That is your strength so,  you don't need to focus too much attention on that." She said, tossing me a bottle of water.

" Your self-defense skills are weak, in the work field you can't always rely on weapons. Most of the time your body is the most powerful weapon you have at hand." she continued before grabbing my wrist and tossing me onto the cold hard floor.

"Always stay alert " She took another sip of her water.

I screamed internally before taking a deep breath. I might as well get this over and done.  

Three hours after training and my legs were still numb. My stomach felt like it was on fire.I was so grateful she made sure to avoid my face during practice.  I could barely sit down but, it felt good to throw myself on my bed and let the soft covers swallow me. 

'clink.' At first, I thought I was dreaming. " Sam!" I heard someone whisper faintly. "Sam !"

"Agh who is that!?" I groaned not willing to move out of bed. "Sam!!" the voice whispered again. " Who is that?" I whispered in irritation.

Wait , what if it's J? Ignoring the pain, I bounced out of my bed and frantically searched my closet for an outfit.  Agh fuck it I just perfume. I put my hair into a cute messy bun before opening the window as gracefully as I could, just like they do in the movies.

"Sorry to disturb you, I couldn't wait any longer I just had to see you." he stretched out his hand holding out a small box of chocolates. "can we go for a walk?"

I nodded my head smiling foolishly.  

He told me how the game went and all the school drama I had missed out on. His face beamed with excitement with each story he told.

" Where are we going? " I asked noticing we had walked far from my place.

"To the hotel we need to take a taxi, I want you to meet someone special to me" he smiled.

"At this time? " 

" Just trust me you will love her " he gently patted my head.

" Johnathan," I slowed down my pace. " I really  value your friendship and I  just want to say that" 

"Are you friend zoning me?" he clutched his chest in an exaggerated manner. "Ahh hurts" 

" please don't take it too hard, you are a very nice guy but..." 

" Guess I'm just not your type huh?"  he shrugged. 

I smiled avoiding eye contact. He was very sweet and charming. The idea of him was beautiful but, it did not make me feel like , you know it just did not give me that feeling. 

"Well," he said breaking the awkward silence, " I still want you to meet her anyway"

We took a taxi and before I knew it we had arrived at the local hotel.

The bright yellow board read BARMAN'S HOTEL.

The hotel was neatly furnished with complementing art pieces and furniture. Even the elevator music was not as cheesy as the music they played in elevators at the hospital and shopping mall.

As the elevator doors opened, he took my hand and led me down the hallway. Touching his skin gave me butterflies. When we reached room 15 he paused to place his hands on my shoulders. " you nervous?" he smirked. I slowly nodded my head, " Who are meeting?"

" not we just you" he corrected. Fear arose in me.

"wha..." he opened the door and shoved me in locking me inside before I could say anything. "J? Johnathan!" I banged on the door desperately . " J if this is a prank it's not funny, open up! Johnathan!!!"

" What a jumble, he raised a coward I thought he would have done much better," said a deep feminine voice from somewhere in the room. I gasped at the sound of her voice steadily pressing my back against the wall. " who are you!?" I whispered.

"Come closer, Samantha" the voice responded. I dared not take a step forward.

"Come closer I said, don't tell me you can't even recognize your own mother's voice anymore."