Loving the Bodyguard [Complete]

VI

Dedicated to lizaalewis

"I was like a clock that had exploded- my springs were hanging out, my hands were cockeyed, and my numbers were falling off."

- Anthony Kiedis

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Hailey

Adrenaline surged into my blood, traveling miles of veins that pumped blood into my system. My blood was on fire; I was alert like a tigress prancing through the grass, ready to attack her prey. The faintest sound sent shivers down my marrow. My pulse had quickened; the air was frosty as if it would snap. Beads of water covered the lush green grass. They resembled the tears that flowed from my eyes like an endless fountain all night.

The screeching sound of tires jolted me out of my thoughts. In a flash, I hid behind the pruned boxwood hedge. My heart pounded rhythmically against my ribcage. The beats were rapid and uneven; for a moment, I thought it would crack the cage of bones protecting it. Sweat covered my forehead, back, and hands.

The iron gate behind the residence was the only way to escape. I was fifty square feet away from my only exit. I crawled like a snake, very slowly and carefully. My palms were sticky with sweat, drops of sweat glided down my jaw. The weather was cold yet; I felt as if my body was boiling at a hundred degrees Fahrenheit. I slid the hood's cap closer to my face and continued crawling.

The sound of footsteps striking against the gravel stepped walkways replaced the silence. The hair at the back my neck rose as the footsteps got nearer with every passing second. I could hear my rapid breathing; the sound of my heartbeat numbed my ears. I collected every ounce of courage left in my soul and crawled behind the hedge.

The iron gate, my escape route was right in front of me; it was years old and had guarded the mansion for ages. The blacksmith made it up of thick metal that had been painted black. They had arranged iron bars in a way that they reminded me of the gates that they've in prison.

You can do this, Hailey.

I crawled till the end of the hedge and took in a plumbless breath. Tension blocked my mind like the mind of the student that studied all night and forgot everything on the exam day. The gate was a few steps away from me, and then, I would run away from this hell that I called home.

Fear crippled every muscle in my body, paralyzing me. It hissed in my ear like the cobra that warned a human to stop instigating him. It gripped my mind in an unfathomable web of fright. My mind dysfunctioned; I could not process my thoughts.

Am I doing the right thing? Am I risking my life? Have I made the wrong move?

Questions flooded my mind like a tsunami destroying the remaining functionality of my mind. I could not move; my feet felt heavy as if somebody had wrapped iron shackles around my ankles.