Body Guard

I narrowed my eyes again and pushed the call button. Raising the phone to my ear I went for the popcorn with my other hand. Throwing a whole handful right at her face I quickly stood up and put some distance between myself and the couch. "Hey dad, Jules was wanting to know if Ryan got home alright."

Julie:
I yelled and swatted at the popcorn before glaring at this retreating form. "You're cleaning this!" I said right before he started talking. I picked a few kernels out of my hair as I watched him on the phone for any signs of news.

Grinning I talked with my dad a bit, mostly listening to him sigh and trying to figure out just what I could tell her. In the end I got off the phone and rubbed my face. "Sorry, got a little chewed out there." When I looked at her I smiled weakly, "I'll clean up the popcorn in a bit."

Julie:
I looked at him expectedly. "Well? What did he say about Ryan?" I asked. I had a weird feeling in my stomach and I couldnt put a finger on why.

I looked away for a moment then back to her. "Jules..." I sighed and made a decision right then and there. "Do you trust me?"

Julie:
I looked at him, confused. "Of course I do," I said. But why did that matter? I stood up from the couch and walked closer. "Whats going on Cody?"

Stuffing the phone into my pocket I sighed. "Something happened. I'm not supposed to tell you exactly what." Curling my free hand into a fist I stared at the ground.

Julie:
I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms. "Okay, so tell me anyway." I demanded. "I wont say that you said anything," I told him.

"Something happened, I don't have all the details but Ryan was found dead." I watched her carefully, knowing that I was going to be in massive trouble over this. The alcohol wasn't doing me any favors, and I couldn't guess how it would effect her.

Julie:
My arms dropped to my side and I stared at him, waiting for the punch line. It had to be some kind of weird joke that drunk Cody thought was funny. When it didn't come, I took one shaky breath and clamped a hand over my mouth and ran to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet in time to throw up everything that was in my stomach.

"Damn it." I muttered after she ran off. Grabbing my phone I dialed her father and the second he picked up I wasted no time in saying, "I told her. I refuse to lie to her when she has a right to know." Hanging up then and tossing my phone onto the couch I went after her, kneeling down beside her to gently rub her back.

Julie:
I threw up one more time before weakly pulling the lever to flush it. I vaguely felt his hand on my back and I took a second to be comforted by it before standing up and rinsing my mouth out. I felt the tears come but I quickly realized they weren't for Ryan. Sure, I was horrified and disgusted and I would be forever grateful that he was protecting me. But when I looked at Codys concerned face, I knew the tears weren't for Ryan. 

"When did you find out?" I asked, my voice sounding raspy. It clicked sometime between the vomiting that he must have found of way earlier than the conversation with his father. I knew my dad sounded off when I spoke to him. I just wanted to hear him say it.

"When your father first called." I moved over to the wall while she was rinsing her mouth out and crossed my arms. I kept my gaze locked on the floor. It was a matter of time before my father came to collect me. I'd broken a rule. I'd been given an order by her father and I broke it. Not only that I'd also placed Jules in a position of possible risk.

Julie:
"How could you sit there all night and pretend everything was fine?" I asked, slamming my water cup onto the bathroom counter. I knew I wasn't mad that he kept it from me. He was clearly given a direct order to keep it a secret. I put my head in my hands and shook my head. "What if it was you?" I mumbled. "I know I'm a horrible person for even thinking it, but, what if you were working?"

“Then I would have been armed and ready. Jules...if it comes to it I could get hurt in protecting you. That’s something you have to accept.” I felt horrible for making her deal with this, but it was a reality she needed to hear and understand.

Julie:
I was shaking my head at him before he even finished the sentence. "No, body guards dropping dead wasn't a huge threat before, Cody. Now that it is, I'll fucking fire you if I have to!" I yelled. It was an empty threat and I'm sure he knew it, but I was just drunk enough and just upset enough that it poured out of my mouth.

"Your father is the only one who can fire me. My contract is with him, for you. And unless I've missed it, my contract hasn't been signed over to you yet." I felt machine like, spouting logic without emotion as I kept my gaze downward.

Julie:
I stomped over to him and pushed him, getting more angry that he didn't even budge, angry that he wasn't looking at me, angry that we were so close to danger today. "You think he wont fire you if I ask him to?" I yelled, feeling crazy.

I finally looked up when she pushed me. Setting my jaw I searched her face, "You wont ask him too. And I didn't think you were naive enough to expect that life was going to be simple and easy. It's my job to keep you safe, even if that means I throw myself in front of you to keep the danger at bay."

Julie:
My lips were pressed together into a hard line as I glared at him. "I'm not naive, Cody. But someone died today because I wanted to go to the mall," I practically spit the last word. "I cant even...think...about...." I stopped when my tears overpowered my voice. I dissolved into hiccups and shuddering breaths and I knew this was why I wasnt allowed to know certain things. I didnt handle them well. But if being in the dark made me naive to certain things, then I had to be brought up to speed on everything as it happened.

Guilt lanced through me at her words, and my hands clenched into white knuckled fists within my folded arms when she started hiccuping. Put like that, she wasn't wrong. A simple trip to the mall had ended with a young mans death. There was no beating around the bush, she had been kept in the dark about a lot of things and that made her innocent and naive. I liked those things about her though. A knock on the door to her rooms had me look up.

Julie:
I startled when there was a knock at the door and tried to calm my breathing. "W-who is that?" I asked, turning around to look in the mirror. I was an absolute mess. My eyes were bloodshot, tear marks were across my pink cheeks and my hair looked like a rats nest. I grabbed some tissue and started blotting at my eyes. For the first few seconds, the tears that I wiped away streaked right back down my face until I didnt have any left. I sniffled and kept my eyes down as I grabbed for more tissue. "Could you get that? I'll be out in a second." I said. My voice sounded like I had swallowed glass.

I looked at her face with a brief pained look then put on my best poker face. I paused in the bathroom doorway and glancing over my shoulder I told her softly, "For what it's worth. I'm sorry Jules." I didn't wait for her response.

When I opened the doorway I blinked into the face of my father and one of the other guards. The look my father held was nothing but pity. "You'll have to come with me. Justin will be taking care of her for the evening. I'll debrief you after we get to the conference room."

Julie:
I ignored his apology, mostly because I didnt have the energy to respond, and tried to make it look like I hadnt just spent a half hour in tears. When I felt halfway presentable, I followed Cody out of the bathroom to see who was at the door. 

I took one look at the guy who was obviously a guard and knew what was going on. I looked at Codys dad and shook my head. "You've got to be kidding me. Right now?" I asked. I knew crying would not help the situation but I felt my lip tremble anyway. "He cant stay for a little while...?" I asked, trying to keep it together. I knew I wouldnt feel safe here if he left me alone with a guard I didnt know. Not to mention, we were in the middle of a conversation.

Cody:

"Cody, go now." My father had a voice and a tone when things were serious. It left very little room to argue, and none at all if you were smart about it. I looked at Jules for a moment then back ahead and to the floor. Under my breath I murmured softly, "You want me to be fired but also want me to stay...sometimes you can't have it both ways." I pushed out the door then and quickly went down the hallway.

Mr Devlin:

I put an arm across the doorway, a casual gesture but a bar never the less after Cody left the room. "I'm sure you have many questions Julie." I pulled back and looked at Justin and motioned for him to take a quick break.