Page 26 of Guarded By Death

She perks up again. "That's sweet! A little moonlit stroll." She dramatically swoons. "Where did he take you?" She continues being her nosy self. I fill her in slightly, that we ate at a seafood restaurant, the one that's down the street though. Not in Brazil, obviously. We talk for hours about Pierce and summer, it's nice to have a normal human discussion without the looming threat of what dangers lie beyond my safe bubble.

I look over to see her lightly snoring, a smile peels up my lips as I pull the comforter out from underneath us and cover us both up. Almost immediately I'm welcomed to sleep, my dreams consisting of a mysterious man and crystal-clear waters.

I jolt awake from a deep sleep, drenched in sweat. Nausea overtakes me as I race to the bathroom and heave over the toilet, throwing up all of the food in my stomach, I guess my emotions aren't as controlled as I thought they were? Or maybe the food was bad? I'm too tired to think about it. I quickly wash my face and brush my teeth before crawling back into bed.

Every day that Pierce is gone drags by at an agonizingly slow rate. How can I possibly miss someone I've known for such a short period of time? I feel sick the entire time he's gone, and I feel guilty for Liv having to lay on the couch with me for two days straight. She, of course, didn't mind, and I just told her I got a stomach bug.

I'm mostly worried about where he is and the fact that I can't call him. Why doesn't he have a cell phone? I laugh because I forget he isn't exactly a normal twenty-one-year-old.

I wake up to a text on Tuesday morning from Mom to let me know she’s home. I gather my things and give Liv a hug bye. I had a good weekend with her, but I miss my bed so much. I normally wouldn't be up at nine am, but I know Pierce should be arriving back soon and it’s making me antsy. Will he know I went home? Of course, he will. Does he miss me? Will he even come back? These are my thoughts on my short drive home.

I walk in my house and see mom looking happy and refreshed as she sips on her morning coffee. "How was your long weekend with Brian?" I ask through innocent eyes and a knowing smile.

She swats my arm before pulling me into a tight hug. "I missed you so much, honey. Did you have fun with Liv? I should call her parents to say thank you for having you over!" She reaches for her phone and I slightly panic.

I let out an awkward chuckle. "Mom don't embarrass me. I'm an adult now, remember?" I say as I stand on my tippy toes, which makes her smile. "We had a great time, mostly stayed on the couch and watched movies. It was fun," I say with a sheepish grin as I tuck my hair behind my ear. Glad that the nauseous feeling in my stomach is slowly going away.

She tilts her head to study me. "You look awfully happy this early in the morning. I figured you wouldn’t have read my text until you girls woke up around noon," she jokes.

I take my bottom lip between my teeth, I'm not sure how she will react. I've had boyfriends of course but they were always a quick fling, lasted maybe a month before I ended things. I never let anyone get too close. Liv is the closest person to me besides mom and Zack. Well, Pierce too, now. I think of his name and my heart beats faster in my chest.

"Umm, I met someone?" I say this as more of a question, watching her facial expressions to gauge her reaction.

"Honey! That's wonderful. Who is it? Do I know him? Oh my God, you are finally giving Zack a chance!" she squeals in excitement.

I shake my head, twiddling my thumbs. "I said I met someone, which means a new guy," I reply. I know she loves Zack, but I have known him far too long and I just don't have those feelings for him. I nervously look up at her and she still looks equally as excited and interested, so I continue. "His name’s Pierce.” My tone is at a higher octave than usual, what is he doing to me?

"Ohh, that's a cute name." She's practically bouncing on her feet. "How old?"

Not sure, I laugh to myself. "Twenty-One." Her face grows serious and I already know what she's thinking. "He doesn't drink," I tell her, holding my hand up before she can talk. As the words hit her ears, she takes a sip of coffee and smiles.

"Well, I would love to meet him," she grins.

"Hopefully soon!" Hopefully he gets home soon. I miss him so much. "I want to meet Brian soon." I fire back before she can change the subject.

She smiles brightly. "I wanted to talk to you about that. I really like him Scarlett, and I think you will too." She gives me a hopeful look. "He owns a beach house about forty-five minutes away, I was wondering if you would like to come with me sometime?"

Her eyes gloss over a little and I know she doesn't like talking about this around me, but she doesn't need to feel like she has to hide anything. I know how much she and my father loved each other. It makes me happy that she's found someone to make her smile again, even though it hurts me to my core that my father isn't here, I'm happy for her. I feel the tears drip onto my cheeks.

I quickly wrap her into a tight hug. She gasps a little at the rushed contact. "Oh, honey I didn't mean to upset you, you don't have to meet him," she stammers as she sets her coffee on the table to wrap both arms around me.

I shake my head in her hair. "No, mom, I want to, I promise I do. I'm just happy for you is all." I assure her, pulling away so she can see that they’re happy tears.

"I love you, Scarlett, so much," she beams.

"I know mom, I love you too," I tell her as I wipe the tears from my face. A beat of silence passes between us before I decide that may be enough heart to heart for today. "I need a shower and maybe a nap," I say as I head for the stairs.

"Okay honey, I'm deep cleaning today so don't mind me! I'll wake you up for dinner if you decide to sleep the day away," she yells out when I top the stairs.

"Sounds good!" I exclaim as I open my door.

The warm water from the shower soothes my stiff muscles. Ever since Pierce left, I have been on edge, not just because I miss him. But what if something happens? What if someone comes after me? I have become extremely paranoid in the last few days and I know my behavior is completely justified.

I leave the shower once the water runs cold and step back into my room to get changed. For the first time today, I look on my bed and a smile forces itself on my tired face. A black t-shirt is laid out for me next to a big, fluffy pink bear. I slide on a pair of boy shorts and place the shirt over myself, inhaling the intoxicating scent of mint and leather. This is one he wore and that makes me happy, I climb into my warm bed and throw my fluffy comforter over me. I wrap my arms tightly around the bear, which I’ve now named ‘Ferris’ and drift to sleep.

I wake to a warm hand brushing my cheek, why is mom waking me up so sweetly? She normally shakes me out of bed to go to school. Ahh, school is over. What an amazing feeling. I grunt and throw my pillow over my face, but it gets pulled from my grip. "I want to sleep!" I quietly demand with closed eyes as I wrestle her for the pillow.

"You didn't miss me?" A warm, achingly beautiful voice asks in almost a whisper.

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