Page 5 of Trust My Bodyguard

CHAPTER TWO

Ivy

Iris slurps her drink so loudly I wince.

“Do you have to do that?” I’m not one to police my sister. Not after all she’s been through. But today was particularly tedious for me and I’d love some quiet.

“It feels good.” She does it again. “You should try it.”

“Eh, no.” I swipe my card over the sensor and push the lobby door, holding it open as we walk through.

“Try it,” she insists.

I give in and bring my straw to my lips. The refreshing fruit juice we grabbed from the cart in the park fills my mouth and the bubbling sound actually doesn’t grate my nerves.

“So…” Her eyes twinkle as she waits for my verdict.

After seeing her face plastered all over the internet and on billboards for years, I kind of forgot that at twenty, she’s only just left her teen years behind. Something so simple can make her so happy. From my outside perspective, she seems to have lived a thousand lifetimes.

“It’s nice.”

The smile on her face warms me. When I got the call that she’d collapsed and was taken to the hospital three weeks ago, I dropped everything and rushed to her side. Our parents, who’d pushed for and “managed” her music career, were nowhere to be found.

While Iris was bedridden, discoveries that left me stunned and her heartbroken, cropped up. She couldn’t pay the hospital bills despite the fact she was a big superstar. Why? Our dad—no, Luke, because he doesn’t deserve to be called a father—had embezzled all her money and skipped town. While our mom, Katie, ran off with Iris’s boyfriend. Scum doesn’t even begin to describe them.

We still haven’t spoken about what happened. Not really. It’s been a week since Iris returned home from the hospital and is trying to live a normal life with me, a sister she never spent time with growing up.

I’m trying my best to help her lead that normal life after the hell our parents put her through. If that means sipping loudly and other ridiculousness, then I’m game.

“See?” Her startling green eyes brighten for a second before returning to their usual weariness.

She used to be happy and bright. More than I ever was or could ever hope to be. But the years and our parents’ interference did a number on her. And trying to keep a smile on her face is like expecting a wet rag to hold a flame.

I tear my gaze away. Looking at her for too long always breaks my heart. She deserves none of what she has faced. Damn our parents. Now that they are out of the picture, she’s my responsibility and I’m going to do right by her.

I press the button on the elevator. The door slides to enclose us when my phone buzzes. I whip it out and read the notification. A sigh escapes me and my shoulders fall.

“Work?” Iris asks.

“Yep,” I reply. “It’s a kid I placed in a home. He’s been having trouble adjusting, and his foster parents are at their wit’s end.”

I don’t mean to sound so despondent but sometimes I’m just so tired. Trying to do the right thing and still having it blow up in your face sucks.

“I wonder how you do it.” Iris’s eyes are glued to my face.

I wonder what she sees. An older sister who failed to protect her? A woman wound so tightly she can feel the ache in bones? A person grappling with life but losing their hold on everything?

“You’re amazing.”

My eyebrows rise. “W-What do you mean?”

“How you deal with watching broken families and trying to help them. It must take a lot from you.”

I start to deny it, but it’s my sister here. Not my boss. “It does, but at the same time, it’s fulfilling when it works out. I just hate to see those who cannot stand up for themselves getting beaten down again and again. I always want to help them.”

I hold her gaze for a long second until she blinks and looks away.

“Shoot.” I bite my lip. “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

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