Page 158 of Beautifully Scarred

I’ve spent my morning keeping Monica away from all the windows and doors without raising her suspicions. I’ve let her watch TV in my bedroom, since it’s in the back of the house, and she thinks that we’re going on some fun trip.

Jimmy says the bodyguards will be here in the next half hour, so now's the time to talk to Monica.

I sit down on the bed. “Kiddo, can we talk for a minute?” I click the off button on the remote and the screen goes black.

“Is it time to go?” she says, her eyes wide.

“Almost.” I take her hands.

“Where are we going?” She bounces on her bum on the mattress.

“We get to take a plane.” I muster up as much fake enthusiasm as I can under the circumstances. She’s been begging to go on a plane, and the only good thing about this situation is I get to see her reaction.

Her eyes widen. “Yay!” She throws herself into my arms. “Thank you, Mommy.”

“It’s exciting, I know.”

She nods a bunch of times. “Is Jimmy coming?”

Jimmy didn’t mention anything about him coming, and I’m not willing to break any promises. Normally she’d see him on the weekend, but with this mess to deal with, plus his wedding only weeks away, I have no idea.

“I’m not sure, kiddo.”

The corners of her lips tip down and the light in her eyes dims.

“He might join us later. I’ll talk to him. But you and I can still have fun, right?”

“Yeah, I guess. I just like it better when he’s with us.” She sits down next to me.

I do too.“We’re going to leave very soon, but before we do, there’s something else I have to tell you.”

She gives me her undivided attention.

“You know how sometimes you’ll see Jimmy’s picture on a magazine because he’s in movies?”

She nods.

“Well, the reason you see those pictures is because a lot of people know who he is, even though he doesn’t know them. And that makes them curious to know all about his life. Since you’re his daughter, that means they also want to know a bunch about you.”

Monica wrinkles her forehead. “Why?”

“That’s just the way people are. Up until today, no one else knew that you were Jimmy’s daughter. Now that they do, they want to know more about you.” I inhale a deep breath, willing myself to keep my voice light. “When we leave for our trip, I’m going to carry you to the car and I’m going to put a blanket over you, just like I used to when you were a baby.”

She nods. “But I’m not a baby anymore.”

“I know you’re not, but when we go out there, they’re going to try to take your picture and they’re going to scream things at us. Jimmy and I don’t want them to get a picture of you. So, I want you to think of your favorite song and sing it in your head until I take the blanket off, okay?”

“Okay, Mommy.” My heart squeezes when I see her wrinkled forehead and sad frown. “Will they hurt me?”

I shake my head. “No. You just hold on to me and we’ll be fine, I promise?”

She nods slowly, biting her bottom lip. “Can I watch cartoons now?”

A genuine smile, the first one I’ve had today, splits my face. “Of course you can.” I click on the remote and turn on the TV.

As I set the last bag by the front door, a knock startles me. I pull the curtain to the side just a bit and see a large man with dark hair and bronzed skin. He’s wearing black cargo pants and a tight black T-shirt and must stand a foot or more taller than me.

My phone rings in my back pocket. I pull it out, seeing Jimmy’s name. “Hey.”

---