C6 Just There

You know, there are times when we encounter problems in our life. Most times we think that we can either run from it, hide from it, or avoid it, but what we don’t know is that there are levels to problems. There are some problems that stay with you no matter where you run, hide, or try to avoid.

Well, just like mine. I had managed to evade the serious-looking bodyguards that won’t stop following me around. Whenever I turned, I was sure to see these men. Their distance got a lot closer since I excused myself and went to the bathroom. I had taken a lot of time coming out because, for once today, I wanted to be alone. At some point, I was beginning to think they thought I wanted to elope. It was at that point I remembered the library. Now I was comfortably sitting in a chair in the library, but I felt distant.

As I tried to concentrate, the words in the book began to dance in my eyes. It began to look like I had dyslexia. I tried so hard, but I succeeded in falling asleep on my books. Maybe osmosis will take place.

Once I woke up, I noticed that some people had already started leaving the library. I looked out the window and saw that the weather was already dark. I panicked and began walking out of the library, but I was somewhat relieved when I saw the bodyguards standing at a corner. I walked back to my corner and packed my books. Looking at the time, it was 5 pm. I had successfully wasted 3 hrs. of my time doing nothing in the library.

"What is going on with me?" I asked myself. I knew the answers, but I just didn’t want to address it yet. The moment I came out of the library, one of the bodyguards cleared his throat.

“Miss, are you ready to leave now?” his voice boomed.

“Yes, I’m ready,” I said as I took a deep breath.

“You don’t have to,” I said to one of them, but he had already taken my books off my hand and began leaving. I followed him, and the other bodyguard was behind me.

It was when we got out of the library, and I saw that the car was parked at a far distance, I became grateful that he had collected my books from me. The ride home was a quiet one, except for the few times my phone chimed with messages. I wasn’t in the mood to reply, so I let them sit comfortably in front of my phone. As we journeyed to a place I would call him for the next 30 days, a thousand and one thoughts ran through my mind.

What if Bryce and Mark do not keep to the end of the deal? What if my grandpa doesn’t get better? What if Mark requires me to do something that I can’t do? Well, all these and more plagued my heart, but there was one question that I didn’t want to ask because I might be scared of the reply. It was what if I fall in love with Mark?

No, I would never. He was a cocky guy. I dare not. My chain of thoughts was interrupted when I noticed that the car has just stopped. I looked out to find out that we were now in front of the penthouse.

“Oh,” I said as the bodyguards were now having raised eyebrows on opening the door. I muttered a thank you and went into the penthouse. The smell of the freshly made dinner made my stomach grumble their problems. I had forgotten to eat today. Rosie welcomed me with a big smile and told me that the food was for me. I thanked her and went to wash my hands. Eating was always something I looked forward to.

The moment I ate the first spoon, I moaned in delight. I praised Rosie for her culinary skills. No wonder the Gilberts had her around. After a few spoons, I decided to check my phone. Suddenly I remembered something.

Yesterday after the thing with Mark, he sent me a message. He stated that one of the deals he didn’t mention was that I had to do something with him and for him, at least every day. So I sighed deeply and set him a message. It was a waving emoji. At least that counts for something. It was then that I decided to reply to all my messages. Even the ones that had been dated since 5 days ago. My life has been crazy lately, so checking my messages was something I didn’t see as important these days.

I finished up my food after replying.

“Thank you, Rosie, this was a very delicious meal,” I said to Rosie before heading to my room. I decided to retire early today because I didn’t know what tomorrow held for me. When I got to the front of my room, I looked ahead. Maybe Mark was at work or something, I thought. I got into the shower and washed myself clean. Brushed my teeth, was ready for bed. Just as I flopped down on the bed, I heard a noise. Listening, I found out that it was music. Loud music.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said under my breath. It was a party. A full-blown party organized by Mark because I could hear his voice over the music. And just as the music started filtering through my ears, so did my sleep leave my body.

I tried to sleep, but it felt like sleep had eluded me. Tossing and turning on the bed was doing me no good, so I decided to go to the kitchen and have a glass of milk. Just as I opened the fridge, I heard the door to Mark’s room open. I froze.

Who could it be? My heart beat at a much faster rate as I waited. Was it Mark? I knew I shouldn’t have left my room.

“Ah! Annabella, you always find a way to get into trouble,” I scolded myself. I listened on, and I didn’t hear the heavy thud of his boots. Now questions have begun to rise in my head. Who could it be? I wondered.

“Babes, isn't he hot?” I heard a female voice squeal. What? What was a woman doing in Mark’s room?

“Honestly, babe, you did no justice when you described him,” another girl replied. I sighed, letting out my breath, which I didn’t know I was holding. Partly I was relieved that it wasn’t Mark, but I wasn’t comfortable being around girls I knew close to nothing about. When I turned, I found out that they had reached the kitchen. They were actually three in number. They had legs that were the length of both my hands and legs. Noses that stood pointed in the air. Their clothes struggled to cover their body. I needed no telling that these girls were models, and they had come for the party. They suddenly stopped talking as they got to the kitchen. As they stared at me, they couldn’t hide the contempt in their eyes. They looked at me like I was a book that was in the wrong shelf. Probably because I didn’t look half naked like them. I too stared at them like they had lost their way in the market. I wasn’t going to let anyone put me down, at least that was what I learned from my grandfather. I went ahead to find a glass to pour myself aglass of milk when I heard one of them say something.

“Hey guys, I need a glass of wine. You know she is the maid,” the one who was a blonde said, and the rest of her friends snickered. Then she said again.

“Hey you! Go and get us a bottle of wine at the cellar,” she said. I stopped pouring my milk halfway and froze. What? I turned my head to snap at her when I heard a deep voice that was now getting registered in my head.

“Don’t you dare!” Mark said in the lowest voice I have ever heard, but it carried so much threat that I saw one of the girls flinch. He slowly emerged from where he was at the door of the kitchen. He was wearing a black shirt and black jeans. I was beginning to think that his favorite color was black because that was about the only color he wore. He looked so pleasant to the eye. His hair was all spiky as it seemed quite wet. Was he coming from the bathroom? At the same time, I began wondering how long he had been standing there. Did he watch what had just happened? What was he going to do now?

“Hey, Bimbo, watch your tongue…mind the way you speak to my girlfriend,” he said, staring at me. I squirmed a little and averted my gaze. What just happened? I kept asking myself. I couldn’t believe my ears. Did Mark just call me his girlfriend? Since when did we become a true couple? Inasmuch as this question was still in my head, I was somewhat happy that he stood up for me. I immediately went back to pouring my milk and began to leave the kitchen. Midway to my room, I heard Mark’s voice.

“Hey guys, throw these scallywags out of my house,” he said, and I could hear three familiar voices.

“What? Mark, you can’t do this to us! We really wanted to come to your party; we have waited for long.”

“Please don’t throw us out; we didn’t know that she was your girlfriend!”

“Yes, Mark, how are we meant to know. Please forgive us!”

I could hear the voices of those girls over the music because it was incredibly long. They begged like their lives depended on it, after a while I stopped hearing anything.

“Are they gone?” I heard Mark’s deep voice say.

“Yes, boss,” and then I could hear the party music again. As I sat my half milk glass on my nightstand, my mind began to go haywire. I didn’t want to believe that Mark sent those girls out because of me. I also didn’t want to think of how he had called me his girlfriend. I didn’t know that I was his, and that rattled me. I will have to admit that a part of me fluttered when he called me his girlfriend. I toyed with the idea in my head as I drew up my bed covers.

Yawning, I decided that I have had enough for today. I wonder what would happen tomorrow. Just as I did that I heard a knock on my door.

“Knock knock,” the voice said. The voice was deep, just like Mark’s, but I immediately ruled it out. What was Mark doing at my door? If it wasn’t Mark, who could it be at this hour? It couldn’t be Bryce, because he had gone on a business trip since yesterday. It couldn’t really be Rosie, because I didn’t have anything to do with her this night.

“Annabella, open up,” Mark said. This time I was sure it was him.

Of all the people I expected at my door, Mark was the last one on the list.

My eyes were the size of a watermelon as I saw him at my doorstep. He was shirtless and my breath ceased in my throat. His gaze traveled around my body as he didn’t even make an effort to hide his scrutiny. Under his gaze, I felt naked, but I wasn’t prepared for what was to come. The next thing he did made my jaw drop.