MY BODYGUARD

MY BODYGUARD chapter 8

Tom sits on my bed, clutching his arm, trying to stop it from bleeding out too much as I run to the bathroom to grab a first aid kit I spotted earlier. I quickly run back to Tom, who is looking rather pale now. I examine his wound as best as I can.

Y: It seems the bullet just skimmed you. That's good.

T: Yeah. Still hurts like a bitch though.

Grabbing rubbing alcohol and a bandage I try to prepare Tom for a moment of stinging.

Y: This is going to hurt.

T: Just do it!

Y: Okay okay! I'll count from three, you ready?

T: Yes, do it.

Y: One, two...

I place the paper towel with rubbing alcohol onto his injury and he lets out a loud growl, slapping my hand as I shoot him a defensive look.

T: OW! What happened to three?!

Y: Sorry not sorry. It needed to be done quickly.

I remove the paper towel from his arm and wrap the bandage around it as slowly as I can, trying not to increase the pain he was already in. I tie it off and tap his leg.

Y: All done.

T: Finally.

He stands up and fiddles with his ear piece.

Y: No 'thank you'?

T: Yes, thank you for making the pain ten times worse.

Y: God, with that attitude I should've just let you bleed out.

I storm past him, rather annoyed with his rudeness. After all, I did just basically save his life. He calls after me but I ignore him as I walk out of my bedroom towards the stairs.

T: Hold on. Wait!

Y: fuck you, Tom.

He grabs my arm and spins me round to stop me from walking any further.

T: I'm sorry, ok? I really appreciate what you just did for me. Sorry for being such an ass.

I breath out loudly and look to the floor.

Y: It's fine.

I speak lowly, only just loud enough for him to hear. I'm taken aback as he walks a step closer and lifts my chin up to look at him.

T: I really am grateful.

I tense my body at his touch. His low voice making it even harder for me to concentrate. He gently runs his thumb along my cheek, sending shivers down my spine.

T: You should put some cream on those cuts. There's still some glass in there.

And with that, he walks away.

~~~

I finish taking the little pieces of glass out of the cuts in my face, and apply some antiseptic cream. As much as I'm trying, I can't seem to shake Tom from my thoughts. I keep recalling the soft touch of his thumb against my cheek, it's driving me crazy.

I glance at the clock on my wall. 3 o'clock. Do I go downstairs or not? I feel like if I see him again, I might actually fail to form words. I eventually quit overreacting and make my way to the living room. I don't know why I expect not to see him again, after all, he is my bodyguard. He's meant to stay with me.

The minute I walk into the living room, Tom is shortly hot on my heels. He doesn't say anything, I am really quite glad. I try not to look at him as he stands by the doorway because I am afraid, I might turn bright pink in the face and become all flustered.

Instead, I turn on the television and go on to Netflix to distract my unholy thoughts. I grab snacks and a large bottle of diet coke from the kitchen before slumping on the sofa. Flipping through the films, I finally land on 'The Haunting of Bly Manor', a horror series, although, it isn't that scary, just weird.

I must have fell asleep during the last episode because I wake up with it paused and with a blanket over me. I scan my surroundings to  see Tom sat on the armchair next to me, sleeping. I find myself smiling at him, his face seems gentler as he sleeps, still frowning slightly, but gentle. I also smile at the fact that he paused my episode so I didn't miss anything, and, the fact he put a blanket around me while I slept.

I crawl out of my comfy position and walk towards the sleepy man next to me. I don't want to wake him; he needs the rest. I check his arm without touching him, to see that it was ok, and take the blanket from where I lay to put around him.

Tiptoeing up the stairs, I head for my bedroom. The time was now half 11. I cannot believe that I have just binge watched 8 and a half hours' worth of 'The Haunting of Bly Manor', which was actually 9 out of 10 episodes. Although, I managed to watch half of the 10th one. That can be something to watch in the morning.

I heard Tom get a drink half way through the 4th episode, and he sat on the arm chair next to me for the rest of the episodes. Clearly fed up of standing. He wasn't really paying attention to it; he was on his phone most of the time. We shared glances and smiles a couple of times but that doesn't mean anything. Does it?

I quickly do my teeth and shove on my black cycling shorts and an over-sized, yellow Nirvana t-shirt to sleep in. Jumping into my bed, I stare at the ceiling, dreaming of what life would be like outside all of this captivity. I'm not ungrateful, I would just like to be free from all of this crap.