Suicide Watch

Chapter 11

Isa POV

It is a long time before I fall asleep.

I spend most of the night watching Temi's outline on the bed in the darkness. I squint slightly, watching as her body moves slowly in sync with her breathing. I'm lying on the floor and Temi is up on her bed, her back turned to me in order to pretend that I'm not in the room at all.

I don't blame her, but at the same time, I do. I'm still angry at the events from earlier today and my skin prickles when I think of Temi running off to God knows where during class.

I had not expected myself to feel as angry as I did about the situation. I usually praise myself for being pretty level-headed and being able to handle intense emotion. This trait is a major reason that I work as a bodyguard. After all, you need to know how to remain calm under pressure for a job like this. 

But with Temi, it's different. It's like all my years of training have suddenly flown out of the window. My mind is racing as I think back to all the worst things I had imagined when Temi had not come out of the building after her class.

I roll over in my heaps of blankets, turning my back so I am no longer facing Temi. Sleeping on the ground is uncomfortable. The hard floor is digging into my sides, and I'm shivering slightly, but I don't care. If this is what I have to do to ensure that Temi is safe and she doesn't run off again, then I will do just this.

It is weird being put on a mission as a suicide watch guard rather than as a bodyguard. Obviously, I am not very good at the former. I sigh to myself and swallow down a lump of frustration that has formed in my throat.

I am filled with an emotion I haven't felt in a long time. It triggers a memory that I would much rather not think of right then.

But as I lay within the blankets, I can't stop my mind from wandering off to Joshua. I had met him a couple of years into my time in the military. He had just joined, and I could see myself in him. Just like him, I had been only 18 when I enlisted.

Enlisting in the military was not something that I chose to do. It was something that I had to do. There was no other way that I was going to support my family. Hence, straight after high-school graduation, I enlisted.

Joshua was the same and I think that was what drew me to him. I took him under my wing. He was the little brother that I never had. We were both posted to the same military base and were basically inseparable.

I swallow hard as the memory of the faithful day washes over me.

"Isa, we're needed out there."

Joshua's hair is longer and a dirty blond color. It had been a few shades lighter when I had first met him a couple of years ago. But that's not the only thing that has changed about him. He is taller now, his shoulders are broader, and he carries himself with a newfound confidence. And from the talk amongst the other women in the army, I am not the only one that has noticed it.

I grin to myself, sweeping my short hair away from my face.

"Good morning to you too, Josh. I'm glad to see that you're alive." I grin again as Joshua rolls his eyes. No doubt he knows I am referencing his state at the local party we went to last night. It is always a shock to me how he gets blackout drunk at parties, but bounces back unaffected the next morning.

"Whatever, Isa. Can you hurry up, please?"

"Can you relax," I say, dragging out the syllables in each word, "I'm just going to finish off here. Don't go without me."

I hear Joshua groan but smile as he settles down on his backpack and crosses his arms over his chest in a false-stubborn pose.

I quickly begin getting my things together, putting my essentials into my backpack. It is hot in the tent and I wipe sweat off my forehead.