The Bodyguard

7

The following chapter has mature and sensitive material that may be upsetting to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

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I stood over Rose with a raised brow. Rose was sprawled out on her bed. I would have let her keep sleeping, but it was eleven in the morning and I knew her parents would be home soon. It was one thing about being blasé about drinking on her medication, it was another for her parents to see the aftermath.

She looked so much more at ease asleep, her hair wide over her pillow and her arms bent above her head. Her chest rose slowly, indicating that she was still deep in sleep. Bailey stayed glued to Rose all night, abandoning me for her bed. Not that I minded, Bailey could be a bed hog at times.

I set the glass of water in my hand down on the nightstand and gently shook her.

"Roza? Wake up," I said gently, shaking her arm. She groaned and shifted before I shook her again. Her eyes snapped open and she flinched away from me, her eyes, darting around frantically before she relaxed. I held my hand back and waited for her to relax.

"Sorry," she mumbled and I nodded.

"It's okay, I didn't mean to startle you," I explained but she nodded and rubbed her face.

"It's okay. I just thought I was somewhere else," she admitted after a moment and her face darkened.

"What is it?"

Rose got up and brushed passed me, heading for the bathroom. She made it into the bathroom before I heard the sound of her retching, not able to close the door. I frowned and waited for her to finish and come out. Bailey lifted her head off the bed and looked toward the door before looking at me, her tail starting to thump against the mattress.

I scratched Bailey's ears when a noise reached mine.

"Rose? Are you okay?"

It was a choked noise, but hearing her shed tears made my heart ache.

She cleared her throat and I heard the toilet flush, and then the tap. She rinsed her mouth out a few times before she came back out, her eyes red and downcast.

"Alcohol?"

Rose sniffed and rubbed her nose with the back of her hand, a small shake of her head.

"No," she said quietly before leaving the room, taking the glass of water I left on the nightstand with her. I looked at Bailey again and canted my head to the side. She jumped off the bed with a gruff and trotted after Rose.

I followed after them and find them in the kitchen, Rose popping slices of bread into the toaster, her eyes looking more haunted than they did upstairs. Her whole demeanour had shifted, and it was like watching her withdraw into herself.

"What did you dream about, Rose?" I asked, but my voice made it sound more like a demand. Rose's eyes stayed trained on the toaster. I moved around the counter and stood beside Rose, turning her slowly to face me.

"Tell me. You can tell me," I whispered, cupping her cheeks. This was something deeper than what we had all seen on the surface. When I started this job, I spent hours reading Rose's file, her medical records, accident reports, police reports, and social media posts. I knew that there was something she wasn't telling anyone.

Rose's nose flared and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Mason drugged me once," She whispered, "He told me that it was just weed but there was something else mixed with it too."

I nodded and brushed the tear away. "What happened?"

"I don't know how he got it, but it was laced with Special K," Rose explained after a moment and swallowed thickly. "I don't know what he was trying to do or had planned, but I was so out of it that I blacked out."