The Bodyguard

Chapter 18

TORI

My time in Italy with Theo was more than magical, from Florence to Venice and Rome. Everyone says Disney World is where all of the magic happens, and while this may be true for some, Italy was my Disney World.

In Florence, we visited the most beautiful museums and gardens. We ate at fine dining restaurants, which taught me that Theo is part Italian. He now calls me Tesoro, which means sweetheart in Italian. In Venice and Rome, we did the same things and took lots of pictures to remember our first trip together. It was everything I imagined and a great way to prepare my mind for my next life adventure. 

For my twenty-fifth birthday, Theo had all sorts of things planned. We saw breathtaking sights and had a great day together. Theo gifted me my first bouquet of red roses, my first of many, he said. He also gave me a red dress that I wore on our outing for my birthday dinner, along with a silver heart locket, including our small picture. The day was better than I had imagined. We ended the night with wine and danced to the music from the streets. 

The phone call on the last day of our trip made a panic fill my body. My father, the President, had been shot, and this time, it wasn't a simple fix. P Patterson took a bullet to the chest while he was at an outside conference. The person had run up out of nowhere and took the shot. My father was in between stable and critical condition because the bullet was very close to his heart. Hayley was the one to call me.

"Tori, your father has been shot in the chest. It isn't good. I don't know if he's going to pull through. The doctors aren't even sure. They said it was a miracle he made it to the hospital. Please come home to see him. I know we all are still working on our relationship as a family, but your father would want you here. I want you here for him."

"I'll be on the next available flight. Stay strong, Hayley. Patterson can get through this. H  doesn't need just me he needs all of us. Be there for him until I can get there." Not knowing what tomorrow held and remembering my mother's words, I said something I thought would take months or even years to say. "Tell him his daughter Tori loves him. I love you too, Hayley, Peter, Brielle, and Morgan."

I heard Hayley sob on the other end of the phone. She wasn't expecting me to say those words, but neither was I. " h Tori, he loves you so much you don't even know. I love you, too, and so do your siblings. I'll see you when you get here. He's in the private hospital suite."

I pressed the end call button and took a deep breath. Theo was by my side in our hotel room on the bed next to me, rubbing my shoulders to comfort me. "It's going to be okay. They can't get rid of your dad that easily. He's tough, and so are you."

I nodded, tears filling my eyes. I was tough. T at was something both my mother and father had given me. " let's go home," I said.

*A few days later*

"Good morning, Dad," I said, holding my father's hand as he lay in the hospital bed, hooked up to numerous machines. He was critical when I got onto my flight back home, and since I arrived, he'd been stable. 

Hayley entered the room and sat down next to me, handing me one of the cups of coffee she had in her hand. " You know you don't have to be by his side every hour," she said.

I took a sip of the warm drink and leaned back into my chair. "  know that, but his condition is good. I'm afraid if I leave, it will change, and I don't want that. Besides I'm telling him all about my life so I hope he remembers it all when he wakes up."

Hayley chuckled. "I'm sure he will. Your father has a pretty good memory." Hayley became quiet, and I glanced at her. "sometimes I wish he would have told me about Clarissa."

"What?" I asked.

"I would have been angry at Patterson, but if he would have told me, then maybe he wouldn't have left you and your mother. Patterson didn't run from things, but I think Patterson ran from you and your mother because he was afraid that if he stayed, he'd ruin both relationships he had going."

I nodded. "All he had to do was be honest. I asked my mother almost every day where he was or if he was coming back. My answer was always no. We didn't talk about my father after I turned ten. I learned to stop asking, and my curiosity went away."

"Patterson never once mentioned his life with Clarissa, but sometimes I found him crying in his office late at night. I'd never seen him so upset before. He'd been looking at a picture frame and shoved it back in the drawer when he heard me at the door. That picture was of you," Hayley said. She reached into her cardigan pocket and pulled out a miniature picture frame with a photo of me inside. "This is what he was looking at."

I examined the photo. " This photo is from my first audition. I  was for a commercial. How does he have this?"

"I wondered that, too, until I looked at the back of the photo." Confused, I took the picture out of the frame and saw the words written in black Sharpie—my mother's handwriting. "I don't know when he got the photo or how long he had it, but when I found this when he wasn't home one day, I knew he had another child."

"Why didn't you tell him you knew instead of keeping it a secret? H  could've come to find me!"

Hayley nodded. "  know. I was selfish not to bring it up to him, but I didn't want to ruin what we had going. If I had done that, everything would've changed."

Hayley was right. Everything would have changed. If my father had been present in my life after I turned twelve, I may not have had an acting career like I did. I could have grown up with my half-siblings and known more about Patterson than I do now.

"It's okay," I said.

I felt pressure on my hand and looked over to see my father awake. "Dad?"

My father slowly smiled. "I  love you too."

Hayley and I smiled. 

A couple of days passed, and once my father was in strong enough condition, he was able to go home to the White House. His recovery was still long, and the Vice President was helping fill in for him. However, my father wanted back into the action of being a President. He'd only been on the job for a few months, and so much had happened.

Theo and I stayed at the White House with Daniel, Archer, and Oliver until I was sure my father didn't need active care. Hayley had it under control, and so did my siblings, but I wanted to be there because I had never had that opportunity.

"Tori, we've got it. Your father is doing great. The nurses come by to check on him, and if he needs the hospital, it's not that far away. If anything changes, I will call you. We're family, ly, and I won't let you down," Hayley said. 

I hugged Hayley. Although she may not be my mother, she gave off a little energy like my mother once had. Hayley was a good person. 

"Thank you. I'll see you all for Brielle's twenty-first birthday at my house in a few weeks. I love you guys."

Hayley blew me a kiss as I walked out the door with Theo, my arm linked through his. 

"How about I make us a gourmet lunch when we get home? I've been practicing," I said. 

"Yes!" I chuckled at the sight of Archer fist pumping the air. " an Arianna come?"

"Have you asked her to be your girlfriend yet?" I asked. Archer shook his head. I'll invite her if you swear to ask her tonight. She can't stop raving about you. I don't know why you're waiting so long."

Archer raised his brows. Why was he surprised at this? " Arianna is talking about me?"

"Uh, yeah! That's what women do when they like someone. They go on and on about that person. You aren't afraid because she's famous, are you?"

"N-No."

"Archer! Arianna doesn't care if you are famous or not. Look at me and Theo. We turned out just fine. Why can't you and Ari turn out fine?"

Archer shrugged. "I guess I'm overthinking it. Will you please invite her over? I'll be sure to ask her, but I need to go buy some flowers once we get off our flight."

I smiled. "I'm going to call Arianna right now!"

Things were going great.