The Bodyguard

Chapter 32

I know I've been MIA, but here you go!

Happy reading!

                  

Chapter 32

Ivy

Today was the day my father was born, August 23, 1973. He should have been celebrating his 43rd birthday, but that luxury had been ripped away from him far too soon. I had been doing unsually well dealing with the aftermath of his death, but today everything I previously felt came rushing back to me. I no longer wanted to be in the presence of my family and friends. I just wanted to be trapped inside the four bland walls of my room, and never come out. In here I felt solitude, in here I felt safe.

"Ivy," a voice called from the other side of the door, followed by a light tapping. I sat motionless, hoping that they would take my silence as an invitation to walk away.

"Ivy sweetheart, I know you're in there. Please open the door." I recognized the voice as my mother's.

I knew she wanted me to come out of my room and entertain all of her party guests and celebrate the memory of my father, but I just wasn't up for it. She decided that it would be a good idea to have a cook out in honor of him, not me. If it were up to me I'd spend majority of my day by his side at the cemetery just to feel closer to him.

Realizing that I wasn't going to answer her, or leave the confines of my room, she finally left me be. Deciding that I actually would take I trip to visit Daddy, I crawled out of bed and made my way over to the en-suite bathroom.

I gave myself a once over in the mirror and grimaced at the sight. My eyes were puffy and blood-shot red, my hair was scattered carelessly about my head, and I could admit the odor emitting from my body was not pleasant.

Sighing, I turned on the shower and stripped down to my birthday suit. After testing the water, I stepped inside and allowed my tears to become one with the steady stream of hot water. It seemed like the more I tried to rinse off the day before, the more yesterday's pain set into my heart. I missed my father so dearly, and all the progress I'd made into healing came shattering down in one day. I closed my eyes and silently sent up a prayer.

God, if there's a Heaven for thugs I know Daddy is up there living it up. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss him, so I pray that he's watching over me daily—kind of like my own little guardian angel. I pray that you both continue to keep us safe because we can't take another heartbreak. And lastly, I pray for strength to make it through this day. Amen.

I stayed in the shower until the water ran cold, and finally decided it was time to get out. After lotioning, and getting dressed I found myself seated against my windowsill staring at nothing in particular; just lost in my own thoughts.

There was a slight knock at my door. "Ivy?"  This time it was Caya. As with my mother, I gave her no response. "Ivy I know you're not really feeling today, but being cooped up in your room is just gonna make you depressed." I could hear her twisting the door knob trying to get it open, but I'd purposely locked it. "Okay, we've got all day Ivy. I'm not going anywhere." I heard her shuffle a bit before a thud knocked against the door. It sounded like she'd sat down.

"You remember me telling you about how I saw Daddy and Uncle G?" she asked. Of course I remember that, how could I forget? Caya had been granted the chance to say goodbye to the one person I'd give anything to see again. So yes, I remembered.

"Well I know you remember," she continued. "I saw them again after that day. I didn't tell you that." I inwardly rolled my eyes. What was the point of this conversation? "When I saw them the second time, Uncle G told me he knew you were upset about not seeing him. He said to tell you that he loves you, and he misses you everyday, and when the time is right he'll come see you again."