The Protectors Series: Book One - The Beginning

The Protectors Chapter 12

Chapter 12

          Tobey gently closed the door to Jade’s bedroom and followed her grandmother down the hallway and into the main living area. There was an L-shaped couch that divided the living room and the dining room. A large TV was in the corner opposite to the couch.

           In the middle of the two rooms was a sliding door that Tobey guessed led to a patio of some sort and the glass was covered by blinds. The far dining room wall was covered in mirrors, giving the room a much larger look. The glass table was surrounded by six chairs.

          “Would you like something to eat? I just cut up some fruit, and I have some cereal if you are hungry.” Sophia asked, walking into the little kitchen.

          Tobey had completely forgotten about his hunger since they drove over the bridge, “Yes please, if it’s no trouble.”

          “Not at all, the cereal is in the pantry over there,” she pointed to the far corner of the kitchen. There was a small table on the wall of the kitchen, with a door on the other side leading back into the hallway.

          He was just closing the door, holding a box when the phone rang. Sophia looked at the number on the little display screen and sighed, “It’s Jade’s mother,” she pressed the ‘call end’ button and went back to getting fruit out of the fridge.

          Tobey looked at her when she turned around, and she smiled at the expression, “She called last night, furious beyond belief, asking if I knew where Jade was.”

          “We had a bit of a run in with her yesterday morning at the hotel,” he said, getting a clean bowl from the sink, “I guess she was coming to get Jade, but she refused.”

          Sophia wiped her hands on a towel, “Last thing I heard was that Jade was going to go to Paris with Jared, but I had a feeling she wouldn’t leave.”

          “I think she was actually going to leave,” Tobey began telling her everything that happened the night of the memorial service, and watched the surprise on the old lady’s face when he said he asked her to stay, “She said no at first, but eventually she stayed. I know her parents had something planned for her and everything, but I couldn’t let her go through with it.” He stopped for a second and thought out loud, “Well that sounds pretty selfish when you think about it…”

          Sophia just smiled, “Not at all, you did the right thing trying to protect her, because if she got on that plane, there was no guarantee you would ever see her again.”

          “I don’t want too, well I guess I didn’t mean to start anything, but I can’t let her go now.”

          “Then don’t. You two have a hard road ahead of you, with your relationship and your duties as a protector, but I have faith in you two.”

          “Thanks,” Tobey smiled, “I hope I don’t screw up…”

          She laughed and handed him the jug of milk, “You can go sit outside on the lanai if you like. There is a nice breeze this time of the morning.”

          He looked at the clock overtop of the oven. It said 7:15am, he had never been up this early, not even for school. He took his bowl of cereal out onto the lanai and sat down to eat, stuffing his face with Cheerios and the largest plate of pineapple he had ever seen in his life.

          15 minutes later he leaned back in the chair and looked out at the beach. A few people were already making their way down the path, carrying their towels and beach things. He was excited to go and swim in the ocean for the first time.

          Tobey was jolted out of his little daydream when the sliding door opened, and Sophia stuck her head out, “You don’t have to sit here and stare at it the entire time, after we clean up I’ll take you down to the water.”

          His face lit up as he rushed to clean up his dishes. He walked into the kitchen, set them in the dish washer before walking down the hall and quietly opening the door to Jade’s bedroom. She didn’t move when he picked up his new bag of clothes and shut the door.

          Tobey picked a pair of board shorts out of the bag and walked into the little bathroom which was on the other side of the laundry room. He quickly changed out of his clothes and hurried back out into the hallway.

 Sophia was standing at the front door slipping on her shoes. Tobey looked at his running shoes and shrugged, “I don’t need shoes anyway.”

She smiled at him and opened the door, “I have a towel in here for you and some sunscreen.”

He blushed at the motherly gesture, but deep down it warmed him as he walked out the door and down the stairs, then down a little path that led to the pool.

“This is the main pool, there is another on the other side of the complex, it isn’t as big but it is much quieter,” she opened the white gate and held it open for Tobey. As they walked around the pool a group of young kids were jumping into the deep end.

          “This is the exercise room and the bathrooms,” she said, pointing to a little building with two doors on one side of the pool deck. Beside it was a building with large glass windows.

          “That is the club house, there are parties there some nights, and all us old people get together every once and a while,” she smiled and walked towards the gate on the opposite side, which would lead to the beach path.

          Tobey looked around at all the lounges and tables that surrounded the pool. There were very few people there at the moment, but he had a feeling there would be plenty more later on in the day.

          He followed Sophia down the little pathway that led to the beach. Plants lined the walkway, their large leaves sticking up in all directions.

          When they turned a corner Tobey could see the white sand in the distance, and then the waves crashing on the beach. He grinned and picked up his pace, walking in front of the old lady, practically breaking out into a run.

          The sand felt smooth beneath his toes, as he walked closer to the water, the sound of the waves getting louder. He ignored the little bits of seaweed that had washed up on the beach the night before, and just walked straight through a little pile.

          Tobey stopped on the wet sand and waited. A wave quickly broke in front of him and the warm water splashed up along his feet. He took another step, then another until he was ankle deep in the ocean water.

          Small little fish swam around his feet as he walked farther and farther into the water, small waves crashing around him, he smiled and turned around to face the beach.

          Sophia was standing at the waters edge, laughing at him. He waved and fell back into the warm water.