The Protectors Series: Book One - The Beginning

The Protectors Chapter 13

Chapter 13

          By the time Tobey was ready to get out of the water it was almost noon. Sophia had claimed a couple of lounge chairs and was reading a book underneath one of the beach huts.

          He walked out of the ocean and onto the beach, fine white sand sticking to his feet and ankles, trying not to kick sand at the people who were lying in the sand. There were many more groups of beach – goers. He could see people of all ages, even a group of young blonde teenagers who whispered to each other as he walked past.

          Tobey sat down on the lounge next to Sophia and wiped his face with a towel and attempted to tame his hair. He laid down on the lounge and sighed, “I could get used to this.”

          Sophia smiled, marking her page and putting her book down, “You are always welcome here, both you and Jade are.”

          “Thank you, I have a feeling she will be spending more time down here if she keeps having problems at home.”

          She gave a little laugh, “You two are breaking all the rules, you know that?”

          “I know that we aren’t supposed to be together, because her parents hate me, and because it will affect our jobs or something like that.”

          “I’m not saying you two have to split up or anything like that, all I’m saying is that you have to be careful. You have a duty, and you need to be faithful to it. It will be difficult to choose what is right at times, but I think you can figure it all out.” She closed her eyes and adjusted her hat, “You just have to watch out for her mother.”

          “That woman is crazy,” he said, then realized he just called her daughter crazy, “Oh crap, I’m sorry… uh…”

          Sophia just laughed, “Its all right, I know she has a different outlook on life. She asked when it would be her chance to be a protector, and I said never, because it goes to every other generation. She got very upset, moved out of the house and in with her boyfriend, who would eventually be Jade’s father, have you met him?”

          He shook his head, “Not yet, he is never home.”

          “I love him dearly, he is an amazing man, but I know he is caught between what my daughter says and what he thinks is right.”

          “Was her mother upset when she was born, uh, the girls pass down their cross to other girls right?”

          She nodded, “Yes, and she was torn. She loved her daughter, because she was her baby, but she was also very jealous of what she would get to do one day, so she tried to keep Jade away from me.” She was quiet for a moment then continued, “But then her father stepped in and let Jade come visit me on her summer vacation one year. Then it turned into a few times a year, where I would take her to various lessons to prepare her. She never complained and as far as I could see she enjoyed all of it.”

          “She sure can put up a fight,” Tobey said, then went on to explain what happened the Friday before, “She pretty much beat the crap out of her ex boyfriend after he tried to bring her back home.”

          “I never liked that boy…” Sophia began, “He seemed nice at first, but there were a few little things that he tried to cover up, but it didn’t work. He’s very controlling and likes to look at other girls.”

          “Yeah that sounds like him. So was her mother ok with Jade learning all the fighting and stuff?”

          Sophia gave a sly smile, “Well, she doesn’t exactly know what Jade was really doing when she came down here. In order to keep her calm, and for her to still allow Jade to come visit, we had to do a little bit of lying,” she held up her hands, “purely for her own peace of mind. I was worried after the first summer she spent with me Viviana came to pick her up. She asked Jade what she did, and she said ‘we went to the beach, went shopping and went to Disney World!’ she never talked about the lessons or anything.”

          Tobey reached into the beach bag and pulled out two water bottles. He handed one to Sophia and took the cap off his own to take a drink, “So her mother doesn’t know she’s a protector?”

          “She probably knew something was going on when Jade came home with that cross around her neck a few weeks ago. I used to wear it when her mother was little, but I kept it hidden the best I could. After all those years I’m not sure she remembered it, but she definitely knows something is going on.”

          Tobey put the water bottle down and closed his eyes, “Do you think she will come looking for Jade?”

          “Probably not, at this point they have no money.”

          He sat up, “Her parents were cut off?”

          Sophia nodded, “When Viviana called from a pay phone the other day, I had a feeling that Jared’s parents had given up on them.”