safe - h.s (EDITING)

two

"Mija, come to my office in 10 minutes." My father says as he passes my open bedroom door. I huffed, rolling my eyes as I got up to change out of my pyjamas. Whenever there was a serious matter to talk about, my father made us go into his office. 

It was scary in there. Ever since I was little, the office was the one thing I didn't like about my house. It always had a chill in the air and there was no warmth from my father when he sat behind that desk. 

I threw on jeans and a random comfortable t-shirt that was crumpled up in my drawer. I scroll through my phone for a bit before heading to my dad's office. I knocked on the big dark wooden door. I heard a faint "come in" from the other side so I opened the door revealing the unsettling feeling to me once again. My father's office had always remained the same. 

The deep wooden floorboards had the same dents, the walls still had the same dark grey colour, the black bookshelves had the same folders on them with a few new ones on there and finally, the huge oak desk my father sat behind was still sat in the middle of the room. With his stone face looking up at me, I sat down in one of the two tub chairs that were placed directly in front of the desk.

"Do you know why I asked you to come in here, Lana?" my father asks me as he places his glasses on the table in front of him.

"No," I answer shortly. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife right now. I couldn't stand being alone with my father, let alone in this office I'm sitting in right now.

"As you know, you will be moving out and so will your sister. I'm assuming you would like to know the details?" he asks and I nod my head, knowing it was better to just let him talk.

"You will have a few options. You can go to either Harvard, Yale, Boston, New York or Stanford University." He says sternly, making it obvious I had no further options. I thought I could choose wherever I wanted to go but of course, I should've known better than that.

"How long do I have before I have to decide? When do I move out?" I ask him, anxiety building inside me as I waited for his response.

"You have to decide by the end of the week and you will move out by the end of next week." He simply states.

"The end of the week? It's already Wednesday!" I respond, clearly agitated.

"You better decide fast then." He says unfazed. I sigh deeply because there is no point arguing with him, I won't get anywhere. I kept my thoughts to myself as they floated around my mind, wanting an escape.

"Was that all?" I spat, wanting to get away from him.

"No, there is one more thing." He stops me just as I was about to get up, "You will need a bodyguard at all times. I have picked someone I have worked with for a while now and I'm sure you two will get along." He explains.

"When do I meet her?" I asked, relieved I won't be fully alone in a completely new place.

"It's a man and you will be meeting him the day you leave." He explains further. My jaw drops to the floor as I furrowed my eyebrows.

"You expect me to live with a complete stranger and on top of that, it's a man! Papa with all due respect, I don't feel very comfortable with that." I argue feeling uncomfortable with living with a male who will be with me at all times.

"Mija this is for your own safety. He is the highest-ranked man in his station and I have known him for many years. You either live with this man or you die. It's your choice." He says and I huff in pure anger and frustration.

"Now go think about your options and get back to me," he says dismissing me. I shook my head, folding my arms before I walk out of the room feeling agitated and extremely frustrated.