The Bodyguard (Hosie)

Chapter 7

The truth was out. It came to light as soon as Alyssa returned to the room, accompanied by Penelope and Lizzie. There really was no other way to explain how Hope was capable of incapacitating not one, not two, but three grown men and with the place crawling full of police, lying was out of the question.

After their statements were taken, both Hope and Josie were sent to the hospital to get a physical check-up. Hope in particular, needed some medical attention for the cut on her arm. The blood had dried up into a clot by then and Hope didn't think it was serious but everything had to be documented for the record. This wasn't anything new to her and she understood the necessity, so she tolerated the whole process graciously.

Running through her mind as the nurse treated her wound, was the conversation she had with Mr. Saltzman. How worried he had sounded. How panicked he was. All those responses were typical of a doting father yet something bleeped on her mental radar. Call it instinct, call it a gut feeling, but something didn't feel right. The fact that he spent this much money to hire her. The fact that his anxiety seemed to come from a place that had been dreading this would happen. This break-in was not a random occurrence.

Naturally, Mr. Saltzman had ordered her to bring Josie back to Mystic Falls immediately. But Hope wanted a little more time. She needed some time to get hold of the assailants' statements first. Fortunately for her, they couldn't leave Japan just yet. The police required them to assist in the investigations and to do that, they had to visit the police station the next day, after getting sufficient rest.

But another problem presented itself when they returned to the hotel. It was Josie and her fear. They had sent Alyssa to Penelope and Lizzie's room for the night and Josie didn't want to sleep in another room by herself.

"I won't let you sleep alone either," Hope replied, when Josie voiced her concerns.

"What do you mean?" Josie asked.

"You can either come to my room with me, or I will accompany you to the new room and stay there with you."

Josie's reply was almost instantaneous. "Your room."

Hope nodded and without another word, took Josie's hand and led the way. Josie held her arm the entire time, holding on even after the door closed behind them. Understanding how traumatized Josie must have been, Hope was gentle with her, patting her arm while suggesting she take a shower before sleeping. Josie nodded so Hope took out a clean nightdress of her own and handed it to her.

"What is this?"

"I thought you might want to change into something comfortable to sleep in."

Josie had a little crooked smile on her face as she held up the over sized shapeless grey dress. "You wear this to sleep?"

"It looks worn but it's very comfortable," Hope answered, annoyed at the embarrassment that lurked inside. "It's okay if you don't want to wear it."

"Thank you."

Hope's impending frown receded and she almost gasped when Josie gave her a bear hug.

"Thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome."

"I'm sorry you got hurt." Josie pulled back and looked at the gauze on Hope's arm. "I'm sorry. I wanted to apologize but it was late and you were angry and–"

"Shh," went Hope, silencing Josie with a finger on her lips. "You just went through something traumatic. Give yourself a break. Don't let the waves of guilt drown you now, okay?" Hope turned Josie around and pushed her from behind. "Take my pajamas and go take a shower. Then sleep. You need a good sleep to feel better tomorrow." She pushed Josie into the bathroom and waved her on. She closed door as Josie stood there but just as it was about to close, Josie cried out.

"Don't close the door!"

Hope stopped and opened the door a little. "How about this?"

"This is better."

Hope smiled. "I'll be just outside. Call me if you need help."

"Okay."

Seating herself on the couch, Hope browsed the TV channels available. She settled on a documentary about a bad dog and leaned back to relax. As experienced as she was with dangerous situations, her heart still thumped extra hard when she thought of the men in Josie's room. If the incident had such an effect on her, she could only imagine it would be ten times worse for Josie, who was not only unprepared for such an attack but also ill-equipped to handle it.

The adrenaline in her body must have run out because the next thing she knew, a hand was on her shoulder, gently shaking her awake.

"You should take a shower too," said Josie, looking freshly showered in a white fluffy bathrobe and wet hair.

Hope stretched and stood up. "Go ahead and sleep. I won't be long." Josie nodded as she rubbed her towel over her hair and Hope went ahead to take her shower. When she emerged from the bathroom, Josie was sitting on the couch in her pajamas, watching the same channel.

"Why haven't you gone to sleep?" asked Hope.

"I can't sleep." Josie looked down at her hands and fiddled with her fingers. "I get the feeling someone is going to get me when I close my eyes."

"This won't do. You have to get some rest."

"But I can't close my eyes. I'll get frightened."

"I'll lie down with you. If you're still afraid, I'll hold your hand." Hope held out her hand. "Come on." She smiled when Josie took it and brought the woman to the bed. "Get in," she said while climbing onto the bed. Josie followed her lead and climbed in too. They got under the covers and turned to face each other. "Better?" Hope asked.

"A little."

"Still scared?"

"A little."

"Hold my hand." Hope reached for Josie and wrapped her hand around hers. "Now, close your eyes."

Josie did as she was told.

"Still scared?"

"Keep talking to me."

"Okay, what do you want me to talk about?"

"Tell me how you became such a good bodyguard."

"It's not a pretty story."

"I want to know."

"Okay. Well, I should start by telling you how I learnt to fight." Hope sighed. "I ran away from school and got into bad company."

"Really?"

"It sounds totally cliché, but it's true. A street gang leader liked me and made me her girlfriend."

"Made you her girlfriend?"

"Yes." Hope held Josie's gaze when the girl opened her eyes and stared unflinching, into her blue eyes. "Do you want me to let go of your hand now?"

Their unblinking stare continued until Josie looked away. "No. Continue your story."

"Okay," Hope replied, feeling a little surprised by Josie's lack of reaction to her revelation. "So I hung out with the gang and learnt to fight. We would fight other gangs or pick on girls and bully them. Then one day, my gang leader girlfriend gave me a pill. It was a party drug. We partied like crazy at the club but it was raided that night. I didn't want to get caught so I fought like hell." Hope laughed softly at her stupidity. "It was the dumbest thing I ever did, but it was also the thing that saved me later." Hope chuckled. "Life is funny like that."

"How did it save you?" Josie asked with her eyes half closed.

"The officer I fought with came looking for me in the juvenile training school. He visited me every now and then to see how I was doing and one day, he suggested I train in combat. And after I graduated from juvenile training school, he recommended me to a security company."

Josie's eyes were closed and her breathing was even. The grip on Hope's hand loosened and she knew. Josie was finally asleep.

"Good night Josie," said Hope and she closed her eyes to sleep too.