𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲

𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

Narrator

Hope wasn't fooling Adrian. He knew something was wrong the second she closed her eyes to prevent tears from falling, but he decided to let her calm down before asking again.

They walk out of the elevator and towards the exit. Hope takes deep breaths and tries not to think about what she just witnessed, but unfortunately that's the only thing on her mind right now.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Adrian asks again, expecting her to snap and yell at him for not minding his own business.

"I'm okay Newman, thank you," Hope replies softly. Adrian looks at her strangely. 'Something's definitely wrong, but maybe I should mind my own business,' Adrian thinks to himself.

Hope and Adrian walk back to the car. Hope tells Jeremy to take them home. The entire way, millions of questions rush through Hope's head; 'How long has she been cheating on my dad for?' 'Who is he?' 'Why would she do that?' 'Should I tell my dad?'

Once Jeremy parks the car, Hope quickly walks out. Newman follows her inside the house.

"I'm gonna be up in my room," Hope says to Newman without turning around to look at him. She starts walking upstairs. Adrian feels some sort of sympathy towards her, even though she's not been very nice to him, but it's really obvious that she's not okay.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Newman asks her once more. She stops walking and finally turns around to face Adrian and her eyes meet his.

"I've told you like three times that I'm okay," Hope states. "You can stop asking," Hope says bluntly.

"You don't look okay," Newman replies.

"And what if I tell you that I'm not?" Hope asks as she walks forward towards him. "What are you gonna do? Hug me?" Hope lets out something that sounds like a laugh but also a scoff at the same time. "You said it yourself, I'm your client and not your friend so worry about my safety and not whether I'm okay or not, got it Newman?"

"Don't worry, from now on I'll stay out of your business," Adrian states. Hope doesn't reply and walks up to her room. "That's what I get for trying to be nice," Adrian mutters to himself.

Hope locks her door and leans against the wall as she lets tears fall. Silent crying soon turns into loud sobbing. Hope covers her mouth with her hand and lets out muffled sobs.

"I thought Hope was going to stay for longer," Katherine says.

"Well some guy named Caleb was bothering her so we left, and then we went to the agency but Hope came back upset," Adrian explains.

"That's weird," Katherine walks over to the sink to wash her hands. "Do you know why she was upset?" Katherine asks him.

"I asked her like three times and she refused to tell me," Adrian says.

"Maybe it's one of her tantrums," Katherine points out.

"I doubt it," Adrian replies. "She was gone for a minute and came back upset, I don't think she even got to speak to her mom," Adrian states.

"Is she still giving you a hard time?" Katherine asks.

"Not really, she isn't exactly nice to me but I guess she gave up on trying to get me fired after two days," Adrian chuckles.

"Maybe because of the way her mom snapped at her at dinner," Katherine remarks.

"You heard too?" Adrian asks. Katherine nods. "I told her I'd stay out of her business but I'm kind of worried about her, and I think that maybe I should check up on her one more time," Adrian suggests.

"Yeah, maybe you should," Katherine replies. Adrian thinks for a bit. The possibilities are; he either gets yelled at or not. There's no in between. Adrian walks out of the kitchen and he makes his way up to Hope's room. As he's about to knock on the door, he hear's Hope's sobs.

"Hope?" Adrian asks as he knocks on the door. Hope gets up from her bed and walks towards the door.

"What Newman?" Hope's voice cracks.

"You okay?" Adrian asks.

"For the millionth time, I'm fine Newman," Hope chokes out. "Do you not take a hint?" Hope scoffs. "You're my bodyguard not my therapist."

"Yeah I'm aware, but there's nothing wrong with me asking if something's wrong when you're clearly upset," Adrian says.

Adrian was more than confused with himself. He knows he's only supposed to be worried about Hope's safety and not the reason why she's locked in her room crying. And Hope knows that she needs someone to console her, but the last person who she expected console from was her bodyguard. Yet here she is, unlocking her door to let him in.

Hope doesn't look up at Adrian and instead she stares at the floor, avoiding eye contact. Adrian examines her face, her eyes were all puffed up, and her makeup was completely ruined. His expression softens.

"What happened?" Adrian asks. Hope opens her mouth to talk but nothing comes out. She knows that if  she speaks, she'll only start crying more than she already is. "I'm not good at guessing so please just tell me what's wrong," Adrian pleads. Hope doesn't reply and and tries to compose herself.

"It's not that big of a deal Newman," Hope manages to choke out while wiping her tears. Adrian shakes his head knowing that she's lying to him.

"I get it, you don't like me and that's why you don't wanna tell me," Adrian says. Hope finally lifts her head and looks up at him.

"It's not that," Hope assures. "Do you want me to repeat what you told me earlier?" Hope asks, Hope doesn't wait for him to say yes. "I'm your client, not your friend so why do you fucking care?"

"Maybe because it's common sense to worry about someone when they're clearly upset," Adrian points out. "I know I said I'd stay out of your business but it's kinda hard to when you're crying like this." Hope sighs and looks away from him trying not to give in.

Hope needs someone to rant to but her bodyguard wasn't exactly the person she had in mind. The temptation to spill it all out to him was there but the last thing she thought she'd ever do is opening up to her bodyguard who she hated when they first met.

Hope steps aside and gestures Newman to get inside her room.