𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲

𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑

Hope Ashford

"You look nice," Leo compliments. Nothing. I feel nothing from his compliment. Not like I did with Adrian on the wedding day. I still remember how he was looking at me. The way his compliment made me smile like an idiot. Gosh Hope, stop thinking about him for God's sake.

"Thank you," I reply flatly. I awkwardly look away from him and try to make it seem like I'm looking around just to avoid eye contact.

"Is your bodyguard not with you today?" Leo asks. I shake my head no.

"It's his day off," I reply, still not making eye contact with him. I don't know why I need to be here. My mom knows Leo and I are no longer together. There's no point for me to be here.

"I was talking to April earlier," Leo starts. "I'm sure you know that Nicolas is coming back." Seems like the word is getting around. I mean, Nicolas was friends with Leo at some point, but I'm pretty sure they stopped being friends because of some argument they had. I have no idea what the argument was and to be honest, I don't care.

"Yeah," I answer. "Are you excited to see him?"

"No," Leo says bluntly. "But I bet you are." I finally look him in the eye. I look at him in confusion. "He's the only boyfriend who you actually gave a shit about. You're planning on getting back together with him aren't you?"

"First of all, if I was it shouldn't be any of your business," Leo scoffs at what I said. "And second, I only plan on getting our friendship back, I can't see him as any more than just a friend." A smile forms on Leo's face. Oh God no.

"Is it because you still have feelings for me?" Leo asks. What part of 'I don't want you anymore' does he not understand? I shake my head no. "You're so confusing Hope."

"I want to stay single," I say as calmly as possible trying not to lash out at him. "How hard is that to understand?" I can hear my anger the moment I spit those words out. How can I not be mad? Leo is so annoying. Now, what I said isn't entirely true. I don't want to be single, but I do. It's hard to explain but I want to be with the right person not with Leo or Nicolas. I want to fall in love with a guy who will love me just as much as I love him.

For the rest of the visit, I didn't speak to Leo. His mom tried to talk about Leo and I getting back together but I would change the topic and I'm pretty sure she noticed because she stopped. I'm glad she stopped.

"Thank you for having us," my mom says to Leo's mom. I don't even hesitate and walk out of their house. I'll just wait for her outside. Shortly after, I hear my mom walkout. "Where are your manners!? You didn't even say goodbye!" I roll my eyes and start walking. I hear her sigh in frustration but I ignore it just like I ignored her question.

It's getting darker, and it makes me smile. It's almost night and I want it to be tomorrow already. I want to see Adrian, it's been so boring without him being around. I kind of hate that I'm looking forward to tomorrow just to see him. But is it bad that I also kind of love it? It's such a good feeling, one that I've never felt before.

Once we make it back to my house, I run-up to my room. I look over at the clock on my nightstand, it's eight pm. I walk into my bathroom and change into comfortable clothes to sleep in. I look in the mirror and catch myself smiling as I'm brushing my teeth. God Newman. What are you doing to me?

I get under my covers and close my eyes. I try to sleep but I can't. I'm not tired or sleepy, I don't normally sleep at this time. I close my eyes once more and try to sleep again. I blink multiple times to make my eyelids feel heavy but I'm still not sleepy. I groan as I sit up and reach for the remote.

Watching TV is the only thing I can do to make time pass. I put on a random romance movie. Yes, romance. Nothing better than to make my standards even higher. I wonder if Adrian could reach those standards. I need him to get him out of my head. What if he's not even thinking about me? He could be laughing with another girl right now. He could be on a date right now.

I angrily turn the TV off and close my eyes. Why the hell am I getting mad at my thoughts. Adrian could be sleeping right now and I'm making up these stupid scenarios. He doesn't do relationships, Hope. The reminder makes me smile knowing he most likely isn't with another girl. But my smile drops just as fast as it appeared on my face. He doesn't do relationships. Pfft, who cares? Fuck, I care. I care and I should not care.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!? What the fuck? I've been excited to see Adrian all day, I've been thinking about him all day, and I'm getting jealous over non-existent girls. I need help. He's my bodyguard. My fucking bodyguard. A bodyguard who I didn't want. A bodyguard who I hated. A bodyguard who is driving me fucking crazy.