Lifting his hand, he flicks the light switch and I throw up the covers and lay underneath them, making as much noise as I can to note my displeasure. Sitting up, I grit my teeth and give my pillows the beating of their lives. Throwing my head back down with a whoosh, I stare up at the ceiling and silently imagine what I’d like to do to Nox right now.

The rocking chair squeaks for a millisecond and I find my opening. “Sssshhhh!”

Nox sighs, “Go to sleep, Lily.”

I silently scoff. “You can’t tell me what to do.”

“Yes, I can.”

“No, you can’t. You think you can but you can’t. It’s an illusion.”

And that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The rocking chair creaks to a halt and he states, “You need to grow the fuck up, lady. Stop acting like a goddamn child.”

Immediately, I hiss, “You leave me no choice! I don’t know if a thing you say is true and I really don’t feel like I’m being protected right now. I’m going crazy not knowing about my family. If you’d even let me call my sister-”

He cuts me off, “Not happening.”

“I’ll sneak out again.”

“Then you’ll sleep with me from now on. Good luck with the whole spy-versus-spy thing.”

Well shit. I don’t want Nox to be my bed buddy.

Silence envelops us both. The dark is comforting. Just as my mind wanders, Nox asks quietly, “Do you have a death wish?” I don’t answer and he goes on, “Someone wants you dead and your father paid a lot of money to make sure you’d stay safe. So I relax a little around you because, hey, you seem decent. And you try to sneak out, creepin’ around like a fucking secret agent and doing a really shitty job of it, too.”

My mind is stuck on the part where he thinks I’m decent.

He sighs wearily, “Do you have any idea what could’ve happened? Do you know what happens if you die?” My eyes water. I don’t say a word but Nox implores, “Think of the consequences for fuck sake. Think of your family. How would they feel?”

Tears streak past my temples. Nox asks quietly, “Do you know what it would do to me?”

My heart skips a beat.

I quietly cry. I just want to forget about this whole thing. Maybe if I go to sleep, I’ll wake up at home and this will have all just been a dream, like Dorothy returning from Oz.

He clears his throat. “Never lost someone on my watch before. If something happened to you, I’d spend the rest of my life wondering what I could’ve done differently, that would’ve kept you alive. Wounds like that…wounds to the heart…they leave ugly scars that never fade.” Then he almost whispers, “I’m sorry I pulled your hair. I panicked and I did what I had to keep you from making a huge mistake. Your safety is everything.” Clearing his throat once more, he states, “It won’t happen again. Get some sleep.”

It’s then that I make the decision to never run away from Nox.

Using the sleeve of my sweatshirt, I wipe away my tears and snot and settle deeper into the bed. I breathe deeply and exhale slowly.

I fall asleep thinking I’m going to do what I can to make the best of this situation.

***

I wake feeling awful. My face is puffy and my eyes are sore. I’m sure they’re a nice shade of red to match my mortification about last night’s stunt.

Turning, I look to the door and see that Nox is gone.

Good. That would’ve been creepy to wake up to.

Staying in bed seems like a good idea. I pull the covers up over my head and lay in my little cocoon of make believe. In this cocoon, I can be anywhere I want. Anywhere in the world. Hell, I won’t even restrict myself to the world! Neverland, Wonderland, and the moon are all great places too.

All those places sound good but my mind keeps taking me back to my family.

The covers fly off of me and Rock stands there scowling down at me with both hands on his hips. “Anyone ever told you you’re nuts?”

I nod slowly in agreement and his face softens marginally. “Well, you are. Fucking mamaluko. Don’t even think about doing that again, Lily. It was a shithead move.” Running a hand through his hair, he sighs then asks, “Hungry?”

Not in the slightest.

Sliding out of bed, I put on the robe that hangs at the back of my door and I walk with Rock down to the kitchen to find Boo already behind the stove making scrambled eggs. I haven’t eaten much in the last two days and I know I should be hungry but I’m really not. I’m sure this has something to do with the events of the last few days. The thought of doing something so mundane like enjoying a meal makes my stomach turn. Boo turns and smiles, “Hey D, just making some breakfast. I know you’ve gotta be hungry.”

Not wanting an argument, I simply nod and she fills a plate with eggs, bacon, and toast. It looks great but I pick at it.

It’s freakin’ bacon. I love bacon.

I look up in time to see Rock and Boo having a silent conversation with their eyes. They both turn to me and immediately know they’re busted. Rock urges softly, “C’mon, Lily. Eat, babe.”

Moving food around with my fork, I make a show of forcing a small amount of eggs into my mouth. The eggs are soft and easy to swallow. I fear the bacon won’t go down as easily. Pushing my plate forward, I whisper, “Please, excuse me.” Without waiting for an answer, I stand on weak legs and take the long walk back up to my room.

Being happy here is going to be harder than I thought. I make a stop at the library and hope that my love of all things books will help me out of this hard time. Choosing some classics, I hold them tight to my chest and walk back to my room.

When I step out into the hall, I see Nox at the opposite end. We both stop walking and stare each other down. He eyes the books I clutch to my chest as if they were made of solid gold. I lower my chin to my chest and walk to my room. Being petty, I shut the door with a light slam. My smartass retort already planned, I wait for an angry Nox to throw it open with threats of breaking it down.

But he never comes.

***

Nox

How I could fuck up a job so quickly is beyond me.

“You fucked up, bro.” I look up to find the doorway to my office filled with two-hundred pounds of stupid. “Shouldn’t have put your hands on her.”

I know this. I shouldn’t have. I fucked up. Bad. When you got trust issues with your protected, you got issues. Period. Not being able to stay silent any longer, I type away at my laptop and tell him distractedly, “I apologized already.”

Rock pushes off from the doorframe and sits in the chair across from me. “You didn’t see her this morning, man. She’s thinking about it. Thinking too much. Why not let her speak to her dad for a minute? Or the sister? Fuck, even her mom! Just give her something.” I glare at my friend as he appeals, “Anything, man. She’s fallin’ apart.”

Rock has sisters, and being Italian , he was extremely protective of them. He hates to see a woman in pain of any kind. You would never guess it to look at him but the guy wears his heart on his sleeve. We met on the day of my first mission. It was his first mission, too. When he introduced himself to me, I thought he was gonna be useless. No way could a guy that smiles and jokes as much as he does be a valuable ally on the field.

How wrong was I?

Not fifteen minutes in, we’re under attack and the other members of our unit are dropping like flies. For a spilt second, I panicked and lowered my weapon to look at the destruction surrounding me. By the time I realized I had someone at my back, it was too late. I threw my arms up in surrender when the guy was taken out.

By Rock.

Never seen someone do a complete one eighty like that. I swear he’s got multiple personalities. He can be your best friend, your worst enemy, a philosopher, and a comedian all rolled into one.

Rock urges, “C’mon, man. It’s just a phone call.”

Typing away, I throw him an aloof, “Not happening.”