Chapter 6 E

[Chapter 5]

"Omg, Madeline! Are you okay, my child? Does anything hurt? Omg! You have a bruise on your cheek!" Mom greeted me immediately as we entered the house. Mang Juan was behind me and also stopped because of her.

"Dad! We have to go to the hospital! Madeline has a bruise," she said, very worried as she held my cheek to check the wound. I winced a bit as she pressed it slightly.

It looks like it will swell tomorrow, but ice will do the trick, and it'll get better.

"Ma, it's okay. I'm fine, alright? Just treat me." I smiled, trying to calm her down because she was getting too worked up. I was worried she might faint. Oh my gosh, stop thinking about that; that's bad.

Mom tends to panic a lot, so we need to be gentle with her. She's very sensitive, so we try to be careful.

"You! You're fired! I thought you could protect my granddaughter, but what happened!?" My heart pounded as Grandpa shouted, looking behind me.

"Grandpa!" I called out, and he turned to look at me. I stepped back at the sight of his expression-he was furious. It wasn't necessary to fire him, especially since he saved me earlier.

It was just one bruise. But Grandpa was stubborn; of course, he's the law in the house, but it seemed wrong to fire my bodyguard. It wasn't his fault someone managed to get into my room.

"Shut up, Madeline! Go to your room with your mom! Maricar, clean your daughter's wound!" I felt Mom pulling me, so I looked back at Mang Juan and pouted. Such a shame, he's quite handsome.

I was staring blankly when I sat on my bed after Mom and I arrived in my room. She quickly treated my wound and applied an ice pack to reduce the swelling. My beautiful face!

"Are you okay now, Mady?" Mom asked after treating the bruise on my face and the cut on my arm that I hadn't noticed earlier.

"Hmmm..." I replied. "But Mom, do you think Grandpa will fire my bodyguard?"

"I don't know, sweetheart. You know how protective your Grandpa is when it comes to his grandchildren. He's just scared, that's all. Let's try to understand him."

I took a deep breath and smiled a little. Mom returned the smile and sat next to me. She hugged me and kissed my forehead. I started to feel sleepy, so I closed my eyes to avoid falling asleep.

I noticed when Mom left the room, so I opened my eyes again. I sat on the bed and walked to the window, which had thick curtains covering it. I pulled them open and sighed deeply with frustration.

My window was broken. It was completely shattered because it was made of glass. I need to have it fixed again. How many times has it been now? Because of that stupid old man, we're wasting money.

Since I was worried someone else might try to break in, I decided to push my big cabinet against the window to cover it.

It was heavy, but I managed because it was the only option. My cabinet is big and sturdy, so it should do for now. I'll remove it once the window gets fixed. But for now, since everyone's still busy, I'll wait until tomorrow.

After fixing it, I decided to sleep. My body was exhausted from everything that happened, so I needed to rest.

I only woke up in the evening, still lying on the bed, so I got up and checked the time. It was already six in the evening. Of course, I knew it was night because I fell asleep at noon. The time couldn't have gone backward.

I got out of bed and went to the bathroom to take a quick bath, then got dressed. I went downstairs to see what was happening, but I was surprised when I opened the door and saw my bodyguard standing there. He was by the side of the door, but because he's a big guy, he blocked the light behind him, so I noticed him right away.

"Oh my gosh! I thought you were dead!" I clutched my chest, breathing quickly from the shock and fear. I mean, who wouldn't be startled by someone that big? Mang Juan is literally a big boy!

"I'm not dead," he said coldly, so I sighed in relief.

"Anyway, why are you still here? Didn't my Grandpa go through with firing you?" He didn't answer and just nodded. I rolled my eyes at how cold he was. The air conditioning was already cold, and here he was, adding to it.

"Are you just going to stay there, or are you coming with me?"

"I'll go with you." I smiled and nodded. We started walking, with him always behind me. He's like my shadow, but it's okay. I don't feel uncomfortable because I like it when he's around.

You're 18.

I rolled my eyes when that thought popped up in my head again. I know! I was just saying I feel comfortable when he's around, tsk! People always overthink things.

May I remind you that you are me, and I am you?

Bullshit!

"Are you arguing with yourself?"

"No! Haha, I'm not. What am I, crazy?" I quickly replied, turning to him with a smile so he wouldn't see that I was losing it again. Ugh!

Finally, I made it downstairs. My cousins rushed to hug me and ask how I was. I told them I was fine, which was true. I wasn't really hurt.

I noticed Grandpa glaring at someone behind me, so I just shook my head and answered my cousins' questions.

"That guy is really annoying! Ugh, it's so frustrating! He even had the nerve to challenge Grandpa, even though he's an idiot!"

"Yeah, who in their right mind would plan a kidnapping just a few kilometers away from the house?!"

I laughed at what Ales and Savi were saying.

"Relax, girls. He's already been caught."

"Good thing your bodyguard was with you in the house. If not, it would've taken longer to get you out of there because Grandpa was a bit far away," Savi added. I agreed. If it weren't for him, I don't know what would've happened.

I just shook my head at their remarks. Suddenly, my phone rang, so I took it out of my pocket.

I bit my lip when I saw who was calling.

"Who is it?" Alless asked.

"It's Nathalie."

"Answer it; she's probably worried about you too."

I nodded and stood up to step outside. I answered the call and placed the phone against my ear to hear her.

"Oh my goodness, Myl!" I had to pull the phone away from my ear because of her loud shout.

"Are you okay, Myl?" Hmm, so it seems the three of them are together. It sounds like they're on their way here since I can hear the car running.

"I'm fine. Are you guys coming over?" I asked as I walked toward the swimming pool.

"Yeah, we're on our way there. My goodness, Myl! We were so worried about you!" Nathalie said, and I smiled at her words. I could even hear her sobbing. I couldn't help but laugh.

Nathalie is a crybaby, very emotional, so it's scary to hurt her. She's also a bit suicidal. As cheerful as she appears in front of people, her real life is that miserable.

That's why, whenever we can, we try to find ways to hang out and be with her. At least one of us.

"Don't laugh, Madeline! We were really scared about what happened," she cried again, and I heard Lyra and Amber comforting her. I suppressed my chuckle.

"Sorry, sorry. Don't worry, nothing really hurts. I just got a small wound, but it's far from being serious." I felt someone approaching me, so I turned around. I swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

Why am I so nervous around him? I'm not scared, but I feel anxious. Your grandpa is really handsome!

I turned my back on him again and made my excuses to the person I was talking to.

"Okay, bye now. Take care on your way here. I have to hang up; grandpa's calling me."

"Alright, we're almost there."

"Okay," I hung up the call and faced my handsome bodyguard again.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, confused. I didn't move closer, so there was still a bit of distance between us. Two meters, for sure.

"May I remind you, Miss Madeline, that I am your personal bodyguard?" he replied coldly, his eyebrows furrowed again.

I don't know why, but he gets even more handsome when he's grumpy, which makes me even more excited to tease him. Whenever he's around, my heart feels like it's going to burst because it beats so fast. But I ignore it, thinking it's just normal since I don't know him that well.

I smirked. No wife, so he's cranky. How did I know he has no wife? I asked grandpa, but I'm not entirely sure since I don't really know him well. Never mind.

"You're so grumpy. Let's go back inside; my friends are probably here by now," I smiled at him and walked past him. I could feel him following me.

"Myl!" my friends screamed the moment they saw me. They ran toward me and hugged me at the same time. I just laughed.

"Now that everyone's here and everything is settled, we can eat. Let's all have dinner together. Esa, call the other staff," my mom and aunt said, so we all happily went to the kitchen.

Earlier, my life was on the brink of death, and now we're having a party. Amazing, right?

Since it was already late, the small celebration at the house ended at 9 p.m., so my friends decided to head home. Mom tried to convince them to stay the night, but it seemed they had something else to do.

"Take care, Myl!"

"I will. You guys too!"

They eventually left, and I watched their car drive away.

When they were out of sight, I sighed and decided to head back into the house. I was getting sleepy.

I turned around and was about to go inside when I jumped in surprise at the sight of my bodyguard. Geez! Why does he keep startling me? He's been doing this all night!

"Stop scaring me, or you'll give me a heart attack." After saying that, I stepped aside and went inside.

I headed straight upstairs because I wanted to rest. My wounds were starting to sting again, so I needed to clean them.

I noticed that he wasn't following me. He only stays on the first floor since his room is there.

I went into my room and cleaned up. I was so exhausted that when I finally lay down on my bed, sleep overtook me immediately.

But I woke up when I heard rustling. I became alert and moved quietly. I have two windows in my room, one by my study table, right next to my bed.

This window faces the back of the house. I heard the rustling coming from there, so I slowly peeked out.

I couldn't make out who was standing below, but I saw someone there. Then, they started talking.

"Sono in vacanza, andrò lì dopo che avrò finito qui."

I frowned. They were speaking in a low voice, so I couldn't hear them clearly, but I could still make out the words.

They were speaking in a different language. I couldn't understand. Who is this Judas, anyway?

Why are there so many people causing trouble and looking for a fight here? They're exhausting. Aren't they tired of what they're doing? Because I'm tired for them. Why can't they just stay quiet and mind their own business? Is that too much to ask?

I rolled my eyes into the void.

If this is yet another one of those dumb kidnappers, I swear I'm going to build a school just for them. You don't get traumatized by fear, you get traumatized by how dumb they are. It feels like I should start offering them advice so they can at least do something right for once. It's getting pathetic.

"Non preoccuparti, non ci metterò molto, devo solo pulire una cosa."

He stopped speaking for a while. It seemed like he was talking to someone on the phone. I wonder what language that is. Or maybe this guy is performing witchcraft over there! If I catch him, I'll shove an unpeeled santol fruit in his mouth!

He better hope I don't catch him.

"Ok, ci vediamo al ballo in maschera."

He said, and then I saw his phone light up, allowing me to see him more clearly. But I was startled when he suddenly turned to look at me, so I quickly ducked down. What if he's an agent of darkness performing witchcraft? No way! I don't want my family to be part of a story like The Conjuring! Even though that's my favorite horror film, I still don't want to live through it!

I carefully made my way back to my bed and lay there quietly. A little later, I heard more rustling and footsteps moving away.

Thank goodness he's gone. I might've had to grab the gun from my cabinet and shoot him. But what if he's innocent? I don't want to commit a crime. But if I had to, I wouldn't aim to kill him.

Maybe just a little injury. Something that would hurt him but still make him grateful to be alive. People like that.

I breathed a sigh of relief and distracted myself by thinking about who that might have been. It couldn't have been my bodyguard; that wasn't his voice.

Eventually, I fell asleep while thinking about everything that had happened. Oh well. I'll check tomorrow to see if there's any witchcraft going on back there.

And because of my overthinking, I dreamed that he really was performing witchcraft behind the house. Ridiculous.