A Bodyguard and everything in between

“Do you still want to wait, Ms. Herrera?”

Catherine Valentina Herrera looked up at her bodyguard, raising an eyebrow. She had opposed the idea of having a bodyguard, but her father hadn’t listened. It was like when she was 8 and he was running for mayor- she had a bodyguard then too. It was tiring, always having someone follow her around. But her father was running for mayor again, and he had convinced her to accept the arrangement until the campaign was over. It wasn’t like she was being targeted by a serial killer or something, she had wanted to say but held her tongue. Her father didn’t even have a personal bodyguard so why she needed one was beyond her.

She shook herself of those thoughts and gazed at her bodyguard, Vincent Reed, who stood tall and silent, his piercing blue eyes scanning the cafe. He was always in black, which contrasted with his blond hair. He had tanned skin and a strong jawline. He was very handsome but his expression was always blank. She couldn’t read him, no matter how hard she tried.

They were waiting for her fiance, who was already an hour late. Cat sighed, feeling annoyed. “I guess we’ll wait a bit longer,” she said, glancing at her bodyguard. He nodded, his expression unchanged. Cat’s fiance, Christopher Lancaster, was a total jerk. They had been “together” since they were 15, but it was all a sham. They were neighbours and childhood friends, and she had always liked him, at one point they even dated and he had told her he would love to marry her. Her love struck teenage self decided to suggest they become engaged to their moms, thinking it would be romantic, and what they both wanted.

Their families had agreed and even Chris did but all of a sudden he changed and became distant with her. He even got a girlfriend on the side, but still, they remained engaged. It was all a facade, and Cat was just going through the motions. She didn’t even know why Chris was still keeping up with the charade when it was so obvious he hated her. She didn’t tell her family though, in front of them, she acted as if Chris was her one true love while in private she resisted the urge to strangle his neck anytime he was within breathing space. She had lost her feelings for him a long time ago and now she just wanted to break it off and move on with her life. But she was waiting until she graduated and could leave the city, and all it’s drama, behind. Just like her sister had done.

Cat sighed. This was a disaster, she thought. She was so done with him, but she just needed to wait a little longer before she could finally be free of him.

She turned to her bodyguard and said, “you can sit down, Vincent. I’m not going to bite.” She gestured to the chair across from her, but Vincent remained standing, his eyes scanning the cafe.

“I’m good, Ms. Herrera,” he replied.

Catherine rolled her eyes and stood up, gathering her things. “We can go now, Vincent.”

Vincent nodded and followed her to the counter, where she paid for her drink. Cat tried to ignore the teenage Barista’s flirtatious smile at Vincent.

“Have a nice day.” The brown haired Barista said, mostly at Vincent. Cat suppressed the urge to give her the middle finger, instead she turned around and stomped away.

It was when she got outside, that she asked herself why she was angry. She pushed it down and headed to her Car.

Vincent opened the passenger door for her and asked, “Where to, Ms. Herrera?”

She smiled slowly.“Karaoke night, Vincent. I need to sing my heart out.”

Vincent nodded and got into the driver’s seat. He was also her driver, which was a little infuriating since she loved driving. He had been her bodyguard for 2 weeks now, and the only things she knew about him was that he was 25 years old and from Los Angeles.

She sighed and focused on the road ahead. She rubbed her palms together, feeling the chill of the air conditioned car. But before she could ask Vincent to turn up the heat, he reached out and increased the temperature.

She glanced at him and suppressed a smile. He was always so observant, anticipating her needs before she even had to ask. It was both impressive and annoying, since she didn’t want to rely on him too much and she wasn’t a baby that needed looking after. She put on some romantic music, and let the melodies fill the silence between them. She was a very big fan of romantic music.

Vincent, whose gaze was fixed on the road, expression remained neutral, as usual. When they arrived at their destination, Cat walked inside, Vincent following closely behind.

She entered one of the rooms and saw her best friends, Victoria and Piper waiting for her.

Victoria Addams was brown skinned with natural curly hair and warm brown eyes. She was really smart and loved reading. Cat had met her in freshman year of College, during orientation and immediately loved her. They were even roommates.

Piper Wilson on the other hand, was tall, like 6′0 tall, with light straight blonde hair with blue eyes. Her single dad was very rich and provided her with everything she needed. Cat had met her in high school, and they had become fast friends, and had done cheerleading together.

Cat smiled brightly at them. “Hey, guys!”

Victoria raised an eyebrow. “You were right after all, he really stood you up,” she said, her expression sympathetic. Cat had told them to wait for her because she had an inkling Chris wouldn’t come for the “date”.

She shrugged and said nonchalantly, “I told you, he’s a jerk!”

Piper started to say dreamily, “But he’s so handsome and really popular, I mean, I don’t know, Cat, maybe he’s just busy...” She trailed off when she saw the look Cat and Tori were giving her, and she quickly added, “What a jerk!”

Cat and Tori laughed good-naturedly, and Tori said, “Hey Vincent!” Vincent only grunted in response and Tori exchanged a glance with Cat, they weren’t surprised by his stoic demeanor and sometimes it was even amusing to them.

The karaoke started, and the girls began singing and laughing foolishly. Vincent just stood there, looking serious and unyielding, and Cat wondered how he could resist the urge to dance or tap his foot along with the music. She asked him to sit down, but he refused yet again.

She shook her head and noticed a text on her phone- from Chris. “Where are you?” It read. She rolled her eyes, ignored the text, and put her phone on silent, determined to enjoy the night without interruptions.

♧♧♧

Vincent took Cat home at 9pm. Because of the election and the whole guarding stuff, she had to leave her dorm, which was so annoying by the way, but she was going back after the elections. Vincent had walked off after seeing she had entered her house. She wondered where he lived and how he got there everyday since she hadn’t seen him with a car.

“Hey, Mom,” she greeted her mom in the kitchen while opening the fridge to get a soda.

Her mom exclaimed excitedly, “So, how was the date? Was it romantic? Did he take you to a nice place?” Cat’s mom was a die-hard fan of her and Chris’ relationship, always shipping them and loving the idea of them together. Cat wondered how her mum hadn’t seen that she and Chris didn’t like each other, though she couldn’t blame her, they both acted civil in front of their parents.

She shrugged and took a sip from her soda, saying, “it was okay, I guess.” She lied, and she didn’t even know why she had been lying to her mom, dad, Chris’ mom, and maybe...to herself.

Her mom looked disappointed, standing at the sink washing dishes. Her dirty blond hair was tied in a ponytail, and her green eyes seemed to bore into Cat’s soul. “Is that all?”

Cat nodded, feeling a pang of guilt, she hated lying to her mother. “Yup.” She started walking away, saying, “I’m going to bed early tonight mom. Goodnight. Love you.”

“What about dinner?” Her mom asked.

“I’m full.” Cat replied

"Alright. Goodnight.” Her mom called out.

The next day, Cat woke up by by 7:00am, getting ready for her 9am class. She brushed her teeth, took a bath, and put on a crop top with shorts. She applied a little make up, highlighting her features. Looking in the mirror, she admired herself. She was of average height, with light olive skin and long dark straight hair with bangs, almond- shaped Hazel eyes, a slender nose, and plump full lips. Her curves grabbed attention, and she knew she was pretty.

After applying some perfume, she smiled in satisfaction and slipped on her sandals. Heading downstairs, she found Vincent already there, eating a sandwich at the dining table. She wasn’t surprised by his punctuality, one time he had come by 5:00am, only to find her sleeping and she had told him that coming by 7 was fine.

“Hey, Vincent,” she said, “Mom’s finally got you to sit down, huh?” She had been trying to get him to sit without success and her mom did it with ease. Impressive.

He looked up, his expression neutral. “Good morning, Ms. Herrera.”

Cat entered the kitchen, and her eyes landed on a plate laid out for her, filled with freshly made sandwich and a glass of healthy orange juice. She grinned, feeling a warmth in her heart, knowing her mom had made it for her. Her mum was a stay-at-home wife, and Cat knew it was because of her dad. He was very narrow-minded and sometimes annoying. Like how he didn’t want his wife to get or job or how he still hadn’t gotten her a car forcing Cat to share hers.

She took her plate to the dining table, and sat across Vincent who was dressed in black slacks and a black tee that accentuated his veiny hands, making Cat Swallow.

They ate in silence. After breakfast, her mom walked into the dining room, and Cat started to get up to wash the dishes, but her mom waved her off. “No, no, sweetie, I’ve got this. You two get going, don’t be late for class.”

Vincent thanked her for the food with a hint of a smile, and Cat’s eyes bulged in surprise- she had never seen him try to smile before. She wondered what more surprises lay ahead.

After 30 minutes, they arrived at her College- Aurora University of Social Sciences and Arts. Funny, her university was in her home town, which she had lived in all her life. She had wanted to go to Chicago for her university but no, her dad had one reason for her not to go.

She stepped out of the car, and walked inside, Vincent by her side. She was a Sophomore and a queen bee here. Everyone wanted to talk to her, or be associated with her and since she was engaged to Chris- who was the most popular person in the whole school, heck the whole town and whose grandfather owned the school. She was invincible.

Her friends were waiting at her locker. “Hey, Cat! Looking chic!” Piper said cheerfully.

“Always, duh!” Cat replied, flipping her dark hair over her shoulder.

Tori chimed in, “Are you ready for another grueling start of the school week?”

Cat rolled her eyes, “Ugh, you know, I’m never ready.”

As they stuffed their bags into their lockers and grabbed their books, Piper added, “Same.”

“Come on, guys! School is important! You need to take it seriously!” Tori scolded.

Cat only half-listened, her mind already wandering to how boring her next class was going to be. Vincent stood nearby, his eyes scanning the hallway as usual. He didn’t follow her into her classes, but he was always there to bring her to school, eat lunch with her, and take her home. If she wanted to go out, he would go with her. That was his job. Stressful as hell, but she was sure her father paid well.

At first, when he started guarding her, everyone stared alot but now it had calmed down a little. Just then, two girls waved at her, and she waved back. The girls practically swooned at that and started whispering to each other. Cat smirked, her popularity evident.

Tori suddenly said, “I’ll head to class now. See you later!” She was studying Sociology on a scholarship because the tuition fees at AURORA was really expensive and her parents weren’t really well off. Piper was studying Economics while Cat was studying Business administration. Cat hadn’t really thought about why she chose her major, but she knew it would he easy to get a job in an office with a handsome CEO, and that mattered to her. Hehe.

Piper nodded in agreement, and Cat said, “Meet you guys in the Cafeteria for lunch?”

Tori and Piper agreed and walked off together, their departmental lecture halls were close to each other. Cat headed in the opposite direction, Vincent by her side. She had told him it wasn’t necessary to follow her all the way to class, but he refused, saying it was okay. She realized he was taking this guarding thing seriously.

As they walked, she heard, “Valentina!”

She knew who it was- only one person called her by her middle name. Again, “Valentina!”

She turned back, irritated, “What is it, Chris?”

Christopher Lancaster stood there, wearing a designer shirt with expensive looking trousers, his dark brown hair was messy. His eyes, which couldn’t decide if they were gray or blue, depending on the light, looked at her with a hint of anger. He was tall, athletic, and lean. He was handsome all right but Cat hated him.

He scowled at Vincent by Cat’s side and said, “Do you mind?”

Cat stifled a giggle as Vincent looked at Chris blankly. That only made Chris angrier, and he was about to say something when Cat intervened. She turned to Vincent and said softly, “Can you give us a moment?”

Vincent nodded and stepped away, leaning against the wall and gazing out the glass windows.

Cat turned back to Chris and asked, “What do you want?”

Chris said calmly, but his eyes still flashed with anger, “Where were you yesterday? I didn’t see you at the Cafe when I arrived.”

Cat spat out, “I was at karaoke after waiting for you for an hour!”

Chris replied, “I was going to come; why couldn’t you have waited a little longer?”

She gaped at him as if he had just grown an extra head. She couldn’t believe this guy. “Oh wow, I should have waited a little longer while you took your precious time to come? Not happening.” Cat hissed.

They glared at each other, their eyes locked in a silent standoff. Finally, Chris sighed and said, “Let’s go to class.” They were both in the same department. Coincidence?

Cat smiled sarcastically, “I’ll pass. I have Vincent here to walk me to class.”

Chris’ eyes hardened, but Cat didn’t wait for him to respond. She turned and walked away, Vincent falling into step beside her.

As they walked, a girl, who looked like she was a freshman approached them timidly, her eyes fixed on Vincent with a dreamy gaze.

“Excuse me,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper, “can I have your number, please?”

Cat rolled her eyes, her anger still simmering from her altercation with Chris earlier. Before Vincent could respond, she snapped, “Boo, bitch.” The girl’s eyes widened in shock and horror.

Cat grabbed Vincent’s arm, pulling him away. “Let’s go,” she said, her tone firm. Vincent’s expression remained blank, but Cat thought she saw a flicker of relief in his blue eyes.