Page 39 of Unwritten Rules

She was poking her head out from the hallway with a thumbs up. She was finishing her buckles on her heels. “Yeah. Come on in. She might be ready, or it could take about a year fo her to come out. I’ll go put these in a vase.”

Holding up the bouquet for her to see, I shuffled into the kitchen to get the flowers properly displayed on the dining table. It was bittersweet to see a man come over with flowers, and it made my heart squeeze for her. I secretly wished I didn’t hole myself up when I lived with Sylvia, but it was to protect myself. I had plenty of time to get flowers from a man.

“Almost...Ready!” She called over to Shane as she ran back to her room. He patiently stood in the foyer in wait.

I wondered what her plans consisted of. I never pried beyond what she wanted to share. She kept a lot to herself despite being my best friend. Frankly, with the things Ididhear, I didn’t feel the need to pry anymore than she was willing to share.

She finally appeared ready. Frazzled, but ready. I showed them both out and called out after them. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do! Love you, dude!”

I shut the door and sighed.Ah, the house all to myself.

Never mind. My phone rang in the kitchen. I hurried to look at who was calling and instantly wanted to cry.Evans.

“Hello.”Kill me.

“Hello, Miss Montgomery. I would like to announce we have heard that you have not changed your major and we are going to assign you a bodyguard as our new emerging CEO.” His voice lacked personality.

“Is a bodyguard necessary?” Did my mom have one? Did I even know about them? My life was turning into a weird mess one day at a time.

“You are the sole heir to your mother’s company. I would expect you to thank me for sending James, your new bodyguard.”

He was serious and his tone never diverted from being stuffy and personality-less. Speaking with members of the board made me curious about my mother’s life—the one she never shared with me or bothered to mention.She left it all to me, but why did I feel so blindsided by everything?

“And you didn’t think to send me one when I was younger?” It was a fair question.

“We tried. Your aunt and guardian told us no and sent over the paperwork for refusal.”

Sylvia. The bane of my existence. I always wondered what else she could have gotten up to when I lived with her. Outside of drinking and trying to sleep her way into money, she treated me oddly. Sure, she was cruel and hit me when she was drunk, telling me to go back to my room, but she was always acting...strange. There was always a creepy smile plastered on her face like in horror movies.

Maybe she was possessed by the devil.

“Shewhat?”

“She was appointed guardian after all. We will discuss it when we meet formally in the boardroom. Be on the lookout for James in the morning. He will bring paperwork for you.”Click.

I was given a bodyguard and had mild anxiety. Somehow Sylvia still haunted me after she kicked me out of her house. When would the drama end? Last semester was far better, and I wanted to go back.

Back to just Kelly and me hanging out at home. Back to no boys around. Back to scary movies and popcorn nights. In reality, I wanted to go back and talk to my mom again so I could ask her all the questions I had. She left me far too soon.

There was no way to go back or way to change the past. All I could do was enjoy the memories.

I plopped myself down on my bed, resigning myself to the thought that I wouldn’t be doing anymore homework—or thinking. My brain was too overloaded and didn’t feel like a sponge anymore. Instead, I grabbed the remote and flipped on the television in my room to watch some low effort, empty brain content.

The sun was right in my eyes, and I looked over at the curtains. Brent’s jacket was staring at me next to the window. What was I supposed to do with it? Would he come back for it?

I got up and ran my fingers over the smooth leather, wondering what adventures it had gone on or the girls it’d seen. The jacket was well worn and had just the right number of creases to show it was used but loved. A few creases here and there. It had been through a lot and found myself relating to it in a way.Looks like we’ve both been through some things.

A thought hit me. “You know what? I’m going to return you to your owner. You’ve had a fun stay at my house, but I think it’s finally time you go home.”

There was no time to talk myself out of it. I pulled the jacket off the rack and stomped my way over to the living room while the sleeves slapped back and forth. He was going to get his jacket back so there were no ties left. I didn’t want him holding this over me somehow.

I swung open the front door and the cold air hit me. Was this a bad idea? Probably. Was I going back? Nope. The jacket was going back to him—goosebumps and cold be damned.

My eyes adjusted to the dim light outside as a figure stepped onto my porch.

“Hey, Blondie.” His voice was just as smooth as the first time I spoke to him—he dripped silk and charm on all the girls most likely. It was irritatingly charming while he used that godforsaken nickname.

I froze in my tracks. “What the hell are you doing here?”

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