Page 63 of Protect Your Queen

“But…”

“You need me to be a good guy.” I ran a finger over her forehead, down the side of her cheek. Her eyes fluttered and relaxed, her lips parted. I wanted to kiss her again, but knew that one more touch, one more taste, would be the fucking death of me. “Iamthe guy you need, sweetheart. I can be someone who’ll watch over you. Everything else can wait.”

Before I finished my sentence, her eyes had fluttered closed, her breathing steadied into a slow, sweet tempo. I watched her for a few minutes, before stepping out to the living room. Hopefully there’d be some sheet music in the piano bench.

For the first time in a long, long time, I was feeling the need to put pen to paper. For the first time since my hand was ruined, I wanted to take a shot at composing again.

Chapter twenty-three

Sisters

Jestiny

“Miss Barkada?” A stoic man stood at the kitchen door. I recognized him as one of the other bodyguards. There were three of them now: a girl, a guy, and Chris. “I’m Leo, and I’ll be your guard today.”

My stomach fell to my feet. Had I done something wrong? As if he could read my thoughts, Leo added, “Chris will be back tomorrow. He’s got the day off.”

“Oh,” I said, unsure if I should feel relieved.

I had kissed him last night. Was that a mistake? It had been a spectacular kiss. The best one I had ever had. Then again, I didn’t have a ton to compare it to.

I kissed him, then he kissed me. His kiss had been deep, strong and urgent. It was an earth-shattering kiss.

“I won’t be going anywhere today,” I said, finally. “I’ll just be at the piano, working.”

“Okay, ma’am.” He gave the slightest of nods.

I turned to the piano and listened as he walked away.

“Are you siblings?” I asked, just out of curiosity. “You and the other one… the woman?”

“Lea. Yeah. Like you, our family likes the matching initials thing.” His steps on the marble floors receded back to the office he shared with his counterpart.

What would it be like to work with your sibling all the time? Were they close? They must be, if they’re not killing each other.

I didn’t even know where my siblings were at this moment. They had flown far, far away, somewhere. It was as if everyone had somewhere to be but me.

I stared at my phone, waiting for it to ring. But it never did. No one texted. It was funny, because my brother and sister’s phones were always buzzing with an incoming call or text. Mine was silent. Maybe it was because I wasn’t on social media. I had learned not to be that way when I was young. At first, it was because of my classmates. They said my eyes were a strange, red-clay color, and that I was too bony, too poor, too unwanted to ever be a beauty queen. Then the public joined in when I won Miss Philippines. It only got worse after Miss Idol.

I left the internet completely. Other than an email address, no one knew how to get a hold of me. So, no one ever called. If they wanted me, they would talk to my agent or my brother, who would filter who got through based on some criteria that I didn’t know about. Jareth would tell me if someone was coming to visit. Then that would be the end of it.

But maybe I could call, just this once. I could ask them where they were…

I didn’t want to call Jareth. If I called him, he’d be on the first flight back, worried about me. I didn’t need that kind of drama.

What about Jorik? In my entire existence, I had never been the one to call him. I don’t think he ever called me either. Not unless it was a family group chat.

I went into my phone and typed in his name, my thumb hesitating over the call button. Then I closed out of it. It was too strange. What would I say?Hello, big brother, I’m lonely. Please talk to me?

Still, I wondered where they were.

Were they together without me?

I decided to try Jazz instead. She was the only one I felt close to. She used to comb my hair and kiss my forehead. Shetriedto take the place of my mother, in small ways. That was worth something, surely?

I called her, and after two rings, she picked up.

“Yo,” she said. “What’s wrong?”

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