Welcome to Gaia! ::

Loved and Lost:

I fell asleep like I normally do, on my side an inch away from the blue and red wall, but the weird thing was that I normally don’t move while I sleep. I normally fall asleep and wake up in the same position but I guess this whole day was weird, because I’ve had this feeling I was being followed all day and I’ve seen the same man twice today and he hasn’t said a word but I know he has seen me. I should probably introduce myself.
I’m Nicola Petrowski. I am part Polish and part Irish. I am 17 years old and I live with my adopted uncle. He is rarely ever home so normally I am on my own, which is not all that bad. I mean I never knew my real parents and I don’t really think I want to. I knew my adopted parents till my mom passed away because of cancer when I was 9 and my dad passed away the day that I turned 13. Happy birthday, right? I don’t like thinking about this much because it’s a very sore spot but I ended up with my adopted uncle who is my dad’s brother. Don’t get me wrong. I love living with my uncle but we have never really talked about what happened and I don’t really know him.
Anyway I was asleep facing the wall like I normally do, and I know what you might be thinking, “This chick is insane, she’s talking about how she falls asleep,” but I have fallen asleep this way since I was born. Weird I know but anyway back to the importance of what happened. I fell asleep and was dreaming about…… someone. I’m not sure who it was. He was walking down my street toward my house, and the next thing I know he just appears in my room. I think at this time I probably rolled over, but I’m not sure. Anyway he proceeded to come toward me sitting on my bed and pick me up and carry me down stairs and into his car. I looked around a little, didn’t find anything interesting and went to sleep. Finally I see myself wake up and I’m in a strange room, the furniture is comfortable but it’s strange because I don’t know where I am, or why. He walks in and comes to me and says, “He’s dead and you’re staying here from now on.” I look at him blankly. “Who’s dead?” He gives me a look of pity. “Your uncle. He was shot on his way home from the grocery store.” Apparently this doesn’t register with me because the first thing in my brain an out of my mind is, “What about Pumpkin?” I guess he just decided to let me ignore it for now because he opens the door and let’s my cat inside. “I brought him with me. Are you okay?” I think about it and look at him and say, “Why shouldn’t I be okay?” He sighs and comes over to me and takes my hand. “I’m sorry to have to bring you news like this but you can’t stay in denial, it only makes it worse. Please face this if not for yourself than for me.” Even as he says this my world crashes around me and I sob a little. The strangest thing is that I do face this for him, this strange person who I have yet to meet has so much weight with me and I feel so much love for him. As I sob he puts his arm around me and suddenly I can’t stop crying. I cry for me and all those I know who have passed away.
I jerk awake, breathing hard and lift a hand to my face. It feels wet with tears. I look around me at my tangled sheets and around my messy room, which I have been meaning to clean up. Finally I see him. He’s sitting there in my chair next to my bed and he looks asleep. I jerk up and move toward the wall making as little noise as possible while scrambling away. Even that small amount of noise wakes him up and he sits up looking around. He sees me scared and backs away holding up his hands as if I’m the one who is dangerous. “You’re okay. I’m not here to hurt you.” He gets to the other wall and presses up against it. “Who are you?” I say this so coldly and calmly I’m surprised because after all I was just crying in my sleep. Calm also, he looks at me and replies, “Who I am doesn’t matter. I am here to protect you from some very bad people.”
“And who would those people be? How did you even get in my house, you creep?” By this time I stood up against the wall on top of my bed. He advanced slowly warning me with his eyes. I reached toward my lamp and held it up as a shield. “Stay away from me.” My voice shook a little bit. Of course, he didn’t stop. “I already told you I’m not going to hurt you. I came in through the front door and those people are not important. All that is important is that because of your birth parents you are being hunted. And why is also not important. Now please sit down and I will explain as much as I can, including who I am and why I followed you today. Now please, sit.” He nodded toward my mattress. I sank down slowly, staying as far from him as possible. He put his hands down and says, “You have nothing to fear from me. I promise you that.” I nodded slowly and said, “Can I turn the light on? Or do I have to be in the dark?” He hesitated for a second then nodded slowly. “The switch for the lamp is on the bottom of the lamp itself, if you could turn it on please?” I said this not wanting to get anywhere near him. “No. If you want the lamp on then go turn it on. I’m not being cruel but I’m not allowed to go away so you have to get used to me being here.” I huffed and then very slowly slid toward the edge of the bed near the bottom so as to stay as far from him as possible. I got up and walked to the lamp and turned it on.
I turned around and gasped. He was right behind me. Not even an inch from my face. “Um, c-c-c-could you please back away from me?” I stuttered so badly it was a wonder he could even understand me.
“Yes, but like I said you need to get used to me being around because I am moving into your school and we have all the same classes together and the only place you are allowed to go without me is the bathroom. Do you understand this?” He only backed up marginally so my back was still almost pressing against my lamp.
“No I do not understand this because I don’t know what this is. Now please get away from me before I call the cops.” It was an empty threat and we both knew it. The phone was on the other side of him, so I would have to get around him to get to it. And I was in a corner with no escape. “That won’t work for two reasons. The first is I am in the way of you and your phone and two I am not trespassing. I am a hired body guard and I am doing my job. I will get out of your way but promise me that you will listen to me and will not attempt to call the police or any other person.” I nodded and he moved away toward the chair next to my bed. He sat down and sighed as I stayed by the lamp. “Come on. I won’t explain till you sit down on the bed. Please?” I moved toward the bed out of curiosity and sat down in the middle. “Can you tell me your name first? I know you said it’s not important but can you tell me anyway? So I can stop thinking of you as he.” He deliberated and then said, “Okay I guess you can know, but then we have to get to business about why I’m here and then you need to sleep some more. My name is Matthew Daniels Jr. And I am a hired body guard by some people who are looking out for you. You can just call me Matt. Okay?” I nodded and yawned.
“Okay I will make this as short as possible. Your parents were spy’s for the government and they gave you up so that this would not happen but the people who killed your parents, and I mean your real parents, tracked your adopted parents down and killed them and now they are trying to find your uncle but we have you both protected, and before you ask no I don’t work for the government. I work for myself but I am very good at my job. And I think that is all that you need to hear for now.” I yawned again but said, “No I need to know more. Like why I had a dream about you before I woke up and you said that my uncle was dead and that I was staying in some weird place that I have never seen before. And that I, apparently, had a cat named Pumpkin.” I don’t know why I add the last part but I did. He winced slightly and sighed. “I guess I can tell you about that. Your mom was slightly clairvoyant. She could see some things before they happened but they didn’t always come true. So don’t worry about it.” He coughed nervously. I knew he was lying but I was so tired and I wanted to sleep. I nodded and then looked at him. “Could you turn the light off please?” He nodded and while he wasn’t watching I looked at him. He was tall and lean and his shirt emphasized his broad shoulders. His back was military straight and he walked easily as if he was holding back his full gait enough to make him seem normal. When he turned around I didn’t look down or blush I just kept looking, taking in his strong face and high cheek bones and his full lips. He walked towards me and said “Is it okay if I stay here again? Or do you want me to sleep on the floor like I did last night?” I shrugged and he took that to mean okay.
He walked over to the edge of my king-size bed and sat down on it. He sat down with his back straight against the wall and his legs stretched out in front of him. I rolled over and looked at him. “Umm, there is a mattress under my bed, you know.” He nodded and then closed his eyes. “Then why don’t you pull it out instead of sitting on the side of my bed?” He shrugged. “It would get in the way if I had to fight.” I shuddered and then just rolled back over to sleep.
I lay there for at least three hours before he said, “You need to sleep otherwise you are going to be exhausted tomorrow.” I rolled back over and looked at him and said, “That’s easier said than done. It would be easier to sleep if you would go to sleep instead of just sitting there…….. And it also might help if you would pull out the other mattress and slept on it.” He stood up and shrugged and then pulled the mattress and flopped down onto it. He looked up at me and said, “There. Happy?” I shrugged and then rolled over after turning my radio onto a mix station of rock, country, and some pop and of course a little bit of oldies. The song playing right now was Dance, Dance by Fall Out Boy. “Ugh. I can’t believe anyone would listen to this.” I didn’t roll over this time but I did shrug knowing he could feel the movement in the mattress. “It’s not that bad but then it’s not always on. Normally it’s rock or country, my two favorites and if you don’t like it then get over it. Or you could always leave.” I add that hopefully. I mean would you want a body guard that slept in your room and would only leave you alone to go to the bathroom? No, I didn’t think so; even if he was incredibly gorgeous, but that was beside the point. I felt a blush heat my cheeks at the thought. He sat up and looked at me. “What?” I shook my head and closed my eyes and tried really hard not to think of the gorgeous body guard who was sleeping in my room. “How old are you?” I just wanted to know for curiosity’s sake, honest.
“I’m 18. Why?” I closed my eyes again. “Oh, no reason I just wanted to know. Can you teach me to fight tomorrow since its Saturday and I do not have school?” He dropped back to his stomach and rolled onto his side and closed his eyes. “Maybe. You would need to ask your Uncle and I thought you were in boarding school. At least that’s what I was told.” I closed my eyes knowing I would be able to test his protection ability tomorrow. I smiled and fell asleep not even bothering to think about him or why he was here.
I woke up and rolled over stretching. And came nose to nose with the cutest guy I have ever seen. I rubbed my eyes and then sat back against the wall. He was still asleep so very quietly I slid down to the end of my bed, careful not to touch him, and slid past his feet to the edge of my bed. Suddenly, lightning fast he sat up and grabbed the back of my cotton pajama top. “Where do you think you’re going?” he shifted his legs off the side of the bed but didn’t release me. “I don’t think I’m going anywhere. I know that I am going to get away from you and going to cook breakfast. Now let me go.” I tugged my shirt away but he didn’t release his grip on it. If anything he held tighter. “You are not to go anywhere without me. Do you understand? And I refuse to let go until you promise me that you will tell me before you go anywhere.” I looked at him in shock for a couple of minutes and then everything from the night flooded back to me. I felt tears start to well up in my eyes. One second I’m breathing normally and the next thing I know I’m in Matt’s arms crying my eyes out. “Shhhhh. It’s okay. No one is going to hurt you, at least not while I’m here anyway.” Finally when I stopped, I pulled back and dried my eyes. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t crying for me. I just can’t believe that my parents’ death was my fault.” I hiccupped. He rubbed my back in circles, slowly. “I’m so sorry that this had to happen to you, but you know what they say. What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. I know it’s not the best quote to pick but I think it definitely applies to you.” I stood up and just nodded.
“Will you wait here while I change or are you going to follow me to the door?” While I said this I was going around my room cleaning up clothes and then grabbing a bra and a pair of my favorite jeans that where worn and almost white. I also grabbed a Jamaican t-shirt. “I think it would be better if I waited outside. That mixed with the fact that you are probably going to take a shower like yesterday.” I turned shocked and my jaw dropped. “You know my shower schedule? I guess I’m just going to have to label you as my personal stalker.” I grinned a little trying to make a joke out of something that scared me a little bit. “Um, yeah, sorry,” he said awkwardly, “I was actually hired a week ago to follow you and you weren’t supposed to find out but I didn’t think you would wake up. Normally you just sleep all night through.” I nodded. “Yeah, last night was a weird night for me and I don’t know why.” I walked to my bathroom which was huge. It was almost the size of my room and my room was pretty big.
I walked in the room and set my clothes on the sink. The sink was supposed to be a two person bathroom but one sink was taken out and replaced with the marble that covered the sink and shower. The floor was just regular tile, and the toilet was just normal. I closed the door after taking one last look at my new handsome body guard.
I closed the door after him asking me to hurry, and to not lock the door just in case. I didn’t like it but I did as he asked. I quickly took my clothes off and got in the shower. I let the scalding water wash over my muscles, soothing and relaxing them. As the steam built I deepened my breathing. I felt much more relaxed, and then I remembered the cue body guard outside my bathroom door. I felt all my muscles tense and I had to start the relaxation steps again, this time making sure that he stayed far from my thoughts. About six minutes later I heard a knock on the door. I stepped out, having already washed and conditioned my hair. “Yes?” I grabbed a towel and dried quickly and then wrapped my hair up. “Your uncle is awake. I just thought you might want to know.” Of course, it was his all too familiar baritone that came through the door. “Okay, thanks.” I quickly changed into my house/karate clothes and opened the door coming face-to-face with Matt. “Uh, hi. Why are you standing this close to my door?” He shrugged. “Are you going to cook, now?” I nodded and headed down the hallway toward the kitchen. When I got near the door I pushed the swinging door open and gasped. The kitchen was a mess; pots and pans were everywhere and flour was all over everything. I felt Matt tense beside me. “I believe your house was searched,” he said in a hoarse tone. “No, no. Nothing happened. I was looking for candles. Sorry.” He looked sheepish so I accepted that this mess was his doing, as I realized this relief flooded my system. “Oh, ok…….. Why do you need candles? And may I talk to you privately?” He looked nervous but nodded. I looked at Matt and he shrugged. “Sure, go ahead.” I walked down the hall to my uncle’s study. He followed me in and closed the door. “My first question is why are you looking for candles?” I gave him a cold glare. He looked at me for a minute, gauging my look. “I can’t tell you yet. Although if you don’t know there is a severe problem with you, or you’re more different than I thought.” I thought through everything but couldn’t think of anything that happened on this day so I posed my next question. “Why did you hire a body guard to follow me instead of just telling me?” He looked at me blankly. “I didn’t hire anyone, but I know one of your mom’s good friends was given instruction to get a body guard for you, but believe me I had no idea. Although I did let him in the house a week ago.” I thought about it and realized he really did look like he didn’t know about it. I shrugged. “Fine, whatever. I need to go fix the kitchen and make breakfast.” I turned and walk toward the door. Right before I reached the door my uncle’s hand caught my shoulder. “I really am glad you came to live with me. I know I don’t always act like I do but I really am very grateful.” He let me go and walked to the door, pulled it open and proceeded to the kitchen.
I pushed the door open and was grabbed from behind. My attackers arm was around my throat and I was being pulled toward the back door. I waited for my attacker, who was obviously very good, to reach for the door handle before I jabbed my elbow as hard as I could into his rib cage and I whirled around. He doubled over in pain but I didn’t care because he had just tried to kill me. I snap kicked his head with enough force to knock out a normal person. I felt his nose crack and start to bleed. “Truce, truce.” As soon as I heard the voice I stopped and all the adrenaline drained away. “Oh, no.” I was horrified. He stood up and said, “Do you have a tissue anywhere?” I ran to the roll and got him a towel. “I’m so sorry.” I handed him the tissues while I apologized over and over. My uncle came in and stopped mid step. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. She is really good.” My uncle looked at Matt as he said this and bust out laughing. “Sorry. I shouldn’t be laughing but I warned you about it. It’s your own fault.” Matt nodded and held the paper towel to his nose. I stared at my uncle, completely horrified. “You knew?” It came out as a hoarse whisper. My uncle, whose name is George, looked at me in concern. “Well, yes. He was going to take you outside without telling you anything and I told him that you might think you were being kidnapped and that you have had karate and kick boxing lessons, but sadly he didn’t believe me. I’m sorry. It was a bad idea.” I nodded in ascent. I looked back at Matt. “If you value your life don’t ever try that again. That isn’t a threat. That is a fact, until I get used to you being here and sneaking up on me I will overreact if you try something like that again.” He nodded, stopping when it made him dizzy. “God you have a good front kick. Where did you learn to kick that hard?” He held up a hand in a don’t-answer-that motion. “You need to go to the hospital to have your nose reset.” He shook his head and reset his nose on his own. He grabbed my hand in a fast motion and dragged me to the door. “Come on. I was taking you outside for a reason.” I followed curiously and when I got outside a “happy Birthday” came from 8 people standing there. Three of those people were my best friends, Martha, Hanna, and Caylee; the other two were our neighbors and lastly was Caylee’s parents and Hanna’s mom. I blushed and ducked my head. I turned to Matt and smiled. “Thank you, and I’m sorry for breaking you nose; and by the way, I need to talk to you when this is all over.” He nodded and moved away into the background when everyone came up and swarmed around me. Martha, Caylee and Hanna got to me first and automatically started gushing.

Thanks. Here are the next couple pages.


Omg! He is so cute! You must tell us why he is here.” This of course was Hanna. She was always wanting to know about why cute guys showed up; although normally she stopped asking me that because she got used to them just showing up. She had long red brown hair that was almost to her feet. She was tall for her age. She was almost 5’ 9” and she was very beautiful. She had a Native American look. Dark coffee colored skin and her long hair gave her a very exotic look. She also had eyes the color of very warm and rich dirt; a brown that is very comfortable. She had a southern accent, like she came from Alabama or Florida. She is the second youngest of our group. She turned 15 two months ago.
Yes. You must tell us later when we are alone together. Please, we want to know!!! By the way can I lick the icing off your cake later?” This was Caylee, always hyper and wanting icing. It’s just her natural way. When she doesn’t want icing then she is having a bad day. She has more of a natural look, kind of like Hanna only she is the exact opposite. Caylee has light brown hair that is bleached lighter by the sun. Her eyes are a baby blue. She is a little heavier than Hanna. Caylee is also two or three inches shorter than Hanna. Caylee has a little more of an All-American girl look. She is the captain of the gymnastics team and middle school track helper when track is in season. She is normally sweet and she has her quirks but who doesn’t? She is the youngest of our group having just turned 15 last month.
Happy Birthday, Nicki.” This was quiet and shy Martha. She is Mexican; her hair is brown-black and cut to frame her face. She is taller like Hanna. Her eyes are a very dark brown. She is the cook of our group. She is the master of her culinary class in our high school. One of her favorite foods includes chocolate. She has actually made chocolate and it was second best to Swedish chocolate. She was probably the one who made my birthday cake; red velvet with homemade chocolate icing. Her favorite type of food to cook is Chinese or Italian. I think that her specialty is Mexican food. I looked at her. “Thanks for making my cake and I will tell all of you later after everyone else goes away. It’s sleepover night.” She is the second oldest. Her birthday is in a month, on the 15th of November.
Then there is me. I’m and inch shorter than Hanna and my hair is dirty-blonde and curly, sometimes it looks brown. I am thin and head of the track team. I also compete in the kick boxing competitions at school and I am the karate teacher for our high school and middle school. I play volleyball when they need a fill-in, but it’s not my preferred choice. My favorite sport is soccer and I am good at it. My favorite food that Martha cooks is Chinese, or Thai. Spicy is my preference. I am also captain of the swim team. There is a pool in the back yard of my uncles’ house that I use to practice. I hugged them all and then turned to the rest of my guests and welcomed them one at a time.
Finally when everyone had been welcomed and thanked for coming I turned back to my friends. “Do ya’ll want to meet the supposed hunky guy?” They nodded eagerly and I walked over to the fence where Matt was leaning. “Hey, would you mind coming and saying hi to my friends?” He shrugged and as we walked back over he turned to me. “You seem in your element surrounded by people.” I shrugged. “This is all of my family; my sisters, or best friends, their parent, which I consider my parents and my uncle. It’s a small gathering but it’s enough for me.” He nodded like he understood. “Why do they want to meet me?” I blushed. “They think you’re cute and they want to know why you’re here. What should we tell them?” He gave me a side-long glance that promised we would continue the “cute” comment later. “I think we should tell them the truth. That I am your body guard; who is also a foreign exchange student.” I thought about that for a minute then nodded. We approached my friends slowly with almost a yard of space in between us.
“Matt, this is Caylee, Martha, and Hanna. They are my best friends but I consider them my sisters.” I pointed tot hem while I said their names and then he gave them a killer drop-dead gorgeous smile, which I had not seen, and nodded to each of them. “Hello, ladies.” They stood staring at him for a moment and then I guess Caylee composed herself because she smiled back and winked at me. “Hi. I’m Caylee but you already knew that.” She twirled her hair around her finger. I gave her a one eyed glare. “Yeah Caylee is normally the hyper one; speaking of which. Caylee why don’t we go cut the cake and start serving it to everyone.” I moved toward the cake and motioned for her to follow. She did, thankfully. I got to the table which had presents on one end and the cake on the other. I saw my uncle watching and motioned for him to call everyone to the table. It took him about two minutes, but finally we got everyone to the table. They all started singing “Happy Birthday” but one voice stood out from the rest. It was a rich baritone that sounded very relaxing. I felt all my neck and back muscles start to relax. When the song ended I closed my eyes and wished for a happy and romantic year for me and my friends. A wind blew through after I blew my candles out and I almost thought that I heard someone say, “You will.”
I shook it off and smiled at everyone. I cut the cake and handed a piece to all the adults, they all thanked me. I turned to my Martha, Hanna and Caylee.
Do you guys want to go swimming?” I included Matt in this knowing that unless he joined us they would not want to go swimming. Of course, they all looked to Matt and he shrugged. “Sure.” I looked at him carefully and he nodded only enough for me to see. We all walked inside and went to my room. I opened my drawer and pulled out four bathing suits. I tossed one to each of the girls. Matt looked at me. “We all leave clothes at each others houses and I have the pool so they left their bathing suits over here.” He nodded and then went to the corner of my bed and pulled out a duffel bag I had not seen. I saw Caylee watching, because Hanna and Martha had already gone to change. I frowned at her and motioned for her to use my uncles’ bathroom. She unwillingly left after turning back once more at the door. I looked at matt as he dug through his duffle bag in search of swim trunks. Finally he found then and pulled them out. I bit my lip hard to keep from laughing. He sent me an inquisitive look but I just shook my head. His swim trunks were checkered black, blue, red, green, and yellow. I took my bikini and went into my closet locking the door behind me.
My closet was a walk in closet and it was similar to the one showed in the Hannah Montana TV show, only there was not pink. I changed into my blue and brown bikini and grabbed a t-shirt of the rack and pulled it on. I turned, looked in the mirror and decided I was as ready as I’d ever be. I pushed open the closet door and walked out in time to hear Caylee gushing more and spouting off all my qualities. I felt my face blush beet red. I walked out and suddenly Caylee’s mouth snapped shut. “What were ya’ll talking ‘bout?” Caylee looked down guiltily and Matt just shrugged. “Nothing much. Are you ready to go swimming? Martha and Hanna already went down.” I nodded and he motioned for me to go first. I did and Caylee went in front of me. I could feel his gaze on my pony-tail and my back as I walked down the stairs. When we got downstairs I could hear shouts and giggles as Hanna and Martha both jumped of the diving board into the 30 foot pool below. The diving board was about 10 feet tall and gave a lot of time for tricks. As soon as we got outside Caylee and I called Hanna and Martha over and we all sprayed each other. I was sprayed last and so, of course, I had to spray Matt down.
I glared at them all evilly for a second then turned to Matt who had been observing quietly. He stared at me confusedly for a second then turned, pulling his t-shirt over his head and letting it fall o the ground next to mine. I gasped and then blushed when he turned around and sent me a questioning look. I shook my head and he turned around again. I sprayed his back carefully, glad that we had spray on sunscreen, and then he turned around so that he was facing me and all I could do was stare; a perfect six-pack and smooth-looking chest. This guy was absolute perfection, and he looked every inch of it. “Do you want me to spray myself?” His words sounded uncertain and unwilling and slightly apologetic. I could guess why he would be apologetic. I felt like an idiot so I pushed the top on the spray bottle, not paying attention to who it was pointing at, and of course, I got sprayed right in the face. Thankfully, none of it got in my eye, but all of a sudden he’s just staring at me and the next he is busting out laughing so hard that he almost fell over. I gave him a cold look and grabbed my t-shirt and proceeded to wipe it off. “Thanks. That’s very nice of you to just laugh. I thought you were supposed to be my body guard and guard me from harm.” He gasped a few times and then looked me straight in the face, smiling, and said, “I am supposed to guard you from bodily harm, yes, but I didn’t have time to stop you and I was watching the way your blush makes your whole face light up; plus I never said I was nice.” He winked at me and then took the can and proceeded to spray himself. He grabbed my hand and tugged. “Come on. You look like you need to swim.” I let him pull me but only after I reminded him about how he was supposed to teach me to fight. “Ah, I’m wounded. You seem so eager to get rid of me.” I didn’t even dignify that with a response. When we got to the edge of the pool I dived right in so as not to think about the water that hadn’t warmed up yet. I emerged from the water and slicked my hair back. I looked up and noticed Matt hadn’t jumped in yet.
“Not afraid of the water are you?” he was standing by the edge of the pool. “Not really. Just how deep is this pool? And how tall is the diving board?” I looked at him trying to figure out why he hadn’t jumped in yet. “It’s about sixty feet deep and the diving board is about ten feet tall. It was built for tricks and diving practice. And the depth of the pool was so I could learn to scuba dive which I can successfully do. I told my uncle I didn’t need a pool to myself and he said it was for him and his friends and me and my friends. So I gave in.” I shrugged. “I would rather have learned at a public diving area but this was okay I guess.” I grinned at him wickedly. “Are you going to come in or are you just going to stand there?” He looked at me as I swam to the edge and pulled myself out.
“Umm, I’m not really sure yet. Why do you- wha!” There was an incredible splash after he yelled. He came back up, glaring at me. “That was cruel. Now it’s your turn, little witch.” He reached out and grabbed my ankle yanking me into the pool to. I let him pull me, resisting the urge to flip out of his grasp. Splash!!! I fell in and he released my ankle but I grabbed his ankle on my way down. I felt him inhale before he went under then I came up to his head and pushed off with my hands. I came up gasping and soon after he followed coming up not even two inches from me. I backed up a little bit.
“See what happens when you don’t come in with everyone else?” called Caylee. She chuckled and everyone else laughed. I blushed and swam toward everyone else leaving Matt to follow. “Wow, Nicky I thought you were going to let someone stay out for once.” I smiled and shook my head. “No such luck. If you come outside dressed in swim wear you had better get in the pool at least once. Isn’t that right Martha?” I grinned evilly and she stuck her tongue out at me. Matt came up next to us, right as Caylee and Hanna laughed at the two if us.
“What did I miss?” We all shook our heads. “Who wants to bet that next time Matt will just get in the pool and not stand by the side forever?” No one rose to Hanna’s bait. She loved betting on things. “What I want to know is why I was forced to some in the pool and why I was pulled in so……..ungraciously.” I could tell he was joking so I looked him in the eye and was about to say something when Caylee and Hanna and Martha cut in. “Nicky has a rule. If you come outside in swim wear and you aren’t washing a car you have to get in the pool at least once.” Matt looked at me strangely before he asked,
“Why?” I looked at him and said, “Because it annoys me when someone comes dressed in a bathing suit and won’t get in the pool. If you’re going to tan go to the beach. It’s not that far, but I think the point of a pool is to swim in it; not just stand outside it. It may be stupid but I just think that’s the point of a pool. Now if someone comes to my house and their afraid of the water I won’t force them to come in but otherwise do not wear a suit outside.” He looked fascinated by my explanation so I turned my gaze to Caylee.
“Hey Caylee do you want to do the norm or do you want to go against Hanna? I don’t mind being a judge today.” Caylee looked at me. “Umm actually why don’t you go against Hanna for a bit and then let’s see what Matt can do.” She grinned evilly. I gave her a look before swimming off toward the diving board with Hanna. We reached the edge and I asked her, “Do you want to go first or do you want me to go first?” she shrugged and then grinned at me. “You know what they’re doing, right? We all know I am not as well matched for you as Caylee is but you know why she wanted to stay down here.” I looked down blushing then looked back at Hanna. “Yeah I know why. I wish there was some way I could stop her from interfering but I can’t and she won’t.” I paused before saying, “I wish sometimes she would just leave it alone and let me try to get a date on my own, I know she just cares but sometimes it’s a little annoying.” Hanna nodded then moved on to the stairs. We ascended the stairs quickly and reached the top platform. I stood at the back while she did a double front flip before gracefully diving into the pool. I waited till Hanna was paying attention before I followed suit mimicking her flip and dive with less splash. Meanwhile Caylee and Matt and Martha were talking.
“What was she talking about?” Matt asked once Nicola was out of ear shot. “She was talking about her and Hanna practice competing dives. She was the Youth Olympic winner for two years when she was 13 and 14. That was before we knew her and we only found out when our school journalist, Meghan, recognized her and put her in the paper.” I sat there gaping at her talking to Hanna and Caylee reached over and closed my mouth. “I wouldn’t do that if I was you. She doesn’t like people knowing. Even after I came to her house four or five times she still wouldn’t tell me. I never guessed either because she doesn’t keep her trophies out which annoys her uncle I think.” Martha nodded then added, “It’s not because she’s not proud of being the Olympic champion. It’s just because she lost her parents shortly after winning the Olympics and the trophies remind her of them. A lot. That is one of the reason’s she doesn’t worry too much about price. She won’t go spend a lot of money for no reason but she isn’t lacking money.” I thought about this for a while. I was watching Nicola and Hanna and I saw Nicola look down and blush. Hmmmm, she was pretty when she blushed and looked all embarrassed.

What do you mean confusing?

No, I'm not being mean. I'm trying to understand so I can see if I can fix it. which part was hard to follow?

The part about the Olympics?

I think the following part helps explain better.

“Ten,” replied Caylee. Hanna had just dived in and everyone had given her a ten. Next was Nicola and I was seriously wondering what she was going to do. Hanna swam to the edge quickly and got out. Once she was out Nicola braced herself and jumped off copying Hanna’s move exactly only the end dive was smoother and there was no splash. Caylee gave her a ten and so did Martha. Then Hanna waited for Nicky and they ascended the stairs again each talking to the other. “Wow. That was beautiful but I thought she would throw her own trick.”
Caylee shook her head. “Nicky’s trying to help Hanna. That’s why she waited till Hanna was out and watching before she jumped. At first we didn’t think there was anything she couldn’t do but now that we know her we know that she just practices things she likes a lot, and they are not normally in the same season. She’s not good at everything. She’s shy, nice, makes a great girlfriend, but she hates math, loves science, doesn’t like reading class, and she also hates to write papers. Yet she does them anyway because she has to. She’s responsible and the best friend any of us could ever have.” Martha agreed with that and I had the feeling that if Martha said something people normally listened to her. Caylee seemed like someone who is the outgoing one; loves setting up her friends on dates. I think I was going to avoid Caylee as much as possible.
“Hey, Matt, are you going to be man enough to try to dive with me?” Nicky called out. He looks like he needs to be rescued, thought Nicky. “Maybe, do I have any competition here?” he looked around as if looking for an Olympic trainee. I smiled at him. “Don’t count your eggs before they hatch, Matthew.” I fluttered my eyelids at him. His eyes glazed over and I stopped. His eyes returned to normal when I stopped. Okay, I guess I know one of his weaknesses now. He swam toward me with quick even strokes.
“Thanks,” he whispered. “I guess it was kind of obvious I needed rescuing.” I shook my head. “No, it wasn’t obvious to anyone. I just don’t leave people with my friends that long. I know why Caylee didn’t want to compete with me today. Normally she enjoys diving. You don’t have to dive if you don’t want to. Actually I think my uncle is motioning for us all to come in because I think the girls have to leave.”
Indeed my uncle was motioning for us all to come out and get dressed. I motioned to the girls to join us and we all trooped back inside to change. This time Matthew went to the guest bedroom and we stayed in my room. Once everyone was dry and clean we went downstairs and had a last piece of birthday cake. Even Matt joined in the festivities. “Alright girls, you all have to go to church in the morning so I guess you need to leave,” said my uncle. I nodded at him but then Hanna grabbed my hand.
“What about the tradition? We have to do the tradition.” My uncle hesitated then nodded. “But only one song; you have to pick one song.” I nodded and went to the stereo and picked my favorite song on my iPod. While I was doing this the girls were all moving the furniture to the outside of the living room. Matthew was just standing there staring.
“What exactly is the tradition?” I looked at the girls and they giggled. “You’ll see.” I hit play and “1, 2 step bye Ciara ft. Missy Elliot” started coming out of the speakers all around the room. We lined up and started dancing, except we danced around each other instead of in a line. I was in the middle and the other three where around me. We all danced until the song ended. I ran over to the stereo and turned it off before it started the next song. “That is the tradition. I’ll explain more later.” I hugged all the girls before they left. Their parents had left ages ago. That’s why they all drove their cars over here because we normally stay out late on Saturday nights.
After they all left I went to the kitchen with Matt. “What are you doing?” he asked curiously. I grabbed a bag of popcorn and stuck it in the microwave. Then I grabbed the ice cream from the freezer and put a spoon in the ice cream. “Do you want one?” I looked at Matt and he nodded. “Sure.” I grabbed another spoon and tossed it to him. He caught it neatly in between two fingers. “Nice catch,” I said.
“Nice throw.” I blushed and looked down. He looked away. “So, anyway, what’s all this for?” I ignored the question and opened the microwave for the bag of popcorn. I went into the study and pulled out my ballet slippers. I laced them on my feet and turned on my music. I turned to Matt. “If you are going to stay in here go sit out of my way. Otherwise, just go away. Go guard the door or something. Or if you dare you can try to partner with me.” I thought of how it would feel, his hand on my waist and around my legs holding me in the air.
“Interesting; I think I’m going to stay here and help. What do you want me to do?” I smiled. “Well first you need actual clothes. In the closet there should be some ballet shoes and tights.” I snickered at the image of him in tights. He came up beside me and turned me to look at him. “No, how about I stay dressed in jeans and my socks and you just tell me what you want me to do?” I stared there with his hands on my shoulders as an electric current coursed through me. I stared into his impossibly dark blue eyes, feeling like I was drowning. I started to feel faint and I felt my knees give out. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, are you okay?” I grabbed his hands which were around my waist since I had almost fainted. “Can you help me sit down? Please?” He nodded and helped me move toward the couch. I sank down on it, grateful that it was my favorite couch.
What happened?” I just shrugged. “I think I stopped breathing for a minute. I’ll be fine in a second. Then we need to get back to work.” He shook his head. “You aren’t doing anything except sitting down or lying down to sleep.” I looked at him pleadingly. “But I have to practice. If I don’t I won’t be in shape for figure skating in the fall.” He shook his head again. “I don’t think one day will hurt you all that terribly much. Now come on. You need to rest.” I gave in and let him pull me up. He led me to the living room after grabbing the popcorn and the ice cream. He settled me on the couch and grabbed the remote. “What do you want to watch?” I looked at him wondering what my chances of winning the argument that I need to practice. Almost as if he was reading my mind he said, “It doesn’t matter what you tell me I’m not letting you practice; so save your breath.” I shrunk back a little because I hadn't realized how much I had wanted to practice something. I looked up. “What if you got to watch and follow my every step? Would that satisfy your keeping me safe condition?” He hesitated then looked at me. “What do you propose we do?”
I had a quick moment of victory then a single thought entered my mind. I jumped up from the couch. “Follow me. Quickly.” I almost ran down the hallway into the biggest open room in the whole house. I stopped by a secret panel and after asking what kind of practice sword he would like I showed him my idea.
“You said you would let me- I mean teach me how to fight. It’s something you can do right now.” I grabbed my favorite wooden practice sword and then let him find one for himself. He grabbed my oak sword after careful consideration. I myself had chosen my thick elm sword because it was more balanced and as heavy as, my real sword. “Heads up body guard, boy.”
I swung with precision towards his shoulder blades. He only dodged it because I gave him a warning. He rolled out of the way then countered my attack with a thrust toward my ribs. I deflected it off the guard on my sword then trapped his sword in mine and pulled gently but swiftly to fling it out of his hand. He took a big risk and grabbed my wrist. He pulled my wrist swiftly toward his shoulder trying to flip me over his shoulder. Right as I got close I flicked my mock sword up between us pressed against his throat. “I believe this is the part where I say, yield or die.” He turned around and dodged my blade. “You might want to make sure that your opponent is in a corner, princess,” he teased. I stuck my tongue out then said, “If this isn’t challenging enough for you we can always turn the lights off.” He raised his eye brow then shrugged. “I don’t mind. I thought you wanted me to teach you to fight. Not you test me on my fighting.” I snapped once and the lights went out.
I moved quickly and silently across the room. Making sure I made no noise and that I wasn’t in the same spot. I stopped and listened trying to figure out where he was. I heard a small noise to my right and turned but then felt the heat of a body behind me and the sword to my throat. He tapped my throat then said, “Always, always, always keep your attention on everything. Even if there is no noise, listen and feel the things around you.” I snapped once and the lights came back on blinding me. He stepped away and went to put his sword up.
I followed and put the tip to his neck. “I think you forgot one thing. Never turn your back on your enemy no matter if you think their dead or not.” I flicked my sword tip off his neck and he turned around. “Ok fine. We both learned a new lesson today; now what’s next?” I stopped and took his sword checking for nicks or splits in the wood before I put them away. “Now we go downstairs to my room and I need to practice my dance for the dance team. I’m co-captain so it would look bad if I couldn’t follow the routine.” We walked back down the stairs and I practiced for about thirty minutes before I told him to go to my room and wait while I took my shower, because I had waited till they all left before I took my shower. When I came out I was dressed in my shorts and tank top. I took a deep breath before entering my room. My shorts came down about five to six inches above my knee and my tank top is a bluish purple. I already had my hair down near my waist. It was drying already into loose curls and waves. “Hello,” I said. He just stared at me.
“When do you plan on taking your shower?” I thought this was a relevant question but apparently he hadn’t thought about this. He frowned. “I hadn’t thought about that. I think you can stay safe for at least five minutes without getting hurt can’t you?” I nodded then showed him to the guest bathroom.
After I left him in the guest bathroom I went back to my room and checked my email. I had a new email from my Grandfather but since he didn’t put urgent on it I decided it could wait till tomorrow. I saw another was from Jake but we had broken up months ago and he never sent me emails unless they were forwards so, again, I ignored it. I opened Word long enough to enter a new diary entry about what has been happening. It read:

Dear diary,
I woke up this morning and there was this uber cute guy sitting on my bed. It was creepy at first because he wasn’t there when I fell asleep but I’ve gotten used to him. He’s showed that he can have fun and that he has a sense of humor. I think I can learn a little from him on being silent and not making a sound when moving because we had a competition to see who could sneak up on the other person and hold one of the wooden swords against the others neck. He won but then he turned his back and I couldn’t resist setting the sword on the back of his neck and reminding him that you never turn your back on someone unless you are absolutely positive that they are dead, because turning your back leaves you defenseless. I have a feeling he let me set the sword on his neck because he didn’t seem surprised I did it. I’m going to have to have a talk with him about letting me get away with doing things, because if he does it again he won’t get away uninjured. I also had my birthday party today and we did the ritual while Matt, that’s his name, watched. He didn’t get it until I explained it when everyone left. Well, I’m tired so I’m going to say goodnight and I will write again soon.






I signed off and then got Shakespeare off of one of the shelves to read while I waited for Matt to get out of the bathroom. I settled on my bed and started to read. I guess I was more tired than I thought because my eye lids started to close and the book fell to cover my chest.
I had just gotten out of the bathroom and come into Nicola’s room about to ask her a question when I saw she was asleep. She had a book lying on her chest. As I walked in I grabbed the quilt at the bottom off her bed that I had used the night before and I draped it over her, removing the book tenderly.
“Shakespeare. I should have figured that.” I walked over to her shelves and tried to figure out how she had her books arranged but I could see no order so I just set the book on her desk and lay down on my mattress with my back against the wall. I sat watching her for a while. Her face looked completely different when she was sleeping. It was more relaxed and not as guarded. It showed more peace than I think even she is aware she can feel. I had to teach her how to meditate, I reminded myself. I sat, tense through most of the night. Even when I slept my sense’s where on full alert. Nicky woke up once or twice, but only enough to roll over. Once she woke up to roll over and as she did she said my name. I didn’t know if she was having a good dream or a nightmare but I figured it was probably the former…… well I hoped anyway.
I sat up on my bed stretching out my sore arms and looked over to see Matt sleeping. It was the most peaceful face I’ve ever seen him make. It was comforting to know that he could have peaceful thoughts while sleeping. I was happy myself because I hadn’t had a “dream” last night. I started to slip off the bed again but remembered how well Matt heard me yesterday so instead this time I just did a ballet jump off my bed landing at me door with the sound of a feather. I snuck down the hall to the kitchen and pulled out eggs and milk. The salt and pepper were already on the stove. I pulled out flour and butter and sugar to make pancakes. I set them all on the island and started to assemble the bowls and pans to cook in. As soon as I had that I mixed everything and started to cook. I put the pancake pan on the stove and as I was turning around to get the pancake batter I heard Matt slip into the kitchen and stand behind me. I pretended not to know he was there and turned around, faking a gasp in surprise. I raised a hand to my heart, which was beating for quite another reason. “Matt you scarred me. You shouldn’t just walk into a kitchen while someone is cooking and stand behind them without announcing your presence.” His eyebrows lifted, silently calling my bluff. I shrugged, “Okay, so maybe I heard you come in but still. It is bad manners to come into a kitchen unannounced. Next time I might have a hot spatula in my hand and not be paying attention to you and turn around and accidentally hit you. My, wouldn’t that be bad?” I asked with an evil grin. He gave me a dirty look. “I thought you understood you were not to go anywhere without me? That includes your kitchen. Just out of curiosity, how did you get past me?” I gave him a steady look, put a hand on his chest and pushed lightly. “You’re in my way. You either need to go sit on a stool or stand at the edge of the kitchen.” I tried to pull my hand back and step around him but he grabbed my wrist and snaked out an arm around my waist. “You didn’t answer the question; either of them.” I tugged on my hand but he refused to let go until I answered.
“First of all; you assumed that I agreed with your command not to go anywhere without you. I agreed to no such thing. Second; I do not have to tell you because as of right now you are in an extremely bad position. I could very easily break your wrist with my free hand and you know what? I would lose very little sleep over it because your hand will heal. Now I suggest you go sit on a chair, get out of my way and let me go unless, you do not value the use of your hand?”
He let me go reluctantly. He faked a pout but then followed it with a stern look. “Fine, but from now on your door stays closed so you have to open it to get past me. And the threat to break my wrist was not necessary. What’s made you so grouchy today; as if I don’t already know?” He smirked and pointed at himself. I shot him a look. “For a bodyguard you sure are cocky and full of yourself and your abilities.” I injected some bitterness into my voice. I also added a bit of grumbling just for affect. He didn’t buy my act and smiled at me. He perched on the stool like a cat; hands on the seat and feet pulled up as if he is about to make a flying leap into the air. “So, whatcha making?” I laugh at his attempt to use a southern accent.
“That was a horrible attempt just to let you know and I’m makin’ pancakes and eggs and bacon.” I copy his accent only I am better at it because that’s where my parents and I used to live before- no. I’m not going there. Thoughts, go back where you belong, even if it is on this handsomely amazing bodyguard your uncle hired. Ok so I finally admit that he has certain….. features, that are appealing to me. I froze in suspicion as a thought occurred to me. “Wait, how do I know you weren’t sent by the bad guys to gain my trust and then kill me? Or use me like they planned to use my mother?” He was up instantly and over standing next to me, not touching me but lending some strength through closeness. “You just have to believe me, but another thing is that if I was just a spy or a tool I’ve had plenty of opportunities to kill you, also your uncle would have had a problem with me being here last night.” I breathed a relieved sigh but only after listening very closely for the sincerity of his words. I sagged against him and whispered, “Thank you.” He held me up while shrugging.
“No biggie. I knew you would ask that question sooner or later. It’s good that you asked it now rather than a week or two from now.” I straightened, trying to forget the feel of his strong muscular chest against my back, and his strong arms around my shoulders. Crap, this guy can seriously mess up my thought process. I smelt something start to burn and grabbed the spatula and flipped the pancakes. “Thank goodness. They didn’t burn completely; only a little crispiness. Is that okay?” He shrugged. I took that to mean, okay as I continued cooking.
I could spend all day watching this girl cook. She seemed so at home in the kitchen. Man if I wasn’t paid to watch and protect her I would love to transfer to her high school and beg her to date me; she was that amazing. A feeling I hadn’t felt in a long time and then suddenly I identified it as jealousy. Man this was not good. If I couldn’t stay focused on protecting this girl then I was as good as useless. A distracted bodyguard was a useless bodyguard. Although from what I’ve seen so far this girl can protect herself pretty well, I thought wryly. She only needs to learn how to pay better attention to her surroundings, which she can’t learn from me if I’m acting like a love sick fool, I quickly scolded myself. I promise myself not to put this girl in any danger from me. I am here to protect her from danger, not fall in love with her.
I finished cooking and split the food onto two plates, because my uncle had already gone to work for the day. I gave Matt a little more food than I gave myself because I wasn’t that hungry and I needed less food. He started to protest but I sent him a look that said no arguing.
“How do you do that?” he asked me.
“Do what? I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He shook his head and I thought he was going to drop the subject but he explained himself instead. It was kind of cute but not something I’m used to anyone doing. “You give me this look that says no argument and makes me feel like I’m being scolded by my ma. It’s not normal and I haven’t ever met anyone else who could do that.”