The Guard

Chapter Three- Road Rage

“I’ll be careful, mom…” Lilianna assured her mother, who looked at her with tears in her eyes as she folded the final outfit into a perfectly packed square before being enveloped by her materfamilias. Although she still harbored a small sense of resentment towards her parents, she knew this was not a moment to portray it as she found comfort in this warm embrace. Closing her eyes and taking in a deep exhale, the moment was eventually ruined by the arrival of her father; whose actions she could not forgive as he continued to force her into situations she was uncomfortable with. But she also knew she needed their support; financial and otherwise-as she had no ability to make money on her own due to the scandal brought upon her family name and the lack of work ethic that would be seen off of the runway. Aware of this, she bit her tongue and followed her father down the steps at three in the morning. 

“I am doing this because I love you…” Her father explained while taking her shoulders into his hands as they made it to the base of the steps; as Julian waited at the door in silence to allow this father-daughter moment to be felt with intimacy. “Just as I have done everything…” Lilianna remained silent as she could not understand how his actions could be deemed ‘for love’ when he had forced her into circumstances without asking her opinion or even her side. “Your brother has forced our family into chaos, and I apologize if it has taken the attention from you...But I just want you to know that you are always on my mind and my heart and I always wish to protect you…”

Lilianna suddenly saw something in her father she had only seen once before; tears. The damp expression of sadness formed in his emerald eyes as he kept them within his gaze and from falling down his cheeks, but made her understand his sincerity nonetheless. 

“It sounds like you are saying goodbye…” She spoke with a troubled expression as he simply pulled her into an uncomfortably tight hug that made her repress tears of her own as she realized the emotion in his gaze had not been present from sadness, but fear. “I love you, Lili-bug.” Her heart suddenly felt heavy as she had not been called this since she ran around at knee height with chestnut ponytails. This nickname had allowed her father temporary absolution in her eyes before she was pushed out of the door by him as she could forgive him for just a moment; a perfect little moment.

Julian took hold of her four bags and his one before slipping them into an innocuous car that was luxurious but rather bland in comparison to what could have been offered to them. But not wishing to draw attention to themselves, the duo then slipped into the car and began to leave the grounds of her childhood home; unaware that they would never enter through those doors again…

“Absolutely not…” He spoke as she turned on the latest Billie Eilish hit and he returned the station to that of “Lips of an Angel” from Hinder. 

“There is no way I am driving forty hours with you listening to a practical time capsule…It’s bad enough we are stuck with each other…” She commented the second half of her comment in a lower tone, but made sure he was still able to hear her as she turned her expression to the rear view mirror to take in the sight of her house once more until it completely disappeared and was replaced with unfamiliar cars and unknown roads. 

“You could always sleep...it WOULD be nice to have quiet…” She glared at him before pulling up her phone in an attempt to find a distraction as it was taken from her grasp from the moment she had brought it to view. And suddenly, the entirety of her life set upon a cellular device had been taken and thrown out the literal window. Pictures, contacts, apps-all gone.

“What the hell?!” She exclaimed to this action as he rolled up his window before turning back to focus upon the road. “I have pictures on there I can’t get back!”

“I will buy you a new one when we get to New York-”

“Do you REALLY think that is necessary?! Or will you just throw that one out too because I hurt your feelings about your boyband?”

“First of all, Hinder is not a-” Realizing he would not win this argument as he believed her to be far too ignorant, Julian changed the path of this subject before continuing to speak. “If they are tracking you, the first place they will look will be your phone…”

“You think the person doing this is THAT high tech?” Her anger suddenly melted into her paranoia as she was genuinely curious to know his belief as he seemed to know more of this subject than she did. 

“You don’t need a high tech software to locate someone...Facebook has check ins-pictures you post can be traced by googling popular locations...It’s not safe so it’s gone…And we can never be too careful...” Her upset emotion had now returned as she crossed her arms into her seat and stared upon the window until she had fallen asleep. Momentarily peaceful, Julian looked over to her-understanding how the world had become infatuated with her beauty; for in this instant, so had he. 

Hours had passed before the car would come to a stop that would bring them over the ten hour threshold of their journey. Although he had gassed up a handful of times, he had now come to a cessation in their journey for supplies they would need for the following duration. This stop would be set upon a gas station that was incredibly seedy and rather abandoned with an appearance that belonged in place of a horror movie instead of where she had expected to be taken. And yet, the car ceased upon one of the pumps as he had her gas up the car while he motioned that  he would go inside the store for a handful of minutes. But as he spoke of this action, she looked at him with a shrug. 

“You don’t know how to pump gas?” He asked with disbelief. “Christ…” He muttered before taking a pad from his pocket, scribbling items onto the paper in list form, and bringing it to her attention. “Can you manage that?” She narrowed her gaze at him before taking the list with frustration and disappearing into the convenience store. But the moment she had entered the establishment, she would be approached by a man who believed he stood a chance with the stunning woman walking between aisles in search of her task list-unintentionally flawless performing such a mundane task. 

“Can I help you find anything?” He spoke to her with a rather average appearance as she shook her head ‘no’ and began reading the list aloud to herself; “flashlight” The man took this as a chance to gain her attention, and her gratefulness, and so he eyed the aisle as well before coming to a bulky light and handing it to her with ease. “My lady…” He attempted to be a mix of charming and  funny as she thanked him politely before trying to gain isolation once more. 

“Let me see that-” The man suddenly appeared before her again, taking hold of her list and turning the corner before she had a chance to even acknowledge this thievery. Attempting to follow him, she was met with Julian’s figure in his place; his toned physique having paused her as if he had instead been a brick wall. 

“What are you doing?” He asked in irritation before seeking out the man who then had his list. While left alone without any current instruction, Lilianna began to scan the shelves in front of her before hearing a sudden breaking of glass. Immediately, she rushed to the scene before finding Julian holding the man by his collar as half of the man’s body hung into the drink cooler; glass gathered at their feet. 

“I didn’t know she had a boyfriend, man-I’m sorry, Jesus!” He commented as he was dropped to his feet and onto the glass while Julian walked over the glass without care; collecting the final items on his list, and moving to the counter to pay. The young woman behind the desk had now become nervous, checking Julian out in quick succession before he threw a Utah tourism shirt upon his mess of miscellaneous items. A handful of minutes had come to pass until the transaction was complete and Julian pulled Lilianna from the scene in a firm tug until they were now back within the car. 

“You didn’t have to concuss the guy! Aren’t we supposed to keep a low profile?!” She spoke in anger as she crossed her arms back over her chest and was forced to endure the quiet that Julian forced between them with a lack of a response while he was shuffling through the bags of recently purchased items before coming to the very shirt he bought. Returning to the front seat, the shirt was then tossed upon her lap. 

“Put that on…” He spoke with a monotone timbre, making her uncertain if he was angry or just a plain psychopath to be able to nearly beat someone to a pulp using a fridge door and acting as if nothing had transpired at all. 

“Why?”

“Because if we don’t want to bring attention to ourselves, you can’t look like…” He stopped himself before offering her a potential complement. “That...you just can’t…” He finished his comment before bringing the car back into gear and onto the road. Basking in how she made him uneasy, Lilianna unlatched the buckle of her belt and shed the current shirt she wore over her torso to reveal only her full bust wrapped beneath a black and lacy bra. Her creamy skin appeared so vivid and close to him; almost intoxicating as his eyes immediately connected to her chest before swerving upon the road to her having changed mid-drive. 

“Are you insane-” He attempted to speak before having three cars honk at him from having nearly caused an accident; all while she wore a prideful smirk upon her expression in having been allowed such a reaction. “You could have gotten us killed! Someone could have seen you!” But silence remained from her lips as she continued to smile. “What are you so pleased with?”

“Knowing you are human after all; I was starting to think you were robotic…” She answered him with a continued look of contentment. 

“Your recklessness is going to get you hurt…” He warned her as her head now turned to face him completely. 

“Good thing you are here then…” And with this, she brought her attention to the knobs of the car and turned it to a pop station while Julian weighed his options between waging war over the radio or cooling down his own temperature; choosing the latter as he could not erase the image of her body from his mind. Surely, the entire world had witnessed her walking the stage wearing Victoria’s Secret lingerie; but yet, alone-he somehow felt as if it this had been more erotic as it had been done exclusively for him.